Istanbul! Seriously

We are in frickin' Istanbul, I can't believe it. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would visit this place, let alone live here for 2 months. But I guess that's the great thing about the randomness of life, it changes everything you think will happen.

Unfortunately, I am too sick and jet lagged right now to be the tourist I want to be. Kevin and I have ventured maybe 500 feet away from our hotel to find some food. Luckily that 500 feet includes Istiklal Caddesi (caddesi means avenue) the busiest street in Istanbul. It's so crazy how crowded and vibrant this area can get. It's touristy like one would expect but also feels very local. Like Michigan Avenue and Wicker Park's Damen Ave smashed together. For those in the Chicago know, you can imagine that kind of foot traffic.



Everyone have been pretty nice but there are also places that push the agressive sell. We encountered this in a heavy restaurant/cafe area. You so much as look in their direction and they're all, "Come eat in our restaurant! Look at the menu! I won't take no for an answer!" In trying to get away from those guys though we did find a really excellent place that seemed more for locals called Art Istanbul. Everyone was playing backgammon and drinking çay (hot black tea pronounced chai) and no one was trying to court us so it seemed perfect. We've been back 2 more times.