Day 3 On the Bosphorus + Snacks & Tea

The Bosphorus (the narrowest straight in the world that's used for international navigation - whatever that means - I got it off Wiki again :), is the body of water that separates the European and Asian side of Istanbul. We had planned on taking a day-long excursion, which would mean getting off on the other side for some exploring, but we couldn't be bothered to wake up early enough since that particular ferry leaves at 10:35 AM!... hey, we're on vacation!!!

So instead, we slept in, grabbed a quick coffee and simit (yummy sesame-encrusted bread ring, which tastes like Vietnamese banh tieu) and jumped on the 1PM ferry, which took us for a quick 2-hour cruise to soak in the sights. The docks at Eminonu, are famous for its fish sandwiches cooked on these crazily-bobbing boats tied to the quay (just looking at the boat would make you sea sick - I don't know how they cooked on there)!

Yea! Fish sammy! "Seeeeeeaafood!"

Off the boat for some grilled corn... which turned out really stale =P

Then back to our neighborhood to chill out at a cool shisha bar. But before that, a pit stop at the nearby seafood joint for some deep fried mussels (on a stick)! YUUUUUM. I love deep fried (anything, really) MUSSELS!!!

We made friends with the guys who served us... after they too, spent 10 minutes guessing which country we were from :)

I thought it'd be fun to play chess, but Michael kicked my butt in about 2 minutes and 4 moves.

Hookah!!!

Afterwards, we swung by KFC for our tradition of international hot wings (stay tuned for that)!

Quick nap at the hotel... and off to dinner! But first, drinks at a lovely outdoor bar. Our guidebook said to keep a look-out for vendors who sold almonds-on-ice, so I thought were the luckiest couple in the world when a guy wandered by our table selling them. Feeling tipsy, I excitedly bought some without asking how much, ended up getting ripped off... but eh, it's vacation!!!