Monday, December 28, 2009

Oman Clip


So here is our Oman Trip... It was unbelievable! We initially only planned to be in Abu Dhabi for a couple days, but then we got invited on a trip to Oman that we couldn't turn down. So we changed our flights (the benefit of having no plans) It was epic...

While we were in Oman we got to go watch sea turtles come on the beach and lay eggs... planet earth style. Anyway, you'll see in the clip a little guy..."Tyson." He was special to us because the stat is that like 1 out of 1000 baby green sea turtles survive. They give strict rules and regulations to make sure you do not interfere with nature, as it might disrupt the natural process of things. Anyway, so Tyson was among his hundreds of other brothers and sisters fleeing from the sand to the water. Well a bunch of stupid tourists kept flashing their camera lights into his eyes and he got confused and starting running the wrong way... The guide simply said that we had to leave him, because it was nature and the turtle would just get eaten by the birds or crabs. Well, as I'm sure you can all imagine, Sara was not about to accept that. Her argument was that nature doesn't flash point and shoot cameras in turtles eyes that throw off their bearings! So she pretty much coached this little turtle to victory. She'd smooth out the sand and build walls to guide it. It was pretty funny....

Anyway, we spent about a week roaming Oman with the Price and Kacher Families and had a blast. The food was awesome, the scenery was awesome, the company was even better, and we had soooo much fun! Thanks guys!!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

ISTANBUL final part

Alright this is the LAST Istanbul post and it is bitter sweet... Here are just a few pictures at random


One of the most famous things to see is the Blue Mosque, it is pretty awesome inside...


The Blue Mosque from the water....it is so massive!

US :)

This was the street where our hostel was....I just loved it, cobblestones and all

some food on the go....how neat is the boat restaurant....they just made fish sandwiches and then sold them to the people on the dock


the next few are some rainy day pics....oh how I LOVE rainy days

Trolley in town and steamed milk by the water...


This Mosque is right across from the Blue Mosque...they are like sisters....this one is the Hagia Sophia its a Muslim Mosque that was converted into a Catholic Church and then into a museum...

At night on the Bosphorus

....the beautiful skyline of Istanbul!



OH and did I tell you we got to celebrate Halloween there? We stayed with an American Family and they set up a good ole American trick or treat with a BUNCH of other families!
Me and Austin stayed behind and passed out candy....dont you just love our costumes ha ha we raided their kids' dress up box....notice Austins peg leg and parrot (hand made by me) and my sweet Napoleon dynamite hair and 80's tennis outfit? pretty snazzy!



All I have to say is that we LOVED Istanbul, it was unbelievable! Thanks to the food, the Markets, our new Friends( the most fantastic family) , the People, the sites and just every single memory. I miss it all! I will most definitely go back one day!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

CHRISTMAS CARD!!

Well, since its a little difficult to send out Christmas cards because we are traveling at the moment, I made this!
....so
MERRY CHRISTMAS
we love and miss all of you, thank you for all of your love this past year!

Monday, December 21, 2009

ISTANBUL part three

Things that made me laugh ....


ha ha this sign was so funny...


okay I have to say this was one of my favorites...this is the Turkish tow truck, it is pretty much the most amazing invention! This is how it works....it pulls up besides the car...these little fork lifts come out it picks it up and then puts it on the platform...and it is gone in 5 min haha people dont even know what hit them!

Now im not sure why but Turkish cabbages are like the size of watermelons, its ridiculous. I bought one for dinner one night and used about an 8th of it and it fed a family of 5!


This was just scary.... the suicide lane, its just a big free for all

ha ha "NO TRUMPETING" this one is for you JoAnne! These were all over the place....funny looking horn...guess they dont like honking :)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

ISTANBUL part two

I would have to say one of my favorite sites I saw in Istanbul was the Basilica Cistern....
its all underground and there are hundreds of columns rising up from pools of water...They have red lights illuminating each column and it is absolutely beautiful and so amazing that something like this was built underground and so long ago....it was unreal!!


so beautiful!



Austin looking creepy


Okay so this was our National Treasure moment....So there are these two columns in the Basilica that have Medusas head at the bottom of them. They are the only two columns like that out of the hundreds...one of the heads is straight and the other one is tilted on its side...No one knows why and they are facing these strange ways. Researchers have said it is only for the sole purpose of being bases to these columns but their opinions are not enough and still people wonder to this day....
SO after some thought and consideration on our part we have come to the conclusion that it is part of a map describing a code, and that the Medusa heads are leading us to a secret passage way that will unlock a hidden Turkish treasure....ha ha so THERE... we have unlocked the hidden mystery of thousands of years in our short tour...but needless to say we did not follow through and continue our destined path of uncovering treasure and went to see the rest of Istanbul...we will leave it for someone else :)

The mysterious heads....


Okay and also.... look at THIS column... this was the ONLY column that had this design on it...WHY? we are not sure we didnt come up with a theory on this one...but it is very I..n..t..e..r..e..s...t..i..n..g.........if you have any theories please share!
ha ha so there it is our adventure underground! And it was my favorite!! If you ever go to Istanbul (which I would highly recommend) you must visit this place it is totally magical

more of Istanbul to come....

Thursday, December 10, 2009

ISTANBUL part one

I seriously LOVE Turkey! We lived in Istanbul for about a month with the most AMAZING family....we got to see and experience so much while we were there it was so much fun :)

The people, the beauty, the food, and all of the experiences have been some of my favorite memories so far....It is just such a spectacular country



so (I am a little behind...but) here are pieces of Istanbul...hope they help you to love it too!

This is one of my favorite pictures...this was at sunset and me and Austin were walking home, we stopped on this hill to look at the view and it was so amazing...

First and most Importantly....THE FOOD!

wow the food was unreal....seriously unreal!
(this was me and Austins favorite meal ever)


this was apple tea...so yummy its like drinking an Apple Jolly Rancher....and Baklava the most delicious treat



more delicious things we ate...



yum. Turkish Pizza!


Next....are the fantastic Markets....So much to see AND buy :)
There is the Spice Market...and then the Grand Bazaar, I loved them both

Austin feeling right at home with a bunch of other fruits ha ha...(that was for you Dirk)



I bought a bunch of these bowls....I just couldn't resist they were so neat

this guy is selling Simits...they are really really tasty, and they sell them EVERYWHERE


Another pic I love :)

More of Istanbul to come....

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Israel

Israel....Jerusalem

I have always wanted to go to Israel and especially Jerusalem, there are so many wonderful things to see and to just think of all of the miracles that happened there...it is so exciting. Unfortunately we were only there for a couple days....but what we got to see is so memorable to me!

Well one of the first sites we saw was the Weeping Wall...I guess I never knew of the significance of this wall to the Jewish Faith till I got there and was able to see the reaction people had to it and got to learn of its history... it was really interesting. The wall is separated into a men's and woman's side. When I went up to the wall it was swarmed with people, woman were crying, and others were praying. It was really cool to see.


this is the men's side....


Next I must talk about the markets. Lots to see AND eat! So we had to stop off for some good ole Falafel….YUM! I don’t think I can ever get sick of Falafel.


And next the shops, so neat and so much fun stuff….I loved all of these crazy jars and pots and vases!

I also bought our first Nativity scene there (I'm sad I didn’t take a picture of it before I shipped it back home) but it is seriously so amazing I love it.


this shop was absolute chaos....


This building was in the market and I just loved it….don't you just love Mosaics?



I have to say one really weird thing is all of these 18 year olds walking around EVERYWHERE with these semi automatic riffles.....ha ha so many girls too....it was kind of strange.


Now I saved the best for last….. The Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb.

The Garden of Gethsemane was so amazing, so beautiful I loved it! The trees there were so unusual.... It was just amazing to be able to picture what it might have looked and been like. The Garden is right under the mount of Olives where there are hundreds of olive trees....






the view from the top of the mount of olives



The Garden Tomb was so amazing, all of it is just how I pictured it would be...

the entrance


The tomb....you could go inside


after you look at the tomb you walk through a small garden and then you are at Golgotha


its weird cause right underneath Golgotha is a bus station....but it still doesn't take away from the meaning and what happened there.

I loved Israel and hope to go back again some day :)