Come to Istanbul...

...adventure lies around every corner.

Visitors and Snow Days

Coming back from winter break was good.  It's always nice to take a fresh start.  Unfortunately, it is more than difficult when the family matriarch passes away right at the beginning of the first day back.  I thought about possibly taking the day off but figured that there was not anything I could do from here and what good would bumming around the apartment do me?  I stuck it out.  A friend brought brownies and all was basically well.  School has been going well and we just finished up the first semester.  It is a very crazy time as teachers rush to complete gradebooks and comments and students flock to find out how they can raise their grades that one or two (or twelve in some cases) percent to get to that next grade level/pass.

Happy New Year!

I was thinking about my previous New Year's celebrations.  Back home they usually consisted of Swedish Meatballs and Guy Lombardo and running down streets shouting, "walla! walla! walla!"  I had a nice one backpacking in South Africa a few years ago.  The rest have been low key (fireworks on a rooftop in KL) to downright sad (sitting in my home alone on the hillside (Hey, I was traveling the next day and everyone else had already left Mussoorie.)).  This year proved to be a little different.  Things started off nicely with an Ugly Sweater Party.  Trust me, in Turkey they're not that hard to find.  

We promptly headed down to the waterfront to scope out places to hang out and party.  Although it was raining we were fine due to it being unseasonably warm.  After the countdown at midnight we continued to dance in the rain and enjoy ourselves.  The party didn't stop for several more hours, a few rounds of Balderdash and much more dancing.

 

The way to wear an ugly sweater (or anything really) is to own it.  This guy's got it.

Some sweaters were uglier than others.  We still had a good time.

Party by the bridge awaiting fireworks.

Grapes for each of the twelve strikes of the clock.  It's a Spanish tradition.  She's Irish.  We got them from Colombians.

Rockin' in 2012.  Let the good times roll!

Froehliche Weihnachten

Wien was a great trip.  The city is beautiful and it was certainly great to spend Christmas in a place where most of the population celebrates.  There's lots of photos after the jump (somewhere around 150).  Just saying.

Click on for the pics.  That's what you really came here for anyway.

This is where I live

Friends from India arrived yesterday for a vacation/honeymoon/stop on the way to the States.  I met up with them today for a cold boat ride up the Bosphorus.  Here's a good view of the city from the water.  Maybe this break I'll take some time to visit other areas and show you what they look like too.

 

 

 

That's the mosque in my title picture.  It's being redone at the moment.  Keep heading up this direction and you'll eventually hit my place.

Pfizer.  There's lots of Viagra on display in the pharmacies here.

A favourite nook for breakfast.

 

Hagia Sophia at night.

Blue Mosque at night.

'Tis the season

For Gram

When I came home this evening I did my usual thing of putting up my scarf and hat and realised it reminded me of something.  Well... more of someone.  A bunch of hats hanging up just inside the doorway when you walk in, anyone?

 

:)8