30.april.2010.//30.nisan.2010. [120].

30.april.2010.//30.nisan.2010. [120].  

Jules' 24th birthday isn't until the 8th, but we started celebrating tonight...with a sleepover, games, pizza, and a delicious strawberry pie/birthday cake.. HAPPY (early) BIRTHDAY, JULES! :)

29.april.2010.//29.nisan.2010. [119].

29.april.2010.//29.nisan.2010. [119]. 

i spent most of my day at Time Cafe working with a voice recognition software project. they have a huge bahçe (garden/patio) hidden out back...

28.april.2010.//28.nisan.2010. [118].

28.april.2010.//28.nisan.2010. [118].  

although this says "dur/stop" pretty clearly, nobody ever does.

27.april.2010.//27.nisan.2010. [117].

27.april.2010.//27.nisan.2010. [117].  

a view from my kitchen tonight.

26.april.2010.//26.nisan.2010. [116].

26.april.2010.//26.nisan.2010. [116].  

when you spend your whole day inside, there's not much inspiration....

25.april.2010.//25.nisan.2010. [115].

25.april.2010.//25.nisan.2010. [115].  

while walking back home from looking for an open pharmacy, i saw these: most likely the cause of my sinus problems, but they are a beautiful reminder of spring. luckily, sherri had extra meds since very few pharmacies are open on sundays..

24.april.2010.//24.nisan.2010. [114].

24.april.2010.//24.nisan.2010. [114].  

after going to a friend's art show opening, i walked down Bahariye... there were a lot of people out because the weather's been beautiful lately.

23.april.2010.//23.nisan.2010. [113].

23.april.2010.//23.nisan.2010. [113]. 

today is my nephew, Jackson's, first birthday! it's also çocuk bayramı (children's day) here in turkey. it was a beautiful day to roam around outside and see children playing, buying toys, and eating ice cream. i did not get any pictures of children, but i did snap a few of a Roma woman selling flowers by the sea.

22.april.2010.//22.nisan.2010. [112].

22.april.2010.//22.nisan.2010. [112]. 

this one was way too funny not to be my picture of the day. we were sitting at Güllüoğlu eating chocolate baklava & Jeremy spots this..... I've seen many humorous Obama things and I know how much Turks love Obama...but this one tops them all... a tray of Baklava with Obama's profile.... WHAT!? hilarious.

21.april.2010.//21.nisan.2010. [111].

21.april.2010.//21.nisan.2010. [111].  

Merve & Emily played checkers & got stuck. there was no way for either of them to move. this was crazy!

20.april.2010.//20.nisan.2010. [110].

20.april.2010.//20.nisan.2010. [110]. 

a lovely night with some awesome girls at a cafe overlooking the marmara sea.

19.april.2010.//19.nisan.2010. [109].

19.april.2010.//19.nisan.2010. [109]. 

emily is leaving on saturday, so we had a bunch of people over to say goodbye tonight. we played a game 3 times and the 3 of us each won a round. :) after trying multiple times to take a cute pic, we ended up with this one. very evident how we were each feeling at that time of night. :)

18.april.2010.//18.nisan.2010. [108].

18.april.2010.//18.nisan.2010. [108]. 

jules, april, and i started the day bright and early with a balloon ride! it was the first time for all 3 of us, and we LOVED it. the weather was beautiful and the views were AMAZING! after the ride, we had a guided tour through a couple of valleys, hiking, lunch on a creek, toured an underground city, saw a cave monastery, & more. it made for a LONG, BUSY day, but it was such a great weekend with friends!

17.april.2010.//17.nisan.2010. [107].

17.april.2010.//17.nisan.2010. [107]. 

after a morning in the open air museum, we rented scooters and rode around. our first trek was unsuccessful when it started hailing. then, jules and i went our own way unintentionally and ended up seeing a lot of Kapadokya before meeting the group here... best lookout and best place to explore.

16.april.2010.//16.nisan.2010. [106].

16.april.2010.//16.nisan.2010. [106]. 

the Jazz Band at a local international school. they were amazing! and so was the dinner theatre.

15.april.2010.//15.nisan.2010. [105].

15.april.2010.//15.nisan.2010. [105]. 

beautiful sunset in Göztepe.

14.april.2010.//14.nisan.2010. [104].

14.april.2010.//14.nisan.2010. [104]. 

headed home from English Tea Time.. taksi anyone?

13.april.2010.//13.nisan.2010. [103].

13.april.2010.//13.nisan.2010. [103]. 

i went to the salı pazar today with a friend for the first time in several weeks.. these were a couple of great finds for my newest nephew, wesley. i LOVE them. they're coming in the mail soon, jess!

12.april.2010.//12.nisan.2010. [102].

12.april.2010.//12.nisan.2010. [102]. 

walking through a friend's neighborhood today...

11.april.2010.//11.nisan.2010. [101].

11.april.2010.//11.nisan.2010. [101]. 

istanbul, i miss you every time i leave.

10.april.2010.//10.nisan.2010. [100].

10.april.2010.//10.nisan.2010. [100]. 

did you know it is the 100th day of the year? and i spent it in barcelona, rome, and istanbul..on 12 different switches of transportation and having only slept 4 of the 24 hours. i took a "hop on, hop off" double decker bus around Rome since i was alone and on a tight time schedule. SO glad i did, although i was skeptical at first. fantastic day.

09.april.2010.//09.nisan.2010. [99].

09.april.2010.//09.nisan.2010. [99]. 

today, we went to Montserrat, a monastery outside of Barcelona.. then we came back in time for churros & chocolate and this EPIC light show.... another amazing day. ;)

08.april.2010.//08.nisan.2010. [98].

08.april.2010.//08.nisan.2010. [98]. 

we walked a lot today.... the buildings and architecture are unbelievable.. and i experienced the best sandwich of my life and some amazing coffee.. what a great day!

07.april.2010.//07.nisan.2010. [97].

07.april.2010.//07.nisan.2010. [97]. 

i'm in barcelona!!! these are some beautiful buildings designed by Gaudi, a very talented and disturbing architect.

06.april.2010.//06.nisan.2010. [96].

06.april.2010.//06.nisan.2010. [96]. 

wesley duane ekedal. my newest nephew.... born at 11:47am, 6 pounds 8 ounces, 18 inches. perfect, adorable baby boy... SO excited!!!!!

5.april.2010.//5.nisan.2010. [95].

5.april.2010.//5.nisan.2010. [95]. 

another beautiful spring day. i love the spring! and, there are beautiful tulips on çamlıca, in case you were wondering...

4.april.2010.//4.nisan.2010. [94].

3.april.2010.//3.nisan.2010. [93]. 

i went with friends to dinner then to ben & jerry's tonight.. but they were out of almost every ice cream so i opted for choc'nette... very good decision. bananas, strawberries, and kiwi covered in chocolate... the wrapper says "true chocolate. true happiness".. i couldn't have said it better myself...

3.april.2010.//3.nisan.2010. [93].

3.april.2010.//3.nisan.2010. [93].

today i went out to the black sea with some friends for an early Easter celebration. it was cool/windy/foggy but this place was incredibly beautiful.

2.april.2010.//2.nisan.2010. [92].

2.april.2010.//2.nisan.2010. [92]. 

april is my favorite month in istanbul. every year thousands of tulips are planted around the city and bloom in april. it's such a beautiful change from the rainy/windy/cold winter and such a great promise of summer/sunshine. more to come...

1.april.2010.//1.nisan.2010. [91].

1.april.2010.//1.nisan.2010. [91]. 

this has to be my favorite view of the city. and WHAT a beautiful day to go here....