The Grand Bazaar

Well, life is good when you have a spice rack, mixing bowls, a liquid measuring cup, and an apple corer. These are our successful purchases of this weekend. I was a little concerned when our faux "crate and barrel" only had one option for liquid measuring cups...a set of 4 pouring cups that were $40!!! Wow! I found a glass one at Migros today for $6. Good things come to those who wait.

These are some photos of the Grand Bazaar. We'd like to get some cool decorations from there at some point, but we'll wait til we have a little more bargaining know-how before we venture into that world. Or we'll bring a friend. ;) We've also not seen any of the things that we really like in any normal people's homes....which begs the question, are these things only bought by tourists?

Things I've learned...part 2

Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010

After 2 weeks, things I know:

- where our "home depot", "Target", and "crate and barrel" equivalent stores are
- how to get to Church via 3 different ways
- how to walk through the Grand Bazaar without buying anything
- the difference between an Adana Kebab and a Kofte (meatball)
- Beef is to be treasured and measured! $8/lb.
- Rick will need to join me for any major shopping trips that require carrying groceries up the hill
- though it's much warmer than home, it is still COLD at night -gloves & scarf needed outside!
- small things like bed table lamps & toothbrush cups make the difference in making an empty apartment a home



Things I don't know:

- how to say much of anything in Turkish
- where to get oregano & nutmeg
- where to get a bus schedule

Things I've learned...part 1

Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010

After 1 week, things I know:

- what direction the water is (the Bosporous St. and the Golden Horn)...much like orienting to Lake Michigan

- the basic layout of my neighborhood, including landmarks

- the 3 closest bus stops & taxi depot

- where to get groceries, fresh fruits, veggies, bread, & meat

- how to get on & off the bus, train, tram, etc.

- where a close mall & park is

- how to say hello, thank you, & numbers 1-20

-where the closest ATM is

- where the trash goes

- how to cook, drink water ,do the laundry, & get the hot water on for morning showers

Things I don't know:

- how to get anywhere fast

- how to make Turkish tea or coffee

- how much money I am spending

- how best to carry a child, a child's stuff, & anything else up & down hills

- how to help my child sleep amidst the hustle and bustle of public transit & stocking a home

Big boy shoes

Well, Micah has been walking all over the city in his cool 'leather' learn to walk slip-on shoes. We decided today to try out his addidas big boy shoes before he grows out of them. Well, as soon as they were on, he screamed like a mad man and refused to move...as if he was stuck in cement. Through some loving nudging, he soon found he was not stuck in cement and he spent the day walking up and down the street, the mall, and the apartment in his new groovy shoes. Thanks Aunt Sara and Uncle Tim! (We'll save the slippers for house walking!)

Some people ask us...

who Micah looks like. So we did a small test back home...





Rick and his Dad



Micah and his Dad


Verdict?

Inside our apartment

Here are some photos from our apartment with our new bedroom furniture!! Hoorah! It's starting to feel like home. Click on the photo and you should see 40 pics with captions. Enjoy! We are in the process of learning what is the same as home and what is different. See if you can figure out which is which!

Around the House

Has a full week gone by?

Wow! It is hard to believe that we have been here a week. This morning presents the choice of blogging or braving the icy cold water for a shower. Apparently the water pressure is too low to heat this morning, so I present myself to you friends and family (without a picture) stinky and smelly.

We went to our first church service here yesterday and joined the Easter choir! It took us an hour and fifteen minutes to use public transit to get there the long way. There are two buses from our neighborhood and we chose unwisely. Next week we are hoping for a quicker trip. Micah enjoyed chasing the church cat around the sanctuary while we practiced our choir piece.

We bought a living room and dining room set on Friday. It took 8 hours to find the store, decide on something we would enjoy spending that much money on, and getting home. I think we used every form of transport available in the city except the ferry. After a week, I am proud to say that there are a few places that have become familiar - because we have passed them at least twice on a bus. There are also many places that are not familiar. ;-)

We went to two malls this week. Wow! One of the malls has 8 floors and was the 3rd largest in the world when it was built! It has horses that you can ride on one floor! Crazy! It also has a home depot type store that will be our best friend as we stock our house. IKEA would be our best friend except that we have no clue how to get there. It's really far away.

I've decided that my way of rewarding myself for each day of hiking up our mad hill and dealing with city life will be a new candy bar. I think Lisa told me one time that she made a point of visiting a candy store in each country she visited. So far, I've had 3 and I really liked the sesame brittle. But the hazelnut-chocolate-wafer cookie was really good too. Micah loves the ice cream which means that I don't get much unless I order a double.

Rick is off across the city to try and pick up our bedroom set with a friend and his mover friend. We could have shelves and drawers by the end of this day! That would be so refreshing after living out of suitcases for three weeks.

I'm going to go check the water pressure again...and wish you all a happy week!