So I'm finally 21! Usually it takes around half a year for me to get used to my new age, but this time it seems like I am very comfortable with being a year older and, hopefully, wiser.
My boyfriend, Iskandar, came to Turkey to celebrate our birthdays together and that was an amaaaazing week. I'm not gonna tire you with the description of every single day we got to spend together, but I want to share a couple of extraordinary moments with you.
First of all, my birthday was extremely fun! We went for a movie at our favourite shopping mall in Istanbul, spent a couple of hours playing arcade games and ended the day with a dinner Cookshop restaurant( the food is incredibly yummy there). Another fun day was our trip to the Princes' Islands! Those islands are quite far away from Istanbul, it takes nearly 1.5 to get there on a ferry, but they are definitely worth a long trip. The islands used to serve as a place of exile for Turkish royalty as well as some famous people from other countries, like Leon Trotsky who lived for four years on Buyukada, his first residing place in exile. Once you arrive on the island, you can feel how different it is from Istanbul, as well as from the rest of Turkey. All the cottages on the islands are built in Victorian-era style, which makes them truly unique and so different from anything you can see on the mainland. The other great thing about the islands is that there are no cars, only horse carriages and bikes. I guess this place could become a heaven for stressed people. After the trip to Princes' Islands, we had dinner at Wagamama( yes, they do have it here), I had my usual chicken katsu curry, Iskandar tried teriyaki salmon noodles(which was really good!) and being full and happy, we watched Iron Man 3, which premiered in Turkey on that day! To those who haven't seen it yet, GO WATCH IT PLEASE! Such a great movie, I think we were discussing it for quite a bit, overwhelmed emotions.
On the next day Iskandar and I decided to go to the beach. The only beach that I know in Istanbul is the Kilyos beach, which is quite close to my uni. The day was really fun, although we didn't swim as the water was too dirty. Oh well :) Anyway, we had a great day and I seem to be one step closer to getting a proper tan this year ( white skin problems). On Iskandar's Birthday, which was a day after, we went for brunch to Garipce, sat right next to the sea, enjoyed the view and the delicious food. Having finished all food, we went to look around and saw dolphins from the highest peak at that place! Everybody was taking pictures trying to capture them but they were too far away. Although I'm pretty sure that a dot on one of the pictures I took with my iphone is the dolphins ;) After such a great start of the day we went to the shopping mall where we spent at least two or three hours playing arcade games again. That was pretty cool :) The day ended the same way as my Birthday, we spent the evening at the same restaurant (it is that good) and had to get back home to pack Iskandar's suitcase.
The Birthday Week turned out to be so busy and fun, I truly enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and thanks to those, who sent me their congratulations on my Birthday! Got some heart-warming messages :)
Love,
A.
P.S.: Here's some good light music by Daft Punk and Pharrell for you guys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NV6Rdv1a3I
