Day 208, Istanbul, Turkey
First things first in any new location, coffee. In Costa Rica and Paris we bought a drip coffee maker that we later donated to the house. But since we are staying in Turkey for only a week, and have no idea how to use the Turkish coffee maker, we set out to find some already made. Last night, while foraging for falafels to feed the family, Paul walked by a Starbucks. The next morning, in order to get to the coffee, we walked by the Gelata Tower by our house, and the scene of the ice slide from last night, which looked less ominous in the sunshine.
This became our daily hike to coffee.
Past this little clowder of cats, who are always hanging out here. We found out that they are waiting for a man to come and sit with them daily, which he does.
We sat and had coffee with the cats, which wander the street in plentiful numbers, and somehow managed to get into the Starbucks. The workers don’t even bother to shoo them out, they’ll only sneak back in again, I can only assume. The area we are staying in is absolutely adorable: hilly cobble-stoned streets, thousands of years old, and lined with small shops and restaurants.
This was the Starbucks cat. Even though s/he is horribly out of focus, I was so delighted to actually get this kitty on camera.
Turkish cats are different from our cats. They know they own the town, they know they own the Starbucks. They proudly hang out in stores and restaurants, curl up on chairs. People leave food out for them everywhere on ledges and in bowls. These cats know who’s boss.
After coffee with the cats, we found a small grocery to buy breakfast and snack provisions. The yogurt here is sold in gallon containers, all of them. Never seen anything like it. I didn’t realize it was such a staple. When we got back Madi
had already bravely figured out the shower, yes, I said bravely. If you had seen that shower, you’d heartily agree. Paul went to scout the city alone, which was fine with us because it was cold outside, and we could amuse ourselves nicely on the cozy couches.