I had one of the best summers of my life. Since there is just too much, here are some summary photos:
Starting with Croatia, and the most tan I have ever been in my life.
 |
| Departing Split |
 |
| Mljet |
 |
| Every day we had a swim stop and they were always wonderful. |
 |
| Dubrovnik |
 |
| Korcula, home of Marco Polo. |
 |
| Another glorious swim stop. |
 |
| Makarska |
 |
| The water |
 |
| Always swimming |
 |
| Our boat's pirate party (I am near the top right). |
 |
| Possibly the coolest thing- swimming under waterfalls in Krka Park. |
 |
| Still Krka |
 |
| Too pretty! |
Then it was time to move on to London.
 |
| Buckingham Palace |
 |
| Picnic in Hyde park with my friend Elliot, who I met during my time in Val d-Isere. |
 |
| On the London Eye |
 |
| Partying with other friends I met in Val d'Isere! |
Then home to SoCal.
 |
| Lots of workouts with my sister and our favorite trainer. |
 |
| Winning second place at trivia. |
 |
| Me and my bro in Santa Barbara. |
 |
| My gorgeous cousin's wedding in SB! |
 |
| Disneyland with my friend Estabon. |
 |
| Fishing with my dad and catching the jackpot fish! |
 |
| Beach time with my friends! |
 |
| More Disneyland! |
 |
| More beach time with friends! |
 |
| More hard core workouts! |
I had a killer summer. I feel like I packed 3 summers in there. I met up with old friends, new friends, and made new friends along the way.
Since being back home in Ankara, I have gone on trips to Ephesus, Istanbul, Madrid, and Amsterdam. IT NEVER ENDS.
I met my parents in Ephesus. They were on an Eastern European cruise and it was one of their stops. I was psyched to see my parents in Turkey, the land I love so much!
 |
| Turkish breakfast with a view. |
 |
| Mom and Dad |
 |
| It was so bright! |
 |
| A dog falls asleep on Mom's shoe- so Turkish! |
I went to Madrid to visit my friend Pam, who has been my friend for about 17 years. We know each other from Niguel Shores and we car pooled together throughout high school. She's getting married in Barcelona next fall and guess who gets to go? That is going to be a killer trip! Madrid was gorgeous and the food was AMAZING- SO MUCH PORK!
 |
| Pate with candied almonds- ugh, so good. |
 |
| A blur of Pam and her fiance, Pablo in front of the palace |
 |
| Churros con chocolate |
 |
| My bike tour |
 |
| Pretty park |
 |
| The view from Pam's apartment- directly in the back is the palace. |
 |
| Retiro Park, so romantic! |
 |
| Chorizo tapas |
 |
| Temple of Debod at sunset |
 |
| A telescope pointing at the moon for people to see |
 |
| A cone of meat! (jamon) |
 |
| Pam and I enjoying the rose gardens |
 |
| Chillin in the park |
 |
| Tapas and beers |
 |
| More time in parks! |
 |
| Flamenco dancing! |
Amsterdam for Halloween was a blast. It was me, Kristen, and our friends Grace and Kyle who are married and new teachers at our school this year. I took VERY FEW pics and none at all from Halloween itself (I was a ninja turtle). We went to the Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh Museum, the red light district, we ate tons of yummy food and rode bikes around town.
 |
| Kristen, Me, Grace, and Kyle |
 |
| Kyle looking like Van Gogh |
 |
| RIding bikes around town with our guide Chris, who is friends with Grace and Kyle and has been living in Amsterdam for 2 months. |
 |
| Brewery we visited while riding through the mist. |
 |
| My breakfast pancake |
 |
| Stroopwafel, a delicious Dutch cookie |
 |
| Riding our bikes through the park |
 |
| My passport is really starting to fill up! |
I booked my Christmas trip: Christmas in South Africa, Amsterdam for New Years. I met a lovely South African on my Croatia trip and she told me I MUST visit in December, their summer. "Why are you going to Amsterdam twice in one year?" I booked the New Years trip first because some Turkish friends are renting a house there and asked if I wanted in (hellz yes!), then my school got the random Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Monday around Halloween weekend off for holidays and elections. My friends and I decided Amsterdam would be awesome for Halloween so why not?
I will try and add more writing next time!
