Singinalot's 2023 Land Trip to Istanbul, Cappadocia, Rome, Amalfi Coast, & Florence

[Guest]

I just love Istanbul ❤️

 

see the bridge in the distance? we might be coming back across it…not that I knew that at the time.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by singinalot

[Guest]

so we crossed galata bridge and thought what now? 

well, of course, why not walk down to the other bridge? 🤣🙈😬

We made our way there and started across. This bridge has a metro line on it and pedestrian area.

The ground below has a walking area which seemed to be filled with lively locals. We watched the dancers for a while!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

We made our way across and started back toward the hotel, with Hagia Sophia guiding us with her beautiful lights at the top

of the hill.

 

Feet were hurting so we stopped for drinks on the way.

 

 

karaoke behind us. A little kid sang and crushed it!

 

 

 

 

one more day in Istanbul before we make our way to Cappadocia!

 

[Guest]

I wanted, no needed, to be able to say that I have been to both Europe and Asia, so my goal for the day was to take the local ferry to the asian side of Istanbul.

 

Once again, we headed to the Eminonu port by the galata bridge.

 

my OOTD…did I mention I reallyyy want my bathroom decorated like this?!

 

Nates breakfast from the snack stand

[Bimmer09]

Crystal, another amazingly rich day in Istanbul! I love any clips you show which have Turkish music-such a great exotic ambiance there. Food, music, architecture-it has it all in abundance.

Norris

 

[#55worktoplay]

3 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

We've been twice to the Cistern. Once in 2000 on a land trip, and then in 2014 on a cruise stop. I was roaring to return. I've found the atmosphere eerie.

 

It was a huge difference between the 2 visits -- In 2000 the women were not wearing head scarfs, whereas in 2014 most of them were covered from head to toes.

 

My "inner rebel" kept asking herself why they go through with it, seeing the men with them wearing short sleeves and being bare headed. Hot weather, etc. 😢

That’s interesting that in 2000 they were not wearing head scarfs. 

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

Crystal, another amazingly rich day in Istanbul! I love any clips you show which have Turkish music-such a great exotic ambiance there. Food, music, architecture-it has it all in abundance.

Norris

 

 

What he said!

[Coralc]

4 hours ago, singinalot said:

Perhaps because of the disappointment in the non-harem tickets or perhaps because I’ve been to Versailles and a few other palaces, I was not as impressed with Topkapi. This is why it is not on my list of top things to see. I honestly don’t even know now if even seeing the harem would have made it excitable for me. It was beautiful though, and those views are amazing!

IMG_0831.mov 20.34 MB · 0 downloads  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am loving your trip report, Crystal! It is fascinating. The earthquake reinforcements at the Palace are very interesting. 😊

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Crystal, another amazingly rich day in Istanbul! I love any clips you show which have Turkish music-such a great exotic ambiance there. Food, music, architecture-it has it all in abundance.

Norris

 

 

Thank you Norris! I love being able to capture the actual liveliness of the city with video, as sometimes a picture does not do it justice! PS I plan to respond to your email today 🙂 

12 hours ago, #55worktoplay said:

That’s interesting that in 2000 they were not wearing head scarfs. 

I thought that, too. 

 

9 hours ago, Coralc said:

I am loving your trip report, Crystal! It is fascinating. The earthquake reinforcements at the Palace are very interesting. 😊

Thank you! yes, very interesting things at the palace. They have a wing dedicated to clothing of the past which i found neat…HOW they wore heavy robes and jewelry and everything else I have no idea.

Theres also a whole wing dedicated to jewelry and thrones and one for weaponry.

 

the clothing below. Men’s garments were on the bottom level and women and children upstairs 

[Guest]

Much like the Bosphorus tour, the ferry to Kadikoy on the Asian side was very easy to figure out. Now, the Asian side has 2 recommended cities for visiting: Kadikoy & Üsküdar. I researched both but only a little bit. Recommendations I found said to go to Kadikoy, so that’s where I picked. Again, we’d be leaving from Eminonu.

 

 

The ferry pricing is so affordable! You could spend all day just going around to the stops and barely spend anything. Our ferry to/from was $.33USD per person each way. There are helpful english speaking staff in “ask me” blue polo shirts at the terminal. I went up and asked how to get the Istanbulkart which is necessary for scanning/boarding. It is not done via paper ticket. A gal walked over to the machine with me, asked where we wanted to go. It was 50 lira ($2USD give or take) to purchase the card and then you load with money for your trip. one card can be used for multiple people. don’t add too much! We paid 100lira total for the card and 2 round trips to Kadikoy.

At the terminal, the times are listed on bright banners overhead and it is very easy to see when the next ferry is.

 

the terminal building to look for:

 

It is very easy to spot as it is right next to the bridge.

 

if you zoom in on this pic you can see the helpers in the blue shirts and the kiosks behind them. they are also standing in front of where you will scan your istanbulkart for entrance.

 

our ferry has arrived

Edited August 24, 2023 by singinalot

[Guest]

Istanbul is huge!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

we quickly docked in Kadikoy.

 

the ferry terminal:

 

 

 

this is where I would make my first poor judgment call 🤣

[Guest]

So, remember what I said about not doing too much research on Kadikoy? Well, spoiler alert, that bit me in the butt. I had remembered seeing a trip advisor post from someone saying to go have lunch along the Kalamis Marina so I pulled it up on google maps and started us walking in that direction…for 40 minutes through local neighborhoods (which I enjoyed, but it was hot and hilly). halfway there Nate was asking me if I knew where I was going and I was asking myself that too 🤣

I did not in fact know where I was going and we got to the marina to find nothing but boats and a park. we went in one local restaurant but they did not speak english and google translate was not really helping. We headed back out for the pier around the ferry port…back the 40 minutes 😬🤣

it’s a laughable memory now but a lesson learned. 

Edited August 24, 2023 by singinalot

[Guest]

Have no fear! The actual town of Kadikoy saved the day. I needed food at that point and pulled up google maps for restaurants near us. I chose this one based on reviews.

It did not disappoint! The staff were so kind.

 

 

 

my chicken cutlet 

 

Nates chicken casserole

[Guest]

after lunch, we walked around town, grabbing a quick turkish ice cream, and exploring their shoe bazaar

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

we eventually made our way back to the ferry terminal to return to old Istanbul.

Once again, swiping the Istanbulkart on the machine and reading the illuminated signs overhead telling us where to go

 

once back, we made our way back to the grand bazaar as I wanted to do some shopping…and definitely had too much success (and blisters to show for all my walking)

 

the streets were packed!!

 

my cousin is getting married soon and her theme is met gala so I sent her these crowns for inspiration

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

sadly, it is time for our final dinner in Istanbul. I knew immediately where I wanted to go. Somewhere new? No. I wanted to go back to the restaurant we went to the first night: Turk Art Terrace.

 

Nates calamari. He was happy there were no heads.

 

 

my helloumi which they mistakenly brought to me twice and so happily ate both servings

 

 

I posted this on my instagram stories

 

 

my stuffed eggplant

 

Nate’s meatball dish which he said was great

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Who is ready for Cappadocia?!

[Ozark_Kid]

I have been enjoying the beauty of inside the buildings especially the ceilings.

 

 In one pic I saw a can of coke on the table.  Did you or Nate have a coke?  if so, how did it taste?  I remember Disneyworld used to have a place at Epcot that you could sample coke from around the world. they all had their own taste.

 

While passing through the marketplace did you try tasting anything?  

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I have been enjoying the beauty of inside the buildings especially the ceilings.

 

 In one pic I saw a can of coke on the table.  Did you or Nate have a coke?  if so, how did it taste?  I remember Disneyworld used to have a place at Epcot that you could sample coke from around the world. they all had their own taste.

 

While passing through the marketplace did you try tasting anything?  

 

Nate drank a lot of sprite or jack and cokes and I had coke zero a lot. They definitely do taste different in Europe and I prefer the european version for sure. even if you look at the ingredient list, it is shorter. 

 

I did in fact sample in the shops! I brought home several spices from the egyptian spice bazaar. so cheap, so fresh, so aromatic! I have cooked several things with them since I got home including trying to replicate the chicken casserole/ tavuk sote

[Guest]

When researching Turkey, I went back and forth on places to visit. There is so much to see! Ephesus, Antalya, Izmir, Cappadocia. We needed an entire month….That we did not have. I felt secure in my decision and chose Cappadocia, a region about an hour’ flight from IST. Next up, hotels and how best to get there.

there are a few towns in the region, but Goreme was recommended again and again as the place to stay.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g297983-a_ufe.true-Goreme_Cappadocia-Hotels.html

[Guest]

Now, there are 2 airports in the region: Nevsehir <NAV) and Kayseri. Kayseri is the larger airport with more destinations, but is further away. In April, I booked us one way flights IST>NAV for $143 on August 6…not each…that’s total…and included baggage and picking our seats on Turkish Airlines.

 

 

[Guest]

Next, I knew I wanted to pick a hotel that had a pool, great reviews, great views, and that we could pay for with points. I pulled up credit card portal, watched tons of Youtube, and settled on a junior suite at https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297983-d298402-Reviews-Kelebek_Special_Cave_Hotel-Goreme_Cappadocia.html#/media/298402/465866022:p/?albumid=101&type=0&category=101

 

for 3 nights. The total would have been $852USD but I used 85,000 points instead.

[Guest]

we woke up the morning of august 6, asked the mansions front desk to call the car company and give them directions for pick up. Again, we used Istanbul Shuttle here in a VIP van and had no issues.

 

At the airport, Nate grabbed breakfast. LOL