Istanbul ~ Friday June 3, 2011

The shipment from China with more tier #3 for the big red chandeliers arrived, but many of the pieces were broken.

Jay and I worked to finish the amber glass sculpture for the restaurant . . .

 

while underneath our scaffold a man was putting copper leaf of the bar front . . .

The banquet glass panels were laid out to see what needed a final polish . . . they had not been done before they were sent, and we cannot use them as they are . . .

 Taking photos of the scratches in the surface, with the red chandelier in the reflection of the glass panel.

 Our Turkish hotel workers, standing behind the unfinished reception area . . .

 Jay is off to the airport, leaving a week early to get back to NYC to take care of some business . . .

Off to the bus to the airport. There are buses that leave from near Taksim Square every half hour and go the airport . . .

Chandeliers with the new wood screens in place . . .

Kathy cleaning the completed amber sculpture . . .

Sushi bar glass panels being put in place. We did a trial run to place them in the sushi bar to see if they would fit. Unfortunately one side of the bar was built about .75" off, so our glass does not fit. This will have to be resolved and the wood bullnose bar front be repositioned to allow the glass to go in. One side fit perfectly, and was the correct measurement, but the other side of the bar was not built to specs, and is too short . . . so this will have to be resolved before we can install the panels . . .

The dust cocoon for the sculptures . . . it is so dirty and dusty all around with construction still in progress, that as soon as we finish something, it is covered in dust. This is to protect the sculpture from some of the dust ~ however the plastic is open on the sides! I guess it protects it 50%!

Leaving the hotel, and walking back to Divan City where we are staying . . .

Inter Continental Hotel next door. They are supposed to have a wonderful view from their bar at the top of their hotel, overlooking the Bosphorus . . . maybe tomorrow we will go up and have a look . . .

A sculpture in a bank window on the walk home . . .

And Home Depot Turkish style ~ Home depot seems to be run by the Koc family, the owners of the Divan Hotels (and so much of Turkey!) We were looking for shims for the sushi bar, as the metal frame underneath the glass is not level, and we need to shim the panels in place . . .

We met Luc and Juliana in the bowling alley in the mall (where Home Depot is) for a game before dinner. There is a full arcade, including a roller coaster, which unfortunately was not running . . .

Luc the winner!

Then back to the hotel for dinner, and to bed by 10:30 . . .

I saw Simge after lunch, before her last final as she stopped by the hotel on her way to her exam . . . We were not able to meet up later in the evening, but it was wonderful to see her so often and be so near to her apartment, to know where she is and where she lives . . . She is off to her home near the Black Sea tomorrow, so we will not see each other again on this trip . . . Maybe the next time I will see her, she will be in America . . .