A Rebrand and Some Brunch

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Recently, a friend of mine suggested that I ‘rebrand’ my blog to not only write about my travels outside of Istanbul, but also about what I do in and around this charming place. Within this complex city, there are so many interesting aspects that exploring Istanbul should be considered a full time job. When I tell people where I live, they always ask what it’s like to live in a city with so much history; where the East and West converge. The best way that I can explain my fascination with Istanbul is the constant energy; sometimes when I walk out of my apartment…

A Different Country

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I recently went on a small road trip through Eastern Turkey. Kars and Trabzon were two of the cities we visited but did not get to explore too much.  Away from the 24/7 of Istanbul, I found calm, quiet, lovely spaces… along with some stunning landscapes. For me, it was like a different country! It is very difficult to condense five days into a little over five minutes, but I did my best with the video below.  Enjoy!  

True Artist

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I must admit that I was feeling a bit sorry for myself today. My school is off next week and most of my friends are off to faraway places like Rome and Iceland. But recently, I’ve had this ‘pay off your debt’ mindset so saving money, not traveling, is high on my priority list. Plus, when my retirement person said, ‘You are really behind in your retirement savings’ I knew it was time to smell the coffee. So when I woke up this morning I realized that I have three art projects that have been hanging around, unfinished in my apartment. And…

New Lens on Life

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July, 2014. July was my last post! Overall, I just haven’t been traveling much and the name of the blog does limit the focus a bit! I did recently get back from California though and I must say it was a wonderful trip. I do have the best family and friends in the entire world. Drop the mic. Speaking of focus, while I was in the Golden State, I bought new lens for my camera – 35mm. I wanted to challenge myself a bit and try to look at things a little differently. Plus, it was only about $200 –…

Hidden Gems

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After Turkish class this morning, I headed out to an area called Fener with two other students from class, Phllycia and MaryLou. This is an area of Istanbul that I’ve wanted to explore for a while but it’s not a place I feel comfortable out on my own. We set out to find two sites: Patriarchal Church of St. George (Greek Orthodox) and St. Mary of the Mongols. Now the Church of St. George ‘is the main Eastern Orthodox church in the world; the central place of worship for a congregation of over 300 million’ people… right in Istanbul, a…

Revisit

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I’ve officially been on break for a week and it’s been really nice. Maybe China ‘prepared’ me for humidity, but it’s not too bad here right now. I looked at my list from my post in May and after some research, I realized that some of these items were a bit expensive so I am rethinking the list: 1) Take an intensive Turkish language course Yes – 9am to 1pm, Monday – Friday, plus homework. Fantastic but hugely time consuming! 2) Get a swimming pool pass from one of the hotels No. Anyone have an extra $800 to $1,00US to…

Street Art Istanbul

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Recently, I downloaded an app called StreetArt Istanbul. From this app, I get a little bit of information about the street artists around Istanbul. For instance, I had no idea that some of the more well known street artists get commissions to do certain pieces. Also, this app gives the location of the art; not such good news because directions are incredibly difficult for me. However, as I was walking around Istakal in the rain this morning, I stumbled upon this great alley with a bunch of street art; mostly painted by an artist named Leo Lunatic. I felt like…

Light

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My first ceramics course started this past Saturday and it appears that my teacher is a well known ceramics artist here in Istanbul. She even invited me to her presentation at Istanbul Modern the next day! I was nervous because it was in Turkish and didn’t know anyone else, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and went anyways. So happy I did. All part of my master plan to push myself. Recently, I just finished watching the first season of Orange is the New Black. Essentially, this WASP woman gets sent to jail for a crime…

Becoming Turkish

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I’ve made the decision not to go to California this summer and to stay put in Istanbul. I will probably take a few long weekends to cities in Turkey, but overall, I want to start saving money and not always spend it on traveling. Traveling can be really expensive, and it tends to sneak up on you. It’s always the little things. However, this decision caused a bit of panic because what am I going to do for six weeks? Most, if not all, of the people I work with are traveling which could mean a lot of Claire Time….

With Love, From Poland

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My friend and I visited Warsaw and Krakow and we also ate Warsaw and Krakow. The food is delicious especially the perogies and Polish sausage. Holy all that is good in the world! I didn’t even like sauerkraut but now I love it! Plus, they have chocolate covered marshmallows and an ice cream shop every fourth store. What I didn’t know about before I got to my Fatherland was the Polish resistance in Warsaw in 1944 against the Nazis. As a result of this rebellion, the people and the city were brutalized; 85% of the city was destroyed, prisoners were…