Botticelli Reimagined

A few weeks ago, Jennifer McClure asked if I wanted to go back to Istanbul. She has a conference on the Asia-side of the city.

In case you weren’t reading my blog at the time, Jennifer and I took an incredible trip to Turkey back in February 2014 in the midst of riots, a government-wide ban on Twitter, and the inception of the Syrian refugee crisis. We had fun, but I had some hesitancies about going back.

Out of the blue, my event planner from back in 2014 called and invited me to speak at a different HR event in Istanbul during the same week as Jen’s upcoming trip.

It’s like Turkish Baby Jesus swooped his hand down and made this whole trip happen!

I said yes, we agreed on a price, and I booked my flight. Unfortunately, my event was canceled. I was operating in good faith and didn’t sign a contract (rookie move), which is sorta fine because now I’m going to Istanbul on vacation.

Turkish Baby Jesus still wins.

On my way home, I’m flying to London. The sole purpose is to see Botticelli Reimagined because I often tell people that I’m built like Venus. I want to see what a “venus body” means for other artists.

(Other than the essence of sexy, yo.)

I’m excited about this trip, and more importantly, I can’t wait to witness great art, eat more Turkish breakfasts, and experience more political unrest. I’ll keep you updated on our trip in the next few weeks. If you’ve been to Istanbul and know the city well, I’d love some local and unique recommendations. We’d like to see new stuff.

Thanks!