No matter how intelligent we are, everyone has moments of stupidity, where we say shockingly dumb things. I have been accused by more than one friend of being the dumbest smart person they’ve ever known. Probably due to by tendency to walk into doors, walls, and oncoming traffic. Though I’d never thought about it, I’m now incredibly grateful that there were generally only a handful of people around to watch me do or say really dumb things. Charlize Theron is not so lucky. People tend to actually listen to what she says. Which sucks for her. The upside is that they listen because she’s rich, famous, and beautiful, so it seems like it’s probably worth the trade off. During promotion for the release of “The valley of Elah,” Charlize gave an interview to the Daily Mail in which she talked about the special time she spent in Budapest with boyfriend/husband (depending on who you ask) Stuart Townsend. Except she was actually talking about Istanbul. Oops.

“We went to Turkey. When we got over there, we rented a car and we drove all the way to Budapest,” the 32-year-old told London’s Daily Mail of her spring 2006 trip with actor beau Stuart Townsend. That would have been one impressive drive, considering the capital of Turkey is about 660 miles from Budapest. “By the time we got to Budapest it was like the Cannes Film Festival, I’d never seen anything like it,” she said. Charlize, that was the popular Istanbul International Film Festival you attended.

She also described visiting a Turkish bazaar where she purchased various local rugs. In one sighting, a tipster from A Socialite’s Life observed Charlize throwing down $380,000 on silk and traditional Turkish rugs at Istanbul’s historical Grand Bazaar. “When we travel, it’s like backpacking,” she said of her desire to keep a low profile. “We don’t stay in fancy hotels. We like to go and be part of the culture.”

[From Page Six]

I think a lot of people’s grasp of geography tends to fade as they get further and further away from the fifth grade. I would excuse a lot of geography errors if Charlize were just discussing them in theory, but she was giving a long anecdote about a place that was supposedly special to her, and in which she’d spent a good deal of time. On the other hand, she travels to so many different places, between work and pleasure, that I can’t help but excuse the minor relatively gaffe. Thought the comment that she and Townsend try to keep a low profile and act like they’re backing is pretty funny. I am by no means the expert traveler I wish I were, but I’m pretty sure that spending $380,000 on Turkish rugs isn’t exactly in line with the backpacking lifestyle. If Charlize thinks that’s keeping it low-key, it makes me wonder what she means when she says she doesn’t stay in fancy hotels. Probably the Hilton instead of the Four Seasons.