Kusadaci

Today we went to Kusadaci, Turkey. Right when we got off the boat we started looking for a cab to Ephesus. It took us almost an hour but we finally managed to hire someone to drive us to Ephesus (about 20 miles away from kusadaci), drop us off at the upper gate and wait for us at the lower gate to bring us back. Most of the cab drivers wanted 80 euros for the job (about $120) but we were able to get an older gentleman to take us for 80 lira (about $60). We were pretty proud of ourselves. The drive to Ephesus was really fun since we were able to see more of the country side.
Walking through Ephesus was amazing! I don’t know how they were able to build such amazing structures out of granite way back then, but they did an incredible job. I loved just wandering through the city wondering what it must have been like back in the day. It was quite incredible though because apparently Ephesus used to be a port town. However, we could not even see the sea from the ruins. It’s amazing how much the landscape has changed. After we were through at the city we hopped back in the cab and headed back to town. On the way back our cab stopped at a rug factory to let us take a look. I was a little nervous he was just going to take off while we were inside and we were going to be stranded at a rug shop in the middle of nowhere with no escape. (Turkish rug sellers are known for being extremely pushy and won’t take no for an answer) We aren’t sure if they could tell we had 0 money or what but they were very gracious to us and never tried to push us into buying a rug and luckily our cab driver did indeed wait.
When we arrived back in town we paid our driver for the afternoon and then took a look around the bazaar. We didn’t actually buy anything since we ended up spending so much getting to Ephesus, but it was still fun taking a look. When we got tired we headed back to the ship and CRASHED. We laid down around 6 PM, woke up around 9 PM, ordered room service and then went back to sleep.

Our first day of work!

Today was our first sea day. I was a little nervous that we would get sea sick, but so far so good. The day started with a beginner bridge class taught by our new friends at 10 am. Then we had an entertainment group meeting at noon and followed by our first group class. We taught the Waltz and American Rumba. It was a lot of fun but different than anything we’ve ever done before since the class was only 45 minutes and yet we still had to try and teach a couple steps of each dance. In the end there were probably some things we will do differently for our next class but overall I would say it was a success. After our class we took a nice long nap!
When we woke up we attended our first Captain’s Welcome aboard in the palm lounge. It was a formal evening so we got all dressed up and went and mingled with the guests. After the party we attended dinner in the dining room where we met a really nice couple from Australia. They were so sweet! After dinner we went dancing and had a really great time. Overall it was just a great relaxing day.

Istanbul Day 2

Today we had a nice leisurely day. The day started with another delicious breakfast after which we wandered around the ship just to try and get our bearings. We then went back into the city of Istanbul to explore. It was amazing the difference from yesterday to today in the city. Yesterday it was packed and you couldn’t walk down the street without colliding with a passerby. However, today it seemed almost like a ghost town (relative to yesterday, but it was still pretty busy). I think it was probably due to the rain, being a Sunday and also the holiday of Ramadan.
The first place we went to visit was the Topkapi Palace. Everything in the palace was breathtaking, we were so happy that we decided to go ashore and explore despite the rain. The palace had exhibits displaying a variety of historical artifacts, from religious relics, treasures received as gifts or as spoils of war, and the sultan’s ceremonial apparel. It was all incredible to see, according to the plaques we read; we saw the prophet David’s sword, the staff of Moses, and various prophet’s beard boxes. The treasury had jewels that you only see in movies, the kind that are the focus of big jewelry heists. It included several plush thrones, jeweled swords and armor, boxes of massive emeralds and rubies, and an 82 carat diamond turban jewel. It was really very incredible, the jewels were extremely beautiful. By the end we were really tired from walking around the palace, it was a huge building, but we were so glad we were able to make to see it.
After the palace we went to visit the blue mosque, which was kind of a surreal experience because like we have been told would happen, you could hear chanting prayers over loud speakers throughout the city. We were actually hoping to be able to enter the mosque itself, but weren’t able to because it was prayer time and today was the holiday of Ramadan, so unfortunately we had to stay out in the courtyard of the mosque. We were still able to observe the people praying, it was incredible to watch as they all removed their shoes, knelt down in rows facing the east, and bowed their heads down to the ground repeatedly in unison. It really was a great cultural experience.

When we drove up to our ship it hit me that we are about to embark on the most fantastic journey. We boarded the ship and headed straight for breakfast, once again we were extremely famished. We had breakfast on the 12th floor overlooking the city and it was so delicious. So many choices and all of them were absolutely tasty (we both agreed we will have to exercise some serious self restraint). After breakfast we went to our room to discover it is lovely! We have a stateroom with a large window, a king size bed and our bathroom has a double vanity. After unpacking we headed ashore to explore Istanbul. The cruise line provides a complimentary shuttle that took us from the ship to city center. From there we were able to walk to the Grand Bazaar. The bazaar was incredible. It was HUGE (in 3 hours we didn’t ever put a dent in exploring the entire bazaar). We found a few fun souvenirs for family (sorry I can’t post the details since I don’t want to give it away) and also a few fun things for ourselves.
After leaving the bazaar we walked to the underground cistern. OMG it was unbelievable. It is this enormous underground water tank that was built hundreds of years ago. They have wooden planks set up that allow you to walk through the cistern and enjoy the ambiance. It cost 10 Turkish liras a person but it was definitely worth it!
After we left the cistern we took the shuttle back to the ship where once again we PASSED OUT. We woke up around 6:30 at which point we met up with Tammi and Jordy (dance instructors from previous cruise) and they showed us around the ship. The tour took about 2 hours but it was extremely helpful. After the tour we ordered room service, which was so delicious since the last time we ate was around 10 am and it was almost 10 pm by the time we got our food. Then we went to the palm lounge to mingle and dance with some of the guests. All in all it was a great day and we are so excited for the next two weeks!

The Journey

After quite a few hours of flying we finally arrived at our hotel in Istanbul around 2:30 PM. Our hotel was really nice and it was exciting to be in Istanbul but after all the hours of travelling all we could do was pass out on our bed. We woke up around 9 PM (to be honest we had no idea what time it was the entire time we were at the hotel since it didn’t have clocks, neither of our phones was working and the only watch we had was set on British time). When we finally woke up we were famished so we went to the restaurant in our hotel for dinner. I had a lamb kebab and travis had chicken schneitzel. It was really tasty, but it could have just been that we were starving. After dinner we headed back to our hotel room and fall back asleep. Travis woke up around 4 am and I woke up around 5 am. We both just laid there and waited for our driver to pick us up at 10 am to take us to the ship.
Although it was a very uneventful day the two best things that happened were we both rode on the biggest planes we have ever been on (double decker) and we arrived in Istabul safely!

And so it begins...

Its official! We are sitting in the SLC airport waiting for our journey to begin. We haven't slept in over 24hrs, but ready or not we are on our way. Our first flight is to Chicago, then to Frankfurt Germany and then finally to Istanbul Turkey. We are leaving SLC today (Thursday Sept 2) at 8 AM and scheduled to arrive in Istanbul Friday Sept 3rd at 10 PM. YIKES! its going to be a long day(s) but definitely worth it!

Heartbreak Warfare

Tuesday night (August 31st) Travis and I went to the John Mayer concert and it was SO much fun. We wouldn't normally attend a concert but Travis' work bought everyone (spouses included) tickets to the concert and it was such a great way to end the summer! Thanks Bioguard!

Visit to Idaho Falls

This last weekend was really great. Travis and I took work off and headed to Idaho Falls for the weekend. We arrived Thursday night and it was really fun just to see everyone and catch them up on our trip to New Jersey. When Travis and I were in NYC we picked up T-shirts for Jess and Stu. Jess was really excited about the shirt, as for stu... not so much. But after some coaxing we were finally able to take a group picture.Early Friday morning we saddled up the horses and headed for Bear Creek. Me, Travis, Stu, my mom and dad all enjoyed a nice ride to White Springs Canyon and back to the trailhead where my Dad had parked our trailer. That night we enjoyed hot dogs and played a few games before bed.


The next day Me, Travis, my Dad and Jess (she came up friday night after work and my mom and stu had to leave for stu's football game) went on another ride. This time we headed up current creek towards the upper hunting camp. Once we were on the ridge my dad decided to loop back around by going down Mongolian (not official name, just what my dad calls it). Well, we started down the canyon and the longer we rode the more apparent it became that the trail was no where to be found, and indeed we were a bit lost. For the most part it was really fun, we came across a tree that a bear used to mark its territory by scratching up and high as he could. It was also a drizzly day so we were shelter under the trees and just enjoyed the cool weather and delightful smell of pine trees. However, the ride was some very scary spots where i thought one of the horses was going to break its leg or step in a hole covered by bushes. But in the end as luck would have it we somehow managed to come back on top and find the normal trail (but not the trail my dad was looking for, it was the one we rode in on). And from there it was smooth sailing. (the longer we rode the bigger the hole in her crotch grew)

On Sunday we woke up, went to church and then just had a nice relaxing afternoon with the family. Jake and Katie came over for dinner and made us a delicious Russian version of ravioli. We spent the night and then woke up and drove back to provo just in time to make it to work. We had a great time and can't wait to go back for another ride!

Last Day

Well, its official. Today is our last day working at Bioguard Pest Control. Its been a great summer job, but its just that, a summer job and summer is over. We are excited to move on and start a new adventure. But i just wanted to take a moment and say thank you to everyone for a fun summer!