A Vacation Excursion

I mentioned before that we are taking vacation this week but not really going anywhere. It's been really, really nice. We have done a few things that haven't been the most relaxing (I worked on our taxes and Shannon worked on a brochure for work, as well as a long process of trying to figure out how our international health insurance works), but altogether it's been great. Movies and popcorn and naps and walks and lots of playing together and relaxing. Fun times.

Today we decided that since we're saving so much money by staying home for vacation that we should go and do something that we wouldn't normally do (at least not often). I was out last week and stumbled upon something I didn't know existed in Istanbul: a Ben & Jerry's. So out we went!


Using the stroller for maybe the 2nd time since we moved here. (In general the sidewalks here and public transportation are not stroller-friendly, but our new neighborhood has wider sidewalks than our old neighborhood.) Lane's chowing down on some apples and cheese.


Look at all that yummy goodness!


If it's not fun, why do it?


Love the chef timer. I think he's for timing the waffle iron.


Mmm. We got a large and shared: 3 flavors (Phish Food, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Vanilla [so Lane could have a taste]). Shannon was WAY disappointed that 1/3 of our selection was vanilla, as he is officially a chocoholic! The cookie/cracker is Lane's.


Family photo op!

The only real bummer was that we had to sit outside and it wasn't exactly a warm day (maybe it was 45-50°), especially when you're eating ice cream! So we went to the Starbucks next door and got a Venti Chai Tea Latte (since Lane can't drink coffee it tends to be our drink of choice these days so that she can have a drink too) to help warm us up.


Lane getting a taste of vanilla ice cream for the first time. She wasn't sure what to think!


After we were finished with our ice cream we decided to let Lane wander around a bit. She is quite taken with motorized vehicles, always wanting to touch the tires. (Notice her carrying around the white plastic spoon from our ice cream?)

So, 13 lira (about $8.65) on ice cream and 5.50 lira (almost $4.00) and two 30-minute walks to and from Ben & Jerry's makes for a pretty cheap date, don't you think?


Goodbye, Ben & Jerry's! We'll hopefully see you again one day!