The Adventure Begins

Traveling with three small children was just as exciting as anyone could imagine. The kids were actually very good...considering. Here they are having a little fun while we wait patiently for the workers at AlItalia to finish their important conversation and assist us. We were already so tired that I think I actually may have considered letting the kids go ahead and baggage check themselves to Istanbul.
Our first night in Istanbul was amazing...... and a little terrifying. The taxi ride from the airport lived up to the legend posted on every other travel blog. Traffic was insane, and the driver insisted on going as fast as possible every inch we moved and then coming to a screeching halt. Despite all the action, we were so tired we kept falling asleep. We knew that if we could sleep through that we must of been beyond exhaustion!
Driving through Dikilitas, we perked up with the excitement of seeing our home for the next few months. It was "a bit hilly" like my Turkish friend warned. Speaking of this friend, there is no way we would have made it these first few days without her and her family. Not only did these friends find the apartment for us, but also went to great links to get us acclimated to the city, including warning us that if the Turks won the soccer match that their may be a few people shooting off guns.
Well, the Turks won. We woke up to about an hour of gunfire-supposedly mostly fake. Again, my Mother was so tired she slept through it until I woke her. After the hills and the gunfire we were getting a little unsure of ourselves; however, we decided to get brave and take the kids on a trip to Ortakoy. It was wonderful. We love it here! The Ortakoy harbor was beautiful, and though it is definitely a little touristy we started feel like we were really in Istanbul. The kids had a great time feeding the pigeons, watching local boys jump in the Bosporus, and eating grilled corn on the cob. People told us that Turks love children, but we are still always shocked at how nice everyone is to the kids. Carolina's and Leila's cheeks and thighs are probably sore from all the pinches. We were a little freaked out by everyone wanting to take Carolina's picture. She is the most popular girl in the city. Everywhere we go we saw people snapping photos of her, and many people would just jump down next to her and take their picture with her. Suri and Shiloh eat your heart out! Its still a little frightening, but she's enjoying it. We just hope she doesn't start acting more like a diva than she already does! All in all it was a good experience for our first day out on our own, and we took some awesome pictures. We'll keep you posted on how the rest of the week goes.