Leaving for Istanbul

Istanbul post one of three

Daniele and I went to Istanbul back in 2012. I took 1,221 photos during the trip, which were so overwhelming I kept putting off dealing with them. But we finally tackled them and got the album down to the best 366 images. This is the first of three posts from this trip.

Yesterday Daniele and I went out with his parents and their friends to Tor San Lorenzo for the birthday of Sergio, or the the 'New Pasquino'. He writes poems in strict roman dialect using this pen name. Pasquino was a 'talking' statue in Rome long ago.

The town is on the beach and there is a fish restaurant they go to there. The owner is a fisherman and used to just sell the fish, but then started to cook them up, too. We stayed here together last Easter and ate until we had to be rolled out. Sergio's father has a house near here, which is perfect for lethargic after-lunch activities.

That night I stayed with the Isidori's and Daniele worked a night shift. We left first thing for the airport. Unfortunately our fight was incredibly delayed. When we finally got on the plane, there was a problem with its computer and we had to wait longer on the runway for it to be fixed.

We arrived, gathered our things, and headed for Istanbul's city center. From this airport, we had to take a bus, to a ferry, to a tram. As we entered the ferry it started to rain, and was pouring the whole time-- in the stings your face way. So not the picturesque boat ride I hoped for.

Didn't get to do anything the first day because of rain and the late hour. We did go get some dinner and I had some very yummy hummus and felafel. We also bought a mix of baklava flavors (pistachio, nut, chocolate) from “Baklavaci Muhamed SAID”.

Pictures from the whole trip (only the best 366): https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/5975883683758142577