Day 137 - Istanbul - The Metro, Grand Bazaar

Saturday 17, 2018.

Today we got up late. Over breakfast, we were trying to decide the rest of our trip. Mostly where should be our final destination and when should we go back home. Gregory found a good deal to fly back to L.A. instead of San Diego. I don’t really want to do this because then we have to figure out how to get to San Diego but we save time (12 hour flight instead of 16) and money (about $100 per ticket). He even figured out to get Uber back home and it was still cheaper than flying.

After much discussion and no decision, we got ready to go. I tried to catch up on the blog but the internet connection was terrible and I just got frustrated. I felt homesick today just looking around. I wanted to be in my own home. Gregory hugged me and reminded me that I normally get blue when I don’t like the place where we are staying. It is an old apartment, with tacky taste in an old neighborhood. It must not be a terrible neighborhood because later when we walked around, we saw several hostels and hotels.

We walked to Taksim Square where we found the metro with an information office. We bought a metro card and we went through the gate. We went the wrong way. Bummer, I thought, we are going to have to waste 4 tickets. I told the guard, who didn’t speak English. He made a phone call and pointed us in the right direction, indicating that we should look for another metro guard there. All this with sign language of course! We did it and when we found the right entrance, he let us in! That was so nice of him. We got off at Veznicler, the University stop, which is close to the Grand Bazaar.

First, we walked around the neighborhood looking for a place to eat. The moment we saw the prices and people speaking English, we realized we were in the touristy area. We walked away from there, towards the university where we could see a lot of young people. Sure enough, the prices went way down (35 TL to 7 TL) and we find a small place with yummy chicken kebabs and orange rice!

After lunch, we went into the bazaar. I had forgotten how big and overwhelming it is! We walked for a while, promising each other that we would not buy anything. Our first stop was a lamp shop though because I really, really like the colorful mosaic globe lamps. We talked about prices and took the guy's card. Another stop was at a jewelry store where we got sucked in. The very professional salesman gave Daniel a stone when I told him that Daniel collected them. Bingo! I felt like we had to buy something so I told Sunshine to find a bracelet, which she did, but then Gregory came in and looked at men's rings. I also found a ring, and there you have it, before we knew it, we were sitting down in a comfortable couch inside the store and the assistant brought us water. I almost bought a whole set (ring, pendant and earrings) but I ended up buying just a ring. By then, I was all done and tired.

We decided to look for a cafe where we could sit down. We found one and had the traditional Turkish black tea. When we were sitting, a man wearing a suit came and placed waters on the table. We thought, how nice of them, and we opened two bottles. Well, when the bill came we realized that they had charged for the water! Last night I read about how to avoid scams and I still fell for it. Oh well, it was super cheap but still, they should say something. I made sure to tell the British girls sitting next to us that the water wasn’t free. It's not the money, it is the principle, that’s what my dad would say!

I recharged and wanted to shop more but the kids were done. We stopped in another lamp store where the owner explained to us that many of the colorful lamps that don’t cost much are made in China, yes you heard me, China! Ahhhhh, and I thought there were from Turkey. Anyway, it was nice of him to show us the difference and we took his card. Not sure now whom to trust. Now we were hesitating about buying the lamps. I still wanted a ceramic dish for my collection and knowing that my mom can take it back with her, I bought a small one. I negotiated the price from 55 to 35 TL (about $10 to about $6). I still think I could get it for less [Gregory's note: yup], but that was ok. He was very nice and knew about the new president in Mexico.

We finally left the bazaar and came out in front of a Mosque. Nobody went in but me. It was pretty, pale blue but nothing extraordinary. We had to go back into the bazaar to get back to the metro. Nobody wanted to do it but we promised not to stop anywhere. Believe it or not, we didn't. We walked back to the metro which, by the way, was crowded. It is Saturday after all! We stopped in a small stand by ur apartment for fresh lettuce and tomatoes and then we walked home. Again, I couldn't finish my blog because the internet connection is not working so please bear with me!

Taksim Square

Taking the Metro

Instead of playing the guitar, he plays the mandolin

Veznicler metro stop

Cool metro design, we were like 100ft underground

Beyazit Square and the main entrance to the university

Beyazit Square -- windy!

I'm planning to print some pictures when we get back home, this is one of them. I love taking pictures of people.

In front of the Grand Bazaar

You have to experience the culture of the Bazaar, although it can be overwhelming!

You know is time for coffee when you look at this face!

Tired of shopping. Here you can see the not-free water. Be warned, everyone tries to rip you off. At least here it's only water but beware when you buy jewerly or get in a taxi!

Beautiful fountain in the middle of the bazaar

I told you I was done!!!

Finally, we find the exit [Gregory's note: surprise, that's not the exit]

Beautiful entrance to the Grand Bazaar.

At this exit of the Grand Bazaar we found a beautiful Mosque

Outside the mosque. I'm not covered to go to the mosque, I'm covered because I was freezing!

We had to go back in to go back to where we came from. We did it in 15 minutes though, record time probably!

Walking to our apartment, there are many hostels, here is a vegan one! [Gregory's note: So, what does the hostel eat? What do other hostels eat that this one doesn't? I'm confused.]