A lot of little things happened this last weekend which then ended with a big trip to the Anatolian Museum and Ankara Citadel.
Friday night, Damla and I had nothing to do, so we decided to go to Drunk (Yes, that's the name of the bar/restaurant) for a few drinks and dinner. She invited her friend to come along, as he had nothing better to do as well. As skeptical as I was about a placed called Drunk, it was actually quite nice. The place was packed which meant there were no seats in the really cool garden. The garden seating consisted of coffee table style tables that are surrounded by large pillow like chairs. We ended up getting a table just outside of the garden. Damla's friend recommended a chicken dish specific to this restaurant, so I decided to give it a try. It was grilled chicken with a demi glace and frech fries. It was yummy. In addition to the 1.5L of beer I drank, I was one happy camper. It was really great sitting and talking with them. After dinner, her friend's friend arrived, and we all chatted until I was ready to fall asleep around 10pm.
With Valeria leaving on the Monday, we wanted to get together one last time to see some part of Ankara. They hadn't seen any of the malls yet, so we took the Dolmus to the METU gate, and walked to the CEPA mall. This mall is newer and bigger than ARMADA, as well as being within walking distance. Valeria wanted to eat Iskender Kebop, which I described in my posting about my dinner with Duygu. We found a restaurant that served it and had a nice lunch. After lunch, we decided to split up as Valeria had to change Zev (her 6 month old son). Yoshino and I roamed the mall. I had been wanting a pair of blue jeans since I got here, so I walked into the coolest looking store I could find. This ended up being Mavi, which is like the Turkish version of American Eagle. With the help of the salesmen who spoke passable English, I was able to get a nice pair of jeans. Apparently, I have lost enough weight on this trip to have dropped a whole pant size. To my surprise, they also were selling 1stanbul shirts. Yes, the first letter is a number one. According to the tag:
Friday night, Damla and I had nothing to do, so we decided to go to Drunk (Yes, that's the name of the bar/restaurant) for a few drinks and dinner. She invited her friend to come along, as he had nothing better to do as well. As skeptical as I was about a placed called Drunk, it was actually quite nice. The place was packed which meant there were no seats in the really cool garden. The garden seating consisted of coffee table style tables that are surrounded by large pillow like chairs. We ended up getting a table just outside of the garden. Damla's friend recommended a chicken dish specific to this restaurant, so I decided to give it a try. It was grilled chicken with a demi glace and frech fries. It was yummy. In addition to the 1.5L of beer I drank, I was one happy camper. It was really great sitting and talking with them. After dinner, her friend's friend arrived, and we all chatted until I was ready to fall asleep around 10pm.
With Valeria leaving on the Monday, we wanted to get together one last time to see some part of Ankara. They hadn't seen any of the malls yet, so we took the Dolmus to the METU gate, and walked to the CEPA mall. This mall is newer and bigger than ARMADA, as well as being within walking distance. Valeria wanted to eat Iskender Kebop, which I described in my posting about my dinner with Duygu. We found a restaurant that served it and had a nice lunch. After lunch, we decided to split up as Valeria had to change Zev (her 6 month old son). Yoshino and I roamed the mall. I had been wanting a pair of blue jeans since I got here, so I walked into the coolest looking store I could find. This ended up being Mavi, which is like the Turkish version of American Eagle. With the help of the salesmen who spoke passable English, I was able to get a nice pair of jeans. Apparently, I have lost enough weight on this trip to have dropped a whole pant size. To my surprise, they also were selling 1stanbul shirts. Yes, the first letter is a number one. According to the tag:
"This t-shirt has been exclusively designed in support of Istanbul's bid to be the European Capital of Culture in 2010. The European Capital of Culture program, launched in 1999 bu the EU Council and Parliament, will ensure Istanbul's integration with Europe's most conprehensive cultural event. "
The tag also mentions that the shirt was designed by Ulas Eryavuz. Well, in my excitement, I didn't know that I was looking through women's shirts, so the salesman had to come up and ask show me where the men's shirts were. We definitely got a good laugh out of that one. I was also able to buy another shirt. The pants ended up costing 80YTL and the shirts cost 25YTL a piece. If you are doing the math, that's about $112. I didn't think that was too bad considering that Levi's go for $175 a pair here.
We met back up with Valeria, Zev, and her husband Vincent for dessert and coffee. I got two scoops of ice cream, one of caramel and the other contained candied fruit. Upon finishing, we each went to get a cup of turkish coffee. Trying to use my phrasebook as much as possible, I used the phrase for Turkish coffee without sugar. Well, apparently what it means is coffee without sugar, so instead of getting Turkish coffee, I got filtered coffee.
We met back up with Valeria, Zev, and her husband Vincent for dessert and coffee. I got two scoops of ice cream, one of caramel and the other contained candied fruit. Upon finishing, we each went to get a cup of turkish coffee. Trying to use my phrasebook as much as possible, I used the phrase for Turkish coffee without sugar. Well, apparently what it means is coffee without sugar, so instead of getting Turkish coffee, I got filtered coffee.
We chatted for a while before returning back to campus. Back at her guesthouse, we discussed our research projects before leaving them to pack. Yoshino and I decided to meet the next morning at 9am to head towards Ulus to see the museum and citadel.
1 comment:
Now when you hear the work "drunk" you will have a nice reference and memories instead of the typical definition you've had in the past. What great times you are having in Turkey. And, what great friends you are making. Let this be the beginning of many, many travels around the world.
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