I’m not lost, I’m exploring

There are certain things one expects to do in a couple weeks in istanbul: see some incredibly old stuff, see some very cool stuff, eat some kebabs, etc. Having drinks at a very swanky hotel with one’s highschool principal, however, is not one of them. What an odd thing to do.

Istanbul is a very entertaining city. the grand bizarre. the spice bizarre, er bazzars, the “vatican of the east,” amazing mosques, and a brief jaunt to asia were all great, but my favorite parts thus far have been the efes (beers), the kababs, and the cheese. Really, the cheese isn’t that great, but it has been very amusing. I don’t know how to say anthing more than 10, so if I wanted to order more than 10 grams or less than 1 kilo of the crazy string cheese that I got at the maket, that simply wasn’t an option. Luckily, I wanted a kilo of string cheese. if nuthing else, being made fun of by my family for constantly easting cheese has been pretty fun.

I was in France for a total of 6 days and think I had every consumately French experience one could imagine. Here are the particularly French things I did while there:
-saw the tour d’eiffel, notre dame, the scene, and the arc de triumph
-enjoyed some fruits de mer on the cote d’azur
-encountered a terribly rude and uncooperative French service-industry worker (the hotel reception told me it was impossible to get a cab as early as I wanted)
-drank both far too expensive (in cafes by the mediteranian) and far too cheep (purchased from an epiceririe) wine
-ate croissants, tartes, crepes, bread, cheese, and everything else French
-went to a museum and was both impressed and consfused by some art
-saw a castle, a church, and old cobblestone streets and my way to an afternoon snack and was more interested in my kabab than any of it
-left the country on an afternoon daytrip (monte carlo is not nearly as interesting as James Bond makes it out to be)
-tried on some Euro jeans that were far too tight
-loved it all

Je suis en France! I’ve spent the last day or so wondering town, enjoying the city and the company of an old friend. It’s a very mediteranian town with a distintly French flavor. Plenty of street cafes, but more olives than grapes. As far as I can tell, that seems to be the biggest difference between north and south France. It’s all the same great pastries, the same interesting mix of old and new, and the same rude french people (the garson at this cafe wouldn’t let us share a pizza, we each had to get something).

It’s raining now, by that’s okay as there’s not all that much to be missing here. The point of Nice seems to be to wonder, and eat, and drink, and sit, and repeat. If you consider that the walks are beautiful, the food is excellent, the wine is divine, and the sits are pleantiful, I think they’ve made thisan excellent place to be. Plus, free wifi in leached from the hotel across the street makes it even easier to pass an hour or two.

Nice is a wonderful place. I’ve only been here a couple hours and I already feel relaxed and happy. I’m looking forward to an excellent week.

Welcome to Ryanair! It’s like riding the bus without all the niceties! If there is one thing that’s noticable about this ryanair “boarding lounge,” it’s that it’s cold. Not like early morning and someone forgot to close a window. More like pre-industrial revolution, indoor heating hasn’t been invented yet cold. Similar to the Singapore airport, there’s a cheap airlines terminal and then there’s the flying bus terminal. To get here, not only do you have to walk to the furthest gates (D 70+), you then have to go down 2 flights of stairs, make your way through an extensive maze of hallways, and pass through a door marked “Beware of leopard.” okay, that last bit isn’t true, but it really is pretty silly. The most noticable piece, however is that as you go through the maze, the temperature tapers off and I’d guess that it’s about 11 degrees C in here. So here I wait for yet another flying bus. Did I mention my 1000 mile flight cost € 10? So yes, I’m cold, but I’m very impressed at ryanair’s ability to trim out all that unnecessary dignity and comfort, or as I’m sure it’s called in board meetings “waste.”