Checking Off The Checklists

This isn't New Year's related at all. These aren't resolutions I'm taking care of. These are activities and destinations I've thought of since before we landed. I am excited it is a new year. I get to see most of my family and in-laws this year, both at home and over here. My boy will be talking and toilet trained and will be sleeping on his own (maybe even through the night!). We have one BIG trip back to the states and I couldn't be more excited and we have a huge list of places to see in this beautiful country before we have to pack up and say our tearful goodbyes next year. A long way off? Not hardly. It sounds weird, but we've been here eight months already and it is frightening how quickly the time is going by. I'm happy to have a whole year to focus on reckless exploring after the first stage of cautious  first footsteps, just like the boy when he was learning to walk. This will be a good year for him and I in that regard.

First up, the Grand Bazaar. Yes, it took me eight months to get to the Grand Bazaar. What's the rush really? We do have time. And our first introduction couldn't have been any better. We had a guide, our dear friend who has been enough times to know most of the proprietors where we stopped. And it was a cool January day with very few crowds and quite a lot of desperate-seeming shopkeeps. I can't be sure but I think we saw about ten percent of the bazaar. We visited a rug shop, the leather goods guy and a ceramic shop. I found plenty of nice stuff at each, but we only ended up with a ceramic tile set, to be seen here at another time. Overall, the Bazaar was nice, especially if you are shopping for gifts or home goods. I don't see it as a must for me on a regular basis, but it is definitely a must see.


The next day I got a guy's day out for a chilly hike through the Belgrade Forest. The Belgrade Forest is a giant park/forest just about fifteen minutes away. We packed a lunch and walked the 6 kilometer runner's trail around a reservoir before finding a rain-soaked table where we ate some cold sucuk (Turkish sausage) sandwiches and had tea and some rather expensive salep.

I was pleased to see that there were a fair number of runners and dog walkers out on such a cool day (4C or about 39F). This park gets insanely crowded during the summer weekends, so it was nice to see it on a calm day.