Below My Feet

Mumford & Sons - Below My Feet

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Outside St Stephens

I started my day in Vienna at St Stephens, a fantastic church in the center of the old town. The church was beautiful and so different on each side. I think I could have wandered around it time and time again and still keep finding new and interesting bits and pieces.

I say it all the time, but I'm always amazed by the detail work done on older buildings. Especially when I stop and think about the tools they had to work with. I wish more of it carried over into modern buildings.

I think my favorite part of this church was the patterned, tiled roof. It was so colorful and it reflected the light of the sun so beautifully.

This amazing set of frescos and sculptures was inset on the back of the church.

The Lumineers - Morning Song
"May you return to love one day" Pin It

Fly Away

I arrived in Istanbul in early October, fully expecting to jump straight into my project and weekends spent working. By Thursday at the end of my first few days there, I realized I was going to have the weekend off, so I decided to get out of town with my camera for a weekend of fun. I did a google search for all the direct flights from Istanbul to cities I'd never been to before and decided a weekend in Vienna sounded marvelous.

Absolutely no planning went into the this trip, so I simply showed up, checked Lonely Planet for a list of things to see and set off with my camera. I only had Saturday and part of Sunday to explore, but I managed to pack a lot of things in, and still leave a few sights for a future trip.

The weather was gorgeous so for the most part I skipped going inside to museums and such to enjoy being outside with the amazing architecture and parks of the city. I'm really more of a planner, but I love holiday's like this, unplanned, with no agenda and simply time to wander where my whim takes me. It was the perfect way to prepare myself for what has been a punishing trip to Istanbul (the city is treating me well, but the work is intense and all consuming!)

So tell me, have you ever bought a totally last minute flight to a city you've never been to  on a whim? Would you want to? Where would you go?

Sugarland - Fly Away
"I want to sleep underneath a different piece of sky." Pin It

Lost and Found

Katie Herzig - Lost and Found Pin It

Bake Sale?

I stumbled across this group of women cooking and selling their goods in an Istanbul neighborhood. I'm calling it a bake sale, since I don't quite know what else to call it. I loved that it felt both familiar - something I'd see in my small home town, and get unique and different (sitting on the floor, the mats, the long sleeves and scarves.)

The more I travel, the more convinced I am that people across the world are more similar than they are different and that those differences are what makes the world a better place.

I mean, this collection of balloons including Hello Kitty and SpongeBob - could be taken from any place on earth. What similarities surprise you the most when you travel?

Joshua Radin - Anywhere Your Love Goes Pin It

Searching for the Museum of Innocence

One of my coworkers recently finished reading Orhan Pamunk's Museum of Innocence and read that the museum based on the book had recently opened in Istanbul. We decided to see if we could find it. We wandered through a LOT of area, got lost multiple times, but ultimately got to the museum.

I haven't read the book, so I was more interested in the photo ops along the way. Sometimes I think a city that is still new to you can be just like a museum, with something fascinating around every corner.

Like all big cities, Istanbul has a lot of graffiti - which surprised me for some reason when I first arrived. I guess I associate it with gangs and I tend to think more about the US when I think graffiti.

The museum was in a old house - so it was very much in a residential area. I managed to get a few faces of people watching the visitors to the museum.

I was also totally charmed by the little remnants of every day life we saw along the block: a kitchen window, with dishes drying in the drainer.

A forgotten shopping bag.

Yogurt containers used as flower pots.

A single forgotten shoe.

A flea market on the street.

I'm convinced the best way to experience a city is to get lost. You never know what you are going to find.

I'm loving the new Avett Brothers album, including the closing track: Life. Pin It

Jump

Madonna - Jump Pin It

Wood Houses of Istanbul

I'll be honest, I can't remember what neighborhood in Istanbul these photos came from, I found them in my batch of photos from a May weekend with friends. We were wandering and found this area full of old wooden houses. Thew were so colorful and charming I couldn't stop snapping.

The colors reminded me of the painted lady houses in San Francisco, even though the styles are different. I also loved the diversity of the neighborhood.

Not all of them were colorful - this one looked like it was on it's last legs and was crying out for someone to come along and give it some love. A google search tells me these wooden houses are somewhat famous and rare - many were destroyed by fire.

Aaron Embry's Raven Song has kept me singing along today. Pin It

Ferry Hopping

We did a little ferry hopping to Kanlica, a neighborhood on the Asian side of Istanbul. We had two goals, get out on the water and try the yogurt that has made this neighborhood famous. It was a very successful trip.

The yogurt alone was worth the trip - it was delicious, and worth the reputation. Bonus was the people watching. We weren't in a touristy area, so it felt like we were getting a more authentic experience, with friends and families just hanging out in their own neighborhood.

Fingers crossed that we get back out here again very soon.

I've had Snow Patrol on repeat for several days now, an old favorite that just keeps getting better. I'm in love with their Lifening.

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You Will Become

Glen Hansard - You Will Become Pin It

Bridging Continents

This is one of the bridges in Istanbul that links the European and Asian continents, I still find it amazing that I get to experience life in a city that literally spans two continents. To me this bridging of two continents is what makes Istanbul so special - it is a perfect mix of: Europe and Asia, old world and new world, familiar and exotic. I feel at once comfortable there and at the same time I'm intrigued daily by it's uniqueness.

My only regret is that I don't have enough time to explore!

These guys (with Utah roots) are starting to hit the big time: Imagine Dragons - It's Time. Pin It

On the Waterfront

I grew up in a landlocked state, so I didn't discover the joys of living near the water until I found myself living in Seattle a decade ago. Once I got used to life near the mountains and the water, I didn't every want to live another way.

Istanbul is surrounded by water, from the Bosphorus and all its bridges to the Golden Horn, it is hard to  not see water. Every time I've crossed the bridge in the background of the photo above it has been full of people fishing off the side.

I'm not sure I'm ready to take to the water on one of these boats - given that the Bosphorus is also full of oil and other tankers, I'm thinking I'd feel safer on something a bit larger.

This song has been a big hit in the US, it's a great celebration of a lazy day spent out on the water: Little Big Town - Pontoon.

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Day That I Die

Zac Brown Band with Amos Lee - Day that I Die Pin It