Edinburgh and Dublin pics

Here are the last pics from our UK/Ireland trip...

Edinburgh

Dublin

Close Your Eyes and Think Irish

I wrote this post while still in Dublin, and was waiting for Scotland pictures to get caught up before posting this one. However, Chris is taking too long, so I'm posting this one now. And as most of you know, we're in MI now, safe and sound! Hope to see you all soon!


Ok, so I said I loved Edinburgh, and I do, but Dublin definitely gives it competition! I'm so sad we only had 1 day!

So, everything went fine with the early flight and all, thank goodness. We got to our B&B, the Andorra, where our hostess kindly allowed us to check in and relax on the bed for a bit before we headed out. Not for long though, because I had read all over the Internet about this great walking tour of the 1916 Rebellion (The Easter Rebellion) done by two historians that was apparently completely fabulous. However, they do one tour per day, and it's at 11:30AM. So We only had about 15-20 minutes resting time before heading out for that.

It was a very cool tour. Our guide was hysterical, but also very knowledgeable. His colleague and he wrote a book (which we bought, of course) and he took us around the city to show us some key locations in the Rebellion, as well as monuments and important places of the key participants. If we had had more time I would have liked to proceed to the Kilmainham Gaol, where the participants were held and executed, but unfortunately, it is a ways out of town and we didn't have time to get out there.

That took a couple of hours, and then it was on for some Indian food!! We both couldn't resist samosas to start (veggie for me, lamb for Chris, accompanied by some amazing sauce!), and then the Tikki Masala sounded amazing enough that we both got that as well. OMG. I really could eat Indian twice a week for the rest of my life! As long as there were mango lassis to accompany it.

We spent the rest of the day walking around Dublin, purchasing my ornament and earrings, sitting in St. Stephen's Green, and just generally enjoying the city. It was warm and sunny, and perfect for strolling around and looking at the sights and tourists. (Sometimes the two were one...)

Being here for such a short time was really a mixed blessing: on one hand, I'm so glad I got to see this city, even for a short time! On the other hand, I feel like there is still so much I want to see! It's a little frustrating to only have one day in a place that really deserves at least a weekend, and a country that I want to take two weeks to explore. Next year perhaps...?

We'll fly home tomorrow, so see you all soon! We'll plan on keeping the blog going during our subsequent travels, and who knows, maybe another country is in our future...

Scotland pics, Part 1

Now Barb is ahead of me with blogging. I don't have all the pictures ready yet for Scotland. Here are pictures of our drive to Scotland, and of the Botanical Gardens. The other pictures of Edinburgh will come later.

Driving to Scotland

Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh

Falling in Love with Scotland

Driving to Scotland was when we realized driving on the left side of the road seemed normal now. Traffic circles could be interesting when we get back to the US. (After years of driving and never understanding them, I've finally figured them out- in England, of course!)

We arrived in Edinburgh with five hours still left with the car, but since we didn't really know what to do with ourselves, and I was desperate for a nap after my poor night of sleep, we dropped it off and got a ride to our B&B. We were staying at Ashlyn House, and to be honest, when we arrived, I don't know how they weren't fully booked! GORGEOUS interior, right next to the Royal Botanical Gardens, huge rooms, quiet part of town... it was perfect! Our room was absolutely stunning. They decorated it in the Victorian style, but not too overdone like so many. It had high ceilings (maybe 12 feet?) with beautiful double moulding around it, pink and white printed walls (although not too pink as to be girly) that looked like they were cloth-covered on the top half, with patterned plaster (paper?) for the bottom half, a padded, printed headboard with partial canopy that matched the curtains to the huge five foot windows. Like I said, gorgeous. I crashed for two hours and woke up feeling much more myself. Not wanting to miss anymore than we absolutely had to (due to time constraints), we headed to the Royal Botanical Gardens.

To both of our Moms: if you need a reason for traveling overseas, this is it! Just look at the pictures. We spend hours wandering in there and only scratched the surface it seemed! And even the things we DID see I want to see again! Huge gardens with an amazing variety of plants, all seemingly in bloom.

Dinner was Italian at a local place down the street. We ordered a bottle of red wine, some soup for me (still the throat thing) and some calamari for Chris, as well as a pasta and chicken dish for him and a dish of chicken with caramelized onions and peppers in a white wine and butter/garlic sauce for me. Exquisite! The chicken was so tender and juicy, and the onions went perfectly with it! I've kind of fallen in love with caramelized onions this past year.

We walked back to the B&B and had an early night, since the next day we wanted to do Edinburgh.

I pretty much love Edinburgh, and mostly because of one woman I met in a Christmas shop who was a total kindred spirit- foodie and Christmas lover who got excited when talking about either of the two, especially when she could point us in the right direction for her favorite food (unfortunately, we'd already eaten, so we couldn't work them in :( :( but next time for sure!)

So, I'm getting ahead of myself, talking about food. Let's back up to say that I once again slept very well the previous night, and after a light breakfast (for me anyways), we headed for Edinburgh Castle, a must-see according to every guidebook and website. I should also do a disclaimer that states that we were starting to get a little run down, all this traveling at the frantic pace, so if you notice that we're doing less and less in each city, that's why. We're exhausted!

So, the Castle. It has a really interesting history, although difficult for me to relate to you, since I get all the Charleses and Edwards mixed up. And the Bruces, Stewarts, and all the other inter-marrying monarchs. Go to Wikipedia.

Anyways, awesome views and we got to see the Scottish Crown Jewels, after once again encountering the Great Heathen Army. I was getting hungry and cranky before too long though, so we headed to find a pub for some cheap lunch (and ok, yes, some hard cider. Sue me!) I got a bacon cheeseburger American style, Chris had Italian Chicken, and we both left happy campers. (Well, happy until we found out the other places that had awesome food and we were too full to eat at them...)

I have been collecting Christmas tree ornaments from each country I visit this year, so I was on the hunt for a Scottish one (Yvonne, I forgot an English one, please get me one so I don't have a hole in the collection!) as well as some earrings. That's when we met the sweetie in the Christmas shop.

We walked down the rest of the Royal Mile to see the Castle at Holyrood, where the Queen of England stays when she is in Scotland. We didn't go in, partly because we were tired, but also partly because I think I heard people talking about Prince Charles either coming or being there. So closed to visitors. Back to the B&B!

Since we had to get up at 4:30AM to catch our flight to Dublin the next day, it was another early night.

Hexham Abbey & Hadrian's Wall

Hexham Abbey

Hadrian's Wall

Walking Hexham and Limping Hadrian's Wall

So by Wednesday morning I was still feeling pretty grim, but we headed out for Hadrian's Wall, although Chris promised that we wouldn't have to walk far on it. The drive from York to Hexham was beautiful and also driven safely, so it was a pleasant journey. We stopped in Hexham mostly because I was navigating and didn't know what we were doing. But we had been told at our B&B in York that the abbey there was worth seeing, so I guess it was ok.

They weren't joking. The abbey was really interesting, mostly because it really seemed like you should see monks walking around doing things as they did in the Middle Ages. One thing that immediately struck me was the wooden roof and wooden joint covers. Whereas in most abbeys the roof is either gilded, whitewashed, or painting, here it was left as dark wood. The abbey itself was pretty dark and cool inside. Besides the stunning stained glass, they also had a 13th century staircase that we went up, a Breeches Bible from the 17th century, and an Anglo-Saxon chalice. A quiet, peaceful break from driving.

We drove to the part of Hadrian's Wall that is where it's the highest, near Homestead Fort. After hiking uphill 1/2 mile (no joke, the information desk told us to expect that) and through another sheep pasture, we got to the wall. Snaking along ridges and over hills, it is in amazingly good condition in this spot. The workmanship is superb, the stones cut very square and stable enough to allow us to walk on it for a short while, just as the Roman soldiers would have done centuries ago. Looking at the views from the Wall, you can see why the location was chosen- there would be difficulty in hiding anywhere for miles! We really enjoyed the walk, but I was so sick and out of sorts that I couldn't do much at all before needing to turn back. I wish we could have seen more of it, but I guess that's for next time.

We stayed in a little village about 15 minutes from the wall called Wark in the Battlesteads Inn Hotel. Luckily for me, they had a restaurant in the hotel, so we didn't need to go far for dinner! It was also the place where I tried duck for the first time. I'm in love. It was beyond excellent, with an incredibly crisp, flavorful crust, but moist meat that fell off the bone, and then the bones fell apart from each other! Served with mashed potatoes, it was an excellent meal! I need to find duck in the US... Not sure what Chris ate or what he thought of it, since I was so busy rhapsodizing about mine that I'm not sure he ever got a word in.

That night wasn't good, as I couldn't sleep because of my cold. This is when I noticed that it didn't get completely dark outside until after 11PM, and began to get light at around 3:30AM. Are we in the Arctic Circle here?! Luckily, there was a lot of coffee for breakfast the next morning, and then we were off to Scotland!

(Continued next post)

York Pictures

York

Hay Bluff Hike Pictures

Hay-on-Wye and Black Mountains

York (The Old One)

So, Tuesday we picked up our rental car, which had been upgraded for us :) to a Ford Mondeo Ghia, which was awesome. Big and roomy trunk space, Chris had more leg and head room than he knew what to do with, and it drove very smoothly. Hmmmmm, next car perhaps? Anyways, he proved once again what a fabulous driver he was by getting us to York alive and well, and without a scratch on the car! What a guy! I was sick by this point, so we didn't want to schedule TOO much, but there were a few must-see things on our list.

The first thing I wanted to do was visit the Jorvik Center, which is all about the Viking settlement in York. (You know me and my barbarian fascination!) Lucky for him, Chris was interested too! Also, Yvonne had told us that it was really awesome (my words, not hers, she only uses awesome to mock us) and a must-do. It is split into two parts: the first is a moving ride in which a narrator explains the scenes before you, and life-like statues move, talk, and work, showing what the village was like. You also get the smells: food cooking, wood smoke in the forge, and yup, the cesspool as well. I was a little nervous, since by then I was sick and not sure how my stomach would do, but I must say, after Izmir on hot days, this was nothing! The ride was my favorite part, mostly because it got us away from the Great Heathen Army (i.e. the kids). The second part was a bit more like an interactive museum with a few people in period piece explaining their roles, as well as computer animation, more statues, as well as some artifacts. We didn't stay there long, mostly because the Army had already invaded and overrun the place, and were pushing, shoving, and generally being disruptive. I am still a little disappointed we couldn't poke around for a bit longer, but ah well. And sorry, there's no pictures- not allowed.

Next we went for lunch at a lovely Chinese place. Because of my throat, I ordered hot sour soup (as well as a bunch of other food, of course). When it came, it was much different than I was used to, but really delicious! Then we had fried chicken with a spicy sauce and an order of Beijing dumplings. The sauce on the chicken was sooo divine, we actually liked that better with the dumplings than the vinegar they provided!

Feeling full, we waddled to York Minster, one of the most important cathedrals in England, or at least one of the most well-known. That is also divided into two parts: the basement, which has the history of the cathedral (going back to Roman times) and the modern cathedral. We both really liked the basement, they'd done excavations and therefore could tell us where we were in relation to the Roman basilica, then the Saxon church, then the Norman cathedral as you walked through. They also had a lot of the artifacts that had been recovered during excavations that were hurriedly done before the church was reinforced due to weakness and severe cracking as it slowly collapsed. There were things like the stone that fell and hit some guy while he was sleeping during church, but didn't kill him, so it was considered a miracle. There were also the faces on the decorative pieces that hide the joining of the roof beams. There was also a room filled with chalices and gifts to the cathedral throughout the years (nice and glittery, that room!), as well as other artifacts and 3-D models of the cathedral as it changed over the years. It was really cool, but sorry, we couldn't take pictures there either.

We COULD take pictures in the modern York Minster, however. And wow. It seemed that everywhere we turned there were things to take pictures of. Pictures don't quite capture how massive this building is though. And the acoustics! When we came in, there were services being held, and the choir was singing. Although the service was in a different part of the cathedral, it sounded as though you were standing in the middle of it. Really lovely, and set a nice atmosphere for taking pictures and thinking about the history. By this point in the day I was about done for, having wandered around in a medicine stupor. However, Chris told me I needed to see one last thing, and took me to the Chapter House, a room separated by the cathedral by a hallway. Inside, the octagonal room was like nothing I'd seen yet! The floor reminded me of tiles I'd seen in Izmir, the ceiling was gorgeous, and there were beautiful stained glass windows on seven of the eight sides. Between were pointed arches, and on each side were all unique faces (you'll see some in our pictures) and intricate wood carving. The administration of the cathedral still meets in that room, and inside each archway was a seat. A very unique room, and I'm glad Chris saw it!

I was completely knackered by this point, so we got back to the car and drove fifteen minutes to our B&B for the night, the White Rose Villa. Can we say GORGEOUS?! We stayed in the Lavender Room, and it was huge! The shower was great, tons of hot water at high pressure, just what you needed after a day of walking! The bed was one of the most comfortable I've ever encountered in a hotel, and our hosts were absolutely wonderful. We ordered pizza that night (I told Chris it felt like an anniversary- traveling in the car most of the day, feeling tired, eating pizza...) full of bacon, ham, salami, and pepperoni, and apparently butter. Divine! Slept like babies, and woke up the next day to a full English breakfast and the drive north to look forward to.

(Btw, in case you couldn't tell by the length of the post, I'm feeling better and am back to my normal long-winded self. Sorry to those of you who were enjoying the succinct posts!)

Hiking with Sheep

Sunday we went hiking with Yvonne, Euan, and Yvonne's mum in Hay-on-Wye. I say hiking, because it was for me, although I think Yvonne and Euan would call it a walk :) As you remember from one of my previous posts (and if you don't, go back and re-read, slackers), Hay is just over the border into Wales, next to the Black Mountains, so the sites are quite amazing.

We hiked/walked up the Hay Bluff, going up the "easy" side, and down the more "challenging" side. Going up wasn't too bad, besides the fact that it was uphill. And windy. I mean, REALLY windy. When you look at the pictures, you can't see that the wind is actually pushing us around. I was wearing Chris' windbreaker (because I under-dressed, as usual) and I sounded like a flag snapping in the wind. Luckily, we were walking, and stayed warm enough, although there was definitely a nip in the air when we first climbed out of the truck! Also, I should mention that the areas surrounding the bluff, as well as the rest of Wales, are all sheep pastures. So while the views were amazing, I only saw them in snippets, because most of my attention was on the ground, trying to avoid poo. :) We got to the top, but because we came up the backside and all the good stuff is near the front, we headed that direction...

IS THIS A PLATEAU?! geez louise, every time we'd get to the top of a rise I'd think, "Ok, this is it, it's going to be awesome just over this!" and then I'd see more walking to do. We did get to the edge on the side though, and that created some great pictures. We even saw a glider taking advantage of the high winds and soaring almost eye level with us!

On the way back down, we went a different and more challenging route. Straight down is challenging, right? :) It was worth it though, because near the bottom was a herd of horses. I have no idea if someone owns them or if they're just there, taking advantage of the grass, but there were some very new colts posing for us and lots of gorgeous horses to admire. Maybe I don't need a puppy. Maybe I need a horse...

After letting Yvonne and Euan walk ahead to get the car and leaving us "snails" behind (yes, Yvonne, I talked to your mum and heard what you said!) we ran into more sheep and saw more lovely sites. Then relief arrived in the form of SUV, and we tiredly climbed in. We certainly earned the tea and cheesecake we ate when we got home! After the bacon sandwiches... And the roast chicken, cheesy broccoli/cauliflower, Yorkshire pudding, and potatoes we had for supper. MMMMM! I kind of want Yvonne and Euan to come live with us and cook every day!

All in all, a tiring day but worth the effort, because as you'll see, the pictures are gorgeous!

Warwick Castle pictures

Warwick Castle

Castles, Nobility, Intrigue, and Power

Wow, I think the title is almost as long as the post... (and probably more exciting)

Yvonne and Euan had Friday off, so we set out for Warwick Castle (pronounced Warick, btw), about a 90 minute drive from Eardsley. Unlike many of the existing castles now, which mostly consist of ruins, Warwick Castle has been restored to what it would have been like throughout various centuries. The drive there was gorgeous, and it was fun to have a day with the four of us doing something.

In the time of the War of Roses (Richard VI), the Earl of Warwick was considered the Kingmaker but died in the Battle of Barnet. Lots more history that I find interesting, but that would probably bore most of you.

Again, I'll pretty much try to let the pictures speak for themselves. Mostly because my head hurts too badly to try and form words to describe...

Bath pictures

Bath

Bath

Not pronounced like we normally would say it, it's actually pronounced Baahth. Just so you know. And because it's one of the only pieces of useless trivia I have.

So, we arranged to take the train there. The journey took us through part of SE Wales, which is gorgeous, and then East after we switched trains at Newport. A reasonably quick journey, uneventful (which we give thanks for these days!), although because their ticket-printing machine was having issues, we were about 20 seconds away from missing our train.

So, one of the first things we saw in Bath was a Nepalese restaurant, which was immediately chosen as our late lunch location. However, we had things to see first! We made our way to the Roman Baths, and it was there that we realized the schoolkids from England have this week off. OMG. Teenagers and kids are the same no matter which country or culture. Oh-ha! However, the Baths were very cool, lots of history (it was actually a site of worship as well as healing) and artifacts that had been recovered. To be honest, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. Just know that the complex was huge, and just seemed to go on and on! And the heating system was ingenious! Under the floor, there were ducts that would carry the hot air from the fires (also underground!) into the next room's floor, and also up the walls. Seeing these ducts, we realized that we had also seen them in private homes in Ephesus! That was what struck me the most, how similar the Roman buildings in England are to those in Turkey, even though the two are thousands of miles apart!

The cathedral was awesome as well, really lovely and interesting to look at. Covering all the wall surfaces and much of the floor were plaques and memorials to loved ones. And the ceiling was crazy! You'll see in the pictures...

Then lunch time. Mmmm. So Nepalese food is kind of a cross between Indian and Chinese. Quite lovely and delicious. We ordered popadams, then pork dishes with sides of rice, a chickpea and potato dish, chutney, and lentil-based soups. The spices made it really lovely, and our waiter was great. There was a French family dining at the same time, and they had a small girl, maybe one year old? The waiter played with her for awhile, then scooped her up and took her around the restaurant, showing her all the cool sights there. He later told the parents his own son, who is 3 1/2, is still in Nepal with his wife, and he misses him very much. He was also quite excited that we were from America, and immediately wanted to discuss politics, like so many other people we meet.

We then hiked up to the Royal Crescent, which was a relaxing way to sit, digest, and enjoy the sunshine. On the way back, we got lost, and again, thank goodness Chris was there. I would have freaked.

Our train was delayed 8 min, and while we giggled that they'd even announce that (after our 3 hour delay it seems a bit much to apologize for an 8 minute delay...), we did find that it meant we missed our connecting train, although there ended up being another in 30 minutes, so it didn't really matter. All in all, a really lovely day!

Pictures from Herefordshire and Wales

Hereford and Eardisley

Hay-on-Wye and Black Mountains

Eeek, I'm Behind!

So, I am sick. I will try to refrain from whining too much to you all, although I'm guessing Chris would love a break. Anyways, this sickness has allowed Chris to actually get ahead of me in the blogging process. I have a LOT of catching up to do, people! So bear with me...

First, I'll do separate posts for each place that we've been to. This will help if you only have 1 hour to read my post, not 5.

Second, I am getting Chris' help with remembering things, because to be honest, I'm really out of it right now. You'll notice the vacant stare in pictures. I am not drunk or high, just doped up on cold medicine and wishing I were dead.

So, overview of our time with Yvonne, although there will be separate posts for all the mini-trips we took in Hereford. First, I should say "Thank you" again to those two! Putting up with Chris and I for 9 days, cooking for us, driving us around, listening to us ask, "Are we there yet?" Not an easy job, that. However, we were able to cross many desired food items off our list: we ate Indian, Chinese (homemade ginger chicken, thanks Yvonne!), PORK, roast chicken with Yorkshire pudding and broccoli/cauliflower in cream sauce, fish and chips, Elderflower ice cream, a full English breakfast, homemade crepes...Ooofff, I get full just looking at that list! We're still wondering if Banoffee pie is a myth or not though. (If it's a myth, I won't worry about spelling, but if it's real, someone needs to help me out on that.) Oh, and we got addicted to English tea. We now drink it at least once a day, although more often if other people are having it. It's almost like it was in Turkey!

We went to Hereford on Monday and explored, then Tuesday we went to Hay-on-Wye, Wednesday was our sleepy day with laundry on the side, Thursday was Bath (see next post), Friday was Warwick Castle (see the post after Bath) and the Christy Moore concert in Hay, which rocked! Saturday Chris and I explored some pubs in Hereford, and then Sunday we went hiking in Hay. Monday was spent getting ready for the rest of our trip. So there's our first week in the UK in a nutshell. Now I can get started on the posts for individual places. Enjoy the pictures!

Welcome to England

Well, I'm sitting in Yvonne's guest bedroom right now, thinking how awesome England is, and if it were just a bit more sunny, I would probably insist on living here. To recap the last few days:

Saturday, when we left Izmir, it was pouring rain and really quite horrid. We got to the airport, huge thanks to Pinar and her dad, and headed for the check-in line. Where we were told that our 10PM flight was delayed three hours. So we'd arrive in England at 3AM their time (5AM Turkey time). Not particularly happy news, especially when you take into account Izmir's airport: no bookstores, no magazine stands, just a couple cafe stands and a bar showing soccer. So we just sat and waiting, and people watched. This is also when we realized our flight was chock-full of babies and small children. Once on the plane, after about 20 minutes, the kid in the next row finally stopped screaming and thrashing around, and we were able to settle in for our four hour flight.

Arriving in England went smoothly, getting to our B&B was the same, although getting into the car with the steering on the right side threw us a bit. Our B&B was AWESOME, bed was so nice! It was actually getting light out when we finally crawled in (4:30AM) for about 3.5 hours of sleep. Then it was up, breakfast (real English breakfast, complete with coffee, tea, toast, eggs, tomatoes, ham, and sausage. omg. EVERYTHING looks better over pork products!), then back to the airport to catch our bus to Hereford.

Bus ride was normal, although long. But pretty comfortable and we saw some beautiful sites. England is really really pretty! Particularly the further west you get. It's very green with full-size trees and hedges along each property, as well as dividing fields and bordering the road. I have found that there is a reason English gardens are known world-wide.

Yvonne and Euan live in Eardisley, which is about 30 min from Hereford. It's a small but beautiful village, full of the famous black and white houses, one of which is their place. Although the doorways are a little short for Chris (he even managed to hit his shoulder on the stairway ceiling!), it's very fun to stay in a house that is centuries old! It used to be a forge, and there are pictures of it from the 19th century, as well as a sampling of the horseshoes that were made there. Because of its age, it's a little crooked and the floors are a little wavy, but it's all part of the fun! We'll try to get some pictures up on here at some point, as long as it's ok with Euan and Yvonne.

So, Monday we ran errands in Hereford as well as looking at their cathedral (which therefore qualifies it as a city instead of a town or village), the Mappa Mundi (a map c. 1300, the oldest medieval map still in existence), and the chained library (from the time where books were so valuable that they were all individually chained to the shelf). In between, we also grabbed a bite to eat (peppers, potatoes and goat cheese gratin) and stocked up on all the cheese that we have missed! That night we went out with Yvonne's family for Indian food. Mmmmm, how I have missed those flavors!!! Never fear though, we'll want to go out for much more Indian food when we get back home, so those of you who like it, be prepared!

Yesterday we headed to Hay-on-Wye, a town that straddles the border between England and Wales. It's world renowned Literary Festival begins in a few days, but we decided to beat the crowds and have a look around. A fun little village with massive numbers of bookshops, boutiques, gorgeous views, and fudge! When we came back, we tried all our cheese while we had tea. (Aren't you proud of my restraint, I waited a whole day!) We had Roquefort (my absolute new fav!), white cheddar, Red Leicester, Havarti, Swiss, a Hereford white cheese, and cream cheese with herbs and spices, all on crackers with locally-made chutneys. Bliss seems a bit of a weak word. How about nirvana? And it just got better. Yvonne cooked authentic ginger chicken with stir fry and rice, and we thought we'd died and gone to heaven. I watched her make it, and will attempt to re-create the experience once we're back home. However, I'm not at all confident it will be as good, especially since I don't own a wok, nor do I cook well on gas stoves (too clumsy with open flames). So we'll see. I'll pick some of you as guinea pigs to try it out on :)

Today is a chill day. We had some laundry to finish up, and a quiet day just doing not much sounded really good to both of us. Hopefully we'll get pictures posted soon so that you all can see how awesome this place is. And, just for Yvonne (who makes fun of our Americanisms), talk to you guys later! Miss you, dudes! It'll be awesome to see you all again!

The Neighborhood Association Meeting

"What?" you ask, "I didn't think they were organized enough for that."

Well, they're not. But sure enough, I witnessed one today. So, story time:

Remember that dog that earned my life-long hatred for interrupting my sleep awhile back? The one who barked and whined all through the night and made it impossible for me (and approx 40 other families in the vicinity) to get any rest? Well, they've been keeping it indoors more often, but as the weather has gotten warmer and we've started opening windows at night, they've decided it'd be a good idea to let the dog out again. And it hasn't gone mute yet. (Really, if it was human, it would have lost its voice looooong ago. Can anyone explain that to me? How do dogs bark constantly for hours without losing any decibels, but if we try to yell for hours on end, we eventually go hoarse?)

So, I was hanging laundry outside today, the dog was out, and it must have seen something, a fly, a piece of trash, who knows, but it went nuts, barking, yipping, generally freaking out. A lady on a balcony in the building across from this dog tried shushing it, which didn't really work. Then, apparently, the owner made an appearance, because then it was her turn to go nuts. She was explaining (from what I gathered, my Turkish really does suck) that she has a baby who is sleeping, but the dog's barking wakes it up, and can the owner please make it shut up?! Well, he took offense, and they were off.

Less than 5 minutes later, Chris and I (I had to run inside and tell him to start popcorn and then look out the window, this was entertaining!) are watching and we see someone's head poke out of their window, then they see what's happening, that the dog owner is outside, and they come out on the balcony and start yelling too. This attracts more neighbors, who do the same. Before we know it, there are 6 different apartments' residents hollering, pointing, gesturing, and fist-pounding at the dog owner, who is hollering, pointing, gesturing, and fist-pounding in return. Then I hear the neighbors upstairs get in on the action. Then the ones below us. Then I see people from other buildings come out, and they join in.

I believe when I finally collapsed on the couch laughing hysterically, there were five buildings represented, a dozen accusers, one defendant and his son (everybody brought their children out to watch the fun), and one dog, which, with all the commotion, started barking...

Whooo hooo, School's Out

For us, anyways :)

So, Chris and I will be coming home sooner than previously expected, everyone! YAY! We booked the tickets tonight for home for June 6. So exciting! Our new plan:

We fly out of Turkey on May 22 (holy crap that's coming up soon!) to London. We got a fabulous deal through Thomas Cook Airlines, but two downsides to that: 1) the baggage allowance is non-existent. literally. and 2) it arrives in London at 11:59PM. So we will be staying in a B&B for that night, then taking a bus to Hereford to visit Yvonne. Awesome girl, she's letting us stay for a week and showing us around England. After staying with her for a bit and relaxing (and catching up on gossip, of course!), as well as stocking up on pork, cheese, and good English ale, we're planning on renting a car to drive up through England toward Hadrian's Wall and Scotland, just taking our time and lots of pictures.

Next stop will be Edinburgh, Scotland, for a couple or few days, depending on funds and time. I'm really excited to see Edinburgh, it sounds so pretty and we have so many fun things that we're going to try and see. I'm sure we'll be blogging about it later.

After Edinburgh, we'll fly to Dublin on June 5 just for one night, mostly because we can't afford to stay any longer, but it'll give us time to at least see downtown for one day. We'll do Ireland right when we have more time and money. June 6 we fly out and we'll be in Chicago a little after 3PM! wow.

So, hope to see everyone soon after we get back and get on American time! And aren't you all proud of how short this is?!

Things that Shock Us Every Time

Following in a similar vein to the post from a couple months ago when I detailed (in excruciating detail) the things that amused us in Turkey, this post will have some overlap, some areas which probably warrant their own post, and some things that you'll find boring. If you're not turned off yet, well, just wait :)

1. Turkish Driving

Now, I realize that I have whined and complained about this before. But I really do feel that it needs to be brought up again. I will try to be quick. First, I would never ever consider driving in the city here. I would kill/maim too many people/cats/numberous non-moving objects. Second, I believe in stopping at red lights. Doing so here is a great way to cause an accident. As is staying in 1 lane, not straddling the line. Third, I can't parallel park to save my life. Even in the US spots, which are generous enough for everyone's Hummer. Let alone the space only large enough to squeeze your car in and not leave enough room for people to walk beween bumper of either your car and the car in front of you, OR your car and the car behind you. I also am not a fan of double, let alone triple parking. Fourth, I would feel bad if I hit someone. Which I'm sure I would do. But I would also stop and feel incredibly guilty. Not keep driving without a second glance, figuring if they're in the road, they were asking for it. Even if it was a crosswalk. And they had the green light. And I had just run a red one (see reason number one above).

2. How many small family businesses there are

And how few large ones. Semis aren't really seen much around here, and I have been told that that is because there aren't that many large corporations that ship enough stuff to have need for semis. Things are changing gradually, and you are seeing more corporations coming in, like Kipa (owned by Tesco, a British company), Ikea (designer prices there, NOT the cheap place we're used to!), Marks & Spencer (another British company that is discount there, brand name here), etc. But for now, the clear majority of businesses are owned by a single family or a partnership.

3. How many of the SAME small businesses there are

Chris and I were walking along Betonyol the other day and were noticing, once again, how many of the same businesses there are. For example, our friend, Erol, owns a cell phone shop. In this shop he sells cell phones, refill cards for minutes on your phone, accessories, etc. When we (and I mean Chris) asked him the other day how business was going, he replied that he worked a lot, but still had no money. Çok iş, para yok. It's no wonder, considering there are 3 other cell phone shops exactly like his in a half mile stretch... The average street in Turkey is composed of apartments/flats on the upper floors, and businesses on the ground levels. These businesses will be eczane (drugstores), cell phone shops, bakal (convenience stores), bedding/furniture/appliance stores, and perhaps an electric or plumbing place, and some pide or döner restaurants. Thats about it. And they just repeat over and over again. All offering the same goods and services, but somehow they all manage to stay in business AND on good terms with each other. Quite remarkable.

4. How much Turks love children

In the US, if someone came up and starting touching your baby, most of you would instinctively jerk him/her away (or at least want to) and wonder what was going on with this person. When we board airplanes, we breathe a sigh of relief if that mother with the shrieking child walks past you toward the back of the plane (at least I do). Here, not at all. People get very happy when someone gets on a bus or ferry with a child, and they enjoy playing with the child, passing them around, etc. And the mothers like the fact that people are enjoying her baby. Along those same lines, if someone's child is misbehaving and the parents aren't looking, the neighborhood people feel free to yell at the naughty child, who actually pays attention and obeys!

Now, on the other hand, this also leads to children growing up pampered and being used to adults doing everything for them. Maturity tends to be delayed, and they don't have a concept about how to budget money, or even what things are worth. But enough on that, I'll save that rant for later.

5. How the country still functions despite complete unorganization and lack of preparation

Not for us. But Turks have perfected this art. This is one where I can't explain the concept, this is one that you must experience. But only if you have a lot of patience, or a lot of Xanax.

6. Fresh food and for cheap!

I know we've told you before about how cheap food is here. fresh baked bread: $.35, 4 lbs of fresh strawberries, $2.50, fresh farm tomatoes, 2 lbs, $.75. It gets ridiculous. And we're loving it! Although it sometimes saddens me to throw out chicken that is only 3 days old and has been refrigerated, I also know then that it didn't have a billion preservatives in it. And ground meat actually has a fresh flavor, probably because they grind it while you watch. You pick out which pieces of meat you want, and then they grind it for you. So none of that sneakiness of wrapping old, browned meat in freshly-ground red meat and selling it as fresh. Everything is so fresh, and because the growing season is so long, we've been eating fresh fruit and vegetables for a month now. Food is a beautiful thing.

7. Speaking of food, the lack of ethnic foods

For a country that is known as the country that connects the East and West, you'd think there'd be a lot of fusion restaurants, ethnic foods, etc, right? Wrong. Restaurant food here is very homogeneous, although very delicious as well. But all the same. You have your pide, kebap, lahmacun, çorba, mezes, börek, gözleme, köfte, and a few others, but to be honest, that's about it. Chris and I came up with our list of restaurants and foods we want when we come home. Frighteningly, we had the same ones. In the same order.

1. Indian food. Chicken Korma, then Butter Chicken, both with large amounts of naan and mango lassis.
2. Vitale's Pizza. With pork products.
3. Thai food. Pad Thai
4. Bonefish Grill, Bang Bang Shrimp

And after that, we don't care. Maybe we'll start back with number one again...

8. How expensive alcohol is

A bottle of Baileys is over 50TL, which is about $35. For one, regular-size bottle. Malibu Rum, which you can get for what, $10? Here, double that. I'm not exaggerating. A normal Chilean Sauvignon Blanc is 30Tl, or $20. (In the US, it'd be closer to $12-$15). Now, I'm sure you're thinking, "Well Barb, that's not THAT much more expensive..." but don't forget, the income here is much much less than in the US, so when you make something more expensive in the US, and then consider that a good income is around $1200 a month for a person, NOW you see why my eyebrows raise whenever I see the prices.

Which is why I've begun drinking beer. It's still gross, people, and I can't imagine actually WANTING to drink it, but so much more reasonably priced!

9. How expensive owning a car is

First, getting a car is expensive. Not so much the prices, but the taxes you have to pay on them. For Turks to get a car, the taxes in the price make a simple car about 2x-3x more expensive than in the US. If they want to pay US prices and import it, depending on engine size, they have to pay an import tax of up to 100% (maybe more, I can't remember, do you, Chris?) the value of the car. That isn't even including the shipping costs!

Then, taxes on the car. Holy crap.

Next, inspection is required every 2 years, I believe. On some larger cars, it's required every year. This is also not cheap.

Then we come to fuel. The average price here is around 3TL ($2). Not bad, right? Except that that is for a liter. Multiply that by 4, and you have the price per gallon. Ouch.

And did I mention there's no parking? Parking structures, or even lots, are very new developments here, and haven't made it to most areas. Meaning people park wherever they can, including sidewalks (where they exist). The city has started making curbs very high, planting trees, putting concrete posts or other decorative things on sidewalks to prevent people from parking on them.

And yet, because owning a car is a great status, a majority of people have one. And those who don't are saving for one.

10. Exactly how many people you can fit on a bus

A lot. Sardines have more room than we do sometimes on those buses. Often during rush hour, there is no need to hold on to anything, because we're packing in so tightly that you can't move, even to fall down. I've given away a lot of my personal space, and basically have no problem until I can't breathe because of all the people around me pressing in. Now think of this in summer, 100 degrees out, no AC on the bus, and very few baths taken that morning. I'm so glad we're coming home!!!!

If I've forgotten any, I'll try to add them later. For now, looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Odds and Ends

I love doing postings like this, since I can be unorganized and discombobulated without having to feel bad: it's in the nature of postings with a title like this.

So, first, I guess some reasonably big news: Chris and I have decided that when we come back to the US, it will be a little more permanent than just a visit. I know, I know, it wasn't too long ago that I told you all that we were staying overseas another year, but I like changing my mind. So here is the current plan (also subject to change, of course):
We will come back this summer. I will work part-time while I crank out my master's degree in Library Science. Chris will finance said degree (the usual MO for us). Not sure where we'll live during this time, pretty much wherever Chris gets a job (and that is warm, I have gotten used to Izmir weather!). My program is online, so I can do it anywhere. After getting my degree, and a job in which I have summers off, we will live off my income, bank Chris', and then in the summers, travel on his money for 1.5-2 months. This way, we don't have to deal with bureaucracy stuff like residence permits, work permits, sponsorship, health insurance, banking, buying furniture for apartments, etc. And we'll actually get to travel, instead of living overseas and working all the time (that was Chris this year, not me). So this is our plan. However, if things don't work with this plan, we're keeping our options open as far as living overseas again. Who knows.

Other news:

The weather is FREAKING awesome! Low- to mid-70s and sunny everyday. We have been opening our windows everyday for some fresh sea air, and waiting for buses is actually rather nice now. Getting ON said buses is a little less fun, since they're roasting and stinky with a billion people packed on, but the waiting is nice, and usually we spend more time waiting for the bus than actually on it. This weather also means my students have been canceling in droves. I have two consistent students now, and that's about it. Which actually works well, since I quit my job...This is my last week. Then it'll be on to packing and getting ready to come home. A task that is a lot easier moving TO the USA instead of out of it...

Traveling and Trips:

Yesterday we went out to Yeni Foça to visit our friend Alis. For a place that's only about 40 miles away, it certainly took us long enough to get there! (I'm really really looking forward to having a car again!) First, we needed to get to the Otogar, our nemesis location in Izmir. It's from the Otogar that buses leave for all over the country, anywhere you could possibly want to go. However, it is a little in the middle of nowhere. Only a few buses go there, and not frequently (every half hour), it's not within walking distance of a metro stop, and basically just not fun to get to. I may have whined about it after our first trip to Ephesus, when we paid like 40TL for a cab ride out there...

Anyways, so we wanted to take the 54 bus that would get us there, but since we have to take another bus to even get to the 54 bus stop, we missed it. So before we got to the Otogar, we had to take a bus, the metro, then a taxi, all to get on another bus. Whew! However, once we got there, oh my....

Beautiful, peaceful, calm, serene...the list of positive adjectives could go on and on. You've seen the pictures from Çeşme, right? Well, Yeni Foça looks a lot like that only less developed and far less pretentious. A little more our speed (except maybe the pretentious part :D ) Alis' parents have a place that has a great sea view and a wrap-around veranda, which we sat on while sipping drinks, talking, and relaxing in the sun. Her parents also prepared us a HUGE meal, so good! We had köfte, marinated chicken, baked potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, all on a charcoal grill, AND side dishes as well as dessert afterwards! My stomach hurt for HOURS later because of eating so much! We also went for a quick drive around the bay, and Chris took pictures. Maybe he'll post them.

Getting back was another experience. But 3 hours after we left Alis', we were back home! AND we caught the 54 bus :)

We're hoping to get to Cappadocia before we go, all depends on timing. Cappadocia is another place that's not the easiest to get to. No train going there, you kind of have to go by bus. Another trip to the Otogar in our future? But our list of places that we really want to see before we come home is much longer than the number of weekends that we have left. And many of these sites, Cappadocia included, need longer than a weekend, since it takes at least a day of traveling to get there. So if we go, we'll keep you updated.

I think that's about it, everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all in a couple months!

* hugs

Selçuk and Ephesus

Here are the pictures from our trip to Selçuk and Ephesus.

Selçuk and Ephesus

Ephesus, Take 2

Since our last experience of Ephesus was in 100+ degree weather, several buses and taxis, and hoards of tourists, we thought we'd try something new and go when it was cooler, take the train, and avoid the crowds. Turns out, that was a brilliant experiment! (I will try to keep all of the minute details to myself and just give you an idea of our brilliance. But don't hold your breath.)

Chris had a day off *gasp* on Friday, so we got up, took the bus to the train station, and $6 were on the train for the hour ride to Selçuk, the town closest to Ephesus. Pleasant and cheap transportation, it doesn't get better than that! Our hotel was a 2-3 minute walk from the train station, so that was convenient as well. Right after checking in, we headed for St. John's Basilica and the Castle/Citadel on the hill.

St. John's Basilica was built by Justinian in the 6th century over the tomb believed to be St. John and in place of the more modest church that was already there. The Basilica was in the shape of a cross with the tomb in the center where the cross intersects. It is perched on a hill, just below the castle, and has magnificent views of Selçuk, Ephesus, the temple of Artemis (or what remains of it anyways-more on that later) and Isa Bey Mosque. It is considered a holy site, and thousands have made a pillgrimage there, including a Pope in 1967. We took lots of pictures, you can see those later.

At the bottom of the hill is Isa Bey Mosque. After interrupting (accidently!) two teenagers "talking" behind the mosque, Chris went in to take pictures while I stayed outside because I had forgotten anything to cover my head. Soon this man approached me and asked why didn't I go in? Before I could even respond, he told me that head covering wasn't a problem, shoes weren't a problem, come in! He then introduced himself as the imam of that mosque (!) for 25 years (he's now retired) and said he would give me a tour. So in we went, met up with Chris, who was coming out, and got a special presentation. Later, Mustafa wrote our names in calligraphy and told us to come and see him if we needed anything else while we were there. What an absolutely wonderful man!

So, yours truly was hungry by this point. (I know, what a surprise, right?) We walked for a bit and stumbled upon the restaurant that had been rated #2 on tripadvisor.com for places to eat in Selçuk, Mehmet and Ali Baba Kebab House. One of my students had also recommended it. The owner, Mehmet, was absolutely awesome, and although they had a very limited menu, it was divine! We ordered gözleme, chicken kebaps, and köfte. YUM! Afterwards, we ended up staying and chatting for a couple hours while drinking numerous cups of tea.

We were pretty tired afterwards, so we went back to the hotel and took a nap. We woke up hungry.

Dinner was at Ejder Restaurant, just down the street from our hotel. The owner, also Mehmet, does all of his cooking from fresh ingredients and cooks them over charcoal while we watch. Chris had adana kebap, I had suşi kebap, and we both had mercimek (lentil) soup. That was honestly the best mercimek soup I've had yet! Mehmet said it was "Mommy soup" and I believe him! He introduced me to eating green chilis along with the soup, as well as raw onion, green chilis, and bread together. We had a really great time in a lovely atmosphere, and I think I'm doing pretty good for not going on too much about the food, yes?

The next day we had intended to go to Ephesus, but when we were at breakfast, the owners of the hotel (brothers) told us they were planning a special luncheon for their mother, and would love it if we joined them. Because it was right in the middle of the day, that put a crimp in our Ephesus plans, but because Ephesus would be there tomorrow and this luncheon was a one-time thing, we put it off until Sunday and went to the Ephesus museum instead.

Wow. Some awesome stuff. Look at the pictures.

We also stopped by the market that they have every Saturday. Basically a huge bazaar, spread out and nice and airy. I like the Hatay bazaar, but I must say, this one was awesome. Bigger, more space, fewer people, more stuff. It had it all.

Lunch at Mehmet #1's again. More gözleme. More chatting. I liked him better and better, he's hysterical. When we left, a street vendor had started to do an impromptu demonstration of his vegetable slicer, and was attracting all the neighbors! Mehmet just sat back and grinned.

So, we went back to the hotel to go to this luncheon. When we got there, people were milling around, but no one seemed to be eating, so I figured we must have come late, although that didn't seem to be a problem. Jimmy, one of the brothers, got us a plate of food, sat us down, and then wandered off to talk with his family. We began to realize that we were the only hotel guests there, the only ones eating, and I started to feel a little awkward. But that was NOTHING compared to how I felt when one of the women in the other part of the room suddenly decided it was time to pray. Women covered their heads, and ten minutes later they were still going as Chris and I stared at each other and whispered, "Should we finish the food? Should we leave? What should we do? What is going on?" When it appeared that it wasn't going to end anytime soon, we quietly snuck away. After getting down 1 flight of stairs, I busted up.

Nap time again.

Then dinner time. And it was time for round 2 at Mehmet #2's restaurant. (Hey, he had a huge menu and we weren't finished trying new stuff! Or finished with with that divine soup.) This time, Chris ordered the suşi kebap and I ordered the mixed grill, which consisted of lamb cutlets, beef kebap, chicken kebap, and a small steak. Just as we were settling in and talking, two couples came in. When you're used to being the only ones in the restaurants, it can be surprising to realize that there are more people in the town! They turned out to be from the US and one couple was celebrating their 25th anniversary, so we got to celebrate with them. Mehmet even ordered (in secret, of course) a cake with their names on it, and picked some flowers from his garden out front. We all had a wonderful time and exchanged contact information. (After this trip, I came to the conclusion that Chris and I need business cards.)

Wine on the rooftop terrace, pictures and chatting with Jimmy some more, and then off to bed!

Ephesus is MUCH cooler (literally and figuratively) in the spring before the tourists come than in late July and early August! *Note: the sun is still lethal though- I have a crazy sunburn, and it's only March! This must be a record!* We had time to wander and see things we hadn't the energy or stamina to before, and this time we had enough money to pay the extra entrance fee and see the terrace houses. SO WORTH IT! That was, by far, Chris' favorite part, and probably mine too. While we were there, we met another American who is living in Ankara at the moment. We followed him around for the rest of our time there, bugging him to take pictures for us. Gene was a good sport though, and when we found out we were on the train together on the way back to Izmir, he put on a good face. Maybe he's just a good faker?

Train trip back was more crowded, and then we thought we were in the right place for our return bus (right across the street from where it dropped us off, yeah?) but apparently it takes a different route back, so we ended up taking a cab. Not the best ending, but a great trip. And now that we know Selçuk is only an hour away by train and we know people there, I have a feeling that we will be going down there for the weekend more frequently.

So, my post is only short story length, not novel. Progress is good.

Chris, if I've forgotten anything, feel free to add it in. But in your own post, this one needs to stay the length that it is, otherwise it'll be novel length as usual :)

Istanbul Pictures

Thought I'd surprise everyone by actually posting the pictures the same day that Barb blogged about the trip. Don't get used to it.

I feel like we should start taking pictures of the food we eat, though, to better match Barb's exposition.

Istanbul March 2010

Istanbul, Round II

It's been awhile since we were in Istanbul. About nine months, actually. So Chris and I decided it was definitely time to go back and see all the places we missed in Round I. My boss, who is desperately trying to convince us to move to Istanbul and stay another year in Turkey, offered to pay for the airfare up there if I would come into the office and work part of the day on Saturday, March 6. Hmm, let me think about th...uh, YES?! So after Chris finished with work on Friday, we headed to the airport.

I hate airports and I hate flying. Let's get that out of the way first. Now, let me add that I also hate flight delays, particularly when I'm hungry (I hate everything and everybody when I'm hungry though, so take that into consideration). You get the idea of our experience there, although I must add that when we checked in, they were kind enough to put us in the emergency row exit so Chris could actually sit in the seat like a normal person.

We got to Istanbul and took a taxi to a shopping center where we were supposed to meet my boss. When we got there, she had a surprise for us- Mongolian Barbeque!!! Omg, can it be?! ETHNIC FOOD?! What a concept! For those of you not familiar with Mongolian BBQ, you go up to a buffet with raw food (meat, veggies, etc) and pile as much as you can get into a bowl. I usually choose seafood and chicken, while Chris usually heads for the beef. At the end of the buffet, you also get noodles, then add spices and sauces. Then you take your bowl of goodies to the grill, which is a huge (HUGE) circular grill and they grill it for you. Absolutely divine, and no two things ever taste the same. This restaurant was even better than usual, since they had an employee who, after looking at what choices you had made as far as meat and vegetables, would then suggest sauces and spices to accompany it. MUCH better than I could have ever done (who thought oyster sauce was so good?!). So basically the best food I've tasted in months. Add to that a glass of red wine that actually tasted like wine (was that OAK I taste?) and Yeşim knows how to convince ME to move to Istanbul...

The next morning, Chris woke up ungodly early with me (what a trooper, and on one of his two days to sleep in too!) and we headed to the Istanbul Arlin office. Wow. They have multiple teachers, many classrooms....I'm impressed! I discussed TOEFL strategies with the teachers there and got new ideas. I also got to see Jaime, my friend who moved to Istanbul a few weeks ago. We left the office a little after 2PM and headed to Sultanhamet, the old part of Istanbul and also where Jaime lives. Chris and I were, surprise surprise, super tired, so when we checked into our hotel (The Agora Guesthouse, absolutely DIVINE!), we took a nap, agreeing that we'd meet Jaime for dinner later.

Dinner was... wait for it .... INDIAN FOOD!!! Our waiter was a little taken aback, I think, when we just kept ordering more and more food. We had lamb samosas to start, along with mango lassis, then Chris had chicken korma, I had butter chicken, and Jaime had a vegetarian dish with white beans in a red sauce that I couldn't pronounce, let alone write!

Let me tell you about each dish. Chris' was the most memorable, at least for me. Although the chicken was on the bone, which made eating it a little bit of a pain, the sauce is what was amazing. First, let me just say that Turks don't do sauce. Pizza comes with about one tablespoon of sauce on it. Sandwiches are usually rather dry unless you add your own condiments. Pasta is served with 1/4 cup of sauce. Just not really done here. Which is why the creamy, nutty flavored sauce with cinnamon tasted SO good with the naan we ordered. And the rice. By far the best chicken korma I've ever eaten (Sorry, Bombay Cuisine)! My butter chicken was also good, and thankfully the chicken was off the bone, so I didn't have to deal with that. My sauce was the typical butter chicken sauce, with lots of spices and flavorings. In other words, delightful. Jaime's entree was good as well, but I was so busy stuffing my face with Chris' that I didn't taste much of hers. However, I'm always amazed at how good Indian chefs can make vegetables and beans.

After taking almost 3 hours at the restaurant, there really wasn't much time to do anything else, so we headed back. On the way back, however, I made room for some roasted chestnuts, which are sold by street vendors everywhere. I hadn't tried them before, but omg, I am making up for lost time now! The shells flake off easily, and the nuts inside are soft, sweet and very good while they're still warm from the pan. I could eat those all day, seriously.

The next day, after a huge breakfast on the rooftop terrace, we went to Topkapı Palace. Chris took some pictures, although some of the coolest things we saw you couldn't take pictures of. For example, we saw sultan's clothing, dating from the 16th century onwards. We also saw several thrones, weapons, religious relics (John the Baptist's hand- gross) and an 80+ carat diamond!!!! (I want one.) The palace also had several courtyards and stunning views. Chris took pictures, he'll put them up one of these days. :)

Next, we went to the underground cistern. It didn't take long for us to walk through, probably only 20-25 minutes. But also probably one of my favorite things. Maybe because there were fewer tourists jostling me and pushing me along? But basically it's this huge underground cavern held up by 336 pillars, built by Justinius in the 6th century and forgotten until the 18th century, when it was restored. Also, there are two Medusa heads holding up pillars in the back corner. Pretty cool, esp considering their size, location, and position (one is upside down, the other turned sideways). Chris has pictures of this too, and you'll see why I liked it.

But, let's talk about our next meal. We were (predictably) starving by the time we were finished with the cistern, so we met up with Jaime and headed to Taksim (in the modern part of Istanbul) for Chinese. Ahhhh, Chinese. We orderd spring rolls and dumplings for appetizers. Those were the biggest spring rolls I'd ever seen! Chris ordered General Tso's chicken, I had crispy spicy ginger chicken and Jaime had...noodles. Made us look bad. But the food....I don't think any of you can understand how good it tasted unless you've been deprived for months. Think of how good that first slice of pumpkin pie tastes on Thanksgiving when you haven't had it since last Thanksgiving. Or your Mom's cooking if you haven't been home in awhile. It's a little like that.

Afterwards, we waddled out, and Jaime informed us that just 5 minutes away was a place that did a Bailey's-soaked brownie. Well, really, who can turn down brownies, let alone ones with Baileys?! So off we went. Crowded restaurant, rude waiters, but oh, that was a gorgeous brownie.

It was time to get back, pick up our luggage, and get to the airport. The flight back was uneventful (and on time!) although they weren't quite so considerate with the seats and Chris ended up contorting himself to wedge his knees in. Good thing it's only a 45 minute flight... And we'll keep that short flight time in mind. I think I'm getting a craving for Pad Thai...

African Encounter

I thought for once that I'd write something on the blog and give Barb a break.

Anyway, we've now seen the sands of North Africa. We didn't visit Africa, however. It visited us.

I got out of work on Monday and noticed that the cars all had mud sprinkled on them. It had been raining, and I figured a bus had driven by and gone through a mud puddle or something. Then I noticed that ALL the cars were covered with mud. Then I noticed that it was still sprinkling rain, and that my coat was flecked with mud, too.

Apparently on a fairly frequent basis, there are big sand storms in North Africa and the Middle East and the clouds of sand make their way around the entire Mediterranean. So when it rains, the sand comes down in the raindrops. It literally rains mud. You learn something new every day.

Long, long overdue videos

So, remember when Barb wrote about our Pamukkale trip and said there were videos from the trip? No? You don't? That might be because it was in November. Sorry about that. But I have spliced the videos together, compressed them, and put them online, and now I am finally getting around to linking to them in the blog. So here you go. There are three, one from each of the ancient sites we visited in November: Aphrodisias, Pamukkale/Hierapolis, and Laodicea. Enjoy!

From Videos

From Videos

From Videos

Velvet Castle Pictures

Here are the promised pictures from our trip to the Velvet Castle (Kadifekale):

Velvet Castle

Things That Make Us Giggle Every Time

A. Thunderstorms and car alarms:

So we had a thunderstorm Thursday night, a really loud one. Each time there was a clap of thunder, two car alarms would go off, pretty much only until the thunderclap was finished, then they'd quiet down. As soon as we got another clap, the alarms would go off again. It could have been annoying, but I think we were so overtired that it was just funny.

B. "Fashion," especially women's fashion:

I will try to get pictures to back up my statements/accusations on here. But it won't be easy because usually by the time I've finished gawking and asking Chris, "Did you SEE that?!" the object of my incredulous staring has disappeared. I will describe some recent sitings:

1) Chris saw this and wants to offer all of you ladies back home some advice- animal print, especially leopard, does NOT work on stockings! Instead of looking sexy, you simply appear to have a skin disease.

2) Never mix animal prints or mix colors of the same animal print. Please. Tiger stripes on a shirt do not go with giraffe patches on the jacket and leopard spots on the purse, nor do black and white tiger striped pants go with brown and gold tiger stripes on the shirt.

3) Unless you're a bird, you should not wear feathered headbands with feathers that stick up like a Native American headdress.

4) Unless you don't plan on sitting down for the entire night, sequined pants don't really make much sense. But they are fun to laugh at, so continue wearing them for people like me.

5) If you're over 25, you shouldn't have pink, purple, green, or blue streaks in your hair. And if you are over 25 and wearing a business suit while simultaneously sporting those streaks, don't be surprised when you hear snickers in your wake.

6) Actually, if you're over 25, you shouldn't wear backless shirts (75 year old with leather for skin, I'm talking to you!), skinny jeans, pigtails, or micro-mini skirts outside of clubs (and maybe not even then...)

7) If you dye your hair bleach blond from dark brown or black, PLEASE, PLEASE, continue to dye your roots!! You already look silly enough with that shade of hair, having 6 inches of roots showing isn't helping your image. Especially if those roots are salt and pepper colored.

8) Easy on the pink blusher...

9) Guys, easy on the hair gel. A little goes a long way.

10) And for heaven's sake, please leave the man-purses at home! Chris is pestering me to let HIM get one! (He's just kidding...I think.)

C. Alcohol Selection

"If you want beer, you may have Efes. I hope you like Efes, because it is the default beer in Turkey. If you're lucky we may have some Tuborg. Enjoy your beer.

Oh, you want wine! Well, would you like red or white? What do you mean, what kind of red? There is red wine. You know, kırmızı şarap? Well, if you want SELECTION, go to a store!"

"Hello, welcome! What can I get you? Wine you say? Well, I have a small selection. Only the supermarkets have bigger selections and the ones close to you close at 9 PM. I have 3 varieties, all for 6TL (that's about $4) or under! Which can I get you? OF COURSE it is undrinkably bad! It's 6TL !!!! What do you expect?!"

D. Asking a question and expecting a useful response:

This used to annoy us. Now we just don't ask questions, or, if we can't avoid it, we ask as many people as possible and see if there are ANY answers that are the same. We'll go with that answer. You see, it's an embarassment to admit that they don't know something, so even if they don't have a clue, they will make something up as an answer. This is problematic when we're asking for directions. One person says, "Yes, go down this street 5 min," while another person says, "No, you are going the wrong way," while still another says that our destination is a 15 min walk in a third direction. That is assuming, of course, that we can understand them.

Asking yes/no questions has it's own issue: people never just say yes or no. They launch into a whole story, which I can't understand, and when I explain that I don't understand because my Turkish is non-existent (literally, Turkçem yok = my Turkish doesn't exist), they seem confused as to how they are supposed to communicate with me if they can't tell a story. Just "evet" or "hayır" will do, sir.

Bus drivers have their own language. Even Turks have no idea how to communicate or understand bus drivers.

E. "Five minutes"

This means anywhere from two minutes (not often) to 25+ (frequently). Literally. Other numbers are a little more accurate, but if an Izmir Turk tells you "five minutes," plan on waiting for awhile. Pull up a chair, order a tea, and relax.

I'm sure I'll come up with more. Hopefully this will just be Part I of many such posts.

Ahhh, fresh air

So we made it out of the apartment last Sunday. Finally. You know how even when the weather turns awesome, it's so easy to comment on how awesome it is while you sit inside your apartment/house/office? Well, that has been us for the last week. So we decided we'd visit Kadifekale, or the Velvet Castle. We can see it from our apartment (I think most of Izmir can see it, since it's on a mountain) and have been thinking since July that we should see it. The most interesting things there are (a) the walls, which were constructed in Hellenistic times, (b) the views of Izmir and (c)...well, actually, I think it's just a and b.

It was fun, although I have kind of gotten used to fitting in and not being noticed so much in downtown Izmir, and apparently the kids there can pick out tourists from a mile away, because we were hassled every step of our way. It's difficult because you don't know if the kids just want to practice their English, are asking for money, are trying to sell you stuff, or are trying to pick your pockets. And I hate being mean or rude to anyone, so I think that I encourage them by acknowledging them. Sorry, Chris.

Ooooh, funny (and kind of gross) story of our trip there. Pretty easy trip, just 2 buses. But anyways, we're on the second bus and Chris had gotten up to give his seat to a really sweet old man who had been shopping for fruits and vegetables at the bazaar. Suddenly, I feel something crawling up my calf. I kept thinking (hoping!) that it was just my jeans brushing against my legs as the bus went over bumps, but no. The seats are really crowded, so I couldn't move much, but I manage to pinch my jeans between my fingers, and something totally smushed, then oozed. EEEEEEEEE! I seriously had to consciously force myself not to start shrieking, since I didn't want to have everyone look at me. But OMG, gross!!!! I kept my feet off the floor for the rest of the trip. Worse yet, when I got off the bus (on wobbly legs b/c I had had them lifted up for 10 minutes) and rolled up my pant leg, there was no sign of the bug! Ewww, ewww, ewwww.

Ok, now that your skin is crawling, let's get back to the castle. Just a few more random details, then I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Oh wait, you all will have to nag Chris to get pictures put up. So, the castle was constructed during the Hellenistic period, the cistern system (way cool) was constructed during the Roman era and then renovated during the Byzantine period, and there are also ruins of a Byzantine chapel. The most exciting and impressive part was the view though, as you will see.

Otherwise, things are going well, although work is picking up for both of us and we haven't had much time to travel. Work and the rain. At least the temperature is warmer, and we don't have bedbugs anymore *knocking on wood* so life is looking up. We'll be going to Istanbul for the first weekend in March, and hopefully more pictures and blogging will follow.

As usual, we miss you all! Keep in touch!

Brrrrr!

You know you're from Michigan when your clothes freeze on the clothesline.

Oh wait, that can be in Turkey too. Yes, it's THAT cold here. Not quite what I signed up for. I guess we have to pay for our awesome weather in December and the first half of January though, don't we. Thankfully, Chris bought a space heater for the bedroom, so we're not freezing at night anymore. Last night when he went in to plug it in, the thermometer said it was 57 degrees in there! And that was only in the evening! So yeah, I'm very happy to get another source of heat. Hate to think about the electricity bill, but love to be warm!

On the bug front, things are progressing. We actually saw one so we know for sure that's what we're dealing with. We also haven't seen much evidence of migration outside the bedroom, which makes my life much easier. (I was dreading taking down ALL the drapes and washing them every 3rd day, especially since you all know how close together the buildings are here. And curtains are good insulation.) We've been spraying Raid for all we're worth and *knocking on wood* have only gotten a few new bites. YAY!!! Doing laundry is really getting old though.

On the work front (I guess I'm covering our lives in this post, sorry if it's boring), Chris is beginning his new seven-week module today. He has level C, which is pre-intermediate. Basically the level of students he just finished up with. He is teaching skills, which means instead of planning 20 hours of lessons and teaching them once to the same class, he will plan 6 hours of lessons and teach them to three classes. So that should make his life a lot easier. That is our hope anyways. My students are on their two week semester break, so I'm basically out of a job for 2 weeks. I have a whopping 4.5 hours scheduled for this week. Not sure if I can handle that heavy of a workload. I may have to speak to my boss about it... :) Things will change a bit for me after the break though. First, I will be on contract, so there will be steady income each week. (Then all the slacker students who don't show up don't cost me money!) I will also be working for ten hours per week in a school, teaching the teachers there how to teach TOEFL. (Say that five times really fast.) So that will be a new challenge, since I've only been teaching TOEFL for six months. Ah well, fake it til I make it. Or just fake it and forget about making it.

I received the sad news from one of my very good friends that she is deserting me for Istanbul. Although I am incredibly happy for her ( I mean, what kind of crap friend would I be if I wasn't?!), I also am VERY sad to see her go, and a little jealous of all the delicious food she gets to eat there. Istanbul has such exotic dishes as Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Mexican. And you KNOW she will call to rub it in a little. (I wouldn't be friends with someone who wouldn't do such a thing, since it would make me look bad when I did it.) So she will be moving next month or in March, and I think all the friends here will miss her. We love you, Jaime! And keep blogging so I can steal your posts again.

Well, I hear my washer spinning out. If I want our blanket for tonight, as well as sheets and pillows, I should probably go take care of that. Hope you all are doing well and staying warm! We miss you and July can't come soon enough (for several reasons)!