SUNSETS, SPAGHETTI, SANTORINI

SANTORINI!! One of the most beautiful places in the world. Oh my goddess (it's a Greek thing, you wouldn't understand... Actually it's not a thing at all but let's just pretend.) I never want to leave! Every corner exposes a unique glimmer of the town's personality. The streets are narrow, washed white, and filled with wide-eyed tourists. There is something about this island that makes you feel otherworldly, yet incredibly at home. 

Flowers cover miles of the town. Every home casually sports a personal botanical garden framing each window. 

Donkeys and mules were used to rebuild the city after an enormous volcano eruption of the early settlements on the island. Today, these animals are used to transport willing tourist up and down the steeping cliffs.

The sights in Santorini are continuously breathtaking. Here is the view from a local linen shop, overlooking the ruins of an Ancient Greek castle. 

Famous for it's white-washed walls and blue dome cathedrals, I donned my own ode to the traditional Grecian white and blue combo with this little sundress from Anthropology. I thought the bright colors would look great against the cool tones of the town. 

Since the weather is hot and the sun is almost inescapable, I opted for a loose side braid, pinning my hair away from my face. 

The cool sea breeze kept me from sweating my face away, but I quickly understood why many Greek women decide to trot around town in little more than bikini tops and cut offs. 

The fruit in the places we have visited has been phenomenal. I found this gem of a fruit stand off the side of a cliff! It's casual. 

A must try in Santorini: local watermelon. It's uniquely delicious, with uncharacteristically large seeds for it's breed.

For dinner: omg. Omg. Best food ever. Almost. Maybe. Idk. But guys OMG it was so good. Recommended to us by our tour guide, we ate at a restaurant called Sunset. From our table not only did we have a breathtaking view of the upcoming finale show of the day's setting sun, but also very noticeable portraits of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey with her arms around the restaurant's owner. The owner and a companion of his happened to be sitting down for their own dinner at the table just behind us. As we ate, a young, beautiful European couple was brought to them for some sort of introduction. As they exchanged (greek) words, I heard the young couple mention Istanbul (I assume they were answering the "where are you from?" question), and the owner's face lit up. These four strangers hit it off immediately. They spoke cheerfully for quite some time, until the young couple finally returned to their seats to enjoy their meal. This moment struck me. It was incredibly beautiful to watch two pairs of strangers collide into this sort of mutual enjoyment. What a beautiful entertainment to see human beings discovering what a small world it truly is. 

Later on in the day, I, too, experienced this sort of "small world" Europa myself. But I'll get to that later (:

BUT OK FOOD 

I am usually a vegetarian, but I can't pass down a fresh plate of sea food. At Sunset, I ordered down a bowl of traditional Greek salad and a large plate of steamed muscles in white wine sauce. Sooo good. And such a picturesque meal. 

The best muscles I've ever had!

Not pictured is the amazing spaghetti my mom ordered. Jayden, who "tried" half the bowl, says she will always remember it as the best spaghetti she has ever put in her mouth. I have never seen this girl be more enthusiastic over a meal. She says that she must return to have another bowl, so we have added Sunset in Santorini, Greece to our travel bucket list (which we might hopefully accomplish sometime next year).

Talk about fresh! These octopi greeted us on our way to our restaurant... 

After dinner we caught a glimpse at one of Santorini's famous sunsets. There is not much I can say here than that these photos don't justice to the moment. Watching nature's nightly performance was spiritually uplifting. In Santorini, you will feel at peace just by watching something as normal as the sun setting for the evening. 

This lady was so enlightened by the sunset, she enthusiastically screamed her joy in Japanese, smile wide in her face.

She ended each chant with an English song of "I LOVE YOU!" And moved into a ballet-esque pose with her hands above her head. Despite the laughs she received, she repeated this multiple times. Tourists, amiright?

We ended our evening not long after sunset. As we were walking back to the port, we ran across a peculiar little pedicure spa with tanks of flesh eating fish (!!), so it was obviously something that Jayden and I wanted to try. We go in. For 10€ for 15 minutes each, we get a full-foot exfoliation treatment by little fishies. At first it was terrifying, but after the initial 30 seconds of shock, the sensation felt like minuscule vibrations, and eventually, I even felt relaxed. For a moment, I even considered plunging in for a full body treatment (which they offer). Will someone open one of these spas back home?

Anyway, while we were in here two girls that almost eerily resemble Jayden and I, one blonde, one brunette, sit down for their first treatment, too. They put their feet in, completely unfazed by the monsters eating their skin. We start talking to these brave girls, and upon realizing their obviously American accents, we ask them where they're from. "Oh, we're students at the University of Oklahoma," one of them says. "We're sisters, and we're traveling abroad." 

It was such a small moment, but it felt great to meet someone from home, so far away from where home really is. 

There is just something about Santorini that makes you simultaneously feel so away from the world, yet powerfully connected to your roots. 

I love you, Santorini. 

I am here, Istanbul

My family and I arrived to Istanbul around 5 o'clock in the afternoon yesterday. We were immediately greeted by our kind driver Sayit, and several boisterous outdoor speakers calling us to evening prayer. As we loaded our luggage into the back of Sayit's van, I had a brief premonition of becoming the next inspiration for Taken 3, but it all ended up just fine, as we arrived safe and sound at The Ritz Carlton Istanbul only 40 minutes later.
Dirty and nauseously jet-lagged, the family decided dinner was a good idea. We ate at a restaurant here in the hotel. In typical Ritz fashion, it was a fabulous meal, in fact the most fabulous meal I had enjoyed in quite sometime. I happily spent my first evening in Istanbul chowing down on fresh bread, dipped in coarse salt and extra virgin olive oil, a fresh mixed green salad, an array of traditional Turkish hummuses, and curried vegetables and rice. A girl can only take so many smoothies, after some time, you must delight yourself to the real foodie pleasures in life.
Regressing to bed was more challenging than I had imagined. Jet lag is very real. I fell asleep around 11 PM here ( 3 PM central time), and woke up about 2 AM (6 PM CT). After an hour of unproductive tossing and turning in my bed, which I must say was extremely comfortable, I decided I might as well wake up for good. So, I reached for my Nikes and headed to the gym at 3 in the morning. I am already breaking new grounds here in Istanbul. I think that just shows how monumental this trip is preparing to be.
Now, it is 8:30 in the morning, and I am still the only one awake from my party. Single, I am drinking coffee and munching on a croissant and fruit awaiting the day's promising beginning. Though alone, I find myself relaxed and at ease. It is trips like these that remind me of the beauty found in simpler things. Like admiring a view from breakfast, though it is of mostly construction of a football stadium, there behind it a mosque with gold pointed pillars peeks at me. I am in love with this slow easiness and am inspired to find this feeling again come tomorrow morning, 8:30.