When I was planning my escapade from any sort of mention of my birthday in the US (I love attention, said no INTJ ever), I had one thing in mind: going home and doing absolutely nothing which (as usual) I awesomely failed at. Case in point? While at it, I figured I'd take advantage of one of the best things about Europe (its tiny size) and take a quick 4-hour drive to one of the greatest cities in the world.... Istanbul. So here is how I got to spend my (30th) birthday:
- I walked 22,000+ steps throughout Istanbul in one day, visiting Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi, the Grand Bazaar and everything and anything in between.
- Yet I still somehow managed to gain a good 5 pounds in that one day because the food is just that good there.
- I took the longest possible taxi ride anyone would ever willingly sign up for (3.5 hrs) to get to dinner. Well, scratch that, it was not willingly. Istanbul traffic is intense!
- But, I got to experience the most amazing birthday dinner I could ever imagine (chef's choice for every bite and sip is a sure way of getting the finest (and, ahem, priciest) items on the menu).
- And most importantly, I got to spend my birthday with the people I love the most in this world.
While there, I also got to capture some of my favorite things about Istanbul (and sadly, no, I still haven't found a way to digitally capture aromas and tastes): the city's gorgeous and awe-inspiring textures, colors, and shapes...
I'd say this is one heck of a way to close out the first 30 years of one's life! Now I am just hoping the next 30-40-50-60 years are just as fun! And... there is so much more to share from this amazing trip (e.g. the 1,987,267,473,864 pictures I took). Coming soon!
A few months back, a co-worker of mine convinced me to join my company's Spartan Race team. He didn't talk it up much: he mentioned it's a long-ish run with a few fun obstacles. You know, no big deal. Something someone who runs as much as me should complete more than easily (read, you don't really need to train for it). Ha ha ha.