Day 2
We woke up late and while I rested, Basem went to find some Starbucks. He came back with a latte (be still my heart) and I got ready for the day. Today was dedicated to sitting by the sea and taking in as much beautiful weather as possible. We took the metro all the way to the end and then took a taxi to arrive at Big Chef (a chain here) overlooking the sea. We shared a traditional Turkish breakfast of breads, jams, vegetables, eggs, and sausage along with many cups of tea.
After breakfast, we walked around along the shoreline and got on a bus to our next destination. Our goal was to take a boat ride, but the traffic was so bad that we just literally sat on the bus for like 30-40 minutes before we got off and started walking. We walked and walked and walked and walked. Every taxi we saw was filled and the bus was crawling faster than we were walking. Then, we stumbled upon a water taxi. The water taxi took us from the European side to the Asian side and back to the European side to avoid traffic and get us closer to our hotel.
When we stepped off the boat, we started walking toward the street and I immediately saw a Krispie Kreme!! I was super excited to eat doughnut. I have to say that the doughnuts were not as soft as I remember, but at least the taste was the same.
Then, we headed to a cocktail bar because by that time we were ready for some drinks. We ordered martinis and saw on a terrace overlooking the sea. The martinis were a bit sweet and I can’t think of anything that is different except maybe the olives. We sat and talked while taking in the scenery. After drinks, we took a taxi to our hotel and rested a bit for the next day.
Day 3
Day 3 was slow to start, but we got up, had breakfast and headed to Galata Tower. On our way out, we asked the hotel staff about the metro because we heard that it was closed. He told us that just the area next to Taksim Square was closed, so we found the metros working except for a few stops.This is a tower overlooking Istanbul and it was really close to our hotel. The tower offers a 360-degree view of the city and had a restaurant at the top of it as well. We took in the view and then had some desserts and coffee. I had a raspberry cake with berries in the middle along with white cake and cream. It was divine.
After the tower, we headed to the Sultan’s palace. On our way there, I found these beautiful, elaborate pillow cases that will look amazing on my bed and a few more for my family and friends. I love when I find classic, beautiful souvenirs to take back home. When we reached the palace, we walked at least a mile through the gardens past armed soldiers. In the buildings themselves, I was overtaken with the elaborate decoration along the walls and the large sofas that adorned nearly half of the rooms. The view of the sea was breathtaking and I could imagine waking up every day to that view. The grandiose nature of it was too much at times.
After the Sultan’s Palace, we headed off to find some food and then back to the hotel to grab out bags. Unfortunately, when we reached near our hotel, we found police were blocking the streets. So, we had to get out and walk the rest of the way to the hotel. My legs were so, so tired, but we had to keep walking. We reached the hotel and then grabbed a taxi to take us to the next station over since the one by the hotel was closed. The streets were super crowded, but we finally reached the station. After the guy dropped us off at the station, we walked a long way across a bridge to reach the station, only to find out we had no more credit on our cards, so Basem ran back and added credit, which of course further delayed us. So, after watching a few trains pass, we were able to get on the correct train and head towards the train under the sea. Then, we took a train under the sea, another train for 45 minutes, a taxi ride to the train station, and then jumped on the train station with 5 minutes to spare. Holy moly! Thank God for a small train station because otherwise, we would have missed the train.
I am back home and ready to finish up these last two weeks of the semester here at Bilkent and begin my last semester of my doctorate. Thanks for reading and I hope you have enjoyed my adventure to Istanbul.
