Istanbul – Beyoglu

Beyoglu Istanbul was a whole new world across the Golden Horn. Pomegranate carts still littered the streets, but there ended the resemblance.

As we crossed over the Galata Bridge, we were greeted with the traditional fish market Karakoy. Stop and smell the fishes; maybe even eat a fish sandwich. The finest research on longevity approves of this diet.

Then we wandered around the small streets of Beyoglu that are infinitely more charming mottled with cafes and artists than the main road stuffed with Western luxury stores.

We eventually did stumble onto the main street, Istiklal Avenue. I introduced Joe to Turkish ice cream, which you get for the show, not for the ice cream. We got an especially enthusiastic vendor who had exceptional sleight of hand in avoiding giving Joe any ice cream, and then sneaking the whole bucket onto his little ice cream cone.

He finished his ice cream not one moment too soon before we encountered a protest right as we approached the infamous Taksim Square, completing my Istanbul experience.

After fighting our way through the mob, we spent the rest of our day leisurely strolling through the more peaceful Dolmabahce Palace, the new one after Topkapi was abandoned. The palace was westernized and immaculately kept with a touch of peacocks that amused me to no end. What a contrast!

Lastly, I want to share this new favorite spot of mine. Before going to Beyoglu, I searched for unique photography spots, and I stumbled on the Rainbow staircase. I loved the story behind it and its pop of color. To me,  the staircases stood for love and for the triumph of ideals. I was hell bent on finding it, but directions online were vague and from 3 years ago, so when I found this staircase, I was disappointed at how dilapidated they appeared.

I was almost fooled by these above before the original Rainbow Staircase finally found us! I was so ecstatic that I frolicked like a silly girl. Love and ideals stayed vivid!

All in all, I loved my day trip to Beyoglu, but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I spent more time in that area. As for Istanbul as a whole, it remained one of my favorite cities, but I’m not sure it was as awe-inspiring as I remembered from my first trip. I grow and I evolve, but I hope I will always have time to stop and smell the fishes and frolic with rainbows.

Istanbul – Old City

Out of all the places I visited, I loved Istanbul more than others (I visited once in 2008). I loved Istanbul with a prejudice, its culture, its food, and its shopping. I wanted to show all of that to Joe. For the most part, the city did not disappoint.

We stayed in Old City, since most of the historical sites are are within walking distance. I was obsessed with gorgeous rooftop views that some hotels offered, and Hotel Niles had just that. Their rooms have a wide range of prices, and all rooms have access to the gorgeous rooftop bar. We chose the cheapest room and hung out on the rooftop often. It was perfect. We were greeted with our first Turkish delights and the gorgeous view of the Sea of Marmara:

Our first day was a bit cloudy and rainy, so we opted for indoor activities, hammam (Turkish steam bath). In order to go as a couple, we did not have that many choices. Suleymaniye Hammam is the only traditional one that was co-ed. It might be more touristy and pricy, but the majestic marbles are gorgeous, and the massage by the fat Turkish man really hit the spot. There’s no camera in the bath, but here’s the finished product after we were pampered and washed. Joe’s holiday beard really added to our costume:

The Suleymaniye Mosque was right next to the hammam, so we made a pit stop. The view from the courtyard over Istanbul and the Golden Horn immediately became one of my favorite:

Next day, the weater was perfect, and we spent it exploring the rest of Old City. We visited Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace.

My friend gave me the book 1453, which I finished right before arriving. I was never a history buff, but this book was a pleasant read, and it gave me a deeper understanding of Istanbul’s architectures, geography, and history. Hagia Sofia was the shining star of Constantinople then and now, and it’s not hard to see why.

Here’s a view of Hagia Sofia from the Blue Mosque entrance:

The Blue Mosque is the most known mosque, and it is definitely impressive, but I would have preferred a more intimate setting. The line into the Mosque is mildly shorter from the back entrance:

Tip: Female visitors need a scarf. If I didn’t, I would have been forced to wear public scarves to all the mosques.

The mosque is really big, I mean really big. Here’s Joe against one column.

Lastly, Topkapi Palace. I loved it for its name. This traditional Turkish palace was active for 400 years before the more opulent European style Dolmabahce Palace replaced it in the 1800’s:

There’s our first half of our Istanbul trip, time for bed.

Santorini, Greece

Last spring, Joe and I went on a get-a-way to the gorgeous Island of Santorini. Cliche, I know, but who can resist. Here’s my version of Heaven:

Studies show that happiness spikes during the planning stage of a vacation, but with an over-planned vacation, stress takes over during it. Therefore for this vacation, I planned extensively over where we would stay and I let the rest take care of itself. We picked the shoulder season (mid April) to save some money, and we picked Imerovigli to have some privacy.

Hotel Afroessa: After a quiet 24 hour call in the hospital, I managed to comb through 300+ hotels on the island, and I landed on this one. I wanted a white cave-like room with a view that did not cost an arm. During the shoulder months (April to May), I scored this place for 115 Euros a night. We were their first customer of the season (arrival date 4/14/2015), so we also got a free upgrade to their best room!

Our room had the gorgeous cave feeling that I wanted. It also had a sitting room that opened to a gorgeous private balcony with a view. It was also next to the common pool area (below).

On our first day, we took it easy and did a short but fun hike up Skaros rock:

For our first Santorini sunset, we had wine and cheese on our balcony overlooking the ocean and the gorgeous Oia.

For our second day, we trekked to Oia (pronounced Ee-ya) on a bus (1 Euro each), and it was every bit as gorgeous as the post cards! Since we went at the beginning of the season, we did not get rundown by tourists. I highly recommend this!

There were steps everywhere, so it really made us not feel guilty eating all that bread and wine. Everywhere we turned was a poster worthy scene. After walking around town and snacking in restaurants, we also checked out Amoudi bay, a cute little alcove with some less expensive restaurant choices. Beware of steps. Donkeys are cute, but I could not ride them in good conscience.

Sun-dried octopuses are so photogenic:

For our second sunset, we hung around Oia. I had the perfect stake-out spot for my sunset pictures.

However, 10 minutes before the actual sunset, this guy couldn’t hold his beer, so we had to abandon our spot in search of a bathroom:

Fortunately, there were still spots at our favorite roof top bar, Pelekanos. This bar over looked the whole island, and the price is not overblown:

For our third day, we hiked over to Fira.

From Fira, we took a bus to the south side of the island. We visited the archaeological museum (pretty small, weren’t that impressive) and the Red Beach. April was way too cold for the beach, but the hike was amazingly gorgeous.

We hiked back to Fira on our fourth day. First, we stopped by Volcano Blue for some seafood brunch. This was a new experience: a day before, the owner of Volcano Blue approached me when I was looking at my Tripadvisor app, and he promised me something special if I came back to eat at his restaurant, so of course I did. We got a huge seafood platter for two (30 something Euros), and we got free wine and dessert to go with our meal! This is such a brilliant way of advertising his restaurant! I left the restaurant more happy than ever (free food always make me happy), and the restaurant got a good review from me. In all honesty, this restaurant’s view and food is definitely a 4+ star rating not counting the free food. What I also learned, make it known that you’re a Tripadvisor reviewer and you get free food!

After stuffing our stomach, we took a boat to visit the volcano island. It was a pretty hike, but I didn’t see a volcano, just lots of black volcanic rocks.

On our fifth day, we rested and read on our gorgeous porch. Thus, we enjoyed our last sunset over Santorini before flying over to Istanbul the next morning.

Tips:

• Shoulder season for Santorini was amazing. We had 70 degree throughout our week, and no rain. The price is 1/3 of what it is during on season (our hotel went from 115 Euro a night to 300 Euro a night!). We were not beach people, so not being able to swim in the ocean did not sadden us
• Where to stay: Oia has the most white houses built on the cliff, thus it is the most touristy and crowded. Fira has more bars and night life. Imerovigli has the best sunset, and it’s the most isolated of the three cities. I definitely do not regret staying in Imerovigli for our romantic get-a-way. If only I can get Joe to pronounce it.
• Make it known that you’re a Tripadvisor user, and you get free food!

Snow and bacon

Here are some pretty pictures of the snow and cold.

I mostly observed these beauties in the warmth of home.

I wanted to give J a little surprise, seeing as we have been together for two years now. So I gathered some bacon, maple syrup, and potatoes. I rolled up the bacon, stabilized them with toothpicks, and baked them for 30 minutes at 400. Then I poured maple syrup on them and baked for 3 more minutes before taking them out.

I also sliced a potato into thin slices, spiced them good, lined them up, rolled them together, and stabilized my creation with some tin foil before throwing it into the oven with the bacon roll-ups.

Then I stuck them on a de-flowered plastic bouquet, and here’s my final product: candied bacon for the red roses, and spiced potato for the white rose!

I had to wake him up for the surprise.

Then I frolicked in the snow.

And he took me snowboarding for the first time. No broken bones!

I hope we have many more adventures to come.

Cozumel – Down where it’s wetter

Now is the perfect time to revamp my vacation photos from Cozumel, where sun rays existed and work did not. We went last year in June, and we had such amazing adventures.

Here’s my view every morning:

I just got my SCUBA certificate a month before, so of course we had to put that into use. We did six dives all together along the reefs off of southern Cozumel. They were amazing!

We loved it for the animals (a nurse shark with Joe on the left and a turtle on the right with me): 

We loved diving for its freedom. I was weightless, and it felt like flying!

… and we loved doing it together.

I could not decide where to stay in Cozumel, so we divided our time between two resorts. The first one was Occidental Grand. It’s known for its iguana landscaping and the wild-jungle solitude. Due to its location, Occidental Grand was the perfect location for divers who would not mind a few (or a lot) of drinks – all included with your stay of course.

Then we trekked to the northern side of the island, Cozumel Palace. Cozumel Palace was an amazing luxury that I wasn’t sure I was allowed to enjoy just yet in my life. The food was decadent, the drinks were exquisite, and to top it off: Jacuzzi in your room!

Other excursions we did included kayaking, stingray snorkeling, romantic dinners on the beach, walking, contemplating, finding wildlife, both grand and miniature:

And lastly, we met the founders of Thomas Farthing on their honeymoon. Swoon…

David and Yi Engaged

Yi and David goes back 9 + years, and as the maid of honor, I’m quite amused at how their love story unfolded. Let’s just say it involved quite a bit of silliness and a touch of craziness. I’m even more excited to see the ending of this chapter and the beginning of a new one at their wedding on March 15 at the gorgeous Duke Chapel!

And lastly, a shot of team bride.

Addendum to Family

I did a quick shoot right before Thanksgiving for the staff’s kids. Thank you for being cute! Potential wall art?

Hawaii

It was a pick-me-up kind of day. I did that by reliving my family vacation to Hawaii earlier this year. We went all over Oahu. My parents went on to visit the Big Island, but I had to return to residency. There are so many reasons for me wanting to go back, including being spoiled like a 7 year old again by just being with my parents. Pictures of me were taken by dad, or maybe mom.

Of course, there are also the endless beaches and my new beachwear. I loved how my hair caught the beach waves without needing any product besides the ocean!

 

The clouds and the waves.

The gorgeous sunsets all along our drive.

The hikes with gorgeous overlooks (Diamond head).

The whole island from a bird’s view (via Blue Hawaiian).

And the animals. I expected shark and fish, even whales, but I did not realize there were so many chickens. Beware, they’re early risers.

Lastly, a big mahalo from underwater. I was so proud of my parents for trying scuba diving! This was my first open water dive as well. I’ve since gone and got myself certified, and it has opened up a whole new world.

It’s a Family Affair

Our brand new clinic space will be up and running by May, and what better way to decorate a family medicine clinic with photos of families (even better, families of our own staff)? I’ve selected a sample here. I envisioned all portraits to be in black and white so the office can have a contemporary and unified feel to it. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.

Also if you have a cute kid that you don’t mind showing off, let me know. I’m free this Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. You know where to find me.

Nan and James

In the spirit of throw-back-Thursdays. I present a very special wedding to me. On October 15, 2011, many things happened, including James finally locking down Nan. They met in Princeton. It was brain (James) meeting spunk (Nan), and they made it work like fireworks. Sunny, my bffl, and I planned the whole wedding, down to their hand-designed wedding invitations. Sunny and I also managed to pass our medical classes at the same time. On that day, I also met Joe, a groomsman.

I have since upgraded my camera and lenses, but here is a few of my favorites, including an intimate moment of the couple the morning after.

Lastly, a photo of Joe and me caught by the groom’s uncle. I couldn’t remember the dance, but Joe did <3.