Hello Hue! { Istanbul, Turkey }

I loved this room in the palace - with the cool tiled walls, low seating and arched, open windows, it just exuded opulent warm-climate elegance.  You could easly imagine a hot summer's afternoon spent there, lounging about, drinking cool tea, reading a book, enjoying a sea breeze...sigh. 

Yellow Lotus

Spicy Mustard

Hunter Green

Classic Burgundy

The saturated colors were hard to replicate, but Yellow Lotus is a beautiful match to the stencil-work on the palace walls.  And that red velvet settee? Under $500 - woooo!

{lamp}{vase}{sofa}{rug}

With one super-splurg-ey lamp and some budget shopping, you will practically be a member of the Byzantine royal family!

Mediterranean Vacation { Istanbul, Turkey }

I'm not even sure where to begin with Istanbul.  It was the reason we picked this cruise.  We knew next to nothing about the city before we went, and I'm not sure we know much more now.

Istanbul is massive.  It smells good - like ocean, flowers, incense and street food.  It feels aged and stately and vibrant all at the same time.  It is a melting pot, but not in the New York/LA sense of the word; it is a true crossroads of civilization. It's very apparent that Istanbul has seen and heard more human history than one can possibly imagine.

It is stunning. Your eyes will be exhausted from looking at all the Color and Pretty.  Istanbul is Stylish.  So very, very stylish.  I wore my best pair of 7's and a black trench coat with a pretty silk scarf and thought myself well-appointed.  Not so.  I wish I'd had the time (and means) to purchase an entirely new wardrobe in Istanbul.

And on that note...bring lots of money - you will inevitably want to buy a stunning pair of sparkly brocade ballet flats in the bowels of a subterranean antiques shop on your way back to the port, and you don't want to have to say 'no' and regret it to this day.

Sailing into the Bosporus, we had an amazing view of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.  

Mediterranean Vacation { Izmir, Turkey }

Izmir was the only port of call where we booked a shore excursion.  We wanted to see Ephesus and didn't have any Turkish Lire, didn't speak the language, and weren't sure about booking a taxi at the docks.  As it turned out, it was a pricey but good decision.  We saw the house where the Virgin Mary spent her last years (after the crucifixion), all of Ephesus, and even had time to tour a rug factory, which was incredible.

Our tour guide was a sweet, very stylish little Turkish woman (she could not have been more than 5 feet tall, but she wrangled a busload of tourists and pulled off the sweater/leggings/boots combo like nobody's business) who punctuated every three words with an enthusiastic, smiling "especially". I burned a lot of memory card for this portion of the trip, so settle in for a tour of Izmir and especially Ephesus.

The road up to the Virgin Mary's house (Meryem Ana Evi) was not so much a road as a continuum of one and a half lane switchbacks up the side of a mountain.  Taken at 50 mph on a tour bus, we felt Super-Safe.  But it was a beautiful view. And we were in Asia at last!