Saturday — April 24: Part IV
Lunch over, we debated what to do next. The decision was easy. Not wanting a repeat of this morning’s crowded ferry experience, we headed to the ferry landing for the 3:00p ferry from Büyükada back to the mainland. Sitting on one of the benches on the pier, we enjoyed the light breeze and people watched to while away the time until departure.
Built in 1914 (renovated 1999-2001) the ferry landing is in need of some TLC.
When boarding was announced, there was no surge of a human tidal wave. Instead, we walked on leisurely and had our pick of seats on the ferry. The spacious salon in the aft had seats rimming the bulkhead (a few in the center too) and plenty of empty space for passengers to move about. I imagine the space was wall-to-wall passengers this morning, but on the early afternoon ferry, we had no standing passengers at all. Definitely a less claustrophobic experience. We whiled away the cruise back to the mainland by reading. At least that’s what some of us did; two in our party thought it was a good opportunity to take a nap.
I didn’t go out to take pictures on the trip back to the mainland, opting to relax and cogitate on our visit to the islands instead. But when a couple of the well-known landmarks of the Bosphorus came into view, I couldn’t help going out for a quick snapshot.
Kızkulesi (Leander’s Tower) and the Boğaz Köprüsü (Bosphorus Bridge).
The ferry arrived at the Kabataş landing at 4:35p. Reversing our route from this morning, we hopped on the modern tram to Karaköy and then took the Tünel back up to Beyoğlu. We were back at our hotel a few minutes before 5:00p; in time for me to meet up with a friend for afternoon tea. (Coincidentally, Ferda’s husband is in the US visiting with Mui.) Considering how crowded the patisseries can be on a Saturday afternoon, we went up to Leb-i-Derya for tea. Not a great choice; the tea wasn’t that good. On the other hand, the view of the Bosphorus was nice and the company was excellent; we had a good time catching up.
Blast from the Past — March 2004
“Two to Travel” meet up with the Sungurs in Miami, Florida.
Dinner tonight was excellent. While I was with Ferda, A&M had scouted out the restaurants and made reservations for us at Pera Thai, located just a short walk from the hotel. Not only was the food really great, but the quiet ambiance of the restaurant was just what we needed after our crowd-filled day.
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(photo on the right is a compilation of images from the Pera Thai website)
Our reservations were early enough that we had the full attention of the waiter in our section. After cautioning him that we didn’t mind spicy, but preferred not to be served red-hot dishes, we turned him loose on the menu. It was the right thing to do. He suggested several starters and a couple of main courses to share. Before we knew it, the table was covered with an array of small plates, each containing something for our taste buds to savor: gai satay (grilled chicken on skewers, served with peanut sauce and cucumber salad); giew krob tod (fried wontons); shrimp crackers with a curry paste dip; kanom pang na goong (minced shrimp on toast); giew nam (Thai-style wonton soup); gai pad med mamuang (crispy chicken with cashew nuts, fresh ginger, and chili); and steamed “levrek” (sea bass) with fresh ginger. Yummy, yummy!
One of the best meals I’ve enjoyed on my travels; and the ice cold Thai beer to wash it down was good too!
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