Springtime?

The one thing I have been forced to remember as we return to the states is that April in Utah is very much a transition month.  I wanted it to be spring and in the 60's all month, but when it came it had very different ideas.   We have had record heat for this time of year (high 80's) and back to winter weather as the above picture shows.

The Big Race!

April 21st was the big race day in Salt Lake.  Both the full and half marathons started at the University of Utah with preset routes taking them over different courses through the Salt Lake Valley to the finish line in downtown.  Among the hundreds that started the half marathon at 7:00 a.m. were our son and daughter, Jason and Allison, and Allison's husband Rob.  Allison has been working her way up to the 13.1 miles required and had hit 12 miles during her latest  practice runs.   

We took the girls, Livi and Ana, for a sleepover Friday night with promises that they would be waiting to high five Jason and their parents at the finish line.  They waited
patiently as the racers ran by and then came Dad followed by Mom and Uncle Jason a few minutes later.    

They finished!!!!

last Post: Istanbul

The day after Roger's meetings ended we headed back into the old city and visited the Topkapi Palace together.  Mehmet II built this palace for himself and family between 1459 and 1465 and it remained the main residence for the following Ottoman Sultans until 1853.  It was built as a series of pavilions contained by four enormous court-yards. Up to 6,000 people lived in the compound as it not only housed the women of the harem (over a 1,000) and servants, but also government employees, soldiers, etc. as the palace additionally served as the head of government.

The courtyards and collections in the main buildings were very nice, but the best part of the tour was, of course, the harem quarters.  While the harem quarters in the Dolmabahce Palace (which was built to replace the Topkapi Palace) were dark and subdued, the harem quarters here are elaborately decorated and open.  At each palace, the Sultan had his main quarters in the harem as that was the family residence.

Istnabul Continued:

I forgot to add this photo with my first Instanbul blog.  We saw a number of people selling bagels this way.  This gentleman had no problem multi-tasking - talking on his cell phone, carrying on a conversation and keeping everything balanced.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul was an unexpected adventure.  Roger told me he had meetings there and I quickly informed him that I was going as well.  Happily, he knew better than to argue the point with me.  We added a day on the front and two at the back of his two days of meetings and I dove right into learning about the city and arranging our daily "on our own" tours.