Hello From Istanbul

July 31, 2015 by Adam in Wielesek

This came in via email from mom, but I wanted to post it here:

Hi, everybody,


We had a good day today, It's still hot, but we can find our way around better, and have finally figured out that walking around between 2 and 5 in the afternoon is a terrible idea. We got up early and walked to Topkapi Palace. The building itself is beautiful, and the jewels and weaponry amazing.


Tonight, the night of the Blue Moon, we took an evening cruise through the straits of Bosphorus, and watched the moon rise. But the heat during the day is pretty exhausting.


I saw the emergency fire restrictions, Hope you all well. We'll write more tomorrow.

Is Istanbul ready for us

July 28, 2015 by Sue in Wielesek

Here we are in Istanbul
Home of strong coffee and tea
We are ready for Istanbul
Is Istanbul ready for me

We had a no-glitch trip to Amsterdam, but while changing money in the Amsterdam airport a drunk guy tripped. He fell, hit his head, and peed his pants. We took a train into Amsterdam, where it was pouring rain. Intrigued by the canal system, and the beautiful old houses, we booked a hop-on hop-off canal ride. The ride took us past some of the 2500 houseboats which line the canal system. We hopped off at the Rijksmuseum where we saw artwork from 1100 to 2000 including Vermeer, Rembrant, and Van Gough. We also saw modern art, of which Sam was critical. On the boat ride back to the train station I was falling over asleep.  We caught the plane to Istanbul, and when we arrived, we learned that the hotel shuttle was no longer running(I'm convinced hotel shuttles don't really exist.) However, we made the trip thanks to a taxi. The hotel is lovely. We've had a good night's sleep, and a good breakfast.
Sam alternates between being hysterically funny and maddening. He has edited this post heavily, and it has taken approximately two hours and twenty-five minutes to write it. Additionally, he has explained his freshman and sophomore year grammar course to me in brief but firm tones.
 
Love you all,
Mom
As dictated to and edited by Mister Snarky Butt.

A quick but sincere thanks

July 12, 2015 by Sue in Wielesek

Thank you all for putting so much time and energy into making the FamVac fun. First of all, thank you to Anna and Lohring for getting the whole process underway. The house you found was great. We couldn't have asked for a better place as an auxiliary to your house. I suspect that both of you put in lots of time and energy which no one realized. Joanna, thank you for all your hard work in planning, arranging, and rearranging food and sleeping arrangements. It really helped to have someone get things down on paper and keep us moving in a straight line. Adam, you are one of those wonderful folks who does so much by just being unruffled all the time. Sometime you will become hysterically furious and the earth will open and swallow us all. 'Till then, keep doing what you're doing! Jenny, thanks for making such a conscientious effort to juggle your family obligations and still spend time at the Coast. It was really fun to have Dez, even for a short time, and I know Sam always has a good time with Da Boys. Yayoe and John, thank you so much for making the effort to come over; it is always fun to have you around, and I think Yayoe should get the Plumber of the Year Award.

And a special thank you to Seraph, Robbie, Isa, Sadie, Greg, and Simon for the huge effort you all made to get here from your homes far away. Your Dad and I remember the struggle to haul kids and stuff long distances, and for you, Sadie and Greg, the effort of working around jobs obligations, and for Seraph, going to school at the same time you're "on vacation".  We Left Coast hold-outs really miss you all. And Simon - so huggable!

Sadie, Simon and I skyped this morning, and he has definitely started to talk - says "Hi" clearly (and waves), and loves playing Peek-a-Boo. So you all can be proud of your Linguistic Education Team
skills.

Anyhow, I had a wonderful time, and I'm looking forward to finding a good place for next summer. Yayoe, we'll try out the plumbing first.
So much love to all, Mom/Sue