Corridors of Trees

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Helga

Sunday

Dear Elsie

Today was a well-balanced day. I woke up about 6am, had coffee and did my Bible reading. Then we walked to Fish Hoek to buy  a few other things. Home for breakfast and a rest. I then did 3 hours of work & this afternoon we took a drive to Constantia Nek for a walk in the forest. We have gone walking in Constantia Nek many times but I’ve never really noticed the corridors of trees. This is the start of the walk. Once upon a time, that massive rock must have come tumbling down the mountain and landed in this position…

Trickling waterfall.

The easy path along the side of the forest…

And then the corridors of trees. There are so many of them and I’ve never noticed…

Julian and Mike admiring how dead straight  most of the trees are…

A little bit of tree hugging never goes amiss…

That tree has been there a very.long.time.

The view wasn’t too bad either.

A lovely way to spend an hour on a cool Sunday afternoon.

We came home via the Constantia Emporium where we each selected our dinner.

And that was how we spent the 1st day of June 2025.

The last verse of the Gospel of John.

John 21:25
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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Quick Swellendam Visit

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Helga

Saturday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day we saw you! We had a quick visit to give you your birthday gifts. Uncle Julian also came so you enjoyed seeing him too.  You loved the doll with long hair so you can practice brushing and braiding.

You played with Pennie in the garden.

And hid! I could hardly see you!

We played Spot which was a lot of fun.

Altogether we had a lovely time with you! It was wayyyy too short. Next time, I’ll come for longer. Such a happy picture.

On the drive home, we stopped at Peregrine and after buying pies we went into the Liberty Bookshop which is so picturesque.  Notice the cat on the window seat.

Now we are home and soon will eat the Peregrine pies! Yum.

Thanks for having us. It was so wonderful to see you all.

John 20:31
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

 

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Tons of Yellowtail

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Helga

Friday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day we took a late afternoon walk to Fish Hoek Beach to see a huge catch of fish. During the course of today, I saw the fishermen on the beach and they were there for a very long time. The haul was significant.

 

The seagulls knew dinner was served.

It was a beautiful evening with lovely colours.

It’s been a good day. We went for a jog. This time I tried to ‘run’ the whole way – which I managed to do until we got to the final hill up Highway which was a good time to walk. Home for breakfast, some work and then a facial. When I got back, I had meetings and then worked through until 5pm.

A quiet evening with the family. I’m excited for the weekend!

John 17:20
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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Some Say Raiku is Not a Lap Cat

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Helga

Thursday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day you sent me a beautiful creative picture you had drawn. It is of a girl who looks just like you swinging on a swing hanging from the moon! You said it was very hard to draw. You did so well.

Well done! I’m so looking forward to seeing you!

Today I went for a early-ish walk, just to get some steps in. I walked to the end of the street, and then did the Daisy Lane route. The sun is popping its head over the distant mountains at about 7.45am. Today the low hanging clouds lessened its effect.

I may have left for my walk a little earlier, but I had a bit of a point to prove. Some say Raiku is not a lap cat. This morning this happened….

As soon as he arrived on my lap I started taking photos of him to see how long he would stay.

I got 20 minutes of his company! Just after 7.38am, he  hopped off and went to his own bed where he settled down for the rest of his snooze. He was still there when I returned from my walk. He seems to have had a busy day as he disappeared this morning and only arrived home a short while ago. He is now curled up and fast asleep in his bed. I think he may choose a lap when there is complete trust and no one else to disturb…and the blanket helps.

I had a less busy work day today which was a nice change. This evening Anna & David are joining us for dinner.

May has flashed past, just like that.

Today I read a number of chapters of 2 Samuel. This verse stuck out.

2 Samuel 14:14
Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, He devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from Him.

God’s plan throughout the course of time is for redemption, salvation & eternal life. Good message for Ascension Day.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

 

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From Sunshine to Rain

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Helga

Wednesday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day that dawned with a beautiful clear sky but ended with very cloudy, windy and drizzly weather. This morning we decided to get some exercise. We took off before 7.  The first rays of sun from Simon’s Town road.

Mike jogging down the road.

My strategy was a little different. I jogged and walked eventually settling on 100 steps of each. It worked perfectly. I got some exercise & managed to almost keep up with Mike. We got home and recovered before showering and having breakfast. David came up and we had a good chat. His energy levels have dropped recently and it’s been a bit of a struggle, but he tries to keep positive.

Work was busy today both inside and out. We have some new paving. This will be the landing for the funicular when it eventually arrives.

I contacted the funicular guy so he can come and see what we have done so far. Mike is confident in his levels and measurements,  but if there are things we don’t know, Chris can tell us. We don’t know what we don’t know.  He said he can come early next week. Elsie, when you see these photos in 10 or 15 years time, you will be amazed that once upon a time it looked like this!

Every single rock that makes up the walls on our property have come out of the ground and have been put there by Courage & now he’s rebuilding the stairs.  He’s become quite the master stonemason. He is amazing. Julian arrived today so he was able to see the progress as well.

So that’s the day.

John 16:24
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

 

 

 

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A Glimpse of a Fire

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Helga

Tuesday

Today was the day that began with a glimpse of a fire. We have a very active South Peninsula Fire Alert whatsapp group, but what to do when there’s a fire far out of the deep south? It’s the orange line quite high up the mountain and  some distance west of the Helderberg mountains.

If I could see it from our house, it must have been big. I sent the photo to one of the Admin people on the fire group so he could alert someone from that side. I’m sure others probably reported it as well. I cannot see it this evening.

Talking of glimpses. Someone had a little more than a glimpse of two caracals on Chapman’s Peak.  What a stunning photo.

I’m just glad they are on that mountain and haven’t been seen on the one behind us….that we have heard of lately anyway.

There have been workers working on the stairs today. Mike wants to give it a big push….

…to get the second stairs down as far as possible over the winter months when we have less guests. I’ve blocked the Seaview apartment for the moment as it’s pretty difficult to access right now.

Today I worked as usual. I also did the laundry & I shopped. A bit of everything today. The only thing I’m trying to get used to and work around is the short days. The sun is rising late and setting early. Winter is almost here.

In the margin of my Bible in the book of John, I have prayer requests with the years I have prayed them. As each year passes, I write, “still praying” & then comes a year when my prayers have been answered and I make a note. One day, Elsie, dig out  my Bible and look up John 15 & 16 and you’ll see what I mean. God is faithful.

John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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Stretching my Eyes

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Helga

Monday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day I got up early to start work. I began at just after 6.30am and worked for 9 hours. The day was overcast, so no Venus nor the moon, but we did get a glassy sunrise.

At the end of the day, I needed to stretch my eyes. I went for a walk around the neighbourhood and did a 4km route, returning via the mountainside. Fish Hoek at the end of the day.

By the time I got home, my eyes were feeling a lot better.

David came up for dinner and we had a good time talking about several different topics. He always makes us laugh. He also asked when Julian was coming, saying he was missing his uncle. Ahhh!

Raiku has settled very comfortably since we returned. While we were away, it seemed like a planet had moved in his furry little brain and he became very needy. David worked hard to keep him happy and at home, resorting in the end to closing him in at night. Over the last week, he hasn’t been as vocal as before we left. He looks lovingly at me on every occasion, trusts me more (because after all I came back) & rewards me with multiple headbutts. He is sleeping better at night, seldom disturbs us and is altogether far more settled. Sweet cat.

We are still threatening to get him a kitten. We need to manage the introduction and socialization well so they bond and become friends, so it needs some thought.

A full but satisfying day.

This is one of the Bible verses I learned off by heart when I was a teenager.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the Lord whatever you do and He will establish your plans.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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I Went Looking for the Moon

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Helga

Sunday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day I woke up early and there was no moon! Venus was there but it was a moonless morning. I can’t remember seeing Venus with  no moon.

I went out on the balcony and peered into sky. I could see lots of stars but no moon. Where is the moon? Eventually, I put on my shoes and Raiku and I headed outside and up the stairs to the back deck. I looked up but still no moon. That was when I turned around and looked back down the stairs. Aha! There it comes. I went back inside to take a photo. There’s the moon. It was rising.

When I looked at the first photo, I could see a faint shadow.  Just the top of it. My moon mystery was solved.

This morning, I went out walking. It was a bit too early and a bit too dark for me, so I don’t think I’ll leave at 7am again this winter. It needs to be lighter to be safer. I got home an hour later after a beautiful sunrise.

We had a relaxing morning. I did some work – I’ve still got quite a lot of catching up to do. This afternoon we went for a drive down the Peninsula, stopping at Smitswinkel Bay. We walked a little down the path towards it. One day, we will walk all the way down. Today, we chose not to. There was a group of rowdy, beer drinking guys at the top where we parked the car & we decided that maybe it was unwise to go the whole way. Good view though!

We drove home via Kommetjie. Such a beautiful day. Mike is now making spaghetti bolognaise & I am the happy recipient!

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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A Perfect Fish Hoek Day

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Helga

Saturday

Dear Elsie

Today was a perfect Fish Hoek day. The sea was so still – it reminded us of the doldrums. When I woke up,  it was still dark, & the first thing I noticed was the moon and Venus. Only this time instead of Venus hanging below the moon, the planet was suspended above.

Dawn…

After a rather late start, we trotted to Glencairn and then back to Fish Hoek beach where we had a dip in beautifully refreshing water. Then we walked home for breakfast. The rest of the day unfolded peacefully.

David and Anna came up for a visit. I need to remember to take a photo of them before they disappear down the stairs!

And now it’s time for a quiet evening. A perfect Fish Hoek day makes for a short blog!

I did read one of the most meaningful chapters of the Bible.

John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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Right & Wrong in Istanbul

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Helga

Friday

Dear Elsie

Today we were having a little discussion about what we did right and wrong in Istanbul.

The rights certainly outweighed the wrong. If you ever want to go to Istanbul, these are a couple of good things to know:

  1. ATMs are all over the place and give the best option for drawing Turkish Lira, so don’t exchange any currency at the airport on arrival. We got this right. We only ever used ATMs to get Lira.
  2. Get an Istanbul Card. This cost about 70 TL when we were there and to use it you simply add credit to it. Every time you get on a tram, you swipe it. Each journey is very cheap. You can use one card for multiple people so on our last day we caught a tram for the three of us to the ferry port. They also work on the ferries, so we used the same single card to get us to and from the Asian side. It is a winner. Cheap and easy travel around Istanbul and on the Bosphorus!
  3. While staying in the Old Town has the advantage of being able to walk to most of the main tourist attractions, it’s easy to stay a little way away if the tram or Metro station is close by. Public transport on the trams is so easy and cheap with the Istanbul card that it may pay to be in a less expensive hotel 10 minutes away where the view is better and the hotel more modern than to stay in a very old hotel in the Old Town. It’s not called the Old Town for nothing. While our second hotel, The Garden House Hotel was very comfortable and well run, it was still old. I wouldn’t have done anything different but Mike thinks staying further away for less would have been a better option.
  4. Check the dates you are in town against public holidays. Unbeknown to us we were in Istanbul over a public holiday and things were manic! If we had known, we possibly would have changed our arrangements and gone to the Asian side on the Sunday instead on the public holiday Monday.  We got this wrong!
  5. Find out where the locals eat and shop. Mike asked at our first hotel where was a good place to eat. He was told down by the river- we had several meals at this place. It was a fabulous find.  It was much cheaper than the restaurants in the Old Town that ramped up their prices to Euro level. ie A coke cost R70, where as at the river restaurant it was only R20!  Generally, everything gets less expensive the further from the main tourist area you get. That includes the Grand Bazaar that had inflated prices in most of the stalls. There was one stall that had a ‘fixed price’ sign and their prices were reasonable.

Istanbul is an interesting and vibrant city. It represents part of Turkey but by far and away not all. The prices in Turkey have sky-rocketed over the last year. Once known as financially friendly for South Africans, we didn’t expect so many of the prices to be based on Euro costs. That came as a bit of a shock. If you are ever going to be in Istanbul, bear this in mind.

Back to today, I got some exercise. Mike and I went for a jog to Glencairn and back. We are thinking that we may do this on a regular basis and if the weather is good to go to the beach on our way back and have a dip. In winter, I don’t think I have it in me to swim for half an hour, so a run and dip would work well. We’ll see.

And friends came over to visit. It was good to see Riana, Ingrid and Ulindi. That provided a nice lunchtime respite from work.

Weekend already.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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Sea and Silence

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Helga

Thursday

Dear Elsie

Today was the day I appreciated so much the sea and the silence. It’s significant that when I go away for a while, when I come home, I appreciate so much more what I have here.  I don’t want to live anywhere else in the world. The early morning view from my rocking chair.

As I sat in my rocking chair this morning, my reflections were how it came to be. I didn’t even know I needed a rocking chair! When I saw it at Cyril’s, I tried it out and liked it, but thought I didn’t have a spot for it. That evening, I realised I did. Suddenly, I had to have the rocking chair, so I whatsapp’d Cyril and asked him to keep it for me.  And so on 23rd July 2021, it arrived.

It has been a place of prayer, Bible reading, relaxation, conversation, peace and rest.  Friends have enjoyed it; there has been laughter and tears; heartaches shared, encouragement given and the view enjoyed. What a treasure and all the time I didn’t know I needed it! My bedroom seems to be the triangle of my life. From bed to my rocking chair to my desk, all just meters apart. Today I thought of all this as I sat in it and appreciated the view of the sea and silence of the morning.

I started work just before 8am and ended more than 8 hours later, so still no exercise has been done today. That needs to change. Before our holiday I was out the door at 7am so I could be back by 8am, but now it’s still dark at 7am, so I end up saying I’ll walk during the day but work swamps me and before I know it, the day is over. Perhaps my walking time will be 5-6pm.  I’ll figure something out.

David and Anna will come up in a little while, so it’s time to put this to bed.

Psalm 119:89-90
Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

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Elsie’s 7th Birthday

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Helga

Wednesday

Dear Elsie

Yay!!! You turned 7.  You went to school with a bunch of delicious cupcakes.

Your Mom made you an enormous beanbag which you love…&, among other gifts,  you also got hoola hoop.

I loved speaking to you and wee are looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks when we’ll bring our gifts too.  I can’t wait for you to see what I’ve bought you.

For us, we slept very well last night. My watch tells me I’ve slept for 9 hours and 3 minutes. I’ve done very few steps today though. Tomorrow I’m going to have to start walking again and catch up. I did work for more than 8 hours.

We woke up to no electricity and with all the rain, Mike realised the solar had dropped to 10% and shut down, so he went to the plant room and switched over to utility. The battery power has crept back up today although it continued to be overcast and drizzly. No doubt it will be the sunshine of tomorrow that helps it to 100% and we will be back to normal.

The predominant feeling now we are home from holiday is peace and quiet. Istanbul was alive with hustle and bustle, squawking birds & wailing cats, screeching cars and hooting busses, bawling hawkers and rabid carpet sellers. I didn’t realise I was constantly surrounded by so much noise until I came home and am now am embracing a beautiful silence.

A profitable and blessed day.Psalm 119:24
Your statutes are my delight; they are my counsellors.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

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Best Flight Home Ever

Posted on May 20, 2025 by Helga

Tuesday 20th May 2025

Dearest Elsie

Tomorrow is your birthday and I am so excited for you. You are turning 7! I’m sorry I won’t be there to celebrate with you but will see you in a couple of weeks and have our own delayed celebration then!

Today was the day we got home from our 34 nights holiday. While we dreaded the flight home, the low expectation paid off and it was probably the best flight home we’ve ever had. The plane was half empty. We had booked an aisle and window seat in the hope that no one would get put in the middle seat. That has worked for us in the past. The flight ran late.

It meant hanging (sleepily) around the airport a bit longer. We ended up finding seats and joined the boarding queue late in the process, getting on towards the end. There were not too many people behind us so when we got to our seats and found the back part of the plane very empty, we were very hopeful! Mike slipped across the aisle and bagged himself a row of empty seats in the middle. The doors closed and all the pre-flight instructions commenced. That was when the guy who occupied the row in front of mine moved forward a row and so Mike took the 3 seats in front of mine. Each of us enjoyed a 3-seat bed and for Mike it was the first overnight flight that he’s had a decent amount of sleep! There was an abundance of empty seats.

Mike sleeping.

As a result, the flight went by faster than usual. I was awake at 6.10am and funnily enough on the plane map it came up to say the current time was 6.10am and we had 6.10 (hours & minutes) to go before arrival.

The flight was altogether uneventful and soon we had landed. They were told to let us out the other side of the airport and bus us to the terminal building. Oh joy! It was pouring with rain! We got a good photo of the plane from the bus.

We caught a Bolt home and arrived home just about 3.30pm. What a treat. The thing that struck me as I walked into my bedroom was the spectacular view we have. It may not be the Bosphorus with all it’s history but I’ll take Cape Town & False Bay over Istanbul any day, even with a drizzly homecoming.

Courage was here to meet us. Mike is very happy with the work he has done in our absence. He’s rebuilding the stairs and has done a fabulous job.  Raiku was also home and came to greet me a little quizzically – as if to ask, ‘were have you been?’ He happily let me  pick him and give him a hearty cuddle. He is looking very well and certainly seems a little heavier….

…which I am too – 2kg heavier than when I left.

David arrived home and we had a quick catch-up with him. He will come up for dinner a little later.

My heart is full of gratitude that we took 3 lots of antibiotics with us and needed none. We weren’t sick, weren’t mugged, lost nothing & everything went to plan. Very grateful that we have been away 34 nights and travelled in the region of 25000km without mishap.

Psalm 100:4-5
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

 

 

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Asian Side of Istanbul

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Helga

Monday

Dear Elsie,

Today was our LAST day of holiday and we spent it by going across the Bosphorus to the Asian side of Istanbul. What we didn’t know or expect as we walked out our hotel this morning was there would be 1000s of people on the streets. I thought it would be quiet. After all, it was a Monday. Completely unbeknown to us is the Commemoration of Ataturk falls on 19th May. The day was warm and sunny and the crowds came out in droves. We started by catching a tram

We were squashed in like sardines! It took us 4 stops to the ferry port, where there were more crowds, pushing and shoving. We took our places amongst them.

Once on the ferry, there was plenty of seating inside, so we found a window and off we went. Cunard’s Queen Victoria is in port.

View from the ferry on the Bosphorus.

We arrived at the Asian side of Istanbul. This was as the ferry docked. Look at all the hundreds of people waiting to get on the ferry!

The Asian side was very busy but completely lacked the persistent street sellers of the Europe side. It was busy but calm. We walked down towards the bridge passing through a picturesque park.

Fishermen fishing on the Asian side with European Istanbul across the water…

The bridge that joins the two…

We bought cappuccino. I spilled half a cappuccino on the table.  I was actually really irritated because no one could speak English, people had pushed in & took our cappuccino order so when I finally got them, I was ready to leave. Then they were boiling hot in paper cups and when I put them down, one of them toppled. I’d had enough so  walked out to get some air after the mishap, leaving Mike and Julian scrambling to clean it up! Oops!

The day immediately improved by the arrival of a friend for Teddy.

He was so cute. Blue Teddy was made by hand by a lady who was sitting on the grass chatting with her friend. The friend spoke a bit of English and proudly announced how it was made by her friend by hand. For R125 it was worth it. I told them it was going back to South Africa and they were very happy. That was a local industry I was happy to support. They didn’t even try selling it to me. They were sitting chatting on the grass and had a few things laid out on the sidewalk. The family will know where he is going! Future family reading this,  Blue Teddy was bought today on the Asian side of Istanbul.

The ferry ride home was on a smaller, equally busy ferry. I’m not sure if you can see all the people lining the water.

Back on the Western side, we crammed joyfully (not) into the tram (even more people than on the way) and so got off a stop early and walked the rest of the way. From the tramlines.

We got back to the hotel and have spent the rest of the afternoon peacefully in the lounge. I’m actually in the dining room and have done some work.

In half an hour we will have dinner and then at 8pm head for the airport.

Psalm 118:29
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

 

 

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Perhaps In Istanbul

Posted on May 18, 2025 by Helga

Sunday

Dear Elsie

The other day I saw something on Instagram about how to better understand difficult people. It was with the word ‘perhaps’. “Perhaps they are having a bad day.” “Perhaps they have lost someone recently and are not coping emotionally.” “Perhaps they have no money and life is very hard.” And it’s this last ‘Perhaps’ that most likely applies to the people of Istanbul. The residents, shopkeepers, stall managers, informal sellers all seem unhappy. Collectively, they seem to need to fleece tourists for a little more.

Today as we walked the streets of Istanbul, something happened that caught our attention. Julian had mentioned he had watched a You Tube video of a couple who had visited Istanbul and while they were walking the streets, a shoe shine man was walking down the road and accidentally dropped his shoe shine brush. The couple picked it up and called after him to return it. He was effuse with gratitude and insisted he give them a free shoe shine. They said, ‘no, not necessary’ but in fine Istanbul style, he insisted and got his way. Once done, he said, ‘that will be….’ and charged them for what was supposed to a thank you! So imagine my surprise today when we were walking down the street when a young guy on the side of the street got up and walked off and as he did so, he dropped his shoe-shine brush! I immediately turned to pick up what he had dropped, saw it was a brush and immediately gasped and walked on!

For everyone in Istanbul prices have sky rocketed and needs are greater than ever.  When we got home today, this story came up on my news feed.

Cost of Living in Istanbul Quadruples

As we spend our last 24 hours in this city, we find ourselves more compassionate & we will have greater understanding.

We walked for MILES today. We first caught the tram, hopped off by the bridge to walk to the Galata tower seen in this pic. The blue railing is the start of the bridge.

There is a lot happening on the bridge. Fishermen.

Lots and lots of fishermen, both sides of the road. They seem to be very successful in catching small to medium size fish.

Lots of water traffic from the bridge.

We got to the Galata tower, but decided not to queue for 2 hours to go up it.

We came back via a staircase built decades ago by a Jewish family.

Opposite it was a massive building which used to be a bank and is now a museum and library.

Inside was this view…we had coffee at the restaurant, used their WIFI and looked at a very unusual technical display downstairs.

Back on the street, these were other scenes that caught our attention. Cat cubbies

We returned the way we came, but decided to forgo the tram and walked back to the hotel. On the way we found a park. It was beautiful. It is spring in Istanbul and all the trees are getting their leaves.

After 15000 steps, we got back to the hotel. Tonight is our last night in this bed. Then it’s one night on the plane and God willing, we will be home midday on Tuesday. Another good day.

Psalm 118:8
It is better to take refuge in the Lord that to trust in humans.

It’s not about now – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Gran xx 🙂

 

 

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