Isometric Exercise

I swear I am not obsessed with bathrooms! But I can't help but find fascinating things about them on this trip. While traveling to the Buyukada last week, I had to take a restroom break after lunch and came across this little hole in the wall... er, ground.


I'm relieved to say - good thing we do isometric squats in my aerobics classes. Otherwise, I may not have been able to utilize my full range of motion and perform my biological duties without some major quad burn.

That's all I have to say about that. :)

The Lunch for a Princess!

The main delicacies in Turkish cuisine are the kepabs, meatballs, and variety of fish. Since I don't eat meat, but love fish - when I visited the Buyukada, for lunch I ordered the fish. And nothing brings out the flavor of a "fresh from the water, to the grill, and to your plate" fish than a tall glass of EFES beer and a side order of french fries. Mmmm...

Of course, I wasn't alone in these thoughts. On this particular day, a hungry little stray cat also shared my opinion. He (or she) politely tapped my shorts - as if to say, "excuse me, can you be so kind to indulge a poor old cat, such as myself, to a bite of your fresh fish?"

I'm definitely not much of a cat person, but I just couldn't deny him (or her) food - just look at those eyes! So, a few pieces of fish may have slipped off of my plate throughout the course.

So there we were, two total strangers, a cat and a human, sharing this amazing lunching experience together.

The Big Island of... Istanbul?

When we think of the 'Big Island' we think Hawaii. Well, in the Sea of Marmara and off the coast of Istanbul, there are nine islands called the "Princess Islands" - four are inhabited and house some of the richest residents of Istanbul (who often keep their summer homes there). The biggest island is called "Buyukada" (buyuk = big; ada = island). Duh... :)

Last Wednesday I spent the day at the Buyukada. The best part about going to the island was the remarkable views of the Istanbul coast. For transportation, they only allow horse/carriages and bikes (the occasional mule is okay, too). No cars! So the weather was nice and the air was fresh (well, smelled of sea water, of course)!

For 10 liras (about $10 bucks) I rented a bike for the day and pedaled the entire island! The ride was quite spectacular and the complete tour took me only an hour. I wish was able to video tape my ride (then I could have shown it in one of those video-based cycling classes)!

Halfway in my tour, a police officer on motorcycle drove up along side me. Nice guy doing his island rounds. (Can't imagine there being any major police action 'round these parts, but...) As we were talking (and riding), he asked me to join him on a Fanta break. (Didn't know people actually asked to "wanna, wanna - Fanta, Fanta?") We stopped at the local gazebo and talked for a few minutes about places to see on the island. (Though this sounds like the perfect set up for an island fling, don't get any flirty ideas - he was just a nice kid in his early 20s trying to help out the lost tourist.) I never saw him after that. (Get your mind out of the gutter.)

Anyway, after my sugar high, I headed to the top of the island where there was a restaurant overlooking another island. I parked my bike and enjoyed a wonderfully delicious meal!

After lunch I rode through some of the side streets and residential neighborhoods to check out some of the old, traditional summer homes. I was so close to pulling a "can I use your bathroom" stunt so I could get a peek inside the houses - but I decided against it. Good thing, too, because I later found out that the signs outside the gates that read "Dikkat, Kopek var" meant "Beware of dog" :)

Overall, it was a great day! Got a lot of sun, a lot of exercise and explored a place I'd never been to before. :)

Curb Your Exer-thiasm

I had a funny morning. I went to my first two group exercise classes at Hillside City Club - the nearest gym by my parents' apartment.

First class was awesome! It was called "workshop" which meant it was a rotating class, a different format each week. Today's class was aerobic dance, high-low mixed with a hint of Turkish folklore. Totally different, a little out of my element and I looked entirely silly doing the routine. But, at least I had fun! The class was packed for an 11:30 am time slot, and the teacher was hella entertaining to watch. He was really motivating and kept charming the ladies. He didn't use a mic - he didn't have to. He broke down his routine with whistles. He whistled once to show us the next move, twice to take the routine from the top. That's it! Now, hoppa!

The next class was even crazier. It was a Schwinn indoor cycling class, not to mention, my fave format in group fitness! But outside the amazing euro-tech disco music and the Penn Badgley look-a-like instructor from the show Gossip Girl, the class had a few contraindicated moves. For one, sprinting as fast as you can with minimal load while standing up isn't my idea of an effective drill. And two, cuing the head down (actually looking down, head below heart) then head up... and doing this repeatedly "up for 4, down for 4, up 2, down 2" is probably asking for trouble. What's the Turkish equivalent of 911? However, if the paramedics look anything like the cast of GG, then sure, I'll bob my head up and down until I pass out anytime.

Here's the irony of the whole morning's experience: despite my history in the commercial fitness arena, somehow I ended up looking like the fool in both classes, the newbie participant who couldn't 'keep up' with the routines. The uncoordinated dancer. The weak girl cyclist... sigh. I so wanted to go up to each instructor and justify why I couldn't move my hips in both directions or why I opted out of the (unnecessary) sprints. But of course, I couldn't do that.

So I overcompensated. And when I went to thank each instructor for a great class - I sounded like a retarded Japanese boy going through puberty. Tan Kee, Tan Kee. I figured if they thought I was foreign, then maybe they would forgive my performance. You know, chalk it up to "maybe she couldn't keep up because she couldn't understand what we were saying."

But I think I made the situation even more confusing when I asked the front desk lady to call me a cab in Turkish with an American accent. I really do have an accent when I speak - really.

Talk about a Curb Your Enthusiasm/Larry David moment. The Turkish girl pretending to be an American girl with slightly foreign Japanese accent so the hot instructor won't mistake her for a loser weakling participant, only to reveal she clearly knows the Turkish language. Sigh...

Anyway, I was happy to have gotten a few hours of activity in my day, burn a few calories... what more can you ask for?

I want to ride my bicycle!

Although it was a relatively overcast weekend (even rained a bit), that didn't deter us from our bike ride by the seaside on Saturday. My cousin Ozer, his friend Sirin, and I headed out for an afternoon out.

The casual ride was more for experience than for any cardiovascular challenge, and the manzara (Turkish for the 'view') was exceptional (as always)! Having lived in the desert for so long, it's easy to mistake a body of water to some kind of mirage. LOL.

We didn't ride any long distances - about 10 miles total, but veering through the streets of Istanbul, avoiding pedestrians and cars made the excursion last well over 2-hours. There were many people running, having picnics, flying kites, biking, walking, relaxing, playing near the seaside. Lots of families, couples, friends hanging out! Quite pleasant, actually.

At the half-way point of our journey, we stopped to take a snack break. And in Turkiye, you can usually find vendors selling simit, roasted chestnuts, or corn on the cob - these are the most popular street delicacies. We stopped for corn, of course. Who doesn't like a good piece of corn mid-bike ride, right? (joke) In Turkiye corn vendors are the equivalent of a hot dog stands in US.

We arrived home tired, but just in time for the first soccer match of the season: Turkiye vs. Portugal. Unfortunately, Turkiye lost 2 to zero but the team is only warming up! :) I suspect they'll make a come back in the next match.

(top photo credit: Bilgin Esme)