Friday, October 03, 2008

And here we are, a little bit exhausted in Istanbul

The Internet room at the hotel is in hot demand. Also, it's hot. And moist. And the connection is slow. So I will be brief.

First, thank you all for the nice comments. It was very fun reading through them. I can't wait to see all the wedding pictures and write about the weekend. It was such a great time.

So.

Istanbul? Is amazing. It's beautiful and historic and stunning and exhausting all at the same time.

I will say this. It's a fantastic trip, but if what you want to do is relax after you get married, you shouldn't come to Istanbul. Particularly not with me. I think Nick has walked more in the past three days than in the last year.

Walking itself is a bit of a challenge, as everything requires a shove through a crowd. And there are 80 gazillion people everywhere. Plus, it seems like at least half of them want you to look at their rugs. Or try their delicious fish.

"Excuse me. Where are you from?"

This is how it begins. And it ends with you being walked to a rug shop. Or offered a menu. Nick doesn't mind it but it makes me very tired.

I must mention that people have been incredibly kind and friendly, and the shopkeepers are quick to offer you tea while you sit and look at their rugs. Even if you don't buy anything, they are unfailingly hospitable.

The second night we were here, we wound up spending a couple hours in a rug shop that Nick wanted to go to. I was so tired, and while it was interesting, was just genuinely too exhausted from the wedding weekend, the travel, and the jet lag to think about making a purchase.

The salesman pushed, but not too hard. He was a great reader of people, at at a certain point, he just stopped. Very friendly, but wasn't going to push me past my limit.

I said I was tired and he said, "You look a little bit exhausted."

That's what I was. A little bit exhausted.

I offered, as explanation, "We just got married on Saturday."

And in my mind I was thinking about all the planning and work and preparation and nervousness leading up to it. And the fun of Friday night, and the running around of Saturday, the fantastic night, and the dancing, and all the wine and champagne and then beer on top of it all, and the staying out till 3 am Sunday morning. And the slogging through the hangover and the packing and the long plane trip and the jet lag.

But you could so clearly see on his face the reason he thought I was tired.

He beamed at us. And said, "Usually, after people get married, it is the man who is tired!"

16 comments:

  1. Oh congrats again! I hope you're having the time of your life!

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  2. Pictures! I can't wait to see the slide show. :-)

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  3. ha ha! i can just hear the accent he used to say "Usually, after people get married, it is the man who is tired!"

    have fun (and try to relax!)

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  4. Oh, happiness times infinity to both of you! :o)

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  5. Back in the day wedding photos of the happy couple were often taken after the fact because they had to wait for the photographer to come through town. Notice the man is always sitting and the woman is always standing because he was to tired to stand snd she was too... to sit.

    Congrats! Have a wonderful time.

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  6. Hi Mr. and Mrs.! Glad to hear you're having a great time, yay! The wedding and Istanbul sound amazing.

    Did you blush? I would have blushed if the kind shopkeeper had said that to me.

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  7. HEH.

    glad to hear that you are having a good time. :)


    we miss you!

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  8. Ha ha!!! So funny. :)
    It sounds wonderful. Thank you for the update, Lisa! :)
    Oh, and I love the comment about the wedding photographer, heh.

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  9. Wonderful!

    This reminds me of our friend who, when approached by a vendor offering a chess set and saying "nice chess", said "thank you!"

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  10. Can't wait to see your update, but I'm so stoked that the wedding went well! Try to relax, enjoy the food and the atmosphere, but most of all, enjoy your new husband! You deserve it!

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  11. I miss you all! I am having the best time but I miss you!

    The Ex - Thank you! It has been fantastic so far!

    VVK - The slide show was a huge hit. And we have a zillion pics.

    LJ - I know you know exactly what he sounded like.

    Jessica - Hugs, sweetie. :)

    Red - That is really interesting. I would never have thought about that, but of course that makes sense. About the photographer coming town to town - I dunno about the standing sitting. :)

    lacochran - :)

    HKW - I was too tired to blush. We are liking the Mr. Mrs. thing, I have to say.

    Slightly Disorganized - I'm glad to hear that! I miss you, too!

    A.S. - Happy to do it. I'll update again soon.

    Nicole - Thanks! We are!

    Mark - Hahahaha! That's fantastic. I hope I think that fast in a situation like that.

    Jo - Thank you! We're starting to get into relax mode. Heading to the beach tonight!

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  12. Did Nick bring that jacket to Istanbul? Something tells me he would receive a lot of positive attention had he done so.

    Have fun. Be safe. We love you. We miss you!

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  13. hahahahahahahahahahahah! I officially love that rug-sales-guy. =-) So glad you are having a wonderful trip.

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  14. I didn't think you were supposed to leave the room on your honeymoon... either way I hope the two of you enjoy yourselves!

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