Woke up and enjoyed a grande cup of coffee on Shannon's deck while the sun beat down on our faces. On our way to the Grand Bazaar we grabbed a Simit, naturally, but this time with a white cheese, not mozzarella, and tomato slightly warmed to perfection. Right on the side of the Bazaar is the University of Istanbul. Absolutely massive outside structure with a large tower in the middle. The Grand Bazaar was nothing short of grand. It is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world covering around 61 streets it contains over 3000 shops and attracts between 250,000 to 400,000 visitors daily. After walking around for awhile inside we decided it was time for some lunch. We stopped under the Galata bridge at one of the local fish markets. Its so local the fishermen are above on the upper tier of the bridge catching our food. We had our usual, spicy red tomato salad/salsa and humus with lots of bread and an olive oil dipping sauce. For the main course we got had fresh Sea Bass and crab legs... they were not crab legs like we have here.. they were basically crab poppers with a small pincher sticking out one side, not crab to be seen. Because the waiter liked us we got some fresh fruit to finish our meal off. A quick siesta at Shannon's we headed back out towards the Dolmabahce Palace which had served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922. Then we found a fun restaurant on the water and had Nargileh, basically a Hookah, but a very traditional activity here. Now we are getting ready for dinner at Cahide Cabaret should be exciting!!!!!!
Hmmm ... was that a FLUTE you gals were playing?
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