December 2013 – robinchartier

NYE

Upon our return to Istanbul, my computer power cord decided it was time to take its own vacation and went to permanent sleep. At least I’m only 2 days away from being able to recharge. Josh and I have fraternal twin computers — the same in almost all respects except the charging ports are different shapes. Of course. That means no blog posts except for what I can tap out on my phone.

She’s wearing her new handwoven scarf/dish towel on her head “like a real human.” I don’t know where she gets this stuff from.

We had a Christmas miracle. One child had the iPad on the airplane and put it away in their backpack before landing. The backpack pocket wasn’t zipped and the iPad must have slipped out onto the airplane floor under their seat when they got up to leave. No more iPad. (Thus the reason they are all huddled around their only remaining electronic device).

Calls to the airports, airline and lost and found turned up empty and we told the kids they could pray it would be found and turned in, but that would be an actual miracle. Well, they got one. The next morning thr airline called Josh to say they had it and we could come pick it up. Amazing.

I guess the rest will have to wait until we get home and I have computer power again. Till then, happy new year!

PS: No exciting New Year’s Eve plans for us. We’ll have dinner in a few minutes, maybe get some coffee and hole up in our warm hotel room for the rest of the evening. Not much different than a normal evening at home, except tonight I have a new huge Turkish towel that is as thick as a blanket and I’ve been wrapping it around me like a cape … it’s a Rockin’ New Year’s Eve for sure!

Travel woes (Ephesus/Istanbul)

People are out to get me today. We were headed back to Istanbul from Ephesus this evening and were supposed to get a transfer from our hotel to the airport. That usually means a prearranged car picks you up from your hotel and drives you and your luggage to the airport. Easy. Instead we get picked up, taken to a tour company office where they said to wait for a driver. Driver took us to join a tour at a carpet shop where we had to change busses, move all our luggage, and then got the slow scenic roundabout route to the airport. Awesome.

Whoppers cost $5 each in the airport, marginally better than the $3.50 they were charging for the tiny cheeseburgers at McDonald’s. The security people threw out my bottled water (I guess Turkey is more Western than Middle Eastern after all). On the shuttle bus on the way to the plane a lady standing above me coughed down at me and I could feel her breath and germs entering all my orifices. I’m probably going to wake up with whatever she has 3 days from now.

The plane ride was bumpy, though it probably really wasn’t, but when my nerves are shot every little movement in the air feels like the plane is going down. I was knitting on the flight to relax and the flight attendant took my needles away because they are “forbidden” and “dangerous, even though I’ve knit on every flight this trip and no one has said anything about it. They promised to give them back when we land. I guess no one cares if I stab someone in baggage claim?

To top it off, some idiot with an iPad was letting their kid play a game that lets out a loud whistle every 20 seconds and it was driving me crazy. I felt like stabbing them with a pencil or a ball point pen — my only remaining weapons. Then I found out it’s not an inconsiderate parent, but a pet owner. Someone brought a real live bird on board that has been tweeting his heart out the entire flight. Somebody please stab me now.

Flying into Istanbul is a bit stressful for nervous flyers because you circle over the water a bunch and in the dark there is nothing to see but blackness below, but you keep getting lower and lower with nowhere to land . . . and at the last minute the lights appear and you touch down. Happy to leave this bit behind me. Off to retrieve my knitting needles and I think there’s a bird that needs stuffing.

Postscript: All is well in Istanbul. Our hotel here feels like home and Josh and I tucked the kids in bed and then went out walking, window shopping, and coffee drinking. A few more days of bliss before we head home.

storming the castle

One of the things we didn’t get to do when we traveled through Turkey two years ago was a visit to the Black Sea region. Since this trip up the Bosphorus offered a site that overlooked the Black Sea, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

After a climb straight up through the center of town, there were a million more steps to get to the top where the castle was.

The castle tower — if only we could have climbed around inside.

The two points of the shore marks the beginning of the Black Sea.

More doggie friends

And kitty friends. This cat loved Camille until she tried to pick him up and then he bit her. A little Turkish rabies as a souvenir?

The castle sits on a large green plain with shrubs and trees and the boys all ran, had acorn wars, and discovered a million hiding places for the next hour.

And they found this vertical embankment and decided to see if they could climb it. It reminded me of the beginning of the Princess Bride when they climb the cliffs.

He made it to the top — and then ran down to try it again.

After working up an appetite, we headed back to the coast to have lunch on the water. The best calamari, mussels, and fish we’ve ever had.

Watching the boats pull in the catch of the day

This cat kept stalking Carter’s fish

A real live (dead) shark

Turkish pottery is incredibly detailed and beautiful. The intricate hand painting amazes me.

I couldn’t buy anything because we have too much traveling still to do. Maybe when we come back to Istanbul at the end of our trip.

It’s never too cold for ice cream

Or cat sex apparently.

We walked by this pair as we were boarding the ship to return to Istanbul and Carter and Caleb started yelling, “He’s killing him!” thinking they were witnessing a cat fight. It was hard to stop laughing long enough to explain that that violence is actually how kittens are made.

Feeding the seagulls the last of the simit.

Warming up with some tea. The tea is cheap and good — we’ve drank it all over Turkey this trip.

The sunset cruise home

back to shore — Galata Bridge

If you ever make it to Istanbul, this is a must-do day. The kids already are asking to do it again at the end of our stay.

Dividing east from west

After a few days with a lot of walking, we scheduled a day of riding. A boat trip up the Bosphorus — the straight of water that divides Europe from Asia and runs into the Black Sea.

It can be done by private tour, but the least expensive way is via public ferry. 25 TL each ($13), and the youngest two were free. That got us a 90 minute cruise up, a 3 hour stopover for lunch and exploring, and 90 minutes back.

It turns out that we were in star-studded company on this trip. See that guy in the background?

So I know this guy is from a movie or TV and I thought it was Life of Pi, but he’s not in the cast pictures on IMDB. Where is he from?? How many famous Indian actors do I know? It’s driving me crazy. (No, I didn’t ask him. I’m too cool for that. Thank goodness I didn’t say, “I loved you in Life of Pi!”)

GLEE!!! He’s the principal from GLEE! All credit to Josh who kept googling after I gave up (and he’s Pakistani, not Indian).

Departing the European shore

And they’re already hungry — eating the Simits (Turkish bagel/pretzel) that we bought to feed the birds.

There were thousands of jellyfish floating in the water — they were so thick they looked like whitecaps on the waves.

The first of two bridges that spans the continents — we sailed under it and on up toward the Black Sea.

Another audio guide. This one senses where the ferry is on the water and automatically tells about the structures that are visible on both sides of the waterway.

This fortress was built in only 4 months to fend of an attack from Constantinople

Aside from the constant asking for food and spilling of food and fighting over food it was a relaxing and beautiful ride. I drank a little tea, sat next to a heater and knit a bit and watched Europe and Asia glide by.

Sweet brother sharing his tea

More food. A guy was walking around selling yogurt and it comes with a powdered sugar packet that you mix into it.

Baby birds lining up for a bite

Running away from the Turkish man who picked her up and tried to have her sit in his lap. She wasn’t having it.

Our final stop at the top of the Bosphorous — right at the entrance to the Black Sea.

I love the dogs in Turkey — this one met us at the pier and followed us all the way up on our hike to the castle. The ferry docks there daily and the dogs seemed to know the routine and led the way up the hill.

halfway up!

We had perfect weather for hiking. Cool, but sunny. Not windy. I wasn’t so sure about being stuck on a boat for a “6 hour tour,” but it was a million times more magical than I could have imagined.

I’m going to go ahead and post this while I still have a working internet connection. The castle photos will have to wait for part 2.

Cappadocia, day 1

On our way from Istanbul to Cappadocia, the kids started shrieking that they could see snow from the airplane window. At first, they were just seeing snowcapped mountains peeking through the thick clouds, but as we got closer and the skies cleared there was a lot of snow on the ground.

Snow!!

The thrill and the chill

I warned them that we still had an hour to drive to our destination and that there might not be snow on the ground when we arrived, but we were all hoping for this:

Beautiful, snowy fairy chimneys — these rocky points are all natural land formations. It’s a soft stone that people hollowed out and turned into houses (way, way back when).

Our hotel room is a hollowed out cave (the bedroom) attached to a stone living room. In her exploring, Camille immediately found the Turkish Delight that was left as a welcome gift, and promptly devoured it.

Turkey is an animal lover’s paradise. Local dogs wander up and down the street and are completely friendly and snuggly. This puppy adopted our family and if there were an easy way to bring him home, I would. The kids even named him Rudolph.

This cat belongs to the hotel. She lets Bob pick her up and hug her every time he sees her.

View from the boys’ room

Rudolph camped out on our doorstep and Caleb was afraid it was too cold so he zipped his sweatshirt around him. The dog snuggled in and went back to sleep.

It’s a very Merry Christmas!