contents

contents:  food, lots of sun, friends visiting from around the world, lots of get-togethers, lots of good cooking, a visit to the park, a little concert performed by friends to a small audience of three, lots of figs, lots of sharing, wine, champagne, turkish tea, girl talk, lots of laughs. it's been good.

autumn in istanbul has finally started to show its face, when i say this i mean the temperatures only dropped down to twenties; yes we've been quite lucky lately. there was a very nice visit to one of the princes' islands yesterday which i will be sharing in a different post, i can only say that it was the greatest escape from the city on a beautiful autumn day.

p.s. those two cats i just met lately are special in their own ways; the grey one being extremely funny and talkative while the other is definetely uber-cool.

future in a cup

this is last sunday. a day with the girls (i know there's a slight cleavage theme going on in these photos, although not intentional i quite like it now) with too much coffee, not enough time to catch up; definitely need more days like this. we've managed to visit several neighbourhood coffee shops in just a few hours and i've managed to get a cup reading, a classic ritual: my life's changing in the good sense, all obstacles are clearing off my way and there are quite a few trips i'm going to take soon-all to nice and warm places i hope :). women's obsession with the cup reading in this country is beyond limits; doesn't matter how hip, unconventional, nontraditional or modern you think you are, you just put that coffee cup upside down-and annoy and harass (or beg, if needed) a friend nearby to read it for you, as if your whole life depends on that. silly, i know but we like it a lot!

feasting and books

fat pancakes. that's how my week-end started innocently saturday morning and the feast continued with the arrival of my sister who was visiting from out of the country. we indulged in good food; four girls and a cat. i tell you, you may not guess so, but these turkish dolmas (stuffed wine leaves) go really well with italian salami. and with beer, and with sparkling wine and with home made potato chips :). there were also a lot of walking, laughing, catching up, the customary clothes swapping, touristy finds and the beautiful, knowing, timeless bosphorus at the background. 

going out becomes fun when four girls are trying to get ready at the same time, very teenage-ish, i like it. i also love the objects and the bits and pieces that my sister's friend has in her home and how she puts them together gracefully. there are many books in that house, so each time i'm there i get inspired to read more and faster; and this book 'Civilisation' seems interesting enough, i'm planning to read it; here are the links for both the turkish readers and the non-turkish readers: here and here and i'd like to hear what you think of the book if you've already read it.