Friday 31 October 2014

Erasmus Traveling - Istanbul part 2

Going shopping...

The second day (Oct 24th) in Istanbul started with a nice breakfast with my pen pal's nice flat mate. It's always interesting what people normally eat for breakfast in different countries. I mean the breakfast in usually very similar, but still completely different. 

After breakfast it was time to check out a local bazaar. I find those places very fascinating even though I probably wouldn't buy anything from there. I find it difficult to find things from a place where I first need to negotiate about the price. I'd prefer to know the price that I need to pay for the product right away. That's one reason why we went to a shopping center next. I actually didn't buy anything for myself from there, but I found some souvenirs that I'll give to my granny and so. 


There were Turkish flags everywhere!




Later it was time to go to the Taksim square, where I got to taste this interesting tiny hamburger thingy. We also walked along the Istiklal Street, visiting some stores and churches. In Finland I'm not fond of visiting churches because they don't look any special. I mean the architecture in Finnish churches is kinda simple. Abroad churches are very decorated, which makes them more interesting to see. 


Loving the place!


On my last trip to Istanbul I didn't taste Turkish coffee at all, so now I had to do it. I was a bit skeptic about its taste, but it wasn't as bad as I though it might be. Not sure if is tasted like 'real' Turkish coffee, tho, as this coffee was served at a store selling Turkish sweets. When comparing it to Finnish coffee, this was stronger even though sugar was kinda one of the dominating flavors. 

We also visited a lovely chocolate store. I simply had to take pictures there, as the place was so small and cute! Of course, the chocolate itself was delicious as well. :)





Surprisingly they put on the lights on the Istiklal Street. To me these lights scream Christmas, so I was very happy to see them! I guess, the excitement can be read from my face also. I wish they had such lights already in Greece also. This specific street is perfect for shopping, not to mention all narrow streets around it. 




My dear pen pal and I


Before going to a Jazz concert, we had dinner at an interesting restaurant. I ate sort of a pancake filled with potatoes and something else. The taste was very good, and it was more filling than I originally thought. About the jazz concert.. Well, I knew it wasn't my cup of tea so to speak, but it was still a nice experience. I probably wouldn't have heard life-jazz if it wasn't for my pen pal and her friends. It was somehow nicer than I thought, but probably wouldn't go listen to jazz again. heh. The day was nice, and I had lots of fun!



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