Clint has rented us a lovely apartment in beautiful Tarabya in Istanbul, but alas it is only for this month.
Tarabya is on the seaside, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and touristy areas, and it has a beautiful promenade to walk along and watch the yachts and the small little fishing boats go by. I wish we could stay here longer.
The boys started at an International school two weeks ago already and it is on the Anatolian/Asian side of Istanbul.
Tarabya is very far from the boys school and the school shuttle does not come all this way to pick up. So at the moment we catch a metro (subway) in the mornings to a mall close to the bridge that crosses over the Bosphorus to the Anatolian side. The actual metro ride takes us about 15 minutes, but taking the many many escalators up and down the metro stations takes twice as long! The school shuttle picks up the boys outside the mall and whizzes them off to school. I do the same in the afternoons, catch a metro to pick up boys from shuttle drop off at the mall and we all come home together. Most Istanbulites think we crazy to do this everyday! I am starting to agree with them.
Luckily , it is just for the month as we busy looking for an apartment closer to school where the bus will pick up directly from home. The weather is changing, it is getting chilly and there is a lot of rain. Also the sun only rises around 7:20 am and later each morning, And it is getting harder for the boys to wake up in the mornings. The best advise I received from someone who has lived all her life in Istanbul is, find a home close to work, find a school close to home.
Now that we experiencing the everyday Istanbul life, I completely understand and agree with that.
We have been looking at both furnished and unfurnished apartments. I have learnt that “unfurnished” here not only means no furniture, but in most cases, it has no light fittings, no white goods (stove, oven, washing machine etc) no cupboards. So just a shell.
We have seen many spacious apartments with beautiful views of this gorgeous city and some not so nice.
I have watched and heard of other people looking at a place and deciding immediately, and take it.
It seems so much harder for Clint and I to choose that home away from home. To decide on where we will stay for the next year or so. To find a warm cosy space that we can fill with delicious smells to eat, a special place to play, relax and sleep. A place that brings in the aromas of the nearby bakery with the sweet smells of baklava and simit and walking distance to the green grocer. I AM loving Istanbul.
Hoping we find that today or is that too much?!
Wish us luck.
xxKim
3 Peas in a Pod 