Waking up in Istanbul

 The view from our room included this lovely view of the Marmara Sea

and an old mosque

 and some cozy cut-outs for storing the kids

and was a wonderful place to wake up in the morning - at 5am, as the prayers sang loudly from the mosque loudspeakers

with a nice stroll right outside the hotel door

Vacation here we come!

Everyone is excited to go visit our closest friends in Georgia. Once again our departure to Budapest included a snowstorm...

, which stayed with us the entire 3 hours to the airport. It was a harrowing ride...but at last we arrived at our first destination, Istanbul.

Without much time for touring, we ran past the Hagia Sofia





and the notorious Blue Mosque

where we also met with some of the many roaming street dogs

and we ventured inside, amidst a throng of other visitors all clamoring for space to remove their shoes and the plastic bags to store them in (why the plastic was necessary, I am not sure) - shoeless we could fully experience the soft carpet and peace of what some consider Istanbul's most beautifully decorated mosque


 


outside of which are cleaning stations for one's feet

 

We hurried past many fantastic shopping opportunities




and picturesque parks

on our way to a warm dinner out of the rain - lemon lentil soup and kebabs. Yum!

 

Garden party

Last night I was at a swishy garden party spewing a string of sardonic comments in thickly veiled compliments at the most talented musician there when, as far as I can tell, because no one would stop me, i woke up.

Weekend goofing

The past month has been pretty wet and totally grey.  We've been going a little stir-crazy inside.

The kids have found some extra physical opportunity right in front of their noses....

...and the perfect time for girl time...