Life, Love and Turkish Adventures

I love my life. My life is full of love. Cokkkkkk Mutluyum cokkkkkk! I love the Turkish in my life as well as the life I have in Turkey if that makes sense. I just had the most amazing weekend that lead into one of the best Mondays of my life. First my weekend started off with an amazing trip the the gym. I think I need a better word then amazing... I will use magical. Cause the gym continues to surprise me. First of all Sibel was nice enough to add me to the family gym so I can go during the day while the kids are at school. Also on Saturdays the girls go to Russian Lessons in the same building as the gym so I take them, work out, and then walk them back home. It works out great. At this time Emir is at basketball so problem değil. My Saturday went swell, we spend the day as a family walking around Taxim getting lunch and then watching the demonstrations go on up and down the road. Pretty interesting but not really the atmosphere to have kids in so we headed home. 


Sunday was my off day and I took the liberty to use the gym... again. The treadmills that I am running on are flat screen full HD multiple channel TV's with internet access/radio access and I can use it to work my Nike+ if I ever get an ipod for it. Which is not likely while I am in Turkey, but I do have some complaints for my ishuffle. It was cheap and its small which is why I got it, great for running. I was annoyed at having a bulky one that was flopping around. The down side is that you never know what song is going to be playing next, you cant start on a song or make a playlist. You have to just start and then flip through. Well I have some workout and nonworkout music on there so its very annoying to have to flip through the songs a million times to find one that is upbeat enough for me to run to.... I digress. 


I went over to my little friend Ece's house and we played dress up with her dolls, colored some pictures and I listened to her piano lessons and violin lessons. She is now 8 years old. I tutored her last time I was in Istanbul and I want to do it again. She means a lot to me, and apparently I am the only one she will speak English to. Her mother is amazing as well, we get along great so I enjoy being able to go over there and spend time with them. 


Then I went over to my Turkish loves house... Ece and Ece, Huma, Sanli and Leslie! We played cars of course for a while, then had a lovely dinner as a whole big family even Dedi and Gulton showed up! After dinner I was told by Ece who is 5 that I needed to read her 3 books in Turkish. Then she insisted that since I could read the Turkish that must mean I can speak it, I had to explain that even if I can pronounce the words enough so she can understand me, that does not mean I understand what I am reading.... After bedtime, it was wine time and girl time with Leslie and I up in her room. We planned out our adventure for the next day and here is our day in pictorial form... 

We Started out at the Galata Tower in Taxsim

You have to wash your hands at one of the many public baths

Candid Streets

Galata Tower

Leslie and I reunited.

Suleymaniye Mosque in the distance

Typical Turkish Sidewalks....

Typical Turkish Stairs....

Typical Turkish roads...

Can you see the pattern.....

I dont like Pigeons.... at all 

My favorite

What a great way to spend my first week back...... Istanbul Seviyorum!