Mongol Rally 2017

Miles: 260ishCountries: TurkeyStops: Istanbul -> Izmit -> no idea where -> Ankara-ishPlaylist: the wind in my hair and also a bunch of Eminem What a day!We woke up from the first peaceful night in a while. We had slept in a paid parking lot with the gates closed in a wonderful little shady corner (and I don't mean shady like sketchy, shady like out of the sun for once). We got up, "bathed", and wandered off exploring Old Istanbul. We figured we'd at least walk around the Grand Bazaar and get the feel for it when it's closed - didn't...

Miles: a lot in walking.Countries: TurkeyStops: Istanbul; Sultanahmet Square -> Hagia Sophia -> Blue Mosque -> cystine -> Toptaki Palace -> some terrace -> some other terrace Finding parking was a challenge all on its own, but once that was out of the way and we got a plan for the day, we headed over to the Sultanahmet Square. Wow. Pretty spectacular. You're welcomed by a huge, clean, fountain dazzling in the blue tiles and beautiful huge mosque-like architecture on each side. On the left of where we were standing was the Hagia Sophia, directly behind the fountain was the Hamam,...

Miles: 42Countries: TurkeyStops: Istanbul-ish -> IstanbulPlaylists: raging hornsIf I hear one more car horn.... Istanbul is a constant battle and chaos for the one and a quarter of he 4 lane highway because people are parked any which way, they go THE WRONG WAY on the highway, and do whatever the fuck they want. Justin is currently emitting some sort of duck/horn sounds. I think he's starting to go crazy as google maps had us going through streets not even narrow enough for ONE car, let alone do the 2 way where people do whatever they want. Back up. We...

Miles: 250Countries: Bulgaria -> TurkeyStops: Varna -> Border -> Istanbul-ishPlaylists: weekly discover (Spotify), Epic Songs of Epicness (Spotify)It was still raining when we woke up, and with the car fully covered in a tarp, We had a slow start to the day and found ourselves on the road around 11:30. It was a pretty fun drive. We were both in a good mood, cracking jokes, and just overall silly. We did crosswords as we drove through the back highways through the mountains. It was all good until we drove past 2 cop cars parked on the side of the road...

Miles: 190Countries: Romania -> BulgariaStops: home -> embassy -> translator -> VarnaPlaylists: noneMorning was bad. Between Justin being very ill, and me going off to get a thank-our-host gift on my own and getting lost, we got to the embassy way after 12:30 when the consulate was supposed to leave. We were afraid we missed our window to get our passports but she stuck around, got us what we needed, and gave us the run down for Bulgaria. It was a pretty brutal morning with tears and many questions of what are we doing, is it worth it, and do...