Ahhh...the great outdoors.

So we went camping. And honestly I don't have much to say about it except it was beautiful. The weather was perfect and the green was needed. It was nice to get out of the concrete jungle for a few hours. Here are some pictures and some commentary when necessary.


The road to the camping spot. This was the good part of the road.






One of my most favorite things about Turkish culture is their sense of hospitality. This particular camping spot doesn't allow you to build fires on the ground. They have these community grills set up so that all fires are contained in one place. While Brian was cooking the people you see behind him came over and gave us half of a watermelon. They cut it and basically made us all eat some.


Later another group of campers came and gave Brian this plate of rice. It was delicious! There were tiny pieces of shredded chicken mixed in. It tasted just like Cajun jambalaya. I almost went over and got the recipe! The next morning a man stopped by while we were having breakfast with a loaf of bread from his father-in-law's bakery. Seriously...we were sad we couldn't share our food. I mean we could have, but I'm pretty sure the bags of chips and snack cakes from a package wouldn't have been appreciated. I'm telling you...nobody does camping and picnic food like the Turks!

This little bird hopped around our table anytime we were sitting there. At one point he hopped onto the table to make sure we saw him. It was nice seeing some wildlife. This may not seem like wildlife to you, but we don't get much in Ankara. Lots of pigeons and not much else. We also watched frogs, tadpoles, and a snake swimming in the water, a little brown mouse come out of his hole to get some of the bread crumbs left by the birds, and a squirrel playing in the trees.

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Brian's take on our camping trip.

Having an evening snack. I think Jacob was in the bathroom!

The kids and Brian getting ready for our hike the next morning. Jacob was in the bathroom again. Doesn't Brian look thrilled!

Notice the rockin' camp hairdo!

This hollowed out log was next to the waterfall. They had piped water over to it so people could get a drink without actually having to walk in the water.

You...yes...YOU!

Ok...stealing another idea here! Because what's a good idea if it can't be stolen. So Marie came up with an idea for a YouYou. Then Ronnica shamelessly stole it and changed the questions. Now I am going to take a shot at it as well. The way you play...leave me a comment. Say anything you want in the comment. Then it's my turn. I will respond to these 4 items based on YOU!

1. I'll remind you of the first time we met. (If I haven't ever met you I'll just make something up!)
2. Where I would go on vacation with you.
3. What superhero you remind me of.
4. The one food item we love to share.

If you have a blog I will be scouring it for some hints as to who you are so make sure to leave me your blog address! Thanks for playing. (EDIT - It's never too late to get in on this action. Just leave me a comment here, and I will do a youyou for you! If you have a blog make sure you leave the address or that it is in your profile. Thanks for playing!)

(Aren't you glad I am coming home today? I'll actually have time to sit down and write a post instead of scheduling them to post while I'm gone. And I know...I didn't have to post anything...I just thought it would be fun! Now...get to commenting! I'll be back soon!)

Over-indulgence in all things American!

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th with lots of other Americans on the military base here in town. They had bbq pork sandwiches, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, Crunchy Cheetos, and many other American goodies for us to indulge in. Yummy!


This picture was taken shortly after we arrived. Brian commented that I looked like that guy...um...what's his name? Eddie Van Halen. Um...ok. Then he said let me take your picture so you can see yourself. Um...ok. Then he said it was more like a cross between Eddie and David Lee Roth! Since I happen to love Van Halen I am pretty ok with that. I mean hello...Panama? Who didn't love that song?

Speaking of music the entertainment at the festivities this year was great! No Turkish Elvis Impersonators. The band played a great mix of songs from almost every genre. And then between sets they blasted songs from Maroon 5, Def Leppard, Evanescence, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams, Newsboys, Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Eagles among others.



Brian and Will enjoyed a game of basketball with a few other people.


There were Starbucks employees walking around giving out free coffee. That would have been nice if it hadn't been stinkin' hot outside. Oh well...it was the thought that counted.


Will and I enjoyed throwing the ol' pigskin around. Now let me say this before everyone else does. I throw like a girl. Most of the time. But keep in mind that this picture is of me in motion. I am not holding the ball at the end. It is beginning to move away from my hand at this point. Adam took this picture. He took it because he and Brian want to show the football guys that "even Brian's wife has good form. She is throwing off her front foot. She has her elbow up. Come on guys even Natalie can do it." I will confess that I am totally weak. If Will had been much further away there is no way I could have thrown the football hard enough to reach him. Later we changed to a Nerf football, and then my throwing ability improved dramatically. I may not be good, but I am willing.


Jacob hurt his leg climbing on some rocks so he was sitting out for a bit. We took this opportunity to get some pictures with him.


Notice the crime scene tape in the background. There really wasn't a crime directly behind us. That area was set aside for important people. We sat as close to the important people as we could. It didn't make us feel more important though. Actually it reminded us of how unimportant we really were. Oh well...we were having fun! And that is what counted.


Will doing what he does best. Entertain the little kids. Seriously...they all love him, and he loves it. He would be an awesome babysitter. He wants to babysit. He doesn't think it's fair that the girls in his class get all the babysitting calls. He thinks he is being sexually discriminated against. Call him!


Hope your day was awesome.

Yeah...we laughed.

Approximately one hour after Brian mentioned that his chair felt slightly unstable...






Yeah...I'm taking your picture...smile!

I am mom.

Today I once again proved why I should win the mother of the year award. I mean I am such a good mom. Especially when it comes to wholesome, nutritious meals for my kids.

Breakfast: whatever they managed to find in the empty cabinets and refrigerator at whatever time they felt like eating. I have no idea who ate what or when they ate it.

Lunch: at 2pm when they came in and asked what we were having. My answer. Ice Cream. Seriously. We all had ice cream for lunch. And it was my idea.

Dinner: I am trying to redeem myself by serving something. We are having sandwiches, but they will be on Turkish bread. With deli meat, cheeses, and veggies. What? Did you think I was going to cook something? Silly, silly bloggity friends.

Dirt road to fun

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Setting the mood

You know there is something to be said for ambiance. For character. For atmosphere.

Take the hotel we recently stayed in for example...


We stayed here. In this rock.


This is Brian standing in the doorway to our room. Small, quaint, and full of character.


The bed and "kitchenette".


The couch/extra bed...


The ceiling...


And every room had a telephone in it. I never did see anyplace to plug this telephone in, but thankfully I hadn't planned on making any calls. This, my friends, is character! OH, and the bathroom in our room held a sink, toilet, and shower all in the same small place...no curtain separating the shower from the rest of the room. If one wanted one could sit on the toilet and shower at the same time. It was small, but it had character...ambiance if you will.


And here I am standing on the side of the rock by the windows to our room. I look like an amazon woman despite only being 5'2". This doesn't show character or ambiance. It was one of three pictures of me so I thought I would throw it in.


This is Engin Hanim, the proprietor of the Tekelli House. She was a character. Actually...she was quite nice. When we arrived she invited us to have tea with her and her husband on the terrace. We did, and I managed to not make a total fool of myself despite the drug induced state I was in from the migraine medicine I had take about an hour before.


The view from the terrace.

After having tea Brian and I decided to head into town for coffee. Brian told me about this place he knew of that had great coffee drinks. We parked the car in a parking lot and started walking.


To get to that great coffee place we had to walk by this place. Of course I immediately wanted to have coffee here instead. I mean look at those beanbag chairs! And there were hookahs on every table. Not that we were going to partake, but they looked nice. Gave the place character. AND this place had several kinds of coffee drinks as well as milkshakes and smoothies on their menu. I was sold! Brian agreed that we could try this new place instead. The raspberry vanilla French Press Brian ordered looked and tasted like dirty water. He let it brew longer than necessary, but it still never got dark enough to be considered anything other than dirty coffee water. I ordered a smoothie after being assured that the smoothie was way thicker than a milkshake. I have had Turkish milkshakes and while they taste great they are basically a glass of cold chocolate milk. There is nothing thick and ice creamy about them. My smoothie came, and once again I enjoyed a tall glass of chocolate milk. I will never learn.

Ok...so the drinks were disappointing, but the beanbag chairs were comfy. At least mine was. Brian never did get comfortable in his. He tried two different beanbag chairs and then rearranged the beans in them several times before finally giving up and deciding that I had the only comfy chair in the place. Ahhh...

After that we did a little shopping. I had forgotten my jacket so I bought a wrap to use after it got dark and in the underground city we were planning to visit the next day. After shopping and walking around we decided it was time for dinner. Once again Brian knew of a place that had good food, and this time it had character as well. It was dark, and we had to take our shoes off to enter. Guests sit on cushions on the floor and eat their meal on a large copper/silver tray.


Score one for Brian. We both noticed how unflattering this picture of us sitting on the floor is, but I had to show you the atmosphere.


We ordered a combo appetizer plate that was yummy! Hummus, eggplant and potato stir fry, salsa, squash fritters, mushroom salad, and stuffed eggplant. Speaking of stuffed that is exactly how I felt after eating the appetizers.


Then my food came. I ordered Falafel. I had never had it before, and it was yummy! My waiter was a little skeptical of me liking it when I lifted the top of the tortilla to see what it looked like. Then when I could barely eat any of it because I had pigged out on the appetizer and because I was sitting on the floor which totally limited how much I could force into my stomach (this would be a great diet technique!) he commented that I must not have liked it. Brian tried to explain that I was just full, but I don't think he ever believed me. Oh well. If he only knew how much I love good food.


And finally I offer you this fine example of mood setting. There are no camels in Turkey, except for the few that are found around the touristy areas. Why? Because they create ambiance, character, atmosphere if you will. And it works. It totally works!

Where are all the troglodytes?

One of my favorite things to do when we go to Cappadocia is exploring the underground cities. These are basically caverns carved out of the rocks by hand. Some are a thousand years old or more. For more on the underground cities of Cappadocia you can read here, here, and here.

Brian and I have been to the two largest underground cities and wanted to do one that was less touristy.


We followed the signs for the village of Ozluce where there was supposed to be an underground city. When we drove up there was one lady in her doorway who pointed us to the parking lot/field/children's play place. We were the only people there. Yes! Much better than trying to explore an underground city full of tourists!


After we parked a man came running out of a building to meet Brian and point us in the right direction.


Brian standing at the entrance to the "under graund city".


Once inside the door we found these two delightful children. Mustafa and Aysegul were quite taken with us. Very giggly.


Ayhan, the caretaker, flipped on a light switch, handed Brian a flashlight, and pointed down this hallway. Basically we were left alone to go exploring.


At the end of the first tunnel we came to a large room. This is the doorway back out. These large stone doors were rolled in front of the openings to keep invaders out.


Wait...we thought we were being left alone. Aysegul and Mustafa were following us! Brian started asking them questions about different things in the cave. They were our tour guides. They had no qualms about going down dark passageways at all...quite impressive for a 2 and 3 year old. There were random light bulbs around. Some of them worked and some of them didn't.


All of these pictures were taken in the dark. I had no idea what I was actually getting until after I took them. Notice the nonworking light bulb in this picture.


There were kitchens, bedrooms, stables, wine and water cisterns, and all kinds of other rooms. They pretty much all looked the same.



Then I had to take this video because of how insane the whole thing seemed. This shows you how dark it was!


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And because the video is so dark here are some pictures of the actual tunnel we walked down.

Brian pointing the flashlight down the tunnel we are about to explore.


And we kept going...


And going...


Until finally finding this well. It did have a grate over the top of it so we weren't going to accidentally fall in. Notice the steps carved into the side of the well. And of course it wouldn't be Turkey if there wasn't trash thrown it it.


In the above video this is where we decided to stop. Who knows how much further we could have gone!


As we were leaving Ayhan took our picture in front of the wheel door. (I am wearing a wrap like thing that I had to buy the night before because I was cold. I know...I usually bring a jacket everywhere I go knowing that I will probably get cold at some point. The cave was quite chilly!)

This underground city is probably my favorite one so far. I loved that there weren't any other tourists. I loved that Ayhan just let us go exploring on our own. I loved that the kids were sweet and funny. And oh yeah...the fact that Ayhan told Brian that I had a sweet face didn't influence me at all!

I love Turkey!