Second half of Istanbul....over the bridge.....

So as promised....maybe a little delayed....but better delayed than never.....second part of Istanbul.....after the Grand Bazar we did a quick stop at the Egyptian Spice market....but that was pretty similar to the Grand Bazar, just smaller and more food stalls....but still other stalls also....so we tried some goodies...of course...then moved on....the bridge has two levels...the upper level where cars drive over and pedestrians can walk...some vendors selling souvenirs and the lower level which has one restaurant after another....the one side has fancy white tablecloth restaurants while the other side is casual....quite an interesting concept....we continued over the bridge and then got to the local fish market...and there were more "restaurants", So local and so my style....we stopped at some type of "shack" and sat on this table...almost on the ground and ordered the fish which we saw freshly being grilled....man...it was so good...here are two pics.....

Starters done....time to move along...time to walk through fish market and find another spot....similar to the first spot....it had plastic tables and chairs.....also just a big grill where they were cooking the fish fresh....here we ordered deep fried sardines.....man....so yummy...just so fresh and good....i love trying the local food and local spots like these.....
Then....time to move on.....we wanted to walk towards Taksim square....that was an uphill crawl...and somehow on the way up we came to the Galata towers....about 60m high and you can go up to have a view over Istanbul.....yes....def wanted to do that....i said lets walk up....kim said...no way elevator......hmmmm....in such an old building an elevator...i dont think so....but guess what....i was wrong....there was just elevators NO stairs....oh well....elevator it was.....the view was amazing....could see both the asian and european side, we could see the ship...the blue mosque, the Grand Bazar....it was really worth going up there....so cool to see how many spots had roof terraces...there was even an open bar...must be for the night cause it looked closed.....man....that looked cool...imagine having sunset cocktails up there while being outside and having an amazing view.....hmmmmm.....i can just imagine.....anyway....here pic from up there......

Taksim square....main road with all international shops.....like i said in previous blog.....nine west, mango, body shop etc etc.....you could have been in any European city....BUT if you looked to the side streets.....then you knew u were in Turkey....flea markets and people having small stalls selling fake clothes, shoes, handbags etc....of course we found a coffee shop.....good macchiato and a cigar for kim....now...I cant just have pics from scenery and not me.....especially when im wearing a new jersey....abercrombie if i may add.....bought when in Hong Kong with my mom, my sis and her fiance......and yes....pic was taken when macchiato was already finished....
After coffee i discovered this tiny chocolate store....and yes...we ended up buying a bar....black and filled with pistaccio.....so good....and gone it was....yes....we finished it all....then slowly started to make our way down the hill towards the ship....like i mentioned Taksim is high up....there is a tram going up and down...but nicer to walk...plus the promise was....tram to first destination....walking after that......we walked down a very nice path....one antique shop after another...very cute and peaceful......what a nice day off.....day out.....not sure what u wanna call it....evening 4 hrs of work....who cares when you had such a good day nothing can get u down...even a guest concern u take with a smile and think "hmmmm....do u have nothing better to do than complain" .....amazing day.....now....2 sea days and then Naples.....weather is looking really bad....damn....looks like heavy rain the whole day and of course cold....hmmmmm....not very inviting and it looks like there will be a transport strike....hallelouia......so for now....cheers....chat soon.....

 
 

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