Turkey Weekend- and No, Not the Bird

This past weekend we flew to Turkey (in a weird twist, on Thanksgiving Day) to visit its capital Ankara (I am including that info since I had no idea it wasn't Istanbul until a few months ago!).  Paolo is considering applying for a job there so we decided to actually check the place out before we made any big decisions.  After heading off to India and Ukraine without seeing the places first, we wanted to make more of an informed decision this time.  I apologize first of all that my camera failed me this trip so all you will see is from the iPhone.  Ankara is probably the least picturesque place in Turkey, so you are not about to see anything particularly stunning anyway....

First, to add a bit of humor to the post, our Halloween photo. 

And post trick-or-treating.  A rest on our good friend Marjorie's kitchen floor with her super-adorable 4 month old Newfoundland puppy.  Yes, puppy.  

I took this photo during my last walk with Enzo before we headed to the airport. Perhaps it was just a sign that it is time to leave Ukraine? Really, the constant, in-your-face sex industry here makes moving to a country where much of the female population is veiled is almost (though not really) appealing....

This is what happens when we need to skip Gio's sacred nap so that we can get to the airport.... This boy sticks to his schedule no matter what, even in a taxi. 

We arrived in Ankara's very modern and stunning airport close to midnight on Thanksgiving Night (I was subjected to a very soggy slice of pizza on our flight- no turkey and cranberries for me.)  It was immediately clear to me how beloved children are in Turkey.  Within 10 minutes of our arrival Gio's hair had been tousled and patted by nearly every Turk that passed us as we were waiting for our luggage.  No scowling babuskas wagging their fingers at him around here!

Friday morning, what was the first thing I wanted to do??? Yep. I had a craving and was thrilled to discover that Starbucks has invaded Turkey. 

Gio was pretty happy about this discovery as well.  

Post breakfast we headed into the very secure grounds of the British Embassy to visit an excellent school there. We were very impressed with the teachers and facilities.  Score a big point for Ankara.  For those of you not in the expat circuit, often choosing a next destination centers around the school options.  We were very happy to find this school, though the long wait list scares us a bit.  

Another big point for Ankara? Real ice cream! As in a kind that actually melts.

We checked out quite a bit of real estate.  This was one of our favorites- an apartment that looked right into an enormous park that includes an amusement park! AND LOOK!!! Blue sky!!  I had not seen one of those since we left the US over 3 weeks ago.

Took some passport photos of Gio- required for his British Embassy School application. The passport control officer also suggested we update Gio's passport.  Not only are his pages nearly full (scary for a 3-year-old), but his picture was taken when he was 3 days old...

Sunday morning (yep, somehow I managed not to take a single photo on Saturday) and the sun is still out. It was actually quite warm but we were stuck in our Kyiv coats.

We took a walk in one of the city's many parks with a World Bank family who has a son Gio's age. 

There were many children's playgrounds in the park, but the boys' favorite spot was this outdoor gym.

They worked out with the "big people" for nearly an hour. 

An Ikea!  That's fun.  

And as quick as that we were back at the airport. By the way, if you have a young person, travel a lot and have graduated from strollers but still struggle to get through the endless terminals of monster airports like Frankfurt, you should get yourself one of these- a Trunki.  Gio's is the Gruffalo and he adores it.  We filled it with vital Gio stuff like snacks, pjs (his outfit of choice!), sticker books and Frog&Toad books.  And he road happily through the airport.  Thanks, Nonna & Nonno for sending us this!

So we liked Ankara a lot.  Will we end up there?  Stay in Kyiv?  Head somewhere else in the world this summer?  Stay tuned.  We should know by Christmas.
PS- Gio completed his 110th flight yesterday.  Yikes.