parades

One thing I love about Istanbul is that the city is so big that there's always something going on. Most of these goings on happen in my part of town, so I often get a chance to see some pretty exciting things.

Today, my visiting friend Cameron and I were hanging about the Taksim Square area when a parade of boating enthusiasts passed by. There were people from Indonesia, Croatia, France, Russia, Ukraine, and even Poland. There were marching bands, songs, and some people dressed as animals. It was pretty much the best parade I've ever seen. Cameron and I got to see it three times. First, we watched it go by as it entered Istiklal Caddesi. We watched it a second time as we walked along it, passing the various groups and interrupting camera shots. Finally, after we passed the first group a good kilometer down, we got to watch it all pass by again. It was a lovely thing. I'm trying to see if we made it on the news as observers.

Traveling is always more fun with a friend. Watching the locals can even be fun with someone to chat with. Much of our day today was spent just people watching and strolling around the streets of Taksim. It's nice to finally be in a position to host someone and show them around.

I've been taking advantage of having my friend around by bouncing ideas off of him for the future. I have a lot of plans bubbling around in my head right now. It's definitely helpful to have someone to discuss them with.

I suppose the conclusion of this post is that parades are awesome, but even better with a friend.