先週末からイスタンブールに来ています。
日本はもっと暑いんでしょうが、イスタンブールも最高気温が 30℃いってます。
都電が走るイスティクラル通りは、高台で風が吹いてくれるので、ちょっと楽。
日曜日のうちに頑張ってお土産の買い付けをしてきました。今日はもう外出したくない。
サンマテオは最高気温 20℃、朝は 14℃あたりなので、暑さに慣れていなくて倒れそうです。
お宿は毎度毎度のインターコンチネンタルです。
宿泊頻度が考慮されたのか、今回はクラブルームにしてくれました。
「前回と同じ間取りですが、１フロア上です」
…って言われて入室したら、家具その他がゴージャスでした。
「来月もこの部屋がイイ！」っておねだりしましたが、upon availability だそうです。
窓からの景色は、ほぼ同じです。
リッツカールトンのおかげでボスポラス橋がよく見えなくなっているのも、同じ。
お食事は、もちろん『うどにゃー』さんです。今日はスシ・テンプラ定食を冷たい蕎麦と。
蕎麦、天麩羅、きんぴらじゃがいもがとっても美味しい・寿司は普通に美味しい。
今日はデザートの西瓜が美味しかった。ホテルの朝食はメロンに桃、イチジクが美味しい。
夏のイスタンブールは暑いけど、熟して甘いフルーツがたくさんあって幸せです。
あと４日間、風呂屋で揉まれて絞られまくってから、復路は FRA 経由のユナイテッドで帰ります。
⌘ 記事公開後、ちびっと追記
インターコンチネンタルのクラブルームで出てくる水が、なんだか親和性が悪そうな銘柄です。
みたいな。知らんけど。風味は悪くない水です。ウルダーとスルマの次に好き❤️
⌘ 記事公開後、もうちっと追記
私事ですが、『トルコの先生』が３名様に増えました。
オリジナルの、腕のたつテキスタイル職人さんに加えて…
2．麻酔科医の先生。MD
3．アメリカ文学の教授を３年前退官した先生。PhD、英語は儂より上手い。（笑）
前から思ってたけど、スイスの先生といい、モレノー博士♂♀といい、そして岡山の先生といい… 儂ゃ博士様に弱い、ドクトルフェチかも？と真剣に考えるこの頃です。
As always, I apologize for leaving an unrelated comment to the content of the article.
ReplyDeleteSince I took five days off for the Obon holiday from August 11th, yesterday, August 16th, the clinic was naturally overwhelmed with patients, and I wasn't able to express my gratitude. Hence, I am doing so today.
Yesterday morning, the clinic received a "Kinshobai Arita-yaki Container Set" addressed to Midori-san (lol). The Kinshobai furikake was nestled inside two beautifully designed Arita-yaki containers, with one packet in each container. I haven't tasted the furikake yet, but I immediately transferred it into each container, and they are now waiting for their turn in the refrigerator. It so happens that my daughter returned from Kobe yesterday, so we plan to enjoy it with dinner tonight.
On behalf of the three of us, I would like to express our deepest gratitude for your kindness.
Your stay in Istanbul sounds wonderful. While it can get hot with temperatures rising to 30°C, it’s nice that the breeze on Istiklal (←correct?) Street offers some relief. I'm glad to hear that you successfully completed your souvenir shopping and found some time to relax.
ReplyDeleteGetting upgraded to a Club Room at the InterContinental is fantastic. The luxurious furniture and the enjoyable views must have made it even more special. The meal at "Udonya" also sounds delicious, and it’s great to hear that you especially enjoyed the watermelon dessert. Summer fruits truly do bring such joy.
Please continue to enjoy the rest of your stay (or have already returned home?).
It seems like you're making new connections in Turkey. I'm particularly intrigued by your interactions with the anesthesiologist and the professor of American literature.
ReplyDeleteIt's unique and amusing that you have a soft spot for doctors with PhDs. However, I must say, the PhD from Okayama might pale in comparison (lol).
I hope these new connections make your stay even more fulfilling.
Yamada Denki sensei,
DeleteThe Kin-Sho-Bai is a kind of inheritance from my grandma. About the ‘furikake’ style additives over the white rice, she was very picky and Kin-Sho-Bai was the best for her as always, eldest aunt, who was richest in the siblings, sent grandma a jar of Kin-Sho-Bai every season. Hence I was well-fed with that high quality furikake, learned how the neighborhoods, who sells vegetables or taking care of cows, were poor and far from sophisticated life. In other words, I had already gotten brainwashed by grandma for being 上から目線.
So, please enjoy the 上から目線 flavor of Edokko in Shita-machi. I also recommend to put Kin-Sho-Bai in onigiri, or accompanied with umeboshi. Those were my favorite ingredients of onigiri when I was tiny.
§
I returned from Istanbul last night. It was another great stay in the historical city.
- InterContinental Istanbul treated me very well. More than half of staffs and managers remember me and I remember them. I was fed with miso soup with tofu in the morning but I asked them to stop serving miso soup because I needed more room for melons and figs.
- The lounge for Club InterContinental is simultaneously a restaurant named Verandah. I had my dinner twice on this stay with doctors of Türkiye and found Adana Kebab, spicy grilled minced lamb, and beef ribs marinated 7 days then slow-cooked 4 hours taste super nice and tender. Prices were relatively expensive but quality, cleanliness and services by known staffs were priceless.
- I had series of massages everyday at Hamam, Turkish Bath. Before the trip, I had a severe backache and kept applying Loxionin patch on my back. After two massage sessions, my back pain was completely over. My most favorite masseuse, Mr. Ömer from Antalya, returned to my most favorite hamam where his cousin is the owner. My back pain was taken care by him.
- The professor of American literature is a great relief of stresses for me because I don’t need Google Translate! He even understands and tells American jokes perfectly. Only the weakest point is: once he starts chatting with someone, he can’t stop. He traps servicepersons in the restaurant and suspends his work, for example. (lol)
- The M.D., anesthesiologist speaks acceptable English and easy to communicate. He misrecognized me as a pharmacist or a healthcare worker because I named some anesthetic agent like propofol. (lol)
These relations won’t infringe anything between doctors in Okayama, including ex- anesthesiologist. :))
It's quite intriguing that Kin-Sho-Bai holds such a special place for you, almost like an inheritance from your grandmother. I also have a bit of a preference for furikake over chazuke seasoning, though perhaps not as strong as your grandmother's. There are times, especially after returning home a bit tipsy, when I have an irresistible craving for chazuke, but instead of using chazuke seasoning, I find myself wanting to add regular furikake and umeboshi. I can easily imagine that in such situations, Kin-Sho-Bai would be the perfect choice.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting that there was a wealthy member of your family who sent your grandmother jars of Kin-Sho-Bai. Given that it came in jars, it must have contained a substantial amount of high-quality furikake. Through these shared experiences, you were exposed to not just furikake but various other high-quality items, which naturally, and in a positive way, shaped your perspective. I wouldn’t call it brainwashing at all; I would rather describe it as a form of moral education, which surely brought many benefits to your life.