The Journey Begins - Istanbul Day 1
My first travel daily blog. Get ready for there is 6 weeks ahead, with different destinations (right now, 8 places are planned), but I do not want to spoil the big reveal. I hope that was a good, introduction, but I am certain my high school English teacher would fail me for it.
Day started out very early in Abu Dhabi, waking up at around 6.30 am in the morning after having gone to sleep at 4.30 am. Why do I hate myself like that? Anyways, all my things were packed so I quickly freshened up and bid farewell to my parents, for I was going to be away until the second week of the new year.
I jumped in the car with my sister and the driver - she was going to school and I was going to be dropped of after. I have developed this bad habit over the past year of only showing up at the airport 1 - 1.5 hours before my flight; I am really over airports considering how much time I spent at them flying for work or actually working in them. It helps that I have elite status with Etihad though, so have access to the priority check-in. I quickly stopped by the lounge for breakfast - another perk I enjoy. It is just so convenient being able to have a coffee and a meal right before the flight, and also sit somewhere a bit quieter. I wrapped up some last minute work I had (just expenses) before shutting off my laptop until the New Year. Soon after, I headed to the gate, boarded the bus, and soon after the plane.
So let me disclose a big benefit of my job is the ability to collect lots of miles/points, which allowed me to book my entire trip in business class. I was very excited and the atmosphere was very different directly upon boarding the plane. I quickly settled into my seat with a refreshing mint lemonade. The flight overall went by quickly, I spent time writing, napping, and obviously eating. When I cam to watch my TV shows, it turned out that they did not download which was very upsetting, so had to stick to some random sitcom from the entertainment system.
Soon enough, we were landing and it was settling in on me that I was finally on vacation. Ah, it has been so long since then. Airport procedures took a while, in between all the walking and queuing, and then it was an even longer taxi ride to the hotel. I had chosen to stay on the Asian side of Istanbul, in Kadiköy, for a different experience than the typical ones I had. 3 hours or so after landing, I was finally at the hotel at which point I was really tired. I took a long bath and cleaned up some of my posts while waiting for Karim, my friend who was coming from Canada, to arrive. By the time he did, I was starving so rushed him to get ready and freshen up so we can start our eating adventures.
We had a decent walk outside, and I was met with the chilly crisp air that I did not necessarily miss. I mean, have I really forgotten what the -20 degrees that I used to live in were like? Nevertheless, it was easy to warm up with some chestnuts, before we sat at a restaurant with some live music for some Turkish mezze. Unfortunately, we found out after sitting down that we had to order alcohol to eat (such a crazy expectation), so we left and found ourselves at Ciya Sofrasi.
For you who do not know, Ciya Sofrasi is one of the most popular traditional Turkish eateries in the country. The chef was featured in an episode on a Netflix special, and he went around the entire country looking for all the lost heritage dishes from the smallest towns. I had been there before and was not disappointed, and was excited to be there in the fall as the menu was very different. To eat, we had a few different dishes from the daily menu, along with some soup to get us started and warm us up. Following the soup, we had a few different broths and finished with some all important Turkish tea.
After our heartwarming meal, we walked around some more and stopped for some dessert and salep. After all, is it considered a successful Turkish trip if you do not have dessert every night. The cheese kunefe was everything I needed at that moment and more, especially considering that it was way too cold for me. It went along really well with the salep, a spiced milky drink, and they were both complemented by the holiday decorations and business in one of the market squares.
By this point, we were both starting to get really tired, and as such, decided to call it a night, so we took our final walk back to the hotel in order to prepare for the next day.
What did you think of our first day in Istanbul? Do you have any types of meals you prefer to have in the winter? Have you spent time in Kadiköy before? Let me know all your thoughts but until then, stay positive.
