Just NB

{mega downer post ahead. I think a plane nap will do me some good}.  Being up at 3am sucks.  Istanbul airport sucks.  Not understanding some of the simplest concepts in life, really sucks.  I'm not sure how I've managed to get to 33 and not understand some of life's simplest concepts. I'm getting better but I'm tired of being hard on myself and I'm tired of not believing in unconditional love. Being married with an ocean dividing us is hard, but I make it so much harder when I'm so skeptical.  Plenty of couples life a life where they are separated for a while. Why can't I believe that I'll be one of them?

I'm not sure why I find this so surprising, but I had a really good day today. I didn't get out of my pjs until about 2pm, but I enjoyed my morning and then when went through the sort of painful process of repacking. Between the mess my suitcase was and the hotel moving my things to another room (without me knowing or putting things away first), it took awhile, but at least it's done.  I got ready and decided that I would go to the Asian side of Istanbul. I found plenty of tours that went by it, but none that actually stopped on that side, so I took the ferry that a lot of Turks take to and from work.  On my way, I got A LOT of bird crap all over me. I was half way to the port and didn't know what to do. The front, back, and right side of my shirt looked like I was in a white paint fight. I had it on my hands...urgh!  I just stood there and laughed. I didn't know what else to do! A restaurant owner saw me and made signs to come in and wash my hands. When I saw the s...

I'm feeling so much better today about everything. I'm not sure how I came across changing my entire life in the last four years, but it's been a blessing. Far ( far, far, far, far!!!!) from perfect, but its made me stronger as a person.  It is so nice to get to travel with two people that I care about so much.  So many Istanbul sights and experiences to write about, but it's way past my bedtime. 

I had an awesome time tonight! I met Allen and Silvia at their hotel (200 meters from mine!) and it was a full out bawling session. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone until I saw them. I'm tearing up as I write about it. I everyone but yesterday I miss Louis so much that I try not to think about it or I just cry.  Anyway, enough sad stuff. We had a "local Turkish night out". It was in the new part of the city (new meaning 19th century). We tried tripe soup, tried other actually edible different foods, and played a local game. It was pretty low key, but just what I needed today. I'm so happy to be with my friends! I don't even want to think about them leaving. 

Sometimes I feel like this adventurous person, going from city to city, doing these unique things that I would never do otherwise. Sometimes, I just go to the city and spend the day in my hotel room, feeling too uncomfortable to venture out. Today is kind of one of those days. There's plenty of restaurants around, but I chose to walk around and found some fruit, and got enough of my own dry food I packed to make a sort-of lunch. There's a store across the street, and I had a giant orange, so I had a giant orange, juice, an apple, and peanut butter for supper. Tonight I'll go out, and its likely that tomorrow I'll feel different. But I don't feel like I have the energy or desire to walk around and do cool stuff, which is a shame, because I'm staying in the perfect neighborhood. Sometimes, I just want to hang out in my room and watch iTunes. With the exception of walking around for a bit this morning, that's pretty much all I've done. I'm not sur...

My last post left off with me wondering why the hotel didn't pick me up. The poor cab driver (a tiny guy that looks over 70) drove around the street that it was supposed to be on, pulling over literally every 25 seconds to ask someone, who would look at the sheet of paper, ask a bunch of questions, and then point him in one direction. At one point, there was one van, one taxi, and my taxi, stopped in the middle of the cobblestone road, all trying to figure out just where was this place. I kept pressuring him to call the number, but, the number didn't work. The guy in the van called the number, it didn't work. I had just bought a SIM card, but it's not working yet. I remember in 2010 I bought a Vodaphone card in Austalia and it took something like 12 hours to activate. Anyway, at one of the stops, a very nice guy asked me a few questions, and I just decided that it was time to give up. We had been around the same area, we had asked so many people, we had tried to ca...

The guy with the hotel seriously got me out of a jam. Now that I've walked around the neighbourhood this morning, I'm seeing its safe and full of tourists (it's really close to most if the important sights), but I'm still happy I wasn't wandering around after dark looking for a hotel. It's pretty hilarious though, certainly a decorator's dream. :P Here's the street I'm on. Look, diamond encrusted door handles! Chandeliers and silver wall paint! Balcony with seaside view...and the train tracks. I stood up on my tippy toes to get this pic. The patio is nice, a bit loud, but has a garden and cats seem to like to visit. The best is that everything is covered in hologram paper. It's special and beautiful and if I was 5 years old I would love it!! Around 3, the receptionist is going to show me the sister hotel, because this gem only is available for 2 nights. I'm not sure what's going on for the three nights after ...

Whew! It's been awhile since I've had to go through the whole pushing and shoving to get a visa and through passport control. I am a huge advocate of ensuring people do not jump the line. At one point, I was moving back and forth in the aisle so that this one lady and her husband wouldn't cut the line! At one point, it was just too much, so I didn't fight it. I plugged in my music and kinda just let whatever happen happen. I made it through, after going through to passport control to find out that I'd have to leave, walk a bit to the visa place, and then come back to go through the push/shove line. I love travelling with music SO much because I find some good songs and try not to dance too obviously. I'm sure I got a few looks, but seriously, I could care less. I'm back into the land on non-giants. I was feeling so comfortable because everyone is so tall in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany! I had to put my luggage carrying skillz to work agai...