Istanbul, Turkey

On the plane on the way to Istanbul I sat next to a good-looking Bosnian guy, we didn’t talk very much. He offered me gum and that was his first move. He asked where I was from; his English was not good at all. When we were getting off the plane he pointed me to look behind, because we were exiting from the back. Then he did something quite peculiar, but not in a bad way. He took a couple of my stray blonde hairs off of my black jacket. Nothing major, but I thought this quite odd. It was almost an affectionate move. When we were getting off the bus, he placed his hand on mine and said “bye bye”. On the way to passport control, I saw him again. He grabbed my bag in a playful way. Again, he couldn’t say much, but he said to me “you are very beautiful”. Well geez, I didn’t see that coming! I hadn’t showered, had my glasses on, unbrushed hair up in a disorganized manor. It sure did make me smile! Then he said… facebook? Yes of course. He wrote down his name and didn’t ask for mine. He knows how to play this game, for sure. “Give me a kiss” he said, (on the cheek of course), so I did… why not? And off he went to transfer flights, and I went to get a visa. But, I was still smiling.

My hotel is alright, but at least it’s in a good location. My waiter almost killed me tonight though. I made myself very clear about “NO nuts of any kind; peanuts, walnuts (just in case) PISTACHIOS… so he assure me my meal was nut-free. They give me an appetizer of really warm, fresh bread and then puts some cheese with scallions on the table as well. I have some cheese. The scallions don’t taste like scallions. They don’t taste like much at all… which must mean they are… PISTACHIOS. Really??? I was so pissed! Once confirmed I ran out of my seat and to the bathroom so I could spit it out, wash my mouth, and down some benedryl which I wasn’t able to open. So my waiter says, “yes I said they didn’t have them in your meal, but I wasn’t including the appetizer. DUH. Really? I chalked it up to lack of understanding.

OH MY GOODNESS WE JUST HAD AN EARTHQUAKE!!!!!