I finished up my work this morning and by that time the GF was awake and had finished his rather long morning rituals, so we left, planning to go to the farmer’s market. We hadn’t made it more than a few steps, though before we decided not to bother: the kitchen in this flat is so uncomfortable and small that it would be pointless to get much in the way of groceries, moreover the fridge, though full-sized, leaks badly inside making it all rather disgusting to store anything that is not tightly sealed.
Instead we strolled through Cihangir and went to what is reputed to be one of the best pizzerias, and had quite nice though not outstanding pizzas. Also, perhaps the first non-Turkish food I’ve had in a long while. Returning we strolled through the streets taking odd ways around – it’s so easy to walk familiar ways, so we determinedly took other paths and connected some surprising bits. Cihangir is very far from a grid, so climbing up some winding stairs behind a ruined bulding led us to another bit altogether that we hadn’t thought was nearly as close.
We decided to try a new cafe today, and it turned out to be one that had only been open two days, and indeed the staff had an air of suppressed excitement and brought out a plate of walnuts from their village. I liked the latte and I liked the cafe, I hope it flourishes.
And now we’re back. The GF is napping on the sofa and I writing a blog post though really I should be doing some work – I have a meeting this evening. Sunday night at 7 – the only consolation is that for the person I am meeting it is Sunday night at 9.