Home Again

I love to travel, but hate traveling.  Getting places is difficult sometimes and exhausting too.  There is nothing quite like your own bed after being away for a bit!  I love seeing all of the new places, eating different foods, talking to people, learning about the history and culture of different places - I just hate taking cars, taxis, buses, planes and whatever else is required to get there!

I promised some photos from our quick trip to Istanbul.  It was definitely too short a time - and we will have to plan another, longer visit.  Istanbul was much bigger than I realized and much more a melting pot of cultures and history than we could absorb in such a short time.  

I loved being in the Grand Bazaar as well.  I thought it was going to be an outdoor market place but instead it is a large building with over 61 "streets" and over 3,000 shops.  We had an hour (I so could have supported the Turkish economy had I had more time to shop!) to explore and even though I was paying careful attention to where we were going, we still got a bit lost.  We "had" to listen to a rug pitch in exchange for directions out!  I did manage to resist the rug, which if you know me, was pretty difficult.  It was a deal and a beautiful rug…sigh.

Here are a few pics from inside the Bazaar.

I'm looking forward to crafting inspiration from all of the beautiful and intricate designs and wonderful colors.  Once I have unpacked, done some laundry and gotten the kids established in school, it will be time to get out my crafting goodies and get to work!

Leslie