14 Nov 13
I overworked my hands today – making poms – so I’m taking the rest of the night off. Freed up some time to do a post so how about that 🙂 A quick word that the shop is updated with new stuff. AND I’m very excited that I’ll be having a stall at this year’s Christmas Pop Up Store! More news when the date draws nearer.
On to the photos, these were all taken while en route to somewhere.
Walked past these colourful facades while heading to the Grand Bazaar
Here’s a peaceful demonstration right outside Shake Shack. Also where we were going to eat.
The magnificent view on our walks back to our Airbnb apartment
This Karaköy tram stop is the closest one to us so we start out from here on most days
We took the tram to Tophane to check out Istanbul Modern. Ended up getting distracted by the Biennale Festival next to it instead. I liked these two pieces! After this, we reached the limit to how much modern art we could take and moved on.
A nice place for breakfast/brunch in the area is Van Kahvalti Evi. It is in the Cihangir neighbourhood, walkable from the Tophane tram stop. There is a massive hill to hike up to get to this place though, like crazy steep. Taking a cab here would be wise.
We stopped for coffee at this cute neighbourhood in Tophane. Also kitten-watched the whole time.
Enjoyed the sea breeze and the sights of men fishing at the Karaköy pier before dinner
The best place to buy baklava is a stone’s throw from the pier. It’s called Karaköy GüllüoÄŸlu and you can’t miss it because there’s always a crowd.
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, istanbul, nikon FM10, turkey, what to eat, where to go
6 Nov 13
I rarely get to commute by ferry, simply because it doesn’t exist where I live. I find it such a romantic way to travel home after work or a day out. Lucky people who get to do this daily!
In these photos, we took the ferry from Karaköy to Kadıköy (the Asian side of Istanbul).
The New Mosque is on the left and on the right, is the Galata Bridge
The Galata Tower standing tall
The Topkapi Palace surrounded by lush greenery and next to it is Aya Sofya
Aya Sofya on the right and the Blue Mosque on the left
Ferries or sea buses as some websites call it, are cheap and depart every 20 to 30 minutes. We mainly took the ones by the company, Sehir Hatlari, as they were at every pier. Also, make sure to get an Istanbulkart.
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, istanbul, nikon FM10, turkey
21 Oct 13
Istanbul was terrific, we can’t wait to go back to that part of the world. To visit Egypt, Jordan and other parts of Turkey possibly. I’m enchanted. I’m fascinated! Whatever you want to call it 🙂 I already got my rolls of film developed so Istanbul photos are coming right up.
It is Monday – driving classes resume and I’m working on updating the shop. How’s your week looking? Maybe you could use some panda-lovin’ cos I have plenty of that to go around. Ben took me to the zoo on my birthday to see the pandas and they are the best things in the world!
Those were photos of the male and now we see the female.
Then we roamed around the regular part of the zoo and saw these guys
Lucked out to catch the giraffes at feeding time
And ended up spending way too much time watching a polar bear do laps.
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, jia jia, kai kai, nikon FM10, pandas, river safari, singapore zoo
13 Oct 13
The idea of this disposable camera was too fun to resist, I ended up getting one from UO. Somehow that fun-energy didn’t pass onto me when I physically got my hands on it—I took more than a year to finish 27 exposures. Now that’s a record for me.
I took these while walking around Wessex Estate in Portsdown Road.
Spending my last few days in Istanbul!
P.S. The misalignment in these photos are killing me! :\
| Tags: film camera, portsdown road, urban outfitters disposable camera, wessex estate
6 Oct 13
Hi from Istanbul! Ben’s still sleeping so I have some time to post something. The city has been so welcoming. It is GORGEOUS. People are at first look, not the friendliest but they surprise you two seconds later.
To share a story real quick – Yesterday we were waiting for the tram and I noticed this old man scanning the both of us. I take it that locals don’t see asians all that much. No biggie, the tram comes and we all board. He took his spot in a corner then gestured to us to stand beside him and to hold onto the pole. Followed by a smile! He let it sneak out haha. I was surprised! I thought to myself, “sheesh, to think I thought he was a grumpy baddie who hates tourists”. As the tram was pulling up at a stop, he tapped me on my finger to point out that there were two empty seats behind us. I wanted him to sit since it’s a bazillion years older but he insisted. You tell me, how nice these people are!
I’m Instagramming like crazy so follow my updates there. Meanwhile over here, I don’t want the blog to go stale so here are some recent photos. Ben & I had coffee at Strangers’ Reunion and roamed around the area for a bit. The houses are so nice. The kind that makes you can’t help but dream you were living inside. Followed by thoughts of who currently lives inside. Followed by impractical ideas of how to get one next time. Heh.
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, blair road, kampong bahru, nikon FM10
