I Haven't Forgotten You! Promise!

Alright here's the deal.  I finally have a normal keyboard because one of our group members let me borrow hers after she checked facebook, email, etc.  Unfortunately, this is at an internet cafe where I did not at all expect to be able to blog.  Ergo, I don't have my cute little journal with my notes about what we've done.  It seems I will have to update all of it when I get home...it seems this always happens.  On the bright side, at least I have grammar again.  I promise it won't last. 

Love to you all from Greece.

Day 2

screw grammar and capitalization. it takes too long!

i didnt sleep much last night because istanbul is crazy loud all night long. eventually the street noises became bearable, but it took a while.

we went back to Sultanahmet square (with our guide this time) and visited Ayasofya (hagia sophia chuch turned into a mosque then restored into some weird combination therein).  the parts of of that that werent damaged were gorgeous. the christian mosaics that had been uncovered underneath the white wash and ugly paint added by the muslims were beatiful...and shiney. we also went to the blue mosque (barely before closing time) and after taking off my shoes to enter, i quickly threw on a hat so i would have to wrap a nasty used scarf around my luscious golden locks.  inside the mosque was beautiful. the blue tiles used to decorate most of the interior were fascinating in the way the patterns continued unscathed from piece to piece.

oh yeah and we went to the hippodrome (horse race track) but unfortunately, its burried under 3 metres of dirt.  so sad....? 

next came the grand bazaar. it is unfathomably large, and we only went to a tiny section. i found myself a cool bag though...haggling :)  85 LIRA!!!

after ahmet stopped for directions, he walked us to the spice bazaar, which is much smaller and more easily managed than the grand bazaar.  it was fragrant, and no mom, dont worry, we didnt get you any of the spices that were setting out open on shelves in little piles for all the passersby to breathe on. youre welcome. dad did have a funny conversation with a turkish vendor who told dad that he looked like Joe biden...

and after dinner we went to the turkish baths. i dont feel comfortable discussing what went on behind those walls. ask me later. all i know is im scarred formlife, but at least im nicely exfoliated. yeah, so after some refrshing fresh orange juice we headed back to the hotel for another night of istanbul hum-drum. i  liked the noise too.

the end. i love you.

Day 1

Oh shoot me in the face because this is the second time I'm typing this, and I could throw things right now (Mom, you would be so proud)!

Ok so we arrived in Istanbul around 11am Monday and met our guide Ahemt at the airport.  Contrary to what we were told, there were actually two groups joining us: the Mississippians we were prepared for, the Canadians we were not.  Save a few, most of those from the frozen tundra are rude and constantly tardy. Anyway, after we arrived, Ahmet escorted us to our hotel--the Otel Kaya--and told us to go to Topkapi Palace for the rest of the day as he had to return to the airport to greet the other groups with his friendy Turkish smile. Meanwhile, we trapsed about downtown Istanbul almost as soon as we got here--completely unguided by anyone except Matty J.  It was an adventure, and it was awesome.  Oh and we went to the Basilica Sistern, too. It's basically a huge undergound water temple right underneath Sulatahmet Square (the main tourist square where the Hippodrome and Blue Mosque are located). We were only told to be back by 7 :)

Moving along, we took the tram (cable car?) back to le hotel for dinner (after a power nap--I basically collapsed for 1.5 hours). After all that, I didnt sleep that night for all the honking and car noises of streetside Istanbul, all of which NEVER cease. And the locals like to honk quite a lot. The end.

Convenience

I'm disappointed to discover that I might not be taking a laptop with me on this trip. How inconvenient, I say, but my dad assures me that the MacBook "doesn't have enough memory space left for our pictures." That's not the point, Dad. Now I have to type this whole blog on an iPad. Ah yes, a challenge indeed, but alas! I accept. Please bear with me as I struggle through erroneous typing on this unfortunately mobile device.

Convenience. Please. I laugh at thee. And now my thumbs are tired.

And now here's a picture of the Hagia Sophia. Soon.

Approximately 46 Hours

Wow!  I can't believe school is done and summer is here.  Where has my time gone?  I've no idea, but nonetheless I am quite grateful my Junior year is done.  I find myself, yet again, heading to the Mother Continent:  Europe.

This time, there will be no English speakers, no kindly Brits or Irishmen, and obviously lots of exotic cuisine.  I am already mentally preparing myself for dissatisfying breakfasts and long bus/boat rides.  As I understand it, this trip will involve many cruise segments...my hope is that the Ulysses incident from the Irish ferry will not be repeated, but alas, I had better pack dramamine for the worst case scenario.

I'm excited about this trip and have great hopes for what's ahead.  I may even become a Greek rioter in Athens--only time will tell.

In the meantime, I need to pack plus I've got tennis practice in 28 minutes.  Au revoir!