I did a lot of walking again today. Like a lot of walking. It was nice.

I had contacted 3 people about apartments, but none of them could show me the place until the evening so I decided to spend the day doing more sightseeing type stuff. I really enjoyed it. I walked from where I’m staying through Taksim, over the bridge and to the spice market. I also stopped in a Mosque in Eminonu. After, I walked to Topkapi Palace. It was great to walk through the grounds. I sat at a place overlooking the Bosphorous and drank tea as well. I did that last time I was in Istanbul and really enjoyed it.

So I saw 3 places. It felt just like househunters! I’ve decided on the one I want, but now I have to wait and make sure the guy didn’t find someone else to rent it to in the meantime. Since my phone died I couldn’t call him. I sent him an email when I got home. I’ll try to call him in the morning. The place certainly isn’t perfect, but after several days of a pretty intensive apartment searching I’m fairly confident this is about the best I’ll do. Plus, the place is large and there’s quite a bit of space. I don’t think I’d do well sharing a small space with someone and moving into their territory.

Ok, so now it’s just about hoping the place isn’t gone. If it is I’ll have to keep looking. The other places wouldn’t work, in my opinion. One the guy was a little weird. The other had 5 rooms – 2 Turkish guys and 2 Italian guys currently live there. They had a bong on the kitchen table. Enough said.

Gratitude List:
I’m grateful I was able to find a place I could live in.
I’m grateful I got to walk around the city for fun – not just to look for another apartment to rent.
I’m grateful I was able to talk to both Liz and my mother this evening.