Where the peeps are easy(-going) and the food comes cheap

That title was a weak reference to the Nickelback song, Rockstar, by the way...

Istanbul is in one word, awesome. I wanted to say that Turkey is awesome, but since I have a data point of one, it's really hard to make such a blanket statement at this point. It's been three full days since we've been here, and even though the weather has been less than great, we're really having an awesome time in Istanbul.

The people -- not quite European, and not quite Asian, the Turkish people we've encountered have ranged from neutral to really nice. The most aggressive and annoying were probably the vendors at the Grand Bazaar, but as soon as you say no, they basically leave you alone. Regina and I have been out after dark and it hasn't been a problem at all (knock on wood). People generally keep to themselves and don't bother you. We have received some pretty strange looks for being two very Asian-looking girls who speak English, and random hawkers have tried to speak to us in every language ranging from Korean to Uzbekistani (ok, so maybe that's not a language? But they asked us if that's where we're from.

The food -- is cheap. And good. Regina and I ate some of the cheapest food we've had together since maybe Beijing, and even still we're still amazed that you can get a fully loaded "pide" (flatbread-ish pizza-ish thing) with meat, potatoes, and cheese for 60 cents. The only downside for me is that there's been a lot of sheep's milk cheeses in the food we order, so every new dish is a new adventure for my stomach so to speak.

We're hanging out at the "Sip" lounge in our hotel now, chilling and drinking Turkish coffees. Tomorrow, we're headed across the Bosphorous to the Asia side! :)