Istanbul
Find the answers to all your questions about visiting Istanbul. Where to stay, what do do and most importantly – what to eat! Travel tips and inspiration from ShoyuSugar.com.
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Turkey · Expat Life · Istanbul · People
Neighbors
When I first moved into my apartment it was unfurnished. In Turkey that means a complete blank slate: no appliances, curtains, not even light fixtures. I felt excitement at being able to fill up my space thoughtfully, surrounding myself only with carefully-selected things I loved. But at the same time, furnishing a whole 2-bedroom apartment…
Things to Do · Expat Life · Garden · Istanbul · Nature · Turkey
How to Visit the Istanbul Tulip Festival (2024)
Tulip season in Turkey really kicks off in April, and it’s a beautiful way to welcome the spring in Istanbul. If you’re visiting Istanbul during the month of April, you definitely should make a stop to visit the Istanbul Tulip Festival! As of April 3, 2024, we saw that the tulips were already in bloom…
Destinations · Nature · Road Trip · Slow Travel · Travel · USA · Washington DC · Wine
Day Trip from Washington DC: Fall Foliage in Shenandoah Valley
Washington DC is full of historic sites, museums, parks and is one of the top dining destinations in the country. You could easily spend weeks here and never tire of the bountiful options for things to do! But if you’re the type who loves a good road trip and beautiful fall foliage, a self-guided road…
Cappadocia · Chicago · Expat Life · Family · Nostaglia · Portugal · Slow Travel · Travel · USA · Washington DC
Serendipity
People often ask me questions about the life I’m living, and I get it. I’m definitely not following a conventional path in life or career and some of the choices I make tend to leave others scratching their heads a bit. I often hear, “I wish I could do what you do, but…” or “I…
Destinations · Cappadocia · Europe · Expat Life · Slow Travel · Turkey
Life in Turkey: Seker Bayram and Ramazan
Each year when I look back at this post, it reminds me of the years that I’ve spent in Turkey during Ramazan. This year, in 2024, is quite different from the first year when I’d just arrived! Back then in 2015, I was living in Cappadocia in a small village called Goreme. You may know…
On Being Vulnerable
I felt a chill, sitting in my little box of a room – tiny, with oddly-placed windows that allow nearly no natural light to shine through. Wrapped up in a pile of heavy blankets and my newly purchased yak wool scarf, trying my best to stay insulated from both the physical cold and the social…
Destinations · Europe · Lisbon · Portugal · Restaurants · Seafood
Where to Eat in Lisbon: Cervejaria Ramiro
I had first seen Cervejaria Ramiro on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations episode on Lisbon. Known for serving a huge variety of fresh seafood with grilled steak sandwiches for “dessert”, it was on my short list of places to visit in my trip to Portugal. I had plans to meet my friend Flavia from Brazil for…
Africa · Argentina · Bolivia · Budget Tips · Cappadocia · Chile · Destinations · South Africa · South America · Travel · Uncategorized
250 Days
What a beautiful journey this has been and continues to be, every day… As I’ve recently passed the 250-day mark in my travels, I figured it was time for another update. When I wrote my 100 Days update, I tried to dispel the myth of travel being so expensive by giving you a breakdown of…
Food · Chile · Cooking Classes · Destinations · Foodie · South America · Things to Do
Cooking Classes in Chile: Uncorked Cooking Workshop
Disclosure: My cooking class was provided courtesy of Uncorked Cooking Workshop, however I was not otherwise compensated for this post and all opinions are my own. Ceviche. Oh, my love for ceviche knows no bounds. It’s one of the dishes that I’ve tried up and down the continent of South America and have pretty much…