Istanbul

Our quick three day retreat to Istanbul was lovely and a much needed escape from the desert.  In just four hours our flight had reached Constantinople.

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Istanbul is a huge city surrounded by water.  The strait of Bosporus divides the European and Asian sides.

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When we first arrived we noticed lots of mosques and boats.  So, it was no surprise that the majority of the weekend involved these two things.

The public transportation is easy and inexpensive making exploring simple.  We fueled up before starting our expedition and guessed that we got the correct beverage.

Blue Mosque:

No shoes allowed inside a mosque.  Usually you leave your shoes outside, but this mosque had so many visitors that we keep our shoes with us.  (You should have guessed that we were wearing our walking shoes.  I didn't lie in the last post.)

Hagia Sophia which in the past has been both a church and mosque:

Basilica cistern:

Topkapi Palace:

Call to prayer:

And the Grand Bazar with ALL the other tourists:

This is just the first part of our trip, so I'll be back with more photos.  We really enjoyed ourselves and soaked up as much of the lovely weather as possible.

Europia (Europe + Asia ?)

When we first moved to Doha we planned to travel all around Asia.  I mean hello, we technically live in the continent.  Both Europe and Asia vacation destinations are just a six hour flight from Qatar, but we could visit Europe if we lived in the States.  We would never have visited Asia from the U.S.  Asia is half way around the globe from the States.  That means at least a 16 hour plane flight.  Trust me; you need a good reason to sit in the same uncomfortable chair for 16 hours.  Now is our opportunity to travel around Asia! 

We have had lots of good trips to Asia.  We just haven’t fallen in love with Asia like we adore Europe.  Everything in Asia is the right price and the people are extremely friendly.  We try to love Asia, but we just keep dreaming about Europe.  So why are we Europe people and not Asia people?

Our favorite mode of transportation are our own two feet.  We love racking up steps on our pedometers during vacation (I know, so cool.).  We fit the American stereotype and wear tennis shoes everywhere when traveling.  Europe is designed for walking.  In Asia it is impressive to find a sidewalk.   

Well, Asia has beautiful beaches but we just aren't beach people.  We get antsy after an hour lying on the beach.  We are adventure seekers and love to explore.

So, we are trying a comprise.  We are off to Turkey which you can argue is in Asia or Europe.  We are very excited to report back soon.

Purple Island

After my grumpy post on Thursday, we realized that we needed to count our blessings and appreciate our surroundings.  So we headed to the greenest place we could find in the desert.  We went to purple island which is neither purple nor an island, but we had a grand adventure in the mangroves.

 

FYI, That is a desert mutt that our friends are attempting to domesticate.  Wish them luck.

Doha Downer

Hi there.  I didn't mean to disappear.  I have just been enjoying being lazy.  

This blog is like a reality TV show.  I have one post a week and get to portray that week however I want.  I like to be positive because who wants to read my complaining, but I am not feeling Doha this week.  I have said it before, but living as an expat is a roller coaster ride.  And the oldest ride in the entire park where the safety bar isn't quite snug so you get jerked around a lot and you have a kink in your neck for the next week.  

It hit 100 degrees last week and I am already over it.  So all you people whining about snow, just stop and make a snowball in my honor.  I need to put my big kid pants on or this is going to be a LONG summer.

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My life is a trade-off.  I get to travel to amazing places, but I live in a logic free zone.  I am constantly outside of my comfort zone which has made me grow and learn tremendously, but this week I just want to go to the movies and watch an uncensored film while eating Thin Mints.  In the States, you can't go to the grocery store without getting accosted by a Girl Scout and here I can't get a single samoa coconut flake.  

I know I made the choice to live here, but this week I don't want to be missing family events and sweating profusely.  The good thing about the expat roller coaster is that a high part always comes after a low!

Dustzilla

I woke up this morning, looked out the window and proclaimed, "It's snowing!" Then I remembered that I live in a desert and got really confused.  Oh, so this is what a dust storm looks like.  Then I started coughing.

Outside our house:

Our drive to work:

 

Happy birthday Greg!  You are awesome and deserve an equally awesome day.  Happy Hoppy Easter everyone!!!  Thanks for checking in.