From Canakkale to Istanbul

We didn't know several months ago that we would end up going back to Istanbul twice, but we are happy to be here again! 

We weren't sure where we would be docking, but when we came into the city early in the morning and docked right near our old hotel I was thrilled! It is very centrally located, and we knew the neighborhood well. 

This was the early morning first view of Istanbul .

I wasn't sure there would be room for us with these other cruise ships already here. 

But somehow they managed to steer us in- or push and pull us...if you look really hard, in the foreground there is a dolphin jumping out of the water. Really! 

The city was like a different place than the one we left over a month ago. Suddenly there were banners and balloons everywhere and flowers are bursting into bloom. 

We went back to my favorite art supply store, Panter, to buy a small set of travel watercolors as my backup set seems to have disappeared.

The big stacks of lamb were just being prepared.

Later they would look like this

Except this one is chicken. 

By a rather roundabout way, we made our way to Ortakoy along the Bosphorus for lunch. It seemed that the popular favorite was definitely stuffed baked potatoes. Very big here in Turkey!

A nice young man let me take a photo of his.

As you can see, these things are huge! Fillings include cheese, hot dog slices, olives, something pink, etc etc. We passed on the potatoes, opting for something less- pototatoey. 

But it was equally colorful.

Those charred peppers are hot!

How cute is this dolphin phone booth? We have seen quite a few of the real thing on our cruise.

I don't even ( want to) know what this is, but these are all toppings for waffles, equally popular as baked potatoes.

This is my favorite photo of the day. It looks far more delicious to me than the waffle toppings.

It was all displayed on a little wooden cart, pushed through the back alleys of Karakoy by a little elderly fellow. 

Karakoy is our 'hood, and we don't mind too much hanging out with all the young Turkish hipsters.

This is a fun neighborhood, as I mentioned previously, filled with great little coffee shops and bakeries.

It was a nice place to sit in the sun before we walked back to our ship.

An iced coffee and cake probably cost as much as lunch...not cheap to hang out looking cool.

We were a bit shocked to turn down a street and see our ship looming ahead...

The thing between the buildings that looks like a white building with dots is our ship! We were glad to get back, though.