holiday season. really?

It's that time of year. But you wouldn't know it if you looked out my window. Istanbul has been warmer than I ever anticipated, and to be quite honest with you, I'm not too stoked about it. Fall is about a chill in the air, leaves falling, hot soups, and other tangential autumnal things. What is going on outside my window is entirely not fall. Let me give you the rundown.

Football: Fall is about college football. Specifically Big 10 or SEC (let's be real, the others don't matter). You've spent the end of summer watching SportsCenter and catching preseason games in preparation to spend every Saturday during the fall watching your team's potential manifested on the field.

In Turkey, though, not much football watching is going on (unless we're talking about soccer, or futbol, not American football, what?). At any rate, my relationship with the Spartans and D'antonio has been suffering because of the distance between us - that and my lack of tailgating, which no doubt adds to a team's ability on the field.

Goooo GREEN!

Autumnal Gastronomy: Tell me one thing: what screams 'fall' more than a hot beverage? During (at least) three months of the year, it's guaranteed that you can find me walking the streets with one of the following glued to my paw: peppermint tea, pumpkin spiced lattee, hot cocoa. There's nothing that can make your day better. Except, perhaps, a hot meal for those days when you weren't able to find your mug before you left the house and have now been cold all day because of it (it happens more often than you think, what of it?). Tell me a tuna melt doesn't sound appetizing? Eh? What about some squash? Maybe some steaming sweet potatoes? That's right. Salivate.

I'm in Istanbul. It hasn't been cold enough to wear a jacket most days, let alone warrant wrapping my knobby fingers around a piping hot drink.

Obviously pumpkin spice.

General Holiday Sentiment: The holidays are coming (Thanksgiving may have already passed, but I'm still dreaming about it) and they should be all that's on your mind. Holidays are a break from the regular, whether that be good or bad is irrelevant, but they're a break, nonetheless. I'm always for some distraction to pull me from reality.

Did I mention that Turkey's not America and also an Islamic country? So...no Thanksgiving. Those Christmas tree decals in your neighbor's window? Ya, also not there.

Small trees in unexpected places. Surprise!