Travel Diaries – Istanbul

Hello bookworms, this is my travel diary post for Istanbul. This post covers my entire trip(nearly three weeks!). Where I stayed in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya!

Day 1

Hello Bookworms, today was day 1 of my month-long trip to Istanbul. Our plane that flew directly from Toronto, Canada to Turkey was at about 10 pm and we landed 11 hours later. To some, this may seem like hell but I love plane rides. Although this one wasn’t anything special, it consisted of eating, sleeping, and watching movies(all the while two VERY loud babies decided to scream the entire time. my mind is still blown as to how they didn’t get tired from 11 hours of yelling). Once we landed in Istanbul at the Istanbul Airports, we headed to our small one-bedroom apartment. This apartment previously belonged to my grandfather, and now whenever we travel to Turkey we stay there for a few nights. Once we all settled in and got ready for the next 2 nights we decided to relax and rest. Then after a lengthy and tiring day of travel, we took a quick break to eat Kebab(yum) and then headed to bed at about 10 pm.

Day 2

Hello Bookworms, today we met up with my relatives for breakfast. We went to an open buffet(OMG IT WAS SO GOOD)! Here is a picture of my mom’s plate at the buffet. You can’t tell, but there were so many vegetables, fruits, types of cheeses, and more!

After catching up with my younger twin cousins, and my aunt we headed to their apartment. The day can be pretty much summed up as hanging out at their apartment all day, going to the pool, and eating DELICIOUS food! By the way, if it seems like I am talking about food too much(I am😆) its because I am hinting towards an upcoming post about Turkish cuisine! The next time we talk, I will be in Italy!

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Here is my travel post for Italy! The next section of this post is after that trip, and I have headed back to Istanbul. So “Day 1” is not technically day 1.

Day 1

Hello bookworms, this morning we woke up bright and early in Italy, and hopped on our plane to Istanbul, Turkey! We landed after a three-hour flight at 2 pm, but getting to our small apartment posed quite a bit of a challenge. Since we were coming from the new airport, it took over 2 hours by taxi to reach the apartment. Meanwhile, my mom had booked an appointment for me and my sister to cut our hair. Oh no! All my luscious locks were going to be chopped off in an hour! For those of you who don’t know me, don’t now that I have veryyyy thick hair. Combine that with the length go my hair, the fact I play sports, and its a pretty tough combination. After my hair got cut(about 6-7 inches) we went to dinner at the nearby mall(Carrefour).

Day 2

Hello bookworms, today I and my family went on a fun adventure across Istanbul. We took the subway to Kadikoy, and then took the ferry. We browsed through markets selling everything from spices to rugs to gold. After walking for what felt like hours under the scorching sun we sat down at a roadside cafe and had toast. That was pretty much the end of the day!

Day 3

Hello bookworms, today I spent the ENTIRE day with my twin cousins – the mini professional gamers. They are addicted to playing Fortnite, so it was quite a feat when we were able to get them to go to the pool with us. After that, we hung out with their neighbor’s dog; Cookie.

Day 4

Hello bookworms, today I am hanging out with my other cousin! We spent the entire afternoon catching up, shopping at the mall, and having fun annoying all the workers. (It’s safe to say all the workers would be happy to know I live in a different country).

Day 5

Hello bookworms, today I woke up TIRED. Almost everyday this past week I have unintentionally slept in(whoops). Nevertheless, we ate breakfast together at a cute cafe, that had a selection of simit, ayçöreği, and more. Later on, at about 2 pm, my mom, sister, and dad all left to go walk around and I was left alone in our small apartment. Surprisingly, time went by quickly as I slept, listened to my true crime podcasts, and read. Then at about 5 pm the doorbell rang and to my surprise, it wasn’t my parents. My cousin and my aunt had come to surprise me knowing I was home alone. We went to the mall once again and decided to hang out for a while. At about 8 pm, my cousin had to leave, and I was going to go hang out with my other aunt anyway. So my mom, sister, and my aunt all went to ANOTHER mall, had dinner, and shopped.

Day 6

Hello bookworms, today is the day we leave for Ankara! We took a 4 and a half hour train from Istanbul at about 7 pm. The day was pretty much spent packing and saying goodbye to relatives from Istanbul.

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