Day 12: Tuesday, 1/18/11
A cold has been going around our group and today it finally got to me! :( I stayed back from the group and slept most of the morning, and took advantage of my down time to update my blog. I think everyone is starting to feel run down because we've been going nonstop for almost two weeks now and there's never any alone time, so it was nice to have an entire day where I didn't have to talk at all! I finally left the hotel late afternoon to get some air and walked a few blocks down to the water. It was cold! I walked for about an hour and saw tons of boats going through the Golden Horn, lots of cats playing on the rocks lining the water, and what looked like locals taking walks as well.
By the time I got back to the hotel, I was starving, so I went to the restaurant closest to our hotel for some Turkish takeout. I ordered a Mediterranean salad and sat down at an outside table to wait for it, and right away a cute little gray and black cat walked up to me. I barely looked at the cat when it jumped up into my lap, made itself comfortable and started purring. I didn't even have any food yet! I guess it just wanted company because it stayed there until the waiter came out with my food. I was kind of embarrassed that here I was, all of a sudden, with a cat on my lap. Lol.
So my salad was great, and not at all what I was expecting which was something like a Greek salad. Instead it was this colorful blend of fresh vegetables: shredded lettuce, cabbage, carrots, corn, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and shredded white cheese. It came with this round flat bread and yogurt dip. All for six Turkish Lira which is a bit less than $5!
I went up the roof of our hotel around sunset and it was gorgeous. Then shortly after that the group came back from the company visits and I left with some of them to get dinner. We also walked by the Grand Bazaar but it was just closing so we're going back on Friday, hopefully. We kept walking along and looking at the menus outside, and each time a man would come out immediately and try to convince us to come inside. They are so aggressive! We finally found a place that looked good and with a nice man who didn't scare us away. We sat on the second floor and had a nice view of the main street and the Blue Mosque. We ordered yogurt dip with garlic, olive oil, dill, peppermint, cheese and some other unique ingredients that I can't remember, and hummus. The hummus was served warm and was the best hummus I've had here! The hummus I make at home is good, but not that good! The dips were served with an assortment of delicious breads too. For my entree I finally had kebabs, which I thought meant shish-kebabs like in Dubai, but is thin strips of that lamb or beef meet off the "meat cone" like what you see at home when you get a gyro. So it was thin strips of deliciously seasoned meat on top of little squares of bread, covered in a light sauce and served with plain yogurt and tomatoes. It was so good! I decided it was the best meal I've had in Turkey so far.
And lastly, to round out our eating for the day, we stopped at Mado for goat's milk ice cream. A local had raved about it, so we got small cups of pistachio ice cream and it was ok, but nothing special. At least we tried it though. :)
Day 13: Wednesday, 1/19/11
Wednesday was a busy day! And, it marks the first day I'm writing more of a live blog, because Wednesday was yesterday! Haha. I woke up exhausted and not feeling 100% but didn't want to miss another day. We first went to ABFT - American Business Forum in Turkey and heard someone speak from a Turkish university, Merck and a bank. It was interesting to get their different perspectives on doing business in different industries within Turkey. They presented a very realistic view as compared to the day we went to ISPAT where they presented Turkey only in a positive light.
We had lunch at a French style restaurant and for the first day, I didn't have traditional Turkish food, but got a deliciously fresh Nicoise salad instead. The breads on the table were wonderful, as with everywhere we go! Then we went to Tuskon which is a nonprofit to promote business in Turkey. We drove though a really poor part of Istanbul to get there, with almost dilapidated buildings. We hadn't seen any poor parts until then. And the traffic has been horrible! It feels like LA with traffic no matter what time of day or what area you're in. Random side note, things seem to be spelled phonetically here, like instead of "taxi" it's "taksi" and instead of "police" it's "polis." The meeting was just ok and the girl next to me and I tried every last cookie on our plates just to keep ourselves entertained! The next meeting was with Korn Ferry International - the recruiting firm - and it was good but after two company visits already, I was so exhausted.
When the entertainment ended, the music continued and the boat turned into this huge dance party with Turkish and American dance music. We must have been on the boat for four hours, and went out toward the Black Sea, though I'm not entirely sure we ever got there. We went under two different bridges that were all it up, and there was a full moon, so it was just beautiful being out on the water at night.
Day 14: Thursday, 1/20/11
I still wasn't feeling well but wanted to go to the two company visits on Thursday: Efes Brewery and Coca Cola. I made it to the brewery presentation and tour and then had to be dropped off at the hotel and slept the afternoon away. I went to Taksim for dinner and then came back to the hotel and went back to sleep...not a very exciting day, unfortunately!
A cold has been going around our group and today it finally got to me! :( I stayed back from the group and slept most of the morning, and took advantage of my down time to update my blog. I think everyone is starting to feel run down because we've been going nonstop for almost two weeks now and there's never any alone time, so it was nice to have an entire day where I didn't have to talk at all! I finally left the hotel late afternoon to get some air and walked a few blocks down to the water. It was cold! I walked for about an hour and saw tons of boats going through the Golden Horn, lots of cats playing on the rocks lining the water, and what looked like locals taking walks as well.
By the time I got back to the hotel, I was starving, so I went to the restaurant closest to our hotel for some Turkish takeout. I ordered a Mediterranean salad and sat down at an outside table to wait for it, and right away a cute little gray and black cat walked up to me. I barely looked at the cat when it jumped up into my lap, made itself comfortable and started purring. I didn't even have any food yet! I guess it just wanted company because it stayed there until the waiter came out with my food. I was kind of embarrassed that here I was, all of a sudden, with a cat on my lap. Lol.
So my salad was great, and not at all what I was expecting which was something like a Greek salad. Instead it was this colorful blend of fresh vegetables: shredded lettuce, cabbage, carrots, corn, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and shredded white cheese. It came with this round flat bread and yogurt dip. All for six Turkish Lira which is a bit less than $5!
I went up the roof of our hotel around sunset and it was gorgeous. Then shortly after that the group came back from the company visits and I left with some of them to get dinner. We also walked by the Grand Bazaar but it was just closing so we're going back on Friday, hopefully. We kept walking along and looking at the menus outside, and each time a man would come out immediately and try to convince us to come inside. They are so aggressive! We finally found a place that looked good and with a nice man who didn't scare us away. We sat on the second floor and had a nice view of the main street and the Blue Mosque. We ordered yogurt dip with garlic, olive oil, dill, peppermint, cheese and some other unique ingredients that I can't remember, and hummus. The hummus was served warm and was the best hummus I've had here! The hummus I make at home is good, but not that good! The dips were served with an assortment of delicious breads too. For my entree I finally had kebabs, which I thought meant shish-kebabs like in Dubai, but is thin strips of that lamb or beef meet off the "meat cone" like what you see at home when you get a gyro. So it was thin strips of deliciously seasoned meat on top of little squares of bread, covered in a light sauce and served with plain yogurt and tomatoes. It was so good! I decided it was the best meal I've had in Turkey so far.
And lastly, to round out our eating for the day, we stopped at Mado for goat's milk ice cream. A local had raved about it, so we got small cups of pistachio ice cream and it was ok, but nothing special. At least we tried it though. :)
Day 13: Wednesday, 1/19/11
Wednesday was a busy day! And, it marks the first day I'm writing more of a live blog, because Wednesday was yesterday! Haha. I woke up exhausted and not feeling 100% but didn't want to miss another day. We first went to ABFT - American Business Forum in Turkey and heard someone speak from a Turkish university, Merck and a bank. It was interesting to get their different perspectives on doing business in different industries within Turkey. They presented a very realistic view as compared to the day we went to ISPAT where they presented Turkey only in a positive light.
We had lunch at a French style restaurant and for the first day, I didn't have traditional Turkish food, but got a deliciously fresh Nicoise salad instead. The breads on the table were wonderful, as with everywhere we go! Then we went to Tuskon which is a nonprofit to promote business in Turkey. We drove though a really poor part of Istanbul to get there, with almost dilapidated buildings. We hadn't seen any poor parts until then. And the traffic has been horrible! It feels like LA with traffic no matter what time of day or what area you're in. Random side note, things seem to be spelled phonetically here, like instead of "taxi" it's "taksi" and instead of "police" it's "polis." The meeting was just ok and the girl next to me and I tried every last cookie on our plates just to keep ourselves entertained! The next meeting was with Korn Ferry International - the recruiting firm - and it was good but after two company visits already, I was so exhausted.
The night activity was a boat cruise. The food was awful, as you might expect from pre-prepared food on a small boat w/o a kitchen, but the entertainment made it worth it. There was belly dancing, Egyptian style dancing, and this crazy hilarious, traditional dancing that I can't even explain...
When the entertainment ended, the music continued and the boat turned into this huge dance party with Turkish and American dance music. We must have been on the boat for four hours, and went out toward the Black Sea, though I'm not entirely sure we ever got there. We went under two different bridges that were all it up, and there was a full moon, so it was just beautiful being out on the water at night.
Day 14: Thursday, 1/20/11
I still wasn't feeling well but wanted to go to the two company visits on Thursday: Efes Brewery and Coca Cola. I made it to the brewery presentation and tour and then had to be dropped off at the hotel and slept the afternoon away. I went to Taksim for dinner and then came back to the hotel and went back to sleep...not a very exciting day, unfortunately!
I love hearing you laugh in the videos! Glad you are feeling a bit better. Hard to believe you will be home in a few days.
ReplyDeleteThat dancing is amazing! haha And glad you made a cat friend over your meal :) Very cute post.
ReplyDelete