Today is a good day. It is 8 a.m. and already in the high 70s, something that happens a dozen times or fewer in San Francisco each year. You can almost hear everyone sighing in contentment. A dear friend has just moved here, and may turn out to be my neighbor. I've figured out how to make one of my favorite drinks from Turkey. Not only that, but my sleep schedule post-Turkey is actually an improvement on my normal one; when the alarm goes off at 7, I can actually get out of bed with a little spring in my step, instead of my usually fuzzy slog to brush my teeth.

So, Turkey. Turkey was amazing. If you haven't thought about visiting before, add it to your list. If you've always wanted to go, get it done. We hit four places: Istanbul (city), Cappadocia (remote, insane rock formations), Ephesus (coastal Roman ruins) and Bodrum (beach party city). It was an aggressive plan for 10 days, but I'm glad we got to see it all. And I've already got a long list of what I want to see and do when we go back!

Istanbul

Cappadoccia (which is a region - we stayed in the town of Ortahisar)

Ephesus (the name of the ruined town - we stayed nearby in Selcuk)

Bodrum

More detail to come when I've pulled the photos off my camera and have rejoined normal life a bit more.