Suddenly

This weekend I went to Istanbul, Turkey. I originally booked a flight to arrive Friday afternoon, but that flight was canceled so I ended up taking a flight arriving at 1am. Since I was arriving so late I looked up cheap hostels and how much it would cost to taxi from the airport. The price wasn't too bad, so I hopped in a taxi and gave him the address of Taksim Sofa Hostel. He called them asking for directions and when we were close, he dropped me off at an intersection where a man was waiting to walk me to the hostel. If this had been my first time traveling, I would have been pretty nervous. A Turkish man leading a young girl down a dark alley at 2am sounds anything but safe. But soon enough we got to the 'lobby' of the hostel where I saw fellow travelers stumbling back in from a night out in Istanbul. Just before directing me to a room with 10 bunk beds he asked for the money I owed for the bed. I reached to get my money and pulled out Euros. Suddenly my heart sank as I started wondering if I had accidentally given the taxi driver Euros instead of Lira. This would have meant I overpaid him by at least $40. I was so tired that I convinced myself I had made this mistake and I couldn't sleep all night. The guy at the front desk offered to call the taxi driver back, but again, being so exhausted I said no and went to my bed.

In the morning the hostel had a good breakfast consisting of bread, cheese, jam, butter, a hard-boiled egg, sliced tomato and some olives. After some Turkish tea I finally felt awake and counted my Turkish Lira. I had the exact amount I exchanged at the airport minus the taxi fare. What a relief! I finally realized that I hadn't overpaid the taxi after all. Phew!

Then I started my journey to Eminönü Ferry Port to meet my host. I waited a while but didn't see her so I went to find Internet to see if she had tried to contact me. Then I found a text message from her saying she was running late due to traffic, but I received it 30 minutes late! So I tried to text her back to see where she was but I ran out of credit on my cell phone. I finally was able to borrow someone else's cell phone and call her and tell her where I was. Oh, I forgot to mention that in the midst of all the confusion it started pouring rain. I was wearing terrible shoes for rain and my broken umbrella kept catching my hair and tangling it. Haha. So we couldn't really do much sightseeing considering how rainy it was. We stopped for lunch by the pier where there are boats cooking fish sandwiches (Balik Ekmek). These were simple and so good. It was really cool to see the guys cooking on a small boat as it rocked back an forth in the water.

Then we took a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul and went to a nice bar. The bar had a back area that was covered with a canopy. It was raining so hard while we were sitting there that the sound of the rain on the roof at some points was deafening. And it lasted so long!

On the ferry...

Finally after dark the rain let up and we took a bus back to my host's house. As we start walking into her apartment complex we hear screeching tires that stop us in our tracks. A car was coming straight for us and swerved away at the last minute. It slammed into two parked cars right beside us and continued down the street slamming into potted plants along the way. Eventually the driver pulled to the side and the security guard of the building started talking to the driver. We were both shook up from the whole deal so we went upstairs feeling like Friday the 13th had come a day late.

The next day during breakfast my host's grandmother said the security guards were watching the surveillance tape over and over again, all night and "it was like a movie." Apparently we were "2 seconds from being hit." It was still pretty surreal.

Anyway, we headed out to Taksim where we walked down this street with lots of shops, and I had a huge baked potato with all the fixin's. In Istanbul this means anything from corn, yogurt, cous cous, mushrooms, hot dog slices, and more. It was really good!

Funny dancing/singing lady in Taksim

The crowded street in Taksim

Baklava in Taksim

Later that night we went to a sports bar where two Turkish soccer teams were playing on TV. It was fun to see the reaction when the local team scored and eventually won. I got to try Nargile (hookah) and it was pretty much the same as in the states, except cheaper.

We woke up early the next day and had a traditional Turkish breakfast called Börek. It was really good! I got to see where my host goes to University and then I said goodbye since I wanted to do some more sightseeing before I headed to the airport.

Topkapi Palace Museum

Freshly squeezed pomegranate juice! Yum!

I saw Sultanahmet and went into a mosque there. Everyone must take of their shoes before entering and women must wear a head scarf, and legs and arms must be covered. If you are wearing shorts they will give you a long skirt to wrap around while you are in the mosque. As I was in line, a girl behind me was wearing a short sleeved shirt. The lady kindly asked her to cover her arms and she rolled her eyes. It bothered me to see that girl acting that way. She is being given the privilege to see the inside of a very beautiful place of worship and she is complaining about having to put a sweater on. I don't claim to know the first thing about Islam but if I'm in a country with a high Muslim population, it's only common sense to be open and respectful to their lifestyle.

Anyway, after the mosque I had just a little time to find a restaurant recommended to me by Micha and Monica. I could tell by the map that it would be a short walk, but my map was missing some street signs, so every few blocks I'd ask directions to make sure I was going the right way. Every time I asked the conversation went something like this:
"Where are you going?"
"Do you know Kadirga Meydani street?"
"Ah, yes... Go straight, turn left and make your first right. It's on the right. ... Where are you going on that street?"
"I'm going to this restaurant called Imren lokantasi."
As soon as I said this, every one of their eyes lit up and said with a smile, "Who told you about this restaurant?"

One guy who gave me directions said, "On your way, please come in and let me give you my business card for my art gallery!" So I stopped in and of course business card turns into, "Here's some tea, sit for a minute and look at the art! Also, this is my very handsome and eligible bachelor son! So, how many camels would I have to give your parents in order for me to rip up your ticket back to Italy?" Oh, the joys of traveling as a female... :)

So, finally I made it to the highly anticipated Imren lokantasi. This place was really a hole-in-the-wall in every sense. And as usual with unsuspecting places as these, it was cheap and delicious!

All for me!

Although the weekend started out rough, I had a really good time in Istanbul. But one weekend was not enough! I really want to come back and experience all this city has to offer.

The Visit!

The last ten days I had a visitor and I enjoyed playing tourist! We went to Milan, Bergamo (Citta Alta), Rome, Vicenza, Venice, and Pisogne. Here are some highlights!

Citta Altà (Bergamo)

Piazza Vecchia

 

 

 Colleoni Chapel

Rome

The Vatican

 St. Peter's Basilica

 Trevi Fountain

 

 The Colosseum 

 

 Piazza Venezia

Gelato, of course!

 

Venice

Pretty buildings

 

The Hike

 This week I took a walk with some friends up to a place called San Giovanni. The way up took about 40 minutes and we had a little picnic at the top.