Istanbul

Playstation as a spectator sport.

mmmm taco

Only in Bebek can you get a waffle with REAL toppings (white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, candied fruit, karamel, sprinkles, nuts, fresh fruit, and anything else that contains sugar)

Funny looking tourists.

Bryan really doesn't know what he's excited about...he's just really good at following directions.

Bryan in the Aya Sofya. They almost didn't let him in because of his hair.

View of the Bosphorus from the living room bright and early in the morning.

Guy and Olivia checking out Bryan's SWEET birthday cake! It's fun buying a cake in Turkey, you never really know what you're going to find inside.

Izmir and Ephesus

Selçuk kids re-enacting last years world cup. Bryan got the part of Beckham (farthest right figure). The game included frequent and random team changes, as well as a flock of chickens, two horses, and a goat.

Bryan eating gözleme.

Us in front of the library.

Bryan dropping a pin in the theatre to see if it could be heard from the top level. (it could).

Bryan in the Odeon.

Ephesus near the top gate.

Bryan taking the view picture.

A view of Izmir from a hill on our walk.

Bryan and I took a quick 2 day trip down to Izmir and Selçuk to go visit the ruins of Ephesus.

NSEP

L2R: Tamber, Me, Tamber's friend (ack! I forgot her name... oops)

So I got an e-mail from Tamber. I met her in DC at the NSEP scholarship orientation. She spent the last 4 or 5 months in China learning intensive Chinese. Her parents now live in Ankara, so she and her friend who was studying abroad in Spain, are visiting Turkey. They came for a day to Istanbul, where I met up with them in Sultanahmet. We had lunch and wandered through the Grand Bazaar, which was all quite splendid and fun. All NSEP's dreams of global networking seem to have a glimmer of life!

The Girls Go to England

Gate to Mrs. Somebody-very-nice's house in Lacoc. Significant because it was used as Harry Potter's parents house in the movies. Also of note: the filming crew of the HP movies treated the town so badly on the first two movies the townspeople voted to not let them come back. Take THAT Hollywood!

The town of Lacoc, all classical old town buildings (read: no satellite dishes, hanging out wires, etc.) where famous movies like Pride & Predjudice (long version) have been filmed. National Trust historic site. Cute. Bad light. Typical English.

The funny thing about Stonehenge is it looks EXACTLY the same in real life as it does in every single picture taken of it. Only in the pictures it's not cold and windy and raining and wet. Go figure the English would glorify a bunch of rocks sitting in a field. .... woo hoo....

p.s. I actually liked Stonhenge a lot but I like being sarcastic more than I like writing my entire emotional experience there. Driads don't be mad at me please.

Quick jump to: Bath Abbey! We didn't go inside or anything, it was just the only picture I took in Bath I guess.

Canal in Cambridge where punters punt. I liked the brilliantly smashed tree on the left.

A church in Cambridge that was just straight-up nifty.

I'm going to stretch my creativity and have a red phone booth shot here. Oh, wait... you mean it's the most photographed icon of a bygone era of post-Imperical countries ruling the world through landlines? Bollocks!

Just a pretty building made of brick making things feel very British and Dickens-y.

Mom and Kate looking in all directions, much like how are trip went. Milton Keynes or Leamington Spa anyone? Non-existant bus to Stratford-upon-Avon perhaps for a quick cream-tea.

One of my favorite things in England were the doors. They have no dearth of classic/quirky/eccentric or otherwise captivating doors. It's a doornucopia!

Awww.... how beautiful! The tree was interesting too...

sign caption: "Danger of Death." In small letters underneath, "Or obscenely embarassing dance moves leading to grazing pains throughout the abdominal humor muscles. Those with self-dignity please proceed with caution."