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	<title>Vagabond Kids</title>
	
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	<description>Follow our family as we live, play and travel in Asia</description>
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		<title>47 things to do before I turn 48</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/hqR9GMbCyIA/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2013/01/47-things-to-do-before-i-turn-48/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:48:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mom's Blather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Not Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[47 Things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lists]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Photo Source Here It is never a good sign when you realize it has been such a long time between posts that you can&#8217;t even remember your password to log in.  Oops, it is not like I don&#8217;t have stories to tell, but sometimes life gets in the way of a perfectly planned blog post. There are plenty of posts and stories to tell. I haven&#8217;t finished the stories about our summer trip to Turkey.  The visit to Ephesus.  The water park in Kusadasi filled with Russian tourists.  Hanging out with the Theodora of Escape Artistes and her son Zac at Kidventurer eating Turkish ice cream (for the kids) and drinking Raki (for the grownups). And then there was our trip to Nikoi Island.  Oh there are some great stories there. Our friends Jessie and Mariam were a blast to travel with. Of course the recent trip to Beijing, in subzero weather, where we ran in to Theodora and Zac again (seriously how cool is it to have seen them in 3 different spots all around the world)! But today&#8217;s post is a personal one for me. You see, I just celebrated a birthday.  One that puts me fully on track towards 50. I am officially middle aged, in fact probably past middle age, statistically speaking. Being officially &#8220;middle aged&#8221; it makes me think about all of the things left to do in what I hope is the second 47 years of my life. You know we are almost 50. This really all started about a year ago or so, when one of my childhood friends passed through Singapore.  We hadn&#8217;t seen each other in a number of years and it was great catching up with him and while chatting we started to reminisce about the old days. And then it happened, he said something shocking.  It sort of took me by surprise and then it became a meme that stuck with me. Chris said &#8220;You know we are almost 50. So what things are you going to do for your 50th birthday?  I am planning on hiking 50 mountains, surfing 50 waves, riding 50 epic bike rides&#8221;. My response was simple.  &#8221;Dude, you go right ahead, but I am much younger than you and I am no where ready to plan for my 50th birthday&#8221;.  Which of course was true on both counts. A couple of days later, however, I was surfing through a few of my favorite blogs and I stumbled upon Hula Seventy&#8216;s  birthday lists of  &#8217;36 things before I turn 37&#8242;  and  &#8217;37 things before 38&#8242;  and her list of  70 things. And I started to think.  An idea was starting to form.  The more I thought about it, the more it all started to connect.  The Birthday Approaches. As time marched on, I continued to really think about this whole middle age thing. I start to run in late 2012, trying to stave off old age at every turn, I even threatened to do P90X.  Running is great, exercise is doing great things for me and while I don&#8217;t like the actual run part all the time, I like being in better shape, being healthy, and having goals to reach.  So I set a goal of running a race.  I ran a 9k &#8220;fun run&#8221; with a neighbor.  I will be running a 10.5K   trail run this Sunday.  Great, but what about that list? In December a girlfriend and I chuckled about how we are going to fight aging every step of the way even if it involves flights to Bangkok and visits to certain doctors that can do wonders.  And all along my conversation with Chris kept rattling about my brain.  I thought about it at work.  I thought about it on vacation.  I thought about it while running and finally I said to myself.  Yes, I am going to do this. I was going to make a list.   A list of things I would like to do over the 365 days between my 47 and 48th birthday.  The list should be, in my opinion, filled with a few easy wins but some real stretch goals.  A few that can be crossed off early.  A few that are personal in nature.  A few that give back to others.  A few travel oriented, of course, but a few focused around home and family.  Perhaps not the &#8220;50 epic rides&#8221;, but I still have a few more years to plan that one out. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers (of which there may be only painfully few left after months of no posts), I present to you the list.  47 things to do before I turn 48. Run a half marathon Learn to surf Do a RAK day Eat a Voodoo Doughnut See a ballet Sleep in a cabin Buy some art Visit London Scrapbook my kids school albums from preschool to present See a movie at a Drive In Play Mini-Golf Run a Disney half marathon Make gingerbread houses for Christmas Train for a triathlon Buy a bike in order to complete number 14 Have a date night with Kiera Have a date night with Declan Spend the night in a Sarkies Brothers’ Hotel Mentor a young woman Adopt a stray kitten Take a weekend away with Jeff Put my toes in 2 different oceans and 2 different seas. Sleep in a teepee Visit a Country I have never been to before Pass my motorcycle riders test Run in the mile high city Hang up my antique Chinese revolutionary posters Frame pictures of my family Eat and drink with friends in the 472 Post on the blog more frequently Go roller skating Hike to the top of a waterfall Read at least 2 new authors Fly first class Give a significant gift to charity Get a new tattoo Update my will Hold an epic party Run 2013 km in 2013 Make Pickles Visit an old friend I haven’t seen in at least 2 years Visit Goa India Swim in a lake Drink Cuban Coffee in Miami [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Fistful of Awesome:  The Taiwan Version</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/cmppnx_uEAU/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/10/fistful-of-awesome-the-taiwan-version/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2012 07:44:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taiwan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chiang Kai Shek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gold Ecological Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kids Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taipei]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yehliu Park]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vagabondkids.com/?p=2228</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Taiwan also known as the Republic of China But never as Chinese Taipei if you have ever lived there, but more on that later. For some reason the last day or so has had me thinking about Taiwan.  Taiwan is where Jeff and I took  the plunge to move overseas.  We sold our stuff, packed 10 suitcases and headed to the Far East.  Taiwan is where Jeff struggled to learn Chinese.  Taiwan is where I worked for a local law firm before finding my calling as an in-house counsel. Taiwan is where the Vagabond Kids were born. Taiwan is where some of our dearest friendships (some still live in Taiwan, others back in the States, others around the world) were found  and cultivated.  So  this week&#8217;s&#8217; Fistful of Awesome is all about Taiwan. So without further adieu here are five things that make Taiwan AWESOME. (The Fistful of Awesome is a quote attributed to Jon Stewart of The Daily Show which I have co-oped to use occasionally as a way of highlighting 5 random things that I found interesting over the last few days). 1. Food No self respecting Taiwanese Citizen would go a day without talking about, thinking about and eating good food.  Street food or high end doesn&#8217;t matter.  It is all about the food all the time. Taipei has a secret breakfast that is really not all that secret.  If you have spent any time in Taipei and you are hungry for breakfast the way the locals do it&#8230; it is all about Yong He Dou Jiang (永和豆漿) (Soy Milk). A Hungry Girl&#8217;s Guide to Taipei reviews two of the traditional spots.  Yong He   and Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang. Traditional food still exists in Taiwan as well.  My old office in Taipei was next to a traditional tofu stall and everyday the vendors would take fresh soybeans, create soybean milk, process them with some type of alchemy and the next thing you know there were paddies of homemade fresh tofu ready to go home with you for dinner. Need a snack?  There is no better place than Yong Kang Jie (we lived withing walking distance when we lived in downtown Taipei Taiwan).  Even the NY Times agrees that Yong Kang Jie is where it is at!  Yong Kang Jie is where the the original Din Tai Fung which now is a worldwide chain famous for its soup dumplings. Thanks to Anthony for letting me steal his picture. The Beef Noodles in Taiwan are really good.  No I mean it,  really good.  My favorite foodie blog for Asia (which I have linked to before) Eating Asia says so too. Oh I could continue on, but you get the idea.  The food in Taiwan is off the hook! 2. People There is something about the people in Taiwan.  The locals and the expats alike.  I can be snarky, I can be flippant, sometimes I can even be socially unacceptable.  But the people in Taiwan are wonderful, open, kind and generally not out to &#8220;get you&#8221;. Even if you are a Laowai with limited social graces (yes I mean myself) the people of Taiwan are nice. Thanks to Anthony for this great picture of his pretty wife Vanessa and Jennifer. For example there is my friend Jennifer (in the picture above in the pink shirt).  She is from Guam, married her Taiwanese American Husband and moved to Taipei when there she started an online bulletin board for English speaking parents in Taipei.  Expecting a child?  Don&#8217;t know a good OBGYN?  Need to know about cloth diapers or where to buy Pampers- Parent Pages was there to help you.  Jennifer goes above and beyond for the English Speaking Community in Taiwan and I am so pleased she is my friend. Which is a perfect segue to my friend Anthony.  Jennifer merged her pages with my friend Anthony&#8217;s invaluable Expat Resource Page Taiwanease.  Need to know how to get a job in Taiwan or need a place to rant about Politics?  Need to learn about teaching English in Taiwan or where to find the best pizza or Indian Curry. Anthony has it covered.   He also married one of the most amazing women I know, the other pretty woman in the picture above. Then, there is my former admin assistant, when I worked in Taiwan, Angel.  She would do nothing more than simply make my life better, not because she had too, but because she wanted to.  Case in point, even after I left Taiwan and moved to Singapore, every trip I made to Taiwan for business I would come to the office and find this syrupy sweet caffeine filled cup of joy also known as Zhenzhu Naicha (珍珠奶茶)  waiting for me. Taiwan invented Zhenzhu Naicha aka Pearl Milk Tea or Bubble Tea and the invention of this delicacy alone qualifies it for the fistful of awesome title. And not to forget Michael and Naiyu, Julie K, Ross, Haitham, John Y., Sanjia, Blythe and Peter, Sheana, John E., Nathan, Craig and Katherine and so so many more.  The people who live there, or lived there when we did, are all so amazingly friendly, kind and are such an important part of our the way our lives have been formed while overseas.  3. Chinese Culture Long before we moved to Taiwan we had heard tales of how Taiwan was more Chinese than China.  In many ways that is true. Taiwan still uses traditional long form characters in writing. Taiwan people still burn joss at every possible moment.  Festivals are part of the Taiwan culture and are more accurate representations of the festivals that were held before the Cultural Revolution in China.  From Full Moon Festival to Chinese New Year and all the way to Tomb Sweeping if you want to see the way Chinese culture really was, go to Taiwan. Taiwanese people blend traditional Buddhism with traditional Taoism and Confucianism in a way that is loud colorful and amazingly fascinating. And of course [...]]]></description>
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		<title>If it is Tuesday I must be thinking of Amsterdam</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/dhd80SXI6XM/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/09/if-it-is-tuesday-i-must-be-thinking-of-amsterdam/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Sep 2012 05:59:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trip Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amsterdam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holland]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Photo Copyright by Moyan Brenn Okay, it could have been Oslo, or Paris, or Nikoi Island.  But after a heavy lunch on a Tuesday I start to drift into what I call dream mode. Amsterdam Long ago, before we married and had the kids, Jeff was able to spend some time in the city of Amsterdam.  Without a doubt it is on our list of future destinations. While I haven’t been there yet, Amsterdam is probably one of Europe’s most beautiful cities with the canals and houseboats, with  museums filled with some of the most stunning paintings in the world, and tree lined lanes that are full of cyclists and walkers. Amsterdam is renowned for its free-wheeling lifestyle and for its tolerance towards those who live differently. An Amsterdam holiday offers a range of great activities and things to do and see for visitors of all ages and the diverse cultural backgrounds. &#160; The Culture: Photo Copyright Shelleylyn  When Jeff talks about his time in Amsterdam, he talks about the cafes and how much he enjoyed spending time just hanging out in Amsterdam’s cafes are places to relax and watching the world go by. The coffee in Amsterdam is great and I have heard that the Dutch pastries are delicious. From beer cafes to brown cafes, as a food nut I can&#8217;t wait to sit down and savour Dutch cuisine. Clearly one of the highlights and a must see in Amsterdam is the Van Gogh museum to admire the work of this iconic artist. Every kid of my generation learned the story of the Jewish families were hidden away during World War II and a visit to the Anne Frank museum is a memorial to the brave girl and her historic diary.  I would also love to spend some time walking through the Rijksmuseum absorbing the culture and seeing the collection of paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Jan Steen. Getting Around: Photo copyright Web4camguy The canal boats in Amsterdam are one of the best ways to see the city. Traveling through the canals is not only efficient, but a quaint and unique opportunity to see a different side of the city. Amsterdam is also a huge biking city and lots of people hire a bicycle and ride through the lovely dedicated bicycle lanes around the city. There are also trams and they are easy, fast and the most economical way to travel in the city. Of course, Taxis are easily available but they are fairly expensive and are therefore not as popular if budget is a concern. There are so many places in the world on our “to go to” list, but a visit to Holland, and of course Amsterdam, is one I look forward to seeing. Thanks to Dealchecker for their support of our site &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Wealth of Nations: The Ottoman Empire</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/ZnZFce2jT9o/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/09/wealth-of-nations-the-ottoman-empire/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Sep 2012 02:39:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UNESCO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dolmabahçe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Istanbul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Topkapi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vagabondkids.com/?p=2043</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Ottomans, now there was a group of guys that could spend some serious cash. When our family was visiting Turkey, we went through the archives of a famous Turkish Museum known as the Topkapi Palace,  when I came across this picture of some Ottoman Military Band Members. I believe it was one of the first color photos in Turkey okay not really, but did you believe that this was an old picture? Wow, these Ottomans, now they were impressive;  look at those mustaches!  The Ottoman military bands are believed to be  the first marching band in history.  They caused a level of fear as they marched up preparing for battle. I mean, really who brings a pep band to a war?  Oh the Turks do, and that&#8217;s pretty cool.  Or at least I think that is cool. One of the great things about traveling with the kids is the education that you sneak in along the way,  and if I was a history teacher to anyone other than my kids, this is the way I would teach about the wealth of the Ottoman Empire. The Blue Mosque as seen from the Hagia Sophia So much of what the Ottomans did was impressive.  They built things, they bought things, they took things of great value, they got jiggy with jewels and religious relics.  I am sure the Ottoman&#8217;s  coined the phrase &#8220;Keeping up with the _____&#8217;s&#8221;  just fill in the blank with the name of your favorite European Monarch. I mean once the Ottoman&#8217;s finished all that hard work of kicking out those Byzantines, they must have been sitting around thinking, &#8220;Those wimpy Byzantines, well now, we conquered them didn&#8217;t we?  Let&#8217;s show them how awesome we are.  Let&#8217;s build ourselves some palaces. Let&#8217;s show those silly Europeans we know how to throw down with the plunder and riches and general excessive spending.&#8221; And then after being all gobsmacked with all this great wealth they um &#8220;inherited&#8221; the Ottomans started to build the Empire. First came the buildings- much of the rest of the booty would come later. Down went the Hippodrome, it was old school after all.  It&#8217;s marble used for building other things (um, the Blue Mosque anyone)?  Huge monuments to a new empire were built and let&#8217;s just say, they are rather grand, again just think of the Blue Mosque or the Süleymaniye Mosque. Then they built a little palace for the Sultan. The Palace Life. We visited two of Turkey&#8217;s grand palaces while in Istanbul.  The first was Topkapi Palace.  Such a pretty place.  Clearly in vogue with the European Castles of its era with a distinctive Arabian decor giving its a unique feel.  Grand living in deed.   Topkapi Palace contains 4 Courtyards. Had 6 kitchens, housed up to 4000 people at capacity.  Had churches, mosques, bakeries and a hospital.  It was really more like a complex. Can&#8217;t you just see the Sultan  running around thinking &#8220;I live here, and yes, I am AWESOME&#8221;. There is room after room of gold on the ceilings and tile work and stained-glass windows. The rooms in the innermost court yard, rooms  that are primarily for the family and close advisers of the Sultan, are covered with tile and wonderfully adorned with gold, mother of pearl, silver and gild.  The Library in the Baghdad Pavilion was mesmerizing with the tile and glass and cushioned window seats.  Inlay of mother of pearl on the bookshelves, silver stoves, gilded fireplace covers. It was all too much really, but yet in its own way strangely comfortable. (Even the kids were almost ready to pull up a seat and read a book.  Please note, I said almost.) Surreptitiously snapped photo of the Privy Chamber After the palace was built, there were religious relics to obtain.  Including a hair from the beard of Mohamed himself. Rain gutters from the Kabba,  chairs made of gold for the Sultan to rest his tush.  Rooms filled with tile to cool the feet and add beauty. The Privy Chamber, where the religious relics are stored is magnificent.  Huge domed ceiling, natural sky lights, blues and green and gold.  This room was the example of wealth done right; beauty, but not ostentatiousness.  The rest was quite fancy, particularly for the time. Of course, there was a huge Harem, where the Sultans would kick back with the wives, and the kids.  You know, that old bag. Needless to say, nothing was over the top for the early Ottomans. Case in point, a little tiny diamond located at Topkapi Palace. (photo source here). Don&#8217;t worry, it is claimed to be only the 4th largest diamond (historically at the time) in the world at 86 carats so those Turks weren&#8217;t totally lavish.  There are greater gems in the Tower of England. And of course, now in 2012, there are some enormous diamonds floating around, but they can&#8217;t actually be worn so I would think the Ottomans got it right with this little beauty. The palace was home to other Royal Gifts given from foreign kings and queens, guests of State, as well as those items that were to have been given away as a gift of State from Turkey, and then of course kept for themselves, including a certain Gold Dagger encrusted with Emeralds. (photo source here) But, as grand as the life in Topkapi must have been, it was, as often is the case, not enough as apparently the Ottoman Sultans felt it to be inadequate.  Because, you know a gold chair in which to sit upon, a 86 carat diamond, a dagger covered with emeralds and diamonds, thousands of other fancy gewgaws and trinkets just isn&#8217;t  grand enough for the late 1800s.  Oh no, keeping up with the Jones was now a full time obsession. Sultan Abdulmecid I&#8217;s Folly. Towards the end of the Ottoman Empire, a certain Sultan who will remain nameless, okay I already told you who it was, created a folly.  A folly to end all.  A castle on such grand scale that he not only broke his own bank, he broke the whole [...]]]></description>
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		<title>A Fisful of Awesome:  Groovy Finds From the Interwebs</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/0YmEU6elkVM/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/09/a-fisful-of-awesome-groovy-finds-from-the-interwebs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Sep 2012 00:22:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Educational]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Links]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Icecream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jon Stewart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[links]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nikoi Island]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oregon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a Cocker Spaniel, or in our house it is a crazy Lab/Singaporean street dog mix. The upside, however, is the ability to spend time culling cool as beans stuff from that Google Machine.  Therefore today marks the first in a ongoing series of of links and things I found while surfing the web. Then again, there may not be a series,  it may the the &#8220;first&#8221; of a series of one because again please note the short attention span, Some will be travel related.  Some will be Singapore related.  Some may have no relation to anything at all, I just thought it looked freakin&#8217; awesome. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon &#8211; Thurs 11p / 10c RNC 2012 &#8211; The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 &#8211; A Fistful of Awesome www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor &#38; Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook &#160; The title of this new venture of mine, of course is a direct steal from my favorite newscaster Jon Stewart on the Daily Show and of course the hash tag #eastwooding comes to mind. But, now onto some other cool, random and clearly esoteric links for this week: Turkish Ice Cream ᔥ Photo and post from The WorldFoodist I had a plan to write about the crazy stretchy ice cream in Turkey.  Theodora beat me to it and did a much better job.   A private island off the coast of Singapore. ᔥ photo from Nikoi.com You mean you can go there?  It has clean beaches, no TV, gourmet food and views like this? You mean it is green and not just greenwashed?  Yes, Yes, and Yes again. We are checking it out this weekend, but for now you can find more information at Nikoi Island Take awesome pictures. I know you want to.  Here are few tips on taking pictures of people. 5 More Tips for Photographing People And rounding out the five (cause a fistful has five fingers right?): My favorite part of summer back home in Oregon ᔥPhoto by Swainboat on Flickr Alicia Paulson is one of my go to bloggers for pictures of the everyday.  Her eye is just amazing and her connection with my home state of Oregon is as true as any native (and we Oregonians don&#8217;t adopt people easily).  Here are a few of her posts over the last few weeks that make me ache to be back in Oregon. Summer Sweetness Plum and Moon Autumn in the Air There you have it, your first week of a &#8220;Fistful of Awesome: Groovy Finds from the Interwebs&#8221;.   If you like it I may just find more cool stuff and do this again.]]></description>
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		<title>The Glory Of Christendom: Istanbul’s Byzantine Churches</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/XvbW5EjEqrY/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/09/the-glory-of-christendom-istanbuls-byzantine-churches/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Sep 2012 10:13:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Byzantine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chora Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Churches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hagia Sofia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Istanbul]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vagabondkids.com/?p=2053</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Glory to God in the Highest Or something like that. First, a bit of background, I was raised in a church. A liberal one to be sure, one that allowed us to think our own mind.  One where Sunday School consisted of traditional bible studies countered with World Religion.  One where our pastor taught that there was nothing funny about love, peace, and understanding  (with all apologies to my child&#8217;s namesake Elvis Costello) and these should be the tenants of our faith.  While I no longer attend church, my upbringing formed and molded who I am. Jeff, on the other hand was not raised in a Church, save one year in Minnesota, and is an Atheist (I think) but clearly is in the Secular Humanist spectrum. For me, there are certain places that draw me and they are related to my childhood and upbringing.  Names that conjure memories of sermons and lessons.  Places like Ephesus, you know the place where Paul visited and wrote letters to, and became a whole book in the New Testament.  Constantinople, one of the Christian&#8217;s early strongholds.  These locations hold not only historical importance, there is a religious connection as well.  One that I had, but Jeff did not. While the Hagia Sofia was a rousing success, there were sighs of boredom when I said I wanted to stay longer to take pictures of the Mosaics. &#8220;Mom, you already took that one.&#8221; &#8220;But did you see this Mosaic? Really look close, see how small those pieces of tile are?&#8221; &#8220;How about the one where they are reconstructing it?&#8221;  &#8221;How about the one of Mary and Jesus?  Do you guys know who those people are?&#8221; &#160;  &#8221;Sigh, Mom, I am hungry can we talk about this later?&#8221; &#8220;Just one more shot as a family please?&#8221; And then the rest of the Hagia Sofia was dead to the kids.  I could have spent hours there, looking at every nook and cranny.  Spending time absorbing 1500 years of history.  But it was almost 11am.  The heat was beginning to rise.  We were walking around like sweltering damp towels.  Surrender was the only option and we retreated back to the hotel to cool down and rest.  I had high hopes of getting back into the Hagia Sofia sometime while we were in Istanbul, alas, it was not meant to be. Note: Istanbul, while hot in the summer was unseasonably hot when we were there, and unusually humid.  Humidity that makes Singapore seem like a barren desert. A week later, we returned to Istanbul after hanging out in Ephesus and Kusadasi to get some much needed pool, beach and Roman Ruins in.  But I kept thinking of these amazing churches and one that I wanted to see in Istanbul.  One, kind of like the Holy Grail itself, that friends had told me of and guidebooks swore was a do not miss.   We had one more day in Istanbul So when I said I wanted to go see the Chora Church, arguably one of the best preserved Byzantine Churches in Istanbul my request was greeted with a resounding &#8211; Meh. Chora Church was constructed towards the end of the Byzantine Empire (mid-1400&#8242;s) and I wanted the kids to be able to appreciate the beginning and the end of an era.  An era that spanned a 1000 years, it was either the Church or a walk on the old city wall.  Being the Mom of the family has some privleges and being the bossy pants is certainly one of them.  Chora Church it  was! Not without a fuss however.  Kiera was done.  Her idea for the rest of the trip was to spend time at the hotel pool and just hang.  Declan was feeling a bit let down after leaving Zac (of Travels with a Nine Year Old) back in Kusadasi. It was magnificent. It was a testament to man&#8217;s love for God. It was some of the most intricate and beautiful work I have ever seen.  But, it was smaller than I expected.  Not that anything could meet the shear size and scale of the Hagia Sofia.  Frankly, however, that made me like the church just a little more. I stopped lecturing about History. I stopped giving stories about Christianity.  I just walked from room to room, looking up, taking pictures, looking down.  Looking at all of these amazing creations.  Creations of man, for God.  I think my nagging was worth it as the kids were equally gobsmacked.  Jeff, pointing out portions of the mosic that has fallen away, but where you could still see the original paint underneath.  There were no discussions of God, Christ, or Christianity, we were just there. Later, when we are back settled in Singapore, the question of religion and how to educate, but not indoctrinate, the kids about religion will certainly come up.  But for this day we were all in awe.  Kiera even bought a book on Mosaic as we left the gift shop.  When they are older they will thank me, I know they will. And, you are welcome.]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>A Day in Constantinople (Part 2)</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/GDIHvotyUjw/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/08/a-day-in-constantinople-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:44:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UNESCO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Istanbul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UNESCO Heritage Sites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vagabondkids.com/?p=1995</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So, our friend Justin liked to build. A couple of days ago, we had a little history lesson about our friend Justinian I. Seems like he was  a good guy. Wanted to continue along the lines of the Emperor Constantine and make Constantine&#8217;s city one that was great and would be remembered as a shining example of the Roman Empire.  So Justin built himself a little Church.  And a grand palace (which was looted, pillaged and eventually left in ruins to be reused by the Ottomans).  But Justin also built himself a cistern. Not just any old water storage facility mind you. One that conjures intrigue enough to be featured in a James Bond Film.  From Russia with Love [Blu-ray]   One that has freaky looking Medusa heads supporting columns that hold up the structure. One that provided drinking water to a city and its people, where now there is just a foot or so of water and a few fish, it used to hold 2.8 million cubic feet of water. But the kids weren&#8217;t really interested in much of that. Our friend Justinian also did plenty of other things, and again, after the fact there is so much more I could have shared with the kids.  I could have told them about the fact his wife Theodora was formerly a stripper and then after she married Justinian, she became a patron to the strippers and tried to convert them all to Christianity.  She also was prominent in expanding rights for women during her husband&#8217;s reign as Emperor (thanks to Theodora my friend for some of the background on her namesake.)  But I knew little of these facts then and with my solid &#8220;advance planning&#8221;, I wouldn&#8217;t have had the information with me even if I did know it.  As mentioned, I am a self professed history novice and if I was better at this type of thing I would have again pulled out my well prepared audiovisual aids for our summer &#8220;learning&#8221; and told the kids all of this.  But they wouldn&#8217;t have listened much anyway. &#160; Because, it was hot, really hot outside.  We did sort of purposely plan on hitting the cisterns during mid day, but we forgot we had to walk to get there.  We wandered through Sultanahmet and walked over to the entry and walked down the stairs.  The first comments from the kids and Jeff were, of course, about the temperature.  On a hot Istanbul afternoon where temperatures reached upwards of 37 degrees (that&#8217;s 95 to you Americans in the group) and humidity of 85% it was cool, it was shelter from the heat.  It felt good.  It wasn&#8217;t scorching anymore. History could wait. &#160; It was a bit creepy and a bit spooky and frankly just what we needed to recharge a bit before setting out again for dinner and the next day of Ottoman sites.  I am not sure Justinian ever intended that its current use be that of a tourist attraction, but hey, it works just fine for us! &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Not Istanbul- It’s Constantinople (Part 1)</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/8BQzx3ZK0M0/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/07/not-istanbul-its-constantinople-part-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Jul 2012 19:03:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Educational]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Istanbul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vacation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vagabondkids.com/?p=1976</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I will admit that I am fascinated by history, but frankly, I am not the best at it.  There are a number of historical facts that I don&#8217;t know and if you questioned me on much of my own American History, I would fail at that as well.  But having an opportunity to spend time in parts of Europe where so much of what I learned about in history has been a great chance for the kids to see, in real life, sights that otherwise seem magical and unobtainable. By Accident Really I would like to say I had the whole trip to Istanbul planned out to the day, with history lessons pre-planned and visual aids to go along. But, if you know me, I have always been a bit more extemporaneous.  I do lots of research and planning and then at the last moment I wing it.  So it was kind of a stroke of luck really that our trip turned out that we did a day of Byztantine history, followed by a day with the Ottomans. Hagia Sophia Just a small little church, built by some Roman Emperor named Justinian.  It was built something like, oh yeah, in 534. Was a church for 1000 years, give or take a few, before being converted to a mosque where frescoes were covered and all Christian decoration was replaced with Islamic decoration. It acted as a mosque for another couple hundred years, give or take a couple hundred. It is tall enough to fit the Statue of Liberty inside (without her torch).  It is epic in all ways.  Converted to a museum in the 1930s and the site now shows much of both the Christian and Islamic heritage.  But really it is not until you see it that you appreciate it. Steps worn flat from 1500 years of footsteps. &#160; Gigantic Chandeliers light the way. Of course somewhere along the line, after the church was originally built. they put in  stained glass. The scale is really hard to imagine.  It isn&#8217;t until you get to the second floor, up a ramp (rather than stairs allegedly so that the patrons didn&#8217;t have to walk but could be taken up in carts)  that you see the grand size of this building. And then there are the Frescoes. &#160; Let me just say, that I recently visited the Taj Mahal, reputed to be one of the World&#8217;s most grand buildings, and it was amazing.  But the Hagia Sophia left us all in awe.  I think I took over 400 pictures in the building alone and felt like I hadn&#8217;t even begun to see the whole thing.  Even the kids, who started to wilt in the 85% humidity and the 95 F (35 C) heat thought it was amazing and kept seeing a new thing at each angle. But our friend Justin wasn&#8217;t done yet After a break back at the hotel, and a whole lot of advance planning (okay none) we thought we should hit the Basilica Cistern, but while we did it in one day, you need to wait until tomorrow to see those pictures.  Come back okay?]]></description>
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		<title>“And Then I Got Bit by a Dog”</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/AMtwFPuYDPw/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/07/and-then-i-got-bit-by-a-dog/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jul 2012 06:28:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hospital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Istanbul]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vagabondkids.com/?p=1958</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We had spent this amazing day, visiting Constantinople (not Istanbul), seeing sights that were 1500 years old and we were setting off for dinner. &#160; And then it went wrong. I don&#8217;t know if you have had those moments when you just know something is wrong, something wasn&#8217;t the way it was supposed to be.   That happened right before. Throughout the whole trip Kiera and Declan have befriended every stray animal in Istanbul.  And with the exception of a few feral cats the animals have loved them all back.  One morning, in fact, one dog took a walk with us leading us from our hotel around the neighborhood, showing us the park the kids play at every day now.  (As an aside,  this is not the dog that bit her) So it wasn&#8217;t unusual,  as we walked through Sultanahmet park, for Kiera to start to walk towards a dog.  But, suddenly, I had this feeling.  I can&#8217;t explain if it was a hunch, or if I saw the dog look unusual (because really she didn&#8217;t seem to be angry), or if it was a case of mother&#8217;s intuition.  I almost said &#8220;Kiera let&#8217;s leave this dog alone&#8221;, but I didn&#8217;t. &#160; A Flash. &#160; The rest happened so quick it is hard to deconstruct after the fact.  Kiera approached the dog and it went all Kujo on her.  Grabbed her by the leg and bit down hard.  I ran towards her and the dog, the Municipal Police, from their office base right next to us, that are ever present in the park during the hours prior to break fast (it is Ramadan in Turkey), ran towards us, and Kiera screamed.  What was probably a 7 second episode from start to finish was slowed down to seem like it was a minute.  I was ready to grab the dog and pull it off with every fiber of my being, but the dog backed off as I ran up. Jeff took a look hoping it was just an abrasion but noted a puncture wound about 1/3 inch deep.  The police and the witnesses were all super concerned and despite limited English they said we &#8220;You must go to the hospital.  We will call the ambulance.&#8221; And so we went. &#160; An Istanbul Hospital &#160; We were placed into an ambulance, Declan and Jeff riding up front with the driver and whisked up the street past rush hour traffic, stopping the city tram as we zoomed past.  And then we arrive and walked in through a closed door, with no English signs. Our Ambulance driver spoke no English, but they sent some &#8220;interpreter&#8221; who was able to say &#8220;Dog bite and 9 year old.&#8221;  The doctor in Emergency spoke basic broken English, but far more than my Turkish, and told me what I expected.  Kiera would need a Tetanus and Rabies shots and some antibiotics.  And he asked me if I had paid for the ambulance.  I said we had not and he said that was good and started to chart.   Kiera was a trooper when she had the shots, as I assured her that the shots would hurt less than the bite.  After the shots we were told to go to the &#8220;Infection Clinic&#8221; to get the prescription for antibiotics. Now, for most Westerners, seeing the hospital site would be shocking to say the least.  The buildings were not modern by any stretch nor were the facilities anywhere near cutting edge &#8211; think 1960&#8242;s Eastern Bloc.  But, the doctors were able to speak basic English and the medicines given were all from European pharmaceutical companies that I know and trust.  Infection control and core medical procedures were followed.   Oh, did I mention how well Kiera was treated?  She was royalty.  We all were.  We were told to come back to the hospital on Saturday for the Rabies booster and the doctor specifically told us, &#8220;For free.&#8221;  We walked out trying to figure out if we had to pay but we were personally guided off the hospital grounds and walked down the hill by one of the doctors towards the neighborhood drug store to get the antibiotics and some paracetamol. &#160; What just happened?  Was it free? &#160; Jeff and I are at odds about why we paid nothing other than 15 Lira at the drug store.  I wondered if it was the fact that the  bite happened right next to the police station and we were shepharded into the ambulance and they were told to take care of the tourists by a police officer?  Was it the fact that we didn&#8217;t have Kiera&#8217;s passport so there was no way of creating a billing record? Was it the fact that Turkish health care used to be state operated and therefore is socalized and free to everyone (they have national health care that covers the bulk of Turks, but that obviously doesn&#8217;t apply to us).  Or was it due to Ramadan and the charity that takes place by Muslims during the holy season.  We are not sure, but we know we were happy with the care and even happier with the price. &#160; So now what? While this picture doesn&#8217;t seem like much.  Let me assure you that under the band-aid is a nasty wound that will probably scar.  Kiera has 4 more Rabies booster shots required three of which will need to be done here in Turkey.  Kiera has said she is not afraid of dogs, she knows that something made the dog bite her and that dogs are not by themselves aggressive towards people, but she is not sure she wants to pet dogs  anymore here in Istanbul.  I can appreciate that. And, other than that, we continue on.  We visited the Prince&#8217;s Islands yesterday rather than stick around in brutal hot Istanbul and had an intended &#8220;budget&#8221; dinner that broke our record for our most expensive dinner (beating the Chicago steak house) by a long shot.  Today is a cooking class and then perhaps an evening walk along the city wall, avoiding the dogs along [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Istanbul with Kids:  The Bosphorus Cruise</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagabondkids/oAiC/~3/BPc-qoKn9eI/</link>
		<comments>http://vagabondkids.com/2012/07/istanbul-with-kids-the-bosphorus-cruise/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:02:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bosphorus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Istanbul]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vagabondkids.com/?p=1933</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Take four jet lagged people, put them on a boat, cruise past sites that are thousands of years old and what do you get?  A great first day in Istanbul. We landed in Istanbul at 8 am after an overnight flight from Singapore.  Before we left we talked about our options of what to do and where to go and our friends the Elms family told us about the cruise up the Bosphorus.  For 25 TYL per adult (our kids were free, which was awesome) we boarded the boat at 10:00 for a 10:30 cruise.  Again, advice was to get there early to get a good spot on the boat and even with all the advance planning, we sat on the wrong side. As we pulled out of port, I pulled out the camera and took hundreds of pictures. Hagia Sophia One of the first sights you see as you pull out of the port is the iconic Hagia Sophia.  She dominated the Constantinople skyline in 537 when she was built, she is still a vision today. Dolmabahce Palace Slightly further up the way is the last hurrah to the Ottoman Empire, the Dolmabahce Palace.  Finished in 1856 the palace has a reputation of being a bit grand and a bit over the top with gold and crystal. Fortress of Europe The guidebooks say the Fortress of Europe was built in 4 months as part of a planned siege on Istanbul in 1452.  The size and scale of the fort make it hard for me to believe that there was no clue that this was happening. But apparently the siege was successful so what do I know about the ways of war? Luxury Homes on the Bosphorus Along the Asia side the homes get grander the closer you get to the Black Sea.  Where somepeople may dream of an attached garage, the standard here is a attached boat slip. &#160; &#160; Anadolu Kavagi &#160; Finally a lunch at the final port before the black sea.  The ferry stops for about 2.5 hours.  We were to tired to hike to the top of the hill where the views of the Black Sea were fantastic and the midievail castle protects the entry to the straights but we had a wonderful lunch of fresh seafood and a slow walk around the town. &#160; &#160; We pulled back into Istanbul around 4:30 and went straight to the hotel to shower and find some dinner.  We didn&#8217;t last too late that night, probably only around 8:30, but the cruise was a great introduction into Istanbul, a great way to cool off (Istanbul has been hotter than normal this year) and a great way to force ourselves to stay awake. The kids thought it was a great  first day but  the next day was even better!]]></description>
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