11/19/2022 1 Comment Kadikoy adventuresToday we woke up and decided that we would take another ferry to another side of Istanbul, Kadikoy. We heard there's tons of restaurants, shopping, and young people here. We had a miscommunication with the boys, so it was just Brittany and I for the day. We walk to Kabatash and hop on a ferry off to Kadikoy. The ferry was beautiful and the ride lasted about 20 minutes. Getting off the boat, we walk up to what I can describe as being as overwhelming as Times Square. There's this huge open area and then tons of sky scrapers with offices on the top, and shops/restaurants on the bottom. Going with the flow for the day, we pick a random direction and go! We stumbled upon a CHRISTMAS SHOP...but there was a super long line to get inside so we decided it wasn't worth it. There were tons of nice clothing stores to go to, then turn up a street and there's tons of outdoor/indoor restaurants. These have been part of my favorite part of Turkey, that there's all this seating outside and you can enjoy your meal on the sidewalk. We walk around aimlessly for awhile, and decide we're finally hungry and need some food. Brittany wasn't so sure about having more Turkish food, so we tried to find somewhere with pasta/salad, and by the time we did, they had stopped serving food for the afternoon!! This happened at another place, and we started getting really hangry. We ended up at this very busy restaurant, which we had taken as a good sign, and ended up with some very squishy/strange chicken that we did not eat. Discouraged, we gave up on food and decided to keep wandering around the area. Dr. Bayan told us we should get to this part of the city called Moda, so we pulled it up on google maps and headed off. We wound up on this barge next to the sea that was a huuuuge park! It was absolutely breathtaking and cured all of our hanger. We walked over and hopped up on the barge to get a good seat to enjoy the water, and yes, I know, WE DIDN'T RUN ON THE BARGE!! We sat there in peace for about thirty minutes, enjoying the breeze and the smell of the water. Finally, but not really, having enough, we got down and walked along the barge for seemingly forever. In this, and many, parts of Istanbul there are tons of cats! On the barge, every 10-20 steps there would be a cat hanging out, and even more running around the grass of the park. They are all well fed, and ear-tagged to show they had been vaccinated and neutered. As we walked, we noticed this old man with a smelly bag and gloves, and cats running to him. It turns out he walks up and down the park handing out fish parts/heads to all of the cats. Many of the cats seemed to recognize him and ran over when they saw him. He allowed us to take some photos, and we accidentally ended up following him down the path and watching as all the kitties got some nice fish meals. When we finally reached the end of the park, we decided to go in search of coffee. Along the way we found this little spot where a bunch of women were selling their goodies and handmade crafts. They looked like they were having a lot of fun, and it was nice supporting them with some purchases. After refilling our energy with some coffee, my feet were killing me and I decided it was time to finally try one of the city bikes. I was able to get the app working for me, not Brittany, so we decided that two people could fit on the bike and we would try to take away at least some of the distance to the ferry station. I gave it a go by myself a few times and felt like a little kid again. However, having someone holding onto you is a whole different story and we did not make it very far haha. Stopping back at the barge/park, we walked along the path again, and being a Saturday afternoon/evening, saw tons of young people our age coming out, setting up picnics, and having takeout meals from McDonalds and other places. It looked like a lot of fun to just come to the park and hang out with friends, and something I could easily see myself doing in the future! Getting back onto the ferry, we enjoyed the sunset ride back to Kabatash, remarking on yet another wonderful day in Turkey!
1 Comment
Mthibodeau
1/10/2023 06:10:40 pm
You NEVER run on a barge!
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