Wow!

Good morning or afternoon or whatever it is wherever you are.

Two of my friends cancelled their trips. the other two are coming, but they're doing guided pre-packaged tours so i won't see much of them.

I'm going to plan my itinerary somewhat around theirs but they move around a lot and that gets expensive. I'm trying hard not to spend too much money. I'm keeping track of all my expenses now that I'm on the road. I'm spending more than I want to. Each day I think, okay, today will be a cheap day then something turns up. I've settled into Istanbul at a hostel which charges $17/day and will be here for 4 more days so hopefully I can keep things down. [Note: I later found the Harmony Hostel, less expensive, great atmosphere, two meals a day included. My orignal plan was to move about a lot but now I've decided to limit my moves to no less than every three days. There are sooo many places to spend money here and it's all soooo inviting. The food here is outrageously delicious and there are restaurants and food carts about every 10 feet. Ah, you can't imagine - breads and pastries and ice cream and salads and it's all laid out so beautifully, so artistically. Every restaurant has a window full of amazing foods, cooks working, etc. The hawkers are the best in the world. They're not aggressive but very very nice, very handsome and it's hard to ignore their niceness. :o) Really nice people. honestly nice. If you're not interested in what they're selling they ease up and instead will invite you to share a cup of Turkish tea and a chat (as one carpet seller did yesterday) or give you a sample or give you directions or even walk you to your doorstep. I was even approached by a male prostitute. Imagine that?!?!

I had an amazingly wonderful day yesterday just wandering around in a daze. I've decided if you spent your entire life shopping in Istanbul you'd never be able to visit all the shops here. Everything glitters and shines and invites you in every way possible. A bright, lively beautiful city. I tried the hooka yesterday. Yum, yum. The smoke is so delicious. It's not tobacco, it's some mixture of dried fruits and grass, just plain green grass from the ground. People smoke them all over the place and now I know their appeal. It's like eating but not. Today perhaps I'll take a ferry ride up the Bosphorus if the weather is nice. Yesterday was a bit cool and overcast but the sky cleared in the afternoon. If I don't do a ride then I'll just walk around in a delightful daze again. I'm fine with that.