Vacation Continued

We began wednesday bright and early by opening a few of my birthday gifts. It was nice to be able to open a few gifts. I loved getting three new books, a couple magazines, and a variety of snack foods from Bailey! Since we didn't make it to the University on Tuesday we went today. To get to the school, we took the tram and a bus. In all, the trip took about an hour which gives you a good idea of how far away I am from the heart of the city. We got off the bus a few stops early so that Mom and Bailey could see the main street, Nispetiye Caddessi, that I am on. After a brief stop at the superdorm which both Mom and Bailey described as being cold and uninviting we walked the fifteen minutes to the campus. Luckily, we had beautiful weather and we were able to get some really nice photos of the campus with the flowers blooming and the bosphorus in the background. Speaking of which, new photos are up on shutterfly. From the university, we walked down the hill to Bebek, the wealthy neighborhood near the school along the water. I wish that you could all see the hills in Istanbul. You have to be in great shape to even think about walking up (or down) one. We went to the "Happily Ever After" cafe for lunch where Mom and my meals added together did not equal the cost of Bailey's fish that was served whole on the plate. I think she had about four bites of it! After lunch, we worked our way back to the hotel via the bus and the tram.

Unbeknownst to me the hotel had a birthday surprise of its for me. While sitting in the lobby checking my email the lights dimmed and about 8 staff members came out singing happy birthday and carrying a cake. To top it off, I was given a wrapped president containing a really nice tea cup and saucer set. I think everyone sitting in the lobby was glad it was my birthday as they got a piece of cake too! After dinner, Mom and Bailey surprised me in the room with hostess cupcakes for the three of us! They were quite tasty.

I was going to write about Thursday as well, but I'm completely forgetting what we did so I'll have to wait till tomorrow to do that. Instead, I'll go back and finish some reading for class. Now that there's only a few weeks left in the semester I have a lot of papers and projects do.

I'll write more tomorrow,

Brett