Thursday, September 27, 2012

Our grandparents in front of the Yeni Camii in Eminonu.
Sightseeing in the city with grandparents is quite different from my normal jam-packed schedule.

You rethink everything you know. And question how much walking is too much.

You go slower. You help them maneuver through the crowded, chaotic streets of Istanbul.

You take taxis as often as possible to eliminate too much walking. Grandpa says he's never taken this many taxis in 20 years.

My husband's grandparents are enjoying their time here, and just grumble a bit about the traffic and the erratic taxi drivers. I don't blame them.

I can only hope that when we are 82 or 89 like them we are still traveling around the world too!

(Hope this brief post explains why I've been kinda quiet the past week or so. Cheers!)




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8 comments:

Unknown said...

I did wonder where you were! One of the reasons I love your blog so much is that it is all about making the most of the adventure here and I know the adventure we are having is a bit of a different one because of our four children. I love the grown up pleasures you describe, time to sip a drink, drink in the view. And you really are getting the most out of everything here. I am having a real crisis of confidence about cooking right now and fantasise about having the time for some lessons with you. One day I hope. I record some of our small adventures if you ever want to take a look: http://arockandasoftplace.blogspot.com/

Anne Mackle said...

I've always wanted to visit Istanbul but been a bit apprehensive but if your grandparents can do it at their age I might give it a go.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

that is too sweet. i love that they are still traveling at that age!

Joy said...

@Julia, Nice to hear from you! Looks like you've been staying in my neighborhood of Beşiktaş lately? ;-) I love looking at the Ihlamur park...just saw the peacock the other day after a long absence. Hope to meet up with you someday perhaps through PAWI, IWI or one of the local groups here. There's also a photo club through IWI if you are interested too.

BTW, the photos of your kids on the blog are absolutely adorable! Keep exploring!

Joy said...

@Anne, I highly recommend Istanbul, no matter what your age. We've had visitors ranging from age 12 to 89 since we've been living here. I plan to do some future posts about how we've been sightseeing with the grandparents and some tips. They had friends in there 90s visit here last year and kept encouraging them to come see us. It's been a wonderful visit so far!

@Joyce, they are truly the cutest couple! 66 years of marriage together too.

Manya said...

Delighted that your grandparents are still able to travel, especially to my favorite city.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Joy. After growing up in English suburbia I find it hard to put my camera down here! I fell in love with Ihlamur Kasrı seeing the wonderful winter pictures on your blog and have been a regular visitor ever since. We stay in Beşiktaş one night a week so it is such a magical little haven. I would love to join a photo club (or the others that you mentioned) but being with little ones every minute of the day can be a bit limiting, which is why I decided to embrace it and make a project of showing them interacting with this city. But we have got another 8 or 9 years here so one day I will get to compose my pictures more carefully and take some cooking lessons....

Joy said...

@Manya, thank you...so are we. Very blessed to have them with us these past 2 weeks in Istanbul.