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Bumblings Of Miss Button

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Bumblings Of Miss Button

Tag Archives: Turkey

How to Buy Awesome Souvenirs (Without Overloading Your Bag)

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Travel Musings

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Tags

clothing, Czech Republic, Istanbul, Italy, shopping, souvenirs, Travel Musings, Turkey

As you know, I’m a light packer. And as much as I love shopping (when I’m in the right mood), I have a hard time justifying buying souvenirs unless I’m on a short trip and don’t have to lug stuff around too long.

But traveling for 8 months and seeing things you’ve never seen before sometimes prompts a desire to take home a relic or two. Here are some of my favorite souvenirs that not only fit into my bag, but will also remind me of my fabulous trip and the incredible people I met along the way.

Look for Unique and Practical Garments

If you buy a t-shirt for every destination you travel, you might end up with a lot of extra weight in your pack. Trust me, there were so many clever and cute t-shirts I wanted (Appelman in Berlin, anyone?) but really often at souvenir shops they’re kitschy and overpriced.

The good thing about buying t-shirts as souvenirs is that if you’re traveling long-term, you’ll probably have to toss or donate your old, ruined ones at some point. And what better to replace them with than ones that are both practical–I mean, you can wear them!–and have a story behind them.

The trick? Look for items that you might not be able to get anywhere else. And that you WILL USE AND WEAR.

Example 1: In October, I traveled in Italy with the fantastic Emily & Logan. While they were off being their badass selves cycling 135 km through the picturesque Tuscan hills, I was eating porchetta and watching as people came in at the finish. Oh, and I also perused the L’Eroica market place.

There, I stumbled upon the tent for Borracce di Poesia, a project joining the joy of cycling with love of reading. Literally translated to “Water Bottles of Poetry,” its founder inserted poems he’d written that focused on urban cycling. I LOVED the idea behind this, and they had the coolest design for their t-shirts. The founder and I had a really great chat, and I asked myself: Where else would I get something like this that was paired with this experience?

Overlooking Siena and promoting poetry!

Overlooking Siena and promoting poetry!

I love my Borracce shirt and can’t wait until there’s warmer weather to wear it all the time again–I did in Italy!

And by the way–now you can get their t-shirts online! They are super cool and come in many colors.

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7 Turkey Travel Tips

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Destinations, Travel Musings

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Istanbul, Turkey

I just spent 6 weeks in Istanbul, and was there for almost a month back in August. Although I’m certainly no expert on the city–only a true Istanbulite could say that, I think–I definitely learned at least seven things about life and travel there.

Some of these are things I wish I had known before I went; others are tips from fellow travelers and ex-pats. They’re pretty basic, but I hope they’re helpful!

A (relatively unflattering) self-portrait at the incredible Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

A (relatively unflattering) self-portrait at the incredible Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

1. Carry a photocopy of your passport with you, especially at night. I don’t mean in your luggage, I mean on your person/in your purse/wallet. Police do make stops and checks, especially if you are in a car at night, and you can get in trouble if you don’t have this. Be sure you know where your physical passport is at all times in the unlikely event that they ask to see the original.

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3 Travel Panic Moments

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Travel Musings

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Croatia, Greece, Spain, Turkey

I originally started this post by writing about how lucky I’ve been in my travels, about how I’ve avoided many unfortunate specific travel-related misfortunes but I am superstitious enough that I don’t want to tempt fate or the travel gods by listing them. As Michael Scott would say, “I’m not superstitious. But I’m a little stitious.”

Sometimes travel can be tricky when you're a blond like me...

Sometimes travel can be tricky when you’re a blond like me…

Suffice to say I’ve been safe and relatively timely, whether that’s due to luck or smart travel. I hope for the latter. But even for the lucky traveler, those moments of panic happen. Often, it’s because we’re not thinking clearly…

Here are three that come to mind right away…

3. Just the other night I went to check us in online for our flight to Croatia. It was 7:10 p.m. and our flight left the next evening. I clicked through the usual screens, entered my name and surname, airport of departure, the whole thing. But a red error message came up saying RESERVATION DOES NOT MATCH NAME, and even worse, the flight listed to Zagreb was for an hour from then. What the eff!?

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Photo of my day: Turkish Tripe Soup

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Bumbling Bites, Photo of My Day

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

food, photo, Turkey

image

Today, Boris and I had lunch with a couple of friends. They insisted we eat iskembe soup before we left Turkey.

Iskembe is a tripe soup frequently found throughout the Balkans and Turkey. Made from cow’s stomach and other cow & sheep offal, including sheep head meat, you add chili flakes, vinegar, garlic and some lemon juice.

No, I did not know exactly what I was eating but I knew it was related to kokoreç because our friend let it slip. I think I would have been able to identify the taste though, even if he hadn’t…

Istanbul 360: Photos from Galata Tower

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Destinations, Photo of My Day

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Tags

photo, Turkey

Galata Tower was originally built of wood and erected as a lighthouse in the year 528 AD. About 700 years later, it was reconstructed using stack stone, and stands today as one of the architectural witnesses to Istanbul’s rich history.

Galata Tower, Istanbul

Galata Tower, Istanbul

Over the course of its life, Galata Tower has been used as an astronomical observation point, and a watch tower for the fire brigade (although apparently that didn’t prevent its destruction by fire a few times). Although it has been damaged and rebuilt a number of times, it is the oldest tower in the world still available for visitors to take the elevator to the top and admire the city.

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Blue Mosque: Have I Seriously Not Posted About This Yet!?!

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Destinations

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Turkey

Sultanahmet Camii

Wow. I completely forgot to write about this. My apologies…considering we were there in August and it is now January. My bad!

The Blue Mosque is one of the most famous icons of Istanbul, although many locals have told us that Süleymaniye Mosque may be a worthier trip. It is right across the way from the Hagia Sophia, which means you have a pretty darn good view when standing in between the two. Minarets, much?

Speaking of minarets (those pointy spires), the Blue Mosque has 6, whereas most have only 4. And 8 (that’s right, 8!) domes! 

In fact, 17th century architect Sedefkâr Mehmet Ağa purposefully designed the mosque so that if you look skyward as you approach from the Hippodrome, the domes seem to fall on each other, one upon the other.

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Intestines: It’s What’s for Dinner!

28 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Bumbling Bites

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

food, Turkey

I was never the adventurous eater on family vacations. My little brother always took that prize–he had no problem devouring snails in France and snacking on calamari. For me, it took some prodding; not because I was ever a particularly picky eater, but I have discovered that I am particularly picky about foods of specific textures, namely rubbery–hence the aversion to a lot of shellfish and other seafoods (googling that actually results in an eating disorder that children normally suffer from. Awesome.)

Basically what I’m getting at is that I’m not known for being the one to eat the unusual stuff when I’m traveling. Unless I don’t know what it is. 

For me, ignorance really can be bliss. I love hot dogs, and I know in theory they have got some nasty shiz in them, but they are so dang tasty! Don’t spoil my fun.

I enjoyed haggis in Scotland, mostly because I conveniently forgot what it was made of. 

Yum! See, I almost cleared my plate!

Well, last week I got to experience the haggis of Turkey: kokoreç. 

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Photo of My Day: Hagia Sophia, I

28 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Destinations, Photo of My Day

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Tags

photo, Photo of My Day, Turkey

DSC06264

I finally made it to the Hagia Sophia. You’d think being in Istanbul for a month would warrant an immediate trip. Better late than never, right? I’ll post more photos soon, although I regret to say that the lighting inside the incredible building is not super for my regular old point & shoot. Starting to wonder whether it’s time to invest in a real camera…Anyway, enjoy this sneak peek!

That Time I Bought Stamps in Istanbul (And Other Adventures in Turkish)

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Travel Musings

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Turkey

At the Post OfficeA few weeks ago, I went to the post office next to our apartment. My goal: to buy stamps. 

À la Recherche du Stamps Perdu
Creative Commons Source

 Like many other countries, post offices in Turkey are also where people pay bills and conduct other business. Stamps are one of the last things on the list when folks visit the post office. 

But I have a bad habit of hoarding post cards and ending up with 20 cards from 4 countries. And so it was that day.

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Making Meze: A Cooking Class in Istanbul

25 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by sarabutton in Bumbling Bites

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Tags

food, Things to do, Turkey

If you’ve been following along, you may have noticed that I like food. I mean, who doesn’t? Food is awesome. It tastes good (most of the time), it’s fun to make, and it gives you energy to keep doing cool stuff like hike Mount Olympus or dance the lindy hop.

My boyfriend does give me a lot of flack for taking photos of the food I eat, and I confess that a lot of my recent Instagrams have featured food.

Click to make it bigger…

Anyway, you get the picture. So for Christmas, I decided to take a half-day cooking class here in Istanbul.

Continue reading →

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