Stick a fork in this Turkey (trip)...

...because it's (almost) done! OK I know that title was a stretch, but I couldn't help myself.

Sorry for the bigtime lag in posts/pictures, but with the long days of working and actually trying to get out there and enjoy Istanbul, I began to fatigue myself. But don't worry, here's an end-of-my-trip super surprise: a post AND pictures! HIGH FIVE!

We'll start with Tuesday night's Bosphorus cruise. After a looong buuuusy day of working, we hopped on a bus that took us straight to the Bosphorus River, where a luxurious boat was waiting for us (us being most of the conference folk). It was just before sunset and the weather and water were picture-perfect. And I can say that because I have pictures to prove it!

See? Look at that water! If it doesn't make you want to swim, you are crazy.

Upon our arrival, we had snacks and bottomless beer, wine, and Raki to drink!

Everybody on the boat, starting up the eating and drinking! Later on in the night, that baldish older man in the yellowish shirt was teaching me to dance Turkish...yes, it was that kind of a night!


Sunset over the Bosphorous. This was even more heavenly in person. Kind of reminds me of the Bay Area in this picture.

After cruising along for a while, we went inside to a meal of Turkish mezes: cheese, dolmas, tomatoes, cucumber, some stuff I don't know the name of, and MELON! Honeydew melon. You're probably thinking, "Why did she put melon in caps? It's not like it's some exotic fruit only found in Turkey." Think again, people. You have not had melon until you've had the extreme deliciousness that is honeydew melon in Turkey. It is SO sweet and delicate and flavorful. It literally blew my mind. I thought for sure it must be a fluke, so the next day at breakfast I saw some at the hotel breakfast buffet and gave it a try. HEAVEN IN FRUIT FORM. I will never look at American honeydew the same. But I digress....our next course was a choice of "mixed grill" (aka chicken, meatball, steak, or some combination thereof) or fish. I chose fish, because a few days prior to this I had tried Turkish meatballs and was NOT a fan (they taste the way sweat smells is the only way I can describe them). I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it, but they gave me my own entire whole fish. Like with a head and tail and bones. Just sitting there on my plate. BUT, I'm happy to report that it was highly delicious (they were BBQing the fishes on a big BBQ outside on the back of the boat! Yum!).

After the food, there was music and dancing on the top deck. The event coordinator with the hotel, a Turkish woman named Arzu, made us all dance, so it was pretty fun (and funny).

The cruise was just what I needed: relaxing, refreshing, and made me want to pinch myself because I could not believe I was cruising along the river in Turkey. It was stunning.

The rest of the week went something like this: work ALL day, go to dinner. Get up early, work ALL day, go to dinner. So nothing really super exciting to report from that. I'll leave you with some random pics of sightseeing from earlier in the week:

Me sweating in front of Hagia Sophia (it was sooo hot this day...all I have to say is thank you, SPF 45!)


Here I am trying the water pipe (apple flavor!)...I'm giving it a pretty skeptical eye....



Now I'm getting into it! Dare I say I actually kind of...like it? (Note: I liked it for about 5 minutes and then I felt like I'd had my fill...I'm very fleeting in that way)


Spices at the Spice Bazaar (obvi)


The eerie Basilica Cistern...dark, wet, underground...wouldn't want to get locked in there at night! Come to find out it's also featured in a Bond movie (Dad, want to help me out with this one?)

Alright, that's all for now. I have lots more pics so check back soon and I promise to post more (because I totally understand that for a "travel blog" I didn't exactly do a "good job" of "posting pictures instead of just rambling on and on")

I'm off to pack up a bit and get some sleep...tomorrow I'm getting up early for another long day of international travel! BUT my boss told me I get a few days off to recoup (actually her words were, "Don't show up to the office on Monday or Tuesday...and don't check your work e-mails!"....um, done and done!). I had a fabulous time in Turkey and am sad to have to leave, but I'm also grateful to go back home and have everyone...er, the majority of people, speak my language! And also for bathrooms that I can figure out! And also for tap water that might taste like dirt but won't actually make you sick! USA! USA! (Alright I'm clearly going overboard and I'm a little punchy from my long week, forgive me).

Thanks for reading! (or, let's be honest, skimming) :)

I'm learning!

Since I've been so busy working and haven't had time to upload any pictures, I figured I'd take some time and share all the things I'm learning here in Turkey:

1. Flushing the toilet can be challenging when the flush button is hidden! Disguising it on the wall is cruel in my opinion. And no, the little knob next to the toilet is NOT for flushing and should NOT be pulled when trying to find out how to flush the toilet, unless you like having a geyser erupt from the toilet (yes I actually fell into the trap where I forgot that Europeans have those crazy water-spray things in their toilets).

2. I make things more complicated than they need to be. Remember when I said I couldn't figure out how to work the shower? That was an unnecessary freak-out brought on by the "toilet incident". It turns out my knob was faulty and loose. Ever since that got fixed, I've been appreciating the delights of showering rather than taking a hot bath in 90 degree weather.

3. Turkish people are very energy efficient (or perhaps it's just my hotel). Upon arrival in my room, I couldn't get the lights to turn on (this was right around the same time I realized I couldn't figure out the toilet...it was quite the arrival). Turns out there's a little slot on the wall next to the door, and you have to put your room card into it to get the lights to turn on (the theory is that when you leave, you take your key, so the lights won't inadvertently be left on). I'd never seen this before! The other funny thing is that in the lobby restrooms that I have to use when I'm working the conference, the bathroom lights are motion activated. You walk into a huge dark public restroom, and once you step inside, the lights turn on. After you're done in the toilet area, you walk into a dark sink area, and then those lights turn on. It was kind of off-putting at first, but I guess it makes sense for places that don't have crazy busy bathrooms.

The fourth and most current thing I've learned:
Don't forget that you're in a foreign country and have to be careful about what you eat and drink! It's kind of like Mexico in that even locals don't drink the tap water, so I thought I'd been careful to only drink the bottled kind (although I've been brushing my teeth with the tap, and in restaurants it's sometimes unclear where the water comes from). In any event, I had the WORST stomach ache (or as I like to call it, a crummy tummy) all day yesterday. After I got off work, a bunch of people were going out to dinner, so I decided that I wasn't going to let any crummy tummy stop me from enjoying my brief time in Turkey, and went along with them. Everything was fine, we went to a lovely restaurant and ate outside on a nice patio, and I had steak with pita and yogurt...yum! On the way back to hail a taxi to get home, a bunch of us got Turkish ice cream (very different from regular ice cream...more like gelato, but with more stretchiness...I can't really describe it). By the time I got home, my crummy tummy was REALLY bad and I had to make a beeline for my Pepto Bismol tablets (thank GOD I brought them!). I was up for a few hours with that, so needless to say, today I've been pretty tired. I'm feeling better though, just not 100%. But it's been a fairly light day, so it's nothing I can't handle. Anyway, I have no idea if it was food poisoning or what, but I'm just going to be very careful about water and pretty much not change my eating habits since I'm really liking the food here (although I did have a Clif Bar from home for breakfast just to be on the safe side).

Alright, that's all for now...tonight we go on a dinner cruise along the Bosphorus, which should be really fun. Hope my crummy tummy stays at home for that one!

Busy bee!

Things are really starting to pick up around here work-wise, so I've been a pretty busy gal. Here's a long-winded recap on the last 2 days:

Yesterday was another sightseeing whirlwind. I had a pretty leisurely morning and met up with my boss at about 9am to prep for a pre-conference meeting with the hotel at 10am. This turned out to be a pretty intense meeting, as we walk into a room of about 8-10 people who immediately begin speaking Turkish. Luckily, the events coordinator of the hotel spoke English as well (and spent a few years in San Diego...she even went to San Diego State! Small world for sure) so she was able to translate for us. Anyway, we went over the plan for the week, but I was most excited about the Turkish pastries they had on the table for us. Every few minutes I would slyly grab one and give it a try. Hey, I'm trying to savor Istanbul while I'm here!

The meeting began to wrap up (and I was feeling pretty full from my impromptu pastry breakfast), when one of the hotel staff at the meeting asked if I was a coffee drinker and if I'd had Turkish coffee yet. I informed him that yes, I am a coffee drinker (and was secretly dying for it since I was still adjusting to the time change), and that I had not yet tried Turkish coffee. A few minutes later a waiter entered the meeting room with Turkish coffees for us! It came in an adorable mini cup (even smaller than those espresso cups) which amused me. I already knew to expect it to be extremely strong and slightly thick, as they brew it with the grounds inside. I have to report that it was a pretty interesting experience; the coffee is definitely strong, but it's also extremely flavorful. I think I was expecting just a really super strong cup of coffee, but it had a much more nuanced flavor than that. Not really my "cup of tea" (har har) for every day, but definitely worth trying...I may even give it another go before I leave here.

After that, we met up with our ever expanding sightseeing group to check out a few more things. It was sticky and sweltering outside, and we decided to take the Metro to save us some walking/sweating. We ended up walking around in Istanbul's older region, checking out the famous Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia (but we didn't go inside either as it was a Saturday and very crowded). Then we checked out the Basilica Cistern, an old underground reservoir supported by a bunch of elaborate columns, which was really cool. I took pictures but have been too busy to upload...perhaps when I get the chance I will post one or two.

After that we walked up the street and stopped at what looked like a tiny graveyard in the middle of a bustling city street...only to find that it serves as a kind of courtyard to an outdoor cafe. Of course we had to go into the cafe to cool off...how many outdoor cafe courtyards face a graveyard? I ended up trying the apple tea (delicious!) and tried a Turkish water pipe (apple flavored as well...I figured I'd better go for a theme). The water pipe was actually pretty fun even though I'm not one for smoke. But, when in Rome (or Turkey)...

Next up was the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest covered markets in the world, which was pretty fun. Reminded me a little of Tijuana with the bright colors and vendors trying to catch your eye and haggle with you. I bought a few trinkets and we headed over to the Spice Bazaar, a similar (yet smaller) shopping area with many different spices. It smelled DELIGHTFUL in that place, but then again, I love spices!

Dinner that night was a little restaurant in Taksim Square again...this time we inadvertantly had mezes, which are small plates you share, much like Spanish tapas. I am really enjoying the food in Turkey...all the meats are really tender and flavorful, and they have things like cheese and olives at every meal (even breakfast), which definitely appeals to my taste buds! It would be pretty easy to be a vegetarian here as they eat a lot of beans, eggplant, and various prepared vegetable dishes (Mom, you would get by splendidly here!). Last night I had something the menu called a "lentil ball" which sounds disgusting but was totally scrumptious. I am going to have to find a lentil ball recipe to try at home!

Nothing much to report from today, I just worked and worked. Conference registration opened at 3pm, and I spent the morning preparing. After having a nice dinner at the hotel and finishing up a few things with my boss to prep for the mad rush of tomorrow (first official day of the conference), I am back in my room and ready for sleep...tomorrow will be an early (and long!) day.

Checking out the Big City

When I left you last time, I was off to freshen up and sightsee. DJ got unexpectedly called to go pick up all the conference supplies we shipped over last week at customs, so she had to go back over to the airport to clear that whole situation up. I offered to go with her, but she told me I might as well stay behind to sightsee. We had planned on meeting up with two of the conference goers who have been here for a few days to sightsee together, so she told them just to call up my room when they got to the hotel and I could meet them in the lobby.

So, with my game plan intact, I decided to finally get to that shower I'd been waiting for since I stepped off the plane. I have a nice bathroom with a big tub and shower, and I couldn't wait to clean up. Time to turn on the shower.....oh wait, how do you turn this thing on? After looking high and low and turning every dial, I still could not figure out how to get the shower going. That's been a huge problem for me here....I have no idea how things work in the bathrooms! It took me forever to find out that the toilet flushes by a panel on the wall (which looks exactly one of those sanitary seat cover dispensers, of course). I had to call up my boss to find that one out!

So, instead of wasting time trying to figure out the shower, I just took a bath. I know when to admit defeat.

After bathing and taking a quick cat nap, my sightseeing companions had arrived and were waiting for me in the lobby. Rich and Dave (also known as Cookie, since his last name is Cook), suggested a nice palace tour to ease me into sightseeing. We hopped in a cab, and I tried not to focus on the fact that everyone here drives CRAZY and that each time you step into a cab you take your life in your own hands. You must forgive me, I was so confused and jetlagged all day that I barely remember what anything I saw was called...I will be better about that in the upcoming days!

So, as I was saying...the palace:


This was about as much as I saw of it, as it was closed when we arrived. Very huge, and ornate though! And, what's this? One of those hilarious guards that have to stand there, very still and serious, while tourists take pictures? Why yes, yes it is!



After stopping into a nearby mosque (where yes, I did have to cover my head), we decided to go kill some time in Asia. What's that? You didn't know that Istanbul is the only city in the world to span over two continents? Well, consider this your education! It's just a quick 5 minute ferry ride across the mighty Bosphorus River to get to the Asian side of Istanbul, and since I'd never been to Asia, we decided to hop on over for the low low price of 1.50 TL (Turkish Liras....translates to about 1 American dollar).

On the ferry, looking back at the little ferry terminal.

Boy was the river gorgeous...and it was so nice to cool off on the ferry ride! I don't know if I mentioned this, but Istanbul is VERY. HOT. As in, it's sunny and about 85 degrees. With about 100% humidity, which makes it feel as though it's about 150 degrees. This California girl is NOT used to humidity, so I feel like I can complain about it for a least a few more days.


On the ferry, almost to Asia! Looking back to the European side of the city.

I made it to Asia, we took a walk around, and then popped back over to the European side to sit at a nice little sidewalk cafe overlooking the Bosphorus and cool off with a giant stein of Turkish beer, called Efes. I don't have any pictures of this, since at this point all I could think about was sitting down for a few moments and cooling off with a delightful local brew.

At this point, my boss DJ had finished her customs ordeal and had joined up with us. We decided to hit up Taksim Square for dinner. Again, no pics, as at this point I was fading fast...but still happy to be wandering around! Taksim Square is pretty insane....people EVERYWHERE walking around, lots of shops and restaurants. Reminded me a bit of New Orleans, with people just wandering around in the open street. We popped into a little restaurant and had some Turkish mezes (like tapas)...and I got some chicken kebabs that were delicious. I also tried Raki, the Turkish liquor. I recommend it to those who like licorice. I think I'll stick with the Efes, though!

After that, we came back to the hotel, I blasted the air conditioning, and drifted off into heavenly slumber.

Live from Istanbul!

Well, after a loooong journey I finally touched down in Istanbul! I can't believe I'm here (but that may have something to do with the fact that I just sat on a plane for a total of about 16 hours). It's a lovely sunny and humid day in Istanbul...at the moment I'm enjoying it from my nice air conditioned hotel room! But, first things first....

As I stated previously, the day started off at about 2:30 am. After getting roughly 3-4 hours of sleep, my boss (DJ) and I woke up and drove to LA to catch our flights. Let me say, driving to LA in the middle of the night is the way to go. Zero traffic! The drive went off without a hitch, we parked and shuttled it over to the airport, and blah blah blah (all the typical getting to the airport stuff). By the time we got on the plane at 6am, I was pretty exhausted, so the first flight to NY went a little something like this: snooze, flip through a magazine, snooze, watch satellite TV (yes, Delta has satellite TVs at every seat...I got to watch my beloved E! and Food Network shows en route). But I did get an aisle Exit row seat, which was a major score. We popped off the plane in NY, got a slice of pizza, and hunkered down for the 9 hour flight to Istanbul.

I'll spare you the play by play of this flight...I had the dreaded middle seat, but the people on either side of me were very kind and didn't even act annoyed when I had to slip past them to stretch my legs or use the bathroom. I did have a kid kicking the back of my seat for a while in the beginning, but once the food came he seemed to settle down. Oh, and no satellite TVs on this flight :( I had to make do with my iPod, Mensa Genius "Puzzle a Day" book, and magazines. I managed to sleep a bit on this flight as well, so I've pieced together a decent amount of sleep over the past few hours.

I was ready to jump out of my seat by the time we landed, so we tried our best to rush off the plane and find the two lines we knew we needed to hit up next: first, the Visa desk. This was easy, no line, took about 10 seconds apiece for DJ and I to get our Visa stamps. The customs line was another story. We waited in that thing for a good hour or so, and to make matters worse, the airport was stuffy like you wouldn't believe. I was literally fanning myself with my passport (take it from me, they don't make very good fans!). After we made it through that line, we found our bags lickety split, and ventured outside to find our car service (yes, they had the little piece of paper with our names on it...so very fancy!). We got a nice brief little tour of Istanbul on our way from the airport to the hotel, so we were feeling pretty good.

We arrived at our hotel, the Grand Cevahir, just about an hour or two ago (about 11am here). It's pretty large and luxurious, if you ask me! They did make you walk through a metal detector to get into the place though, which I thought was a little odd. Oh well, safety first! We got checked into our rooms...I am on the 12th floor (DJ is on the 9th floor so we're just a quick elevator ride away). Check it out:


And here's a view from from my window:

Not too shabby, eh?

And to prove that I'm really in Turkey, here's a horrible pic of me in front of the window (keep in mind I'm still fresh off the plane, I haven't even showered yet!):


And after seeing that picture, I think it's time for me to hit the showers and freshen up! In a few hours we are going to meet with some of the other conference bigwigs to do a little sightseeing and have dinner...should be fun!

Oh and I have a funny story about toilets and lights that I'll share when I'm not so haggard and punchy from travel!

The adventure begins (almost)

Just a few more hours to finish up my packing and get organized before I have to hit the hay and attempt to get some sleep, all so I can wake up at the crack of 2:30am (ugh) to head to the glamorous Los Angeles International Airport.

Leg One of my flight will take me from LA to New York, where I will presumably stretch my legs and get a bite to eat before Leg Two of my trip commences (that would be NY to Istanbul). A lovely 18 hours of travel later, I will be at my exotic destination!

Cross your fingers for smooth sailing, er, flying.