The Islands Again

Hello Everyone,

Earlier this week our roommate moved out, leaving us once again with the house to ourselves. We have enjoyed the extra space, especially considering Jon and Alex will be here in less than three weeks!
I've been super-busy. Maria has a new friend, a little boy who is 5. They have had a blast chasing each other around the coffee table, singing 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.' Maria sings, and the little boy tries to copy her. His pronunciation is pretty good, even though he has no idea what he's singing.
Last weekend we went to the islands again. This time, we went to the smaller, less populated, less touristed islands. The first island was almost completely deserted except for the many, many stray dogs and cats. First we went looking for food, and stopped at a half-closed grocery store where we got some bread, cheese, tangerines, dried fruit and nuts, and plenty of chocolate bars. We hiked up the hill to a little bench with a good view of the water and had our snack. The houses on this island seemed old and tired, most had cracks in the walls or peeling paint on at least one side. We found one house with an interesting mosaic on the wall, made from sea shells and rocks. It had a dinosaur shape and we got a picture of it for Alex.
Avoiding the dogs was rather difficult on this island, and we had to turn back several times. At the top of the hill we found an old, possibly abandoned playground, and Maria enjoyed trying not to fall through the gigantic hole in the walkway as she crossed from one slide-tower to the next. A little exploration revealed a high cliff just a few feet from the playground, behind some shrubs. From there we got a good view of the sea, some sail boats and the other islands.
We went back to the docks and took the ferry to the next island, which was a little bigger, less dog-infested and with prettier houses. This island seemed really well-cared for, although also nearly deserted. We tried to eat at a restaurant which had been recommended, only to discover that they weren't actually serving any food, even though the door was open and they had seated us. The only thing on the menu was fish and chips. We went on to another, also closed restaurant, before sliding down the muddy slope to the beach and consuming the remainder of our snack items. The beach was long and empty, with broken red roofing tiles and trash mixed into the black sand. There was a small cave near the water line, but since we were already cold and it had started to drizzle and was getting dark, we didn't try to explore. We walked back to the main part of town where we finally found an open restaurant. We drank some lukewarm soup, then went across the street for dessert, coffee and tea at the pastry shop. A man in the pastry shop was carrying on a Skype conversation in English, in a loud voice, and we were entertained by his little anecdotes about his experiences on the islands. Our ferry finally came, and we made our way back home for a hot cup of tea and some warm blankets.
Thanks to all our faithful readers! Pictures will be added as soon as I can find my camera again.

This is me, signing off...

Rain

Istanbul is getting rainier and rainier as we get closer to winter. Today we went to Taksim, and by the time we got back, there was hardly an inch of dryness on our clothing, even though we had an umbrella. Inflation is at work once again, as the price of chestnuts seems to have risen by a Lira. They are eager to make a sale, though, and will still give you the old price if you complain.

In Taksim, I wanted to get out of the damp, and so we stopped in at a little hole in the wall for dinner, Taksim Durum Evi. I ordered lentil soup for me, and macaroni for Maria and was surprised and suspicious when they started bringing other food items to our table. First a salad, which I decided to accept since I haven't eaten anything green in several days, then rice and beans, which I declined. I later asked about the salad, and the cook said it was a gift. I thanked him, and he immediately brought back the rice and beans. I thanked him, and mentioned that the soup was delicious, then he brought out a spinach dip for the bread. Since we were pretty hungry, I decided to just eat it and pay whatever outrageous price he was going to charge us for the food we hadn't ordered, and just not eat there again. When we finished eating, I got up, but he told us to go sit down again for tea, which he brought. Both the food and the tea were very good, and all the waiters were very nice and respectful. When I went to pay, he only charged me for the food we had ordered, and insisted the rest was on the house. I only paid 6.50 TL for the whole meal, including tea and water! Although I don't expect he normally gives free food, I plan to go there again whenever I have the chance.

This evening I got Maria to bed on time for one, and have had a bit of time to myself to relax before getting to work on my writing.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This is me, signing off...

New--everything

Hello, faithful readers who are still checking, despite receiving no updates for weeks on end...

We've spent weeks in transition, and are finally settled in our new apartment in Besitas. It's in a great location, near Dolmabahce Palace, the waterfront, bus lines, cheap restaurants, stores, and -best of all- NO HILLS! no more carrying groceries and backpacks up and down hills that were never meant to be walked on by anything less limber than a mountain goat...

The new place was filthy when we moved in, and I have spent many, many hours trying to sort through the stuff that was left here and clean under it. The lady that used to live here was American, and loved clothes. There were four huge garbage bags of nearly-new clothing, most in perfect condition. It took me four hours to try on everything, and now there are three and a half huge garbage bags of clothing for me to donate on National Donate to the Poor People Bazaar Day, and I have enough nice-looking clothing to supplement the three outfits I brought to Turkey for as long as I stay, and longer. Actually, if I were in the States, I would consider I had done my clothes shopping for the next six months...So I guess that offsets the annoyance of having to clean.

Maria and Carmalitta are settling in nicely, too. Maria has been enjoying coloring her new 'Doggy Fashion' coloring book, where dogs wear cute and outrageous little outfits while looking stylishly unconcerned about any discomfort. We also hooked up the TV yesterday, so she'll be able to watch all her favorite cartoons in Turkish again. She's also being helpful with the cleaning, and has organized her room without being told at least once a day since we moved in.

Carmalitta (the cat) has worn out all her energy tearing around the whole house, investigating everything from the drippy hot water heater to the dust bunnies behind the fridge and the built-in cabinets all over the house. She has also decided it is her duty to chew off each individual leaf of the mini-palm tree, one each day--ridding the world of nasty plants, one leaf at a time!

A couple nights ago we went out for a little walk in the neighborhood. The chestnut salesman charges half again what the stands in Taksim charge, but the nuts are fresher and less wormy, so possibly worth the extra. Maria doesn't like the fish market, but we both got a kick out of the sock stand, which is located in the wall of another store. All the socks are hanging in a one-foot deep recess along the length of another store. Turks are so resourceful and interesting.

Today I'm going to try to finish cleaning today so Maria and I can enjoy the rest of our week. Maria wants to go to the islands again this Friday. I'm thinking we might be able to see the other island that we missed last time, which is less populated and touristic. We'll see.

Pictures to come, sometime, maybe, I hope...

Thanks again for reading!

This is me, signing off...