Istanbul, I am in love with you tonight. We flew from Duesseldorf to Istanbul today and had arranged for a hotel car to pick us up. This was a stroke of sheer intelligence on our part, as it was utterly and wonderfully practical to come out of the baggage claim and see a man holding a sign with my name on it.
As we wound our way along the coast of the Sea of Marmara and the driver maneuvered through traffic chaos, we silently absorbed the sights flying by. And my wonder got stronger with each mile. I have never, ever seen so many people outside, simply enjoying the weather and each other's company. Hundreds and hundreds of little clusters of people lounging, laughing, playing were everywhere to be seen along the boardwalk. And somewhere within each little group of people was a billow of smoke from their barbecue grill. And, oh heavenly day, it wafted into our car and smelled
amazing.
We found a restaurant where we could sit outside and relax away the rest of the evening watching people walk by. I was worried the food would be sub-par in such a touristed area, but oh I was wrong. Yummy lamb and Turkish spices and hummus and rice pudding. I shared with the cats. Because, not even Greece's stray cat population can match that of what we've seen in Istanbul tonight. I have to remind myself not to pet them. Ring worm and rabies could put a damper on the vacation. But I tossed them random bits of food to see what they would eat. Everything.
I can't wait to explore tomorrow and go in all of the outrageously colorful shops.
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