SANTA KEEPS COMING AND COMING…

Since we came back to Istanbul, we are trying to settle and the house still is a madhouse. But on the other hand, we enjoy the sun, drinking delicious tea during hours while looking to the blue of the sea, the friendship of fluffy street cats, breakfast with crunchy simit (Turkish bagel), being spoilt by mom treats…etc.

This time the new year came to us with new plans, challenges and good surprises. Meantime, Santa also is very busy and keeps visiting us everyday. (Oh yes, he is still around). He brings us  packages full of love and care from special friends.

First from Ankara, from Tülin…

Then from Izmir from Depressive Bear…

And today from Istanbul, from Eda…

Dear friends, thank you all for being there, for your love and care! You enlightened our week!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy new year everyone!

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GEFFRYE MUSEUM

We are living in London since two years and every week we are visiting or discovering a new place in this city but there are still plenty of places we didn’t visit yet. Geffrye Museum where we’ve been yesterday was one of them. That’s why, when we were leaving the house we decided to be there two hours earlier then the event and visit the museum also.

Geffrye Museum is located at Kingsland Road no:136, in a beautiful building with a big garden and is a perfect place to see diffrent styles of British living, decorations and furnitures of different periods since 1630.

Because of the christmas, each room was decorated with the ornaments and style of the period and again beacuse of the British tradition of keeping the christmas decorations until the Twelfth Night of Christmas, we could have the chance to see them yesterday and then to be part of the one of the oldest British christmas traditions which is burning the holly and the ivy to avoid the bad luck.

After celebrating the Twelfth Night with carols, mulled wine and cake around the fire, the smell of the fire made us feel hungry for a Turkish barbecue and we found ourselves at Mangal, the smallest and the first restaurant of the chain at Arcola Street no:10 in Dalston. Yummy!

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FAREWELL TO CHRISTMAS

Today we had a short walk by the Regent’s Canal to the Geffrye Museum to be part of an old British tradition which we learned from the Book of Christmas: burning holly and ivy on Twelfth Night of Christmas to avoid the bad luck.

When we first arrived there, the big garden of the Geffrye Museum was ready for the event. The Twelfth Night cakes and mulled wine on the tables decorated with candles, the place of the fire, the little scene for the band.

When it was getting dark, the garden was packed by people. When the time arrived we ended up by eating Twelfth Night cake, drinking mulled wine and singing christmas carols around the fire all together with the lyrics of the carrols on our hands. Farewell to christmas and another well lived day in our little kingdom.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year Everyone!

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NEW YEAR GIFTS FROM EDA

This morning a lovely and smiling postlady brought a big package from Eda.

Inside a colorful and lovely gift wrap, there were lots of surprises: a vintage style cushion cover, a christmas tree ornament, a film for watching in long winter evenings and a caaat bookmark! Wooow!

Dear Eda, thank you for all and happy new year!

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PETER PAN CUP 2012

Since two years we are going to watch the Peter Pan Cup swimming race on Christmas Day morning at Serpentine in Hyde Park. It’s nice to walk early morning in empty London streets and then to watch Serpentine Swimming Club’s yearly tradition.

Waking up at five o’clock to be there on time (because on Christmas day there isn’t any public transportation and there are only few black cubs on duty) and getting out in a dark and cold winter  morning, is not looking so sympathic maybe but enjoying the emptiness and the silence of the streets, having fresh winter morning air in Hyde Park, receiving candies as Christmas Day treats from Santa who is waiting us in Serpentine, listening the bagpipe which is announcing the beginning of the race, watching the bravehearts jumping in the ice cold brown waters of Serpentine, is quite a good experience for two foreigners who live in London.

This year, the race was as successful as last year’s. But this year, when the swimmers were out of the water and running to the mulled wine for heating their purple bodies, we were as wet as they were because of the rain which is quite surprising thing in our little kingdom.

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LONDON CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Christmas Day morning we woke up at five o’clock in the morning for going to watch christmas swimmers in Serpentine in Hyde Park.

Last year, when we were walking there, we were quite surprised to see Oxford Street totally empty for the first time. This year was the same.

So, we enjoyed the emptiness of the main, busiest and most popular streets of London and took some christmas lights photos. The photo above, is taken at 7.30 o’clock in the morning in Oxford Street.

The Regent Street…

Mayfair…

Bond Street…

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A VERY BRITISH CHRISTMAS FEAST

Last year was our first christmas in London and we were very excited about it. We were  familiar with christmas traditions in our country and many other countries but, except the one of the best christmas movies Love is Eveywhere, we didn’t have so much idea about British christmas.

We decided to experience it in a fancy place with a nice christmas dinner.  (Then, we were thinking that the christmas feast and the turkey time was Christmas Eve like in a lot of countries but we were wrong. Brits eat Christmas feast on 25 of December, Christmas Day and not dinner, lunch). All restaurants were taking reservations for christmas dinner (which was totaly different thing, this was for the christmas parties which people make with their friends in restaurants instead of home and during all december but no in christmas eve or day.) So we didn’t make christmas dinner shopping and until last day kept our hope for finding somewhere but we were wrong again. At the end, Christmas Eve and Day were not very “feast”ive days for us. After some light snack at home, we went to one of our favorite pubs (luckyly was open) and enjoyed the live music and warm British beer.

This year, after watching since two years all kind of Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, …etc  “christmas special” food programs, we decided having our “Very British Christmas Feast” at home. Days before we made our grocery shopping and ta taaa!

British turkey stuffed with meat, chestnut and onion  and oven roasted potatos with goose fat: done!

Brussel sprouts and carrot cooked in our style: done!

Christmas pudding with brandy cream and mince pies: done!

Christmas crackers (of course purry ones): done!

Instead of eating on Christmas Day, we had our christmas dinner yesterday evening, on Christmas Night. After the dinner, we realised why Brits eat christmas feast at lunch instead of dinner when we were drinking cups of tea and trying to digest all those goose fat, brandy cream, etc. We were planning to go this year again to the pub for the live music, having more booze and dancing. But we were knock-out and drinking tea, lying at the couch and looking to our christmas lights.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas….

 

(photo © Cancer Research UK)

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