Divan City Istanbul

... waiting for classes to start up). Every time we go in for meetings or classes (I've started one class), we say to ourselves: "It's like we work for a real school!"<br><br>So at the moment, we've got lots of time to shop for furniture and get ourselves settled in -- which isn't really such a bad thing (apart from the fact that Istanbul is more expensive than we'd anticipated). We'll continue to wait for things to pick up and keep writing to you -- stay tuned!<br>

... my eyes open and our trucker not&#305;ced and mot&#305;oned me to lay down sleep and showed me that &#305; could lay my legs over there and put my head on the seat, but untrust&#305;ngly &#305;m okay not t&#305;red &#305; sa&#305;d yeah l&#305;ke &#305;m go&#305;ng to put my legs w&#305;th&#305;n reach&#305;ng d&#305;stance, I w&#305;sh &#305; could just trust people he ended up be&#305;ng n&#305;ce we got to Istanbul at ...

... to my precious camera.<br><br>But that doesn't mean that I don't still have some stories to tell.<br><br>Because when we had been in Istanbul the first time, we'd had our full free day on a Monday. The Hagia Sofia museum is closed on Mondays. Luckily, this time we were back on a Tuesday, and that was, of course, our first stop on the docket.<br><br>In my internet obsessed state though, I did check my e-mail that morning before leaving. Two teenage girls walked in while I was on ...

... so it seemed like a good option. The point is, it didn't seem like that much of a big deal. It was still clean, on a relatively steep incline, the kids were all asking for photos (they were probably making fun of us in some sort of Turkish way). When we got to the bottom we sketched a square and mosque nestled into the hill. Some local residents were quite curious about it, so we ended up talking to some ...

Having survived seveal harrowing taxi rides, Istanbul is more than I ever expected. Yesterday on arrival at the Hotel Empress Zoe (beyond perfect) we walked to the ferry. Took an around about route, about three miles. Saw men fishing the Bosphorus from shore, men eating and drinking behind bolders to block the wind. Made boat to Asia side. Terrifying taxi ride with driver who spoke little English, he got out to ask directions "Don't take my car!" -- and great dinner. Stuck in ...

... look at the menu, you will be hard pressed to escape. They are very friendly but also very pushy. I guess you would have to be to attract guests in an area that has so many restaurants. No big plans for the rest of the week. I think we are going to rest up for the weekend. Maybe a trip to the Egyptian spice market on the Golden Horn. Who knew being a movie star was so exhausting.

OK so I'm really sorry about not updating this for 2 weeks I dont even know if I can accurately remember a lot of the things that have happened 2 weeks ago on thursday mark said goodbye and left for London early the next morning...it was a sad day... everyone really liked him which was really cool.. what's not to like?! on friday alice, ashley, erin, and I went to the princes islands and had a really good time it was kind of crazy because we got our tickets ...

... along the journey including some amazing forts, homes and even one town that is famous for it's yogurt. I'm not the biggest yogurt fan...but it was damn fine yogurt! We actually met a friend of mine on the boat from India...shocking because even though I knew she was in Istanbul, we didn't make plans to meet up on the boat. The cruise was nice and seeing the Black Sea was something else I can check ...

... ever made (British, of course),weighing 4.5tons, some of the gaudiest, most uncomfortable furniture ever allowed since the Spanish Inquisition and décor that would be rejected in a Blackpool guest house. Whilst it is mostly pretty awful, the individual craftsmanship has to be admired. How the compulsory tourist guides managed to keep straight faces we will never know. The Sultans built this repulsive monument to bad taste to replace the beautifully understated ...

... looking and writing down what I saw and who I met and what I ate etc etc. So what may do from now on is post just one journal of each destination I travel to, and photos I will deal with at a later date. So moving on, I am currently spending my last day in Istanbul and have sacrificed an entire afternoon to get this thing done before moving on south - so people better read this! A brief summary of what I have been up ...