Heyo! It has been a little busy over here, so excuse the delays in posting. 

So, I left off saying that one of the students was going to show us around Istanbul. The 9 hour tour all started at 10 in the morning when Muhmet comes to pick us up.  Along the drive to our first stop, we get a history lesson on the various buildings and areas we pass.  This guy should be a tour guide.  There is so much history here it is insane.  Seriously.  Anyway, so he is takes us along the coastline of the Bosphorus- which is absolutely beautiful.  You can see right across to the European side, which we have yet to really explore.  Ok, so our first stop is this cute little town called Cengelkoy.  It is famous for cucumbers because it used to be the major producer, until it got crowded and built up. Anyway, we stop here for a bite to eat.  Muhmet orders us a few different items so that we can try them.  The first is called bokuz, which is the traditional thinly layered pastry that can be filled with cheese, potatoes or spinach.  The other is simit- a sesame seed covered bread that can sometimes have a hint of cheese.  We take the food to this cute restaurant that allows outside food.  Tea of course is served and we just enjoy the view:

...this is what people do everyday! How awesome is this?!?   Anyway, this is just the beginning!

This is the major street in Cengelkoy, which runs parallel to the water.

So we head out and onward with our journey.  Again we cruise the coastline and we stop briefly at a little park right on the water.  There are people fishing, walking around and just hanging out...
Continuing northeast, we see the usual markets on the beds of trucks, numerous little restaurants and set ups of markets along the street... including this watermelon pile...
Ok... the pictures got out of order.... so I'll just reference the ones 3 and 4 down.  Our next stop is a town famous for their yogurt.  Yes, everyone eats different kinds of yogurt with everything- but apparently this yogurt tops everything.  The town, Kanlica is very small.  We go into this restaurant and grab a seat right by the water... and when I say that, I mean the windows are open and the water is right there.  It has a great view and yes... the yogurt was good.  We haven't developed our yogurt palate yet, so we really couldn't tell how great it was- but it's more about the experience right?!?? 

Our next stop is a religious cemetery that holds the tomb of the cousin of Moses.  It is on top of a hill overlooking the water.  It was a quick stop, but actually very interesting.  

We make it to the town of Anadolu Kavagi that is amazing. Apparently this town is known for their fish.  We go to a restaurant right on the water (of course) called Yosun and ate... and ate... and ate.  He wanted us to try all these different dishes, so he ordered a ton of food.  First we had a salad- nothing really out of the ordinary, but tasty.  Then we get haydari- which is a yogurt with cucumber and dill in it.  It is refreshing and tastes great on bread.  Then comes some fried calamari, aubrigine- which is eggplant with bell peppers and a rich sauce and then a baked shrimp in sauce that had a pretty good bite to it.  It was all really good and we were struggling to finish what was in front of us.  But wait... there's more- we each get our own sea bass.  It was so good, but by this time we were stuffed.  So I tried my best to finish enough to not feel horrible for wasting it, while watching Kate struggle with her chewing, knowing how much she hates fish! It was a very nice dinner and of course, completed with some tea.   

Here is the town of Anadolu Kavagi...
...and these are houses along the water- called something like yelas.?- i forget

Ok, so actually before we ate we went up to the top of the hill above the city to a place called Ceneviz- where there is a castle called Yoros.  This was amazing! Somehow those pictures didn't load, so I will have to post them separately... but this place is where the Bosphorus meets The Black Sea.  We were amazed. It was so beautiful and seriously, who can say they have been to The Black Sea!??!? We spent a good amount of time just taking in the view and experiencing what we were seeing and where we were. 

This is taken from the yogurt stop in Kanlica.
...and this was taken in Kanlica- just restaurants on the water.

So... after a delicious meal we started making our way back down the coast.  We stopped a few more times along the way, including a park that overlooked the city.  It was really nice and from the park we could see all the buildings in between us and the water and then past all that out to the islands.  It was quite a view.  From the other side of the hill you could see the millions of buildings spanning the cities.  Seriously, so many people live in Istanbul- it is crazy.

This is a huge cargo boat passing under the bridge... we later saw it going out to sea from the park on the hill.  There are tons of ships passing through the Bosphorus everyday going up to places like Russia or coming back down.  

Oh, this is right outside of the city Anadolu Kavagi... and if you look really closely- up by that flag is where the castle is and you can see The Black Sea.

So, after a long day and a ton of tea we finally make it back to our lodging.  We get to our rooms and I get a call from our friend.  He is wondering if we are home bc he is here visiting Mustafa- the man who owns the place.  Random timing! So we go upstairs and he is here with a few other people.  We hang out for awhile and then go out to grab a drink with some of his other friends.  We go to the town of Moda- where we hope to move to. Anyway, we have a good time and a nice ending to an amazing day.

The next day we just hang out and relax.  We had a very busy schedule since we arrived and it was so nice to just sleep in and not go do stuff.  We are actually meeting up with the same guy, Muhmet, again because we didn't have time to finish the tour.  So at about 5, he picks us up and he shows us the area closer to where we live. He takes us to a few parks and to Badat Street- which is the place to be... so they say.  It is lined with really nice stores, about 10 Starbucks and is just really nice.  After, we meet up with some other teachers and decide that maybe we'll go to the beach up at The Black Sea this Thursday or Friday... hopefully that happens!!

Anyway... next day= school then right after we are meeting up with some friends to take the ferry to Taxim on the European side.  This guy, Dillon, just moved into this amazing apartment and is having a little house warming party.  This place is awesome! He is a yoga teacher and the company gives him room and board in their old studio- which I guess they rarely use.  It is on the main street and the view from the roof is just spectacular! We don't make it a late night because we have class the next day.

So... Sunday= school again and well...yea, more plans.  We are going to the European side again to meet up with an Australian  teacher we met at one of the trainings.  He lives and works on this side, so it was nice to explore the area a little bit.  We meet up with his friends and check out a few bars... and randomly, I swear the world is shrinking, we run into Dillon at one of the bars! Anywho, we all have a really good time and call it a night.  

So... that leads me to today.  Today was brutal.  I think the non-stop plans have really caught up to me, so classes end and I came back to take a nap.

awhhhh... so that has been my past week in a nutshell.  We are meeting some very interesting people and getting to explore the city.  Classes are definitely getting better and our Turkish vocabulary is slowly growing.  Once we get settled in a new place, I am seriously considering taking a Turkish course.  

Well, my brain has been very slow today and I think it is done working. Sorry about the layout of this blog- I have yet to figure out the pictures and everything. Hope all is well! I'm out.

This is the view from the park... you can see all the buildings and also those islands I mentioned.