Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

view of the main street in our neighborhood in Istanbul

Merhaba biddies!

Cats roam free - and make good
companions for old men..

my future halloween costume

2 flights, too much bad airplane food, a tram ride, 4 hour layover, and only one crying baby later, I have FINALLY arrived in Istanbul. After a tumultuous bus ride, i made it to our Hotel Noah's Ark, a "modern" hotel conveniently located right by the Aya Sofia, that seems to still be in the midst of construction in some places ... but the owners were very nice and even managed to lug my two completely appropriately sized duffle bags up to my room.  (of course, i overpacked and immediately realized that I would be THAT girl). but alas, thanks to Mary, i will be able to provide medical care - maybe just the supplies - to the entire town of Alanya for the semester. Istanbul is so massive and different from any other place I've been. Right after dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we got a quick orientation and then were off roaming the streets. Two of the girls on my trip, Anahi and Sydney, decided to walk down towards the water. You are also able to find anything and everything you would ever need on the Turkish streets - phones, shoes, hair products, and more unusual things such as new faucets for the kitchen sink, or my favorite, an Astronaut suit.   I will be going back to that vendor and purchasing it as my halloween costume. I've already found husbands; while we walked down the streets, Sydney was identified as Lady Gaga, and then later, we were asked if we were Charlie's Angels, and if we needed a replacement for Charlie. (bonus points for creativity). The best part of the excursion was getting to walk  the bridge from Europe to Asia (letting me use my favorite term "eurasia"). After a dinner of Turkish pizza, called pid'e (?), and a cup of chai later, we were finally let free of obligations; codeword: you can finally go back to the hotel and pass out because you've been up for 24+ hours...

güle güle!