So our last day in Turkey started off not too promising...It was rainy and overcast and a little chilly. We sure weren't in Greece anymore.
It was a bummer because today we were going to go to the Asian side of Istanbul as well as take a cruise on the Bosphorus. Not to mention finish up the rest of our shopping and pack to head HOME!
It was a bummer because today we were going to go to the Asian side of Istanbul as well as take a cruise on the Bosphorus. Not to mention finish up the rest of our shopping and pack to head HOME!
We got onto our tour and we picked up the Spanish ladies from yesterday. Oh no, not again...luckily they were scheduled for a Spanish speaking tour.
We also saw our friend from Georgia and his cousin on our tour.
Speaking of tours...we saw the people from our Gate 1 tour as well today. Gross. We made sure to avoid eye contact. Luckily they were on a different tour company. Thank God we didnt choose to take the tour with them. I would have pulled out all of my hair one strand at a time.
Anyway, today's tour guide was much better than yesterday's. However he was a bit of a tour nazi. He was all about his ground rules, and he actually scared me a little. However, his english was excellent and he was all about telling us historical tidbits, and you know I love that stuff. He had a really deep knowledge of the history of many of the places as well as factoids about famous people and things they have done in Istanbul. Tell me more!
We drove along and stopped at the spice bazaar first. That was actually pretty cool. They had a bunch of bins of spices that you could buy. Usually this would be all up my alley, but since my funds and time were limited, so I just took some photos and looked around. There were some pretty cool things I would have liked to buy. However they were not spices. I really wanted to get these mosaic lanterns. But I know myself. I won't use it. It will sit in it's little turkish box until god knows when. So I just admired them and went along my merry way.
after the spice mkt we went across the water and drove along this kinda richy part of Istanbul. They had all these ridiculous super clubs on the water. It was just reeking with money. It was ridiculous...and awesome. For the record if I ever return to Istanbul, I need to go baller style. None of this shady business I have been doing. Granted the hotel staff was super nice, and it was a decent place, I need to be pampered and go to fancy restaurants next time.
We arrived at the dock and got on our private boat. It was filled with people from our tour and the spanish speaking tour. So all in all probably about 40 people. Not too bad. The bosphorus cruise was really cool. We got to sail on both the European and Asian sides of the bosphorus. There were some incredible houses along the water. However a lot of them were gaudy. Very French Baroque and over the top. I need some modern simplicity in my over the top houses.
After the cruise we went back for lunch and then drove over to the Dolmabace palace. First of all, they told us that we wouldnt be getting back to our hotel until 630, so at that point Rachel and I made the decision to cut out after the palace and take the tram back to the Grand Bazaar so we could get our shopping done before the place closed. We checked out our map of the metro and then figured out that we could walk a few blocks to get to the tram from the palace.
The Palace was nice, but it was really tacky. They had all these chandeliers....like seriously, chandeliers for days. I just kept thinking of that Scarlett Johannsen SNL skit. Anyway, the one cool thing is that they had the Largest Chandelier in the World in there. No joke. The thing was ginormous. I read about it and it weighs 4.5 tons. They also have this wild staircase where all the things holding up the bannisters are Bacarat Crystal. You better get out with that. Can I put one in my pocket?? Also, they had this racket of paying 6 lira if you wanted to take photos in there. So we paid the 6 lira and I took pics of every flippin chandelier in that joint. However, the castle was warm and like yesterday I was tired, so we were glad to leave the tour and be on our own. The thing about the tours was that they were good in the morning, but then we started to get restless. it's just hard to listen to facts all day long. There's a reason I am not in school right now. My ADD kicks right after lunch.
We also saw our friend from Georgia and his cousin on our tour.
Speaking of tours...we saw the people from our Gate 1 tour as well today. Gross. We made sure to avoid eye contact. Luckily they were on a different tour company. Thank God we didnt choose to take the tour with them. I would have pulled out all of my hair one strand at a time.
Anyway, today's tour guide was much better than yesterday's. However he was a bit of a tour nazi. He was all about his ground rules, and he actually scared me a little. However, his english was excellent and he was all about telling us historical tidbits, and you know I love that stuff. He had a really deep knowledge of the history of many of the places as well as factoids about famous people and things they have done in Istanbul. Tell me more!
We drove along and stopped at the spice bazaar first. That was actually pretty cool. They had a bunch of bins of spices that you could buy. Usually this would be all up my alley, but since my funds and time were limited, so I just took some photos and looked around. There were some pretty cool things I would have liked to buy. However they were not spices. I really wanted to get these mosaic lanterns. But I know myself. I won't use it. It will sit in it's little turkish box until god knows when. So I just admired them and went along my merry way.
after the spice mkt we went across the water and drove along this kinda richy part of Istanbul. They had all these ridiculous super clubs on the water. It was just reeking with money. It was ridiculous...and awesome. For the record if I ever return to Istanbul, I need to go baller style. None of this shady business I have been doing. Granted the hotel staff was super nice, and it was a decent place, I need to be pampered and go to fancy restaurants next time.
We arrived at the dock and got on our private boat. It was filled with people from our tour and the spanish speaking tour. So all in all probably about 40 people. Not too bad. The bosphorus cruise was really cool. We got to sail on both the European and Asian sides of the bosphorus. There were some incredible houses along the water. However a lot of them were gaudy. Very French Baroque and over the top. I need some modern simplicity in my over the top houses.
After the cruise we went back for lunch and then drove over to the Dolmabace palace. First of all, they told us that we wouldnt be getting back to our hotel until 630, so at that point Rachel and I made the decision to cut out after the palace and take the tram back to the Grand Bazaar so we could get our shopping done before the place closed. We checked out our map of the metro and then figured out that we could walk a few blocks to get to the tram from the palace.
The Palace was nice, but it was really tacky. They had all these chandeliers....like seriously, chandeliers for days. I just kept thinking of that Scarlett Johannsen SNL skit. Anyway, the one cool thing is that they had the Largest Chandelier in the World in there. No joke. The thing was ginormous. I read about it and it weighs 4.5 tons. They also have this wild staircase where all the things holding up the bannisters are Bacarat Crystal. You better get out with that. Can I put one in my pocket?? Also, they had this racket of paying 6 lira if you wanted to take photos in there. So we paid the 6 lira and I took pics of every flippin chandelier in that joint. However, the castle was warm and like yesterday I was tired, so we were glad to leave the tour and be on our own. The thing about the tours was that they were good in the morning, but then we started to get restless. it's just hard to listen to facts all day long. There's a reason I am not in school right now. My ADD kicks right after lunch.
We headed to the Grand Bazaar and it was a hot mess in there. Everyone hawking their wares while also hitting on you...it was very unnerving. Plus it was a bit crowded. Fortunately not as crowded as the metro or anything but still. And then damn Turkish ATMs only give you 50s so it's a bit ghetto to be all, i only want to pay 10 lira instead of 20. Can you break a 50? However I made it work. I got some really cool mirrored compacts as well as some handmade turkish bowls and a trivet. Also, I got some evil eyes--they have these all over Greece and Turkey--they are these colbolt blue glass circles that have what looks like an eye painted on them. They are supposed to be deflectors of negative energy. If that is the case, it is possible that I might just wear one around my neck for the rest of my days.
I still needed to get a couple of other trinkets so we headed out towards the stores near the blue mosque. (BTW I think the official name of that place is Sultanahmet Mosque, but I can't be positive) I was able to get my magnet and coin purse quota taken care of. Since neither of us wanted to eat at the hotel we went to go get something to eat on one of the well lit streets by the mosque. We ended up at this one little random place. Sadly I can't recall the name at the moment. I know I have the card, but I am too lazy to go look for it. (BTW you should all know that I am just procrastinating on packing for my week in Seattle right now. Crimony. I feel like I have been packing and unpacking for the last month! I am tired!!)
Anyway, we had this dish that was made in a clay pot and then they bring it out and break the clay pot in front of you to get all the food out. It was pretty dope. AND the food was awesome. Just the right amount of spices and the chicken was all tender. Dude it was good. I have photos. OH! It's called the Cozy Pub, I read it on the waiter's shirt in the photo. Holla.
The top photo is mid-break of the clay vase and the bottom photo is the actual food. Tasty.
After that we came back to the hotel and packed our things for our triumphant return to the US. (to NYC at least).
We both had an incredible time on our travels, but we were so happy to be heading home.
I will continue with the end of our saga upon my return from Redmond. Have a lovely week.
No comments:
Post a Comment