Honeymoon (Belated) - Arriving in Istanbul
Obviously we got married in 2014 :) We also bought a house. Then, we let nearly an entire year pass by before we nailed down honeymoon plans.
Yesterday, we left for Turkey for 2 weeks. We left out of Newark on a 7-hour flight to London. The flight was awesome. I'd forgotten how comfortable international flights were: movies and TV shows on individual screens, free blankets, pillows and headphones, too. We even got a row of 3 without a third person -all 3 seats to ourselves!
We started watching Foxcatcher but then had dinner (free hot dinner on a plane like old days - chicken and rice with tiny baby carrots). Alex wishes he had gotten the vegetarian one (sort of). Pesto did sound good. After dinner we decided it was best to try to get 3-4 hours of sleep before we arrived in London (it would be 6:30AM there, and 8:30AM in Istanbul). So, we skipped the end of Foxcatcher (not sure I'm missing much with Channing Tatum at the helm) and slept the rest of the way. At London Heathrow, we tried to stay awake but - after a breakfast of eggs benedict (really rich) - I fell asleep for about 1.5 hours waiting for the IST flight. Then, I slept some more... all the way to Istanbul.
The apartment we got is in Beyoglu - the "modern" side of the city. We walked to the Haliç (primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul) at sunset and took pictures like the thousands of people around us were doing. We jay-walked constantly to get to the Galata Bridge. Dozens of men were out there fishing - I only saw 2 women participating. They have huge long fishing rods and these wooden contraptions to secure the rods to the bridge railing. Very clever! Unlike when we were in Canada for Lisa's wedding, there were no Vietnamese people and the fish were far and few between. What they did drag up were no bigger than 6" sardines. Many of the men had buckets and gallon-bottles of water filled with dead catch. Eeks.
We walked arcoss the Galata bridge and followed our noses to the food stalls. First we had fresh roasted corn with a TON of salt on it. Always a treat for me. Then, we sought out the fresh sardine sandwiches on excellent(!) baguette rolls, fresh lettuce and lots of raw onion. They were prepared by guys on floating boats on the river, with giant grill surfaces that reminded me of the Philly cheesesteaks houses. The guys on the boats would make hefty piles of sardines (this one had probably 40 piles going at once), stack the lettuce and onions on top for 1 second, then shove them into the roll altogether with one swift flick of the wrist, and hand them over to the guy behind the stall - onions falling into the river as the boat bobbed up and down and they both reached across the gap.
The sardines still had long bones in some of the bites. I thought I splurged on a cup of homemade pickles, to enjoy with the fish, but it turns out 2 Turkish Lira is only about 70 cents. So good! We later saw some guys selling charcoal grilled versions of the same sandwich on the Galata side. We'll pick one up tomorrow to compare.
While we sat on the steps of the square looking over the water back at Beyoglu, the fireworks started over the New Mosque immediately behind us. Hundreds of locals were out in the squares - women with scarves on their hands, kids running around, tourists, crowds of young men (maybe some retired fisherman). Oh, and Alex got some lokma, or donuts. I caught a great video of the guy making them!
We wandered around, sort of hungry and sort of not hungry, waiting to be inspired. We almost went into the Old Mosque but I wasn't prepared with a shawl or anything and we decided to go again tomorrow. When we walked back, there were crowds of people at 10PM, including young kids, running around in a very-awake Saturday night Galata. We walked up and down hilly roads lined with pavers until we found a quiet little restaurant near the Galata Tower that sells instruments called Bouzouki and gives music lessons. We ate menemen (eggs with tomato and roasted pepper) and beef boreks. Excellent first official meal. And the beer was very cold and refreshing! Great service. An adorable little girl playing even past when we left at nearly midnight!! I like the freedom kids get in the Turkish lifestyle.
Before we left, we asked if we could break into the treats I bought near the bridge at a cafe called Safa. Istanbul has a million cafes that are true cafes - serving only tea or coffee (and hookah, sometimes). Many also serve the traditional array of pistachio- or walnut-based desserts, but no other foods. When we walked by Safa, I was drawn in by the shiny lights and beautiful pyramids of sweets with flaky crusts. We bought two pieces each of a pistachio and pistachio w/ chocolate baklava. The waitress agreed easily that we could eat them here even though we bought them elsewhere. They were amazing, and I don't even like sweets that much!
Good night, Istanbul!
Yesterday, we left for Turkey for 2 weeks. We left out of Newark on a 7-hour flight to London. The flight was awesome. I'd forgotten how comfortable international flights were: movies and TV shows on individual screens, free blankets, pillows and headphones, too. We even got a row of 3 without a third person -all 3 seats to ourselves!
We started watching Foxcatcher but then had dinner (free hot dinner on a plane like old days - chicken and rice with tiny baby carrots). Alex wishes he had gotten the vegetarian one (sort of). Pesto did sound good. After dinner we decided it was best to try to get 3-4 hours of sleep before we arrived in London (it would be 6:30AM there, and 8:30AM in Istanbul). So, we skipped the end of Foxcatcher (not sure I'm missing much with Channing Tatum at the helm) and slept the rest of the way. At London Heathrow, we tried to stay awake but - after a breakfast of eggs benedict (really rich) - I fell asleep for about 1.5 hours waiting for the IST flight. Then, I slept some more... all the way to Istanbul.
The apartment we got is in Beyoglu - the "modern" side of the city. We walked to the Haliç (primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul) at sunset and took pictures like the thousands of people around us were doing. We jay-walked constantly to get to the Galata Bridge. Dozens of men were out there fishing - I only saw 2 women participating. They have huge long fishing rods and these wooden contraptions to secure the rods to the bridge railing. Very clever! Unlike when we were in Canada for Lisa's wedding, there were no Vietnamese people and the fish were far and few between. What they did drag up were no bigger than 6" sardines. Many of the men had buckets and gallon-bottles of water filled with dead catch. Eeks.
We walked arcoss the Galata bridge and followed our noses to the food stalls. First we had fresh roasted corn with a TON of salt on it. Always a treat for me. Then, we sought out the fresh sardine sandwiches on excellent(!) baguette rolls, fresh lettuce and lots of raw onion. They were prepared by guys on floating boats on the river, with giant grill surfaces that reminded me of the Philly cheesesteaks houses. The guys on the boats would make hefty piles of sardines (this one had probably 40 piles going at once), stack the lettuce and onions on top for 1 second, then shove them into the roll altogether with one swift flick of the wrist, and hand them over to the guy behind the stall - onions falling into the river as the boat bobbed up and down and they both reached across the gap.
The sardines still had long bones in some of the bites. I thought I splurged on a cup of homemade pickles, to enjoy with the fish, but it turns out 2 Turkish Lira is only about 70 cents. So good! We later saw some guys selling charcoal grilled versions of the same sandwich on the Galata side. We'll pick one up tomorrow to compare.
While we sat on the steps of the square looking over the water back at Beyoglu, the fireworks started over the New Mosque immediately behind us. Hundreds of locals were out in the squares - women with scarves on their hands, kids running around, tourists, crowds of young men (maybe some retired fisherman). Oh, and Alex got some lokma, or donuts. I caught a great video of the guy making them!
We wandered around, sort of hungry and sort of not hungry, waiting to be inspired. We almost went into the Old Mosque but I wasn't prepared with a shawl or anything and we decided to go again tomorrow. When we walked back, there were crowds of people at 10PM, including young kids, running around in a very-awake Saturday night Galata. We walked up and down hilly roads lined with pavers until we found a quiet little restaurant near the Galata Tower that sells instruments called Bouzouki and gives music lessons. We ate menemen (eggs with tomato and roasted pepper) and beef boreks. Excellent first official meal. And the beer was very cold and refreshing! Great service. An adorable little girl playing even past when we left at nearly midnight!! I like the freedom kids get in the Turkish lifestyle.
Before we left, we asked if we could break into the treats I bought near the bridge at a cafe called Safa. Istanbul has a million cafes that are true cafes - serving only tea or coffee (and hookah, sometimes). Many also serve the traditional array of pistachio- or walnut-based desserts, but no other foods. When we walked by Safa, I was drawn in by the shiny lights and beautiful pyramids of sweets with flaky crusts. We bought two pieces each of a pistachio and pistachio w/ chocolate baklava. The waitress agreed easily that we could eat them here even though we bought them elsewhere. They were amazing, and I don't even like sweets that much!
Good night, Istanbul!
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