The thing I have noticed about Istanbul is you never count on the same dull drum day. There is always something going on in this city, and new places you find just walking around. And walking around we do!
#1 A huge beautiful park!
While walking around (lost) trying to find the place where they moved the Ottoman Archives we stumbled upon this beautiful park. Probably 3 miles of a pathway bordered by colorful flowers and TALL TALL trees, soft grass, and three relaxing fountains- a mirage for the city dweller. I was happy to find that this lovely park is right down the street from the Archives, so while Brad does research in the afternoon I spend my time sitting on a bench with my ice cream cone or on my back gazing up at these trees with a good book. A relaxing summer it is.
#2 Brad's Favorite Restaurant
Across the Bosphorus on the Asian side of Istanbul Brad discovered his favorite restaurant. A romantic ferry ride and small walk and you are there. The food was surprising- you load your plate from this salad bar type thing and then they weigh your plate for the price- hmmm? So I thought that was weird but then you taste the food and wow- that chef is brilliant. Everything on my plate was delicious and I don't know if I've ever tasted better bread. We highly reccomend Ciya.
#3 A Parade? On the 4th of July?
So we were kind of down on the 4th due to missing out on barbaques, parades, and fireworks in the states. We looked up the address for the U.S Consulate but found they were closed and no mention of a celebration. So we decided to see a movie in English with Turkish subtitles. The only available was Angels and Demons. We had a bit of time to wait after we got our tickets and heard some commotion going on Istiklal Caddesi- a parade? It turned out to be a huge parade for the International Dance Festival. Dancers were dressed in there countries traditional dancing apparell. Most all countries were represented but no USA. But the parade was much fun. After our movie we wanted a taste from home so we went to Pizza Hut. The crust was good the cheese and pizza sauce were good but the toppings- not authentic. Pepperoni was not pepperoni. Note to self stay clear of American chains outside of the U.S. We ended the night with a scrabble game where Brad reclaimed his champion status but I still hold the highest scoring record.
3 comments:
Sounds awesome! I updated all my blogs for you. Love ya sis. Looks like so much fun. Glad you still got to see a parade!
PS You sooo need to read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. She describes Istanbul throughout the book and I'd like to know if it is indeed accurate.
Wow - what fun to have a parade on the fourth (even if it wasn't on purpose)! And I wish I could have seen the park - I love places like that!
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