Good morning Istanbul

It's 5 AM ... we bolt out of bed to discover, it's true: In Turkey, the morning begins with prayer chants broadcast across the entire city ... the sounds bellow out via 4 megaphone style speakers that are attached to every Mosque. And then we go back to sleep. So, Turkey, here we are, in a culture unlike anything we've experiences in Europe. Five times daily the chants ring out, but what's quickly visible is that the Turkish people don't stop to go inside and pray. Society is changing, and while about half of the Muslim women we passed had their heads covered, others didn't. But, this blog entry isn't meant to dive into religion and politics ... so, onto the fun! Here's why Istanbul is now in our top 3 trips (if you're not in the mood to read, click here for pics):

• Ancient - Come on, Istanbul used to be called Constantinople - that's just old. We walked through "Harems" that were created by Sultans for their wives, concubines and kids dating back to 16th century. We covered all the famous spots, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Haghia Sophia (all in the pics).


• Bazaar baby! - Heard of the "grand bazaar"? Well, it's just that - ginormous - thousands of little shops selling lamps, bracelets, shoes, all inside a space that's existed since the 14th century. It has the Tijuana feel, a haggler's dream (Geno was in his element). And there's the Spice Bazaar with brightly colored spices and smells that only a chef can fully appreciate.


• Turkish Baths - We walk in, boys in one section, girls in the other. Naked bodies, marble slab from a million years ago, and a scrub down with a loofah pad by women who can break you in half, ensuring there isn't a speck of grim left on your body. (Or, according to Geno, the men have enough hair on their bodies to make a couple fake toupees.) Not necessarily relaxing, but gotta do it.


• Roof top decks - The city is stunning, and restaurants and bars don't hesitate to offer you views of the river, bridges and colorful buildings. Weather was a perfect 75 degrees, so we pretty much roof jumped the whole week.


• Island Trip - An hour long ferry ride along the Bosphorus Sea lands us at the largest of the Princess Islands. No cars, it's just horse and buggy (and the scent of manure). We decided we were too cool for for the buggy rides and rented mountain to cover the island instead, quickly learning that our Amsterdam flat land biking hadn't prepared us (okay me) for the mountain terrain. Finding the secret road to the beach proved a challenge but Geno wasn't shy about practices his newly discovered Turkish language (note: English is not spoken in Turkey), so we made it before sunset.

Okay, this entry is out of control long, I could keep going, but guessing you want to get to the pictures. Click here, even labeled a few so you know what you're looking at. Also, for a real live viewing of the prayer chants, click here for a perfect summary.

Gelukkige verjaardag koningin! (...as told by Geno)

April 30th used to just be an insignificant date, except that it was 11 days after my birthday, and that's usually when I give up on waiting for "late" birthday wishes. (If you missed it...avoid the holiday rush and start shopping now for next year.) In Holland however, April 30th is the biggest party of the year, "Queen's Day". Imagine Mardi Gras combined with New Year's Eve, but everyone (and that includes the additional 1.5 million people who come in to the city for the party) is wearing any article from their wardrobe that is orange. That last part is funny enough, but the Dutch also gracefully celebrate their Queen by pulling all of their "stuff" (think random coffee cups and ABBA records rather than antique gems) out in front of their apartment for an annual garage sale. Finally, there are the kids, who take advantage of their parents partying in the streets to make a few bucks. Most of these young entrepreneurs, like my bosses kids are hawking muffins and lemonade, others are more creative, like the above kid who would let you throw miniature pies at him for 50 cents.

It's not a wild brawl or anything, it's just people hanging out, listening to live bands, drinking beer, dancing on their boats in the canals, and enjoying the sun while trashing the city. The "day after" Queen's Day looks like a bomb went off, but 2 weeks later, all is well. Nothing violent about it, unless you count the part where you are elbowing your way through crowds while avoiding falling in a canal.

So, we did just like the locals. After arriving at 11 PM the night before Queen's Day...we hit the streets to explore, and then conveniently locked ourselves out of our 2nd story apartment ... but were able to get back in by 2:30 AM thanks to a local hostel with a ladder. Click here for more pics...

London Calling ....

Have you ever paid $8 dollars for a coffee? We hadn't, until London. Despite the Pound crushing the Dollar, we had a fabulous 'local' weekend experience thanks to one of Gene's best buddies Holden, his cool wife Katie and Frances (the most charming kid ever, didn't hear a cry out of her entire weekend). Aside from eating and hanging out at incredibly tasty spots, we hit the Knotting Hill market, sat in on a Parliament meeting, went for a run in Hyde Park and toured Chelsea. I decided everyone is just smarter with an English accent and driving on the left hand side of the road is truly a talent .... I'll just stick to my bike. Click here for more pics.