Part One : Baklava Means Six Pack Abs

How does one not love a city that straddles two continents and two religions, where the direct translation of baklava is six-pack and there are too many different types of street food?

Turkish flags everywhere

A bridge lined with fish restaurants!

Istanbul is a weird mix of Western consumerism, a history for the history books and a constantly evolving traditional culture. Paradoxical, chaotic, fragrant, rainy and sunny; Rebecca and I explored the streets mostly lost and seeing what we stumbled on.

Pretty Pretty Santorini

View of volcano 

Lovely coastlines

The oldest toilet I've ever seen

Red Beach

Renting ATV's and getting lost

Black Beach

Lucky to be Jumping

"I don't know, we're here... Let's do it!"

Perhaps sometimes one should advance despite their better judgement. 

A sea kayaking trip, cliff jumping into the Aegean and dinner with Rob the Australian teacher later the small island Milos treated us extremely well.

Ancient Athens and Old Friends

After seven months, Rebecca and I were finally reunited in the ancient city of Athens. We did a quick night tour before heading off to Milos Island.

Centre Pompidou and the Things We Do

After an almost missed train from Montpellier, I found myself like I’ve found myself quite often these past seven months : slightly confused, slightly shaken, slightly weighed down by suitcases and backpacks and faced with a huge city to explore. In no way can Paris be explored in a day, perhaps not even months and months. So I narrowed my choices to accessibility and headed to the ugliest building I have seen in France yet. Centre Pompidou is steel framing with glass tube escalators attached to the side. But it can't be judged that easily : the views are amazing and sifting through the large galleries is lovely. After being refused from the exposition with my measly student ticket (it’s scary how accustomed I’ve become to the bureaucratic “no’s”) I spent the afternoon looking Matisse’s, Picasso’s and some other shtuff. Then I headed to the airport to tuck myself into a bed of ceramic flooring and the sound of a jackhammer.

At first it seemed very doable. However, I was slowly realizing that it would be a long night if I had to continuously watch my bags. Luckily, I met Ms. Better-Than-Mary-Poppins (she named herself this). A German au pair sat next to me nervous to be all alone but prepared beyond belief. As we started talking she whipped out and willingly shared juice and chocolate bars and she might’ve been the most practical-minded person I’ve met; I mean she secured my charger in an outlet with a Band-Aid. We took turns napping and although we’ll probably never cross paths again it was an honest learning experience sitting next to her. And so perhaps we can trust strangers a little bit because otherwise I might’ve died of thirst or had a dead computer. But instead I am watching the sunrise in a Charles de Gaulle airport terminal.

Pasta Primavera

 

Post-beach, if you boil pasta in red wine, add tomato, onion, garlic, lots of basil and friends; you get a Montpellier Family Dinner.

La Semaine Vite Fait : A List of Potential Book Titles

Sète

Paris and The Shins ; Sète and the Cabaret ; Beaches, Babe ; Class and Having No Food ; How Studying in Bars Doesn't Work ; The Five Hour Hike ; Biking to the Beach and Getting So Much Sun, Twice ; We Started the Wine at 4 PM ; Friends Sleeping Over With Their Stuff Everywhere ; Walking for Hamburgers ; Forgetting the Camera on the Mountain ; Happy Hour and Pistache.

Sarah's Pistache and His Beer

And now it's April?!?!?!