Güle Güle, Istanbul!

With 31 days behind me and 24 more hours to go in this city, I still have a lot of things I need to do. Here's a quick run-down of what could be the craziest hours of my life.

• 1. Get washed down, scrubbed up, and massaged all over at a hamam. Preferably at the local, cheaper ones, where only old men with big, round tummies go. Since I've been keeping clean in an improvised shower stall for the past month (think leaky basin, curtains strung across with string, and a stubborn shower head), this should feel sublime.

• 2. Haggle my way through the Grand Bazaar. That 300-lira pink turban with a fake emerald and a peacock's feather? Let's make that 30, shall we?

• 3. Stuff my face with the last of my Turkish pastries list. After averaging 2-3 pastries a day (go waistline!), I've narrowed down my list to 6 things now, all bursting with sugary, syrupy, buttery goodness. The plan? Sit down at my favorite pastry shop and watch the waiters' jaws drop as I order a table full of pastries- for myself.

• 4. Pay the baker. The other day I tried to hand him a 100-lira note for 3-liras worth of sandwiches. Sorry! It was the only cash I had (blame the ATM). Since I'm a repeat customer, he shook his head, saying (I think) "yarin sabah," or tomorrow morning. So I left without paying. Here's to hoping he didn't call the police yet.
• 5. Take a shot of raki. For good luck.
  

• 6. Pack. Nuff said.

I'll be gone in day, but I'm not done with you yet, Istanbul.