20 February 2015 - From Europe to Asia and back....just because we could!

The snow has stopped and the drizzle has set in so Istanbul looks grey today.  The roof tops are still lovely and white but the slush of melting snow is deep enough to fill one’s shoes.  At least it isn’t slippery to walk like the last two days were!

School morning this morning.  The big kids are working well with the Distance Education program and keen to make the deadlines.  Their teachers communicate regularly and once we have better Wi-Fi there are online classes to listen to (or participate in if time zones permit).  They do miss the classroom setting and discussion of normal school but don’t have to spend as long doing work as they normally would.   It means they are only doing relevant work not all the extras that seem to crowd the normal school curriculum.  We still have plenty of time to explore.

Luke did some good work and constructive play this morning and played umpteen games of Uno.  The writing part of the day is yet to come which is his big area of resistance.

On the Bosphorus!

Turkish flag and seagulls flapping!

Top deck travel for us!

 

Karl and Luke in deep conversation

Beautiful building - not sure what it is!

Ever since we got to Istanbul, we have been talking about going to Asia – just because we can – across The Bosphorus – as Istanbul spans Europe and Asia.  Our Istanbulkart (Myki like pass) is valid for ferries across the water.  We boarded the ferry and were the only ones sitting on the top open deck to admire the misty view of the river and traffic.  It was 3 C so fairly chilly!

We disembarked at Kadikoy, on the “other side”.  No tourists seemed to venture over here at this time of year.  Our sole purpose was to have a walk around and find a bakery which we did!

Poppy seed crescents - dreamy!

Other bakery delights for 2.50 lira ($1.25 AUD)

The choice is the hardest bit!

 Karl is keen on sticking to the sade we enjoy but it really was time to branch out!!  Luke requested a couple of rusk like bread sticks and I opted for a melt-in-your-mouth poppy seed crescent with walnuts and also bought a biscuity cake filled with sort of candied orange peel which had a Christmas mince tart sort of taste.  Tasty but quite rich.

Colourful jars of preserves

 We took an alternate, larger ferry back to Eminonu (European side) which docked prior to the Galata Bridge as it was bigger than the outward bound one.  Under the Galata Bridge are many cafes and restaurants.  It looks like a happening place but would probably blow our daily budget.  We saw a pod of dolphins playing in the icy water as we sailed across!  Our days are full of lovely surprises and experiences as we "live" in various places for a little longer than the average tourist and experience different things because we have more time.

 "Yes, it is the Black sea!"

These seats were not taken...in fact all of the outer seats were unoccupied!

We slushed back to the Metro.  The buskers seem to be blessing us every day with their music!  On the ferry there was a little boy, no more than 8 years old, playing his piano accordion with a familiar gypsy tune.  In our local Metro subway was a superb quintet playing more music which echoed through the tunnels.  What a treat!

Quintet busking in the subway

Vehicles are still abandoned on the kerbside because of the snow and we have seen many slip and slide and have to back back when their tyres just keep spinning.  Istanbul is built on steep hills and driving would be a challenge even in good weather.  We are glad we are near to the Metro and seem to have chosen wisely for our accommodation.

The other thing we have to add to our daily list of “normal” things to do is buying bottled water.  The tap water smells like sewerage and no amount of boiling it would improve the taste or smell.  It is probably heavily treated with chemicals but totally undrinkable.  From the amount of water for sale (not expensive) it would appear that all the locals also use bottled water.  I never buy bottled water at home as it seems like such a waste when we have lovely tap water but here we just had to.