back to Turkey...

No, we're NOT moving back to Izmir! but it sort of felt like being there on Saturday.

We visited Brunnenmarkt in the 16th district of Vienna. Lots of veggies, fruit, shoes, cheeses...

and lots of people from the Balkans and surroundings. We heard languages from the former Yugoslavia, Romanian, Polish, Turkish and saw stalls held by Indians.

It was a lot messier than Bostanli market but hearing stall holders calling out "buyurun" and seeing signs with the price indicated next to "ekmek" (bread) felt familiar even without the sun and the sea. When we saw a Turkish restaurant in the middle of the market it made us nostalgic for the food, so we went in for lunch.

I had some "sarma" and veggies, and Steph had a "tavuk" (chicken) kebab and couldn't resist the baklava and çay. Wouldn't you know it, the owner of the place comes from Izmir.

While we were there, we tried out Emma's new portable "high-chair" in preparation for our holidays in Croatia. Actually, it's pretty handy having our own portable baby highchair wherever we go since a lot of places don't keep them and especially now that Emma can eat most of what we eat and wants to "participate" a bit more.

On Sunday, we went to another restaurant we had spotted a while ago, off Mariahilferstrasse: VaPiano. A really nice environment with a good concept: Pizza, Pasta and Salads (as well as drinks and desserts) tailor made with the toppings/content of your choice. Yummy, central, affordable, non smoking (there is a small smoking area), ideal for a quick lunch, and - they have highchairs for kids!

VaPiano in Vienna: Theobaldgasse, 19, Wien 1060 - Tel:01/581 12 12