February 23, 2015
2.08pm We are at the Abbasi Tea House, where a coffee costs 80.000 Ril (2 euro) + 23% tax, while for lunch we paid 10.000 Ril (about 2.50 euro) for two delicious dizi and two chai in a tiny place at the bazaar.
The Abbasi Tea House is part of a luxury hotel, with a restroom that is continuosly kept clean. And there’s wifi. It’s one of the main reasons why we come here.
This morning we started the day off at the Masjed-e Jameh, the largest mosque in Iran. It’s amazing, with majolica and bricks perfectly mixed together. After that we walked through the bazaar, we bought some spices, and we ended at Imam Square; later we came here at the Abbasi for toilet and refurbishments. It’s a teahouse for foreigners and rich Iranians .
I love to walk through the bazaar. It’s a gallery with shops on both sides that develops along many tiny streets, it’s easy to get lost too; the main street basically connects Imam Square to Masjed-e Jameh.
Now we’re going to Jolfa, the Armen quarter, and to see the bridges on the Zayandeh, the river in Isfahan.
3pm We had a little snack made with hot corn with chips, mushrooms, majo, salt, pepper and spices. Not my favorite, the mix was too weird for me.
7pm We are at a restaurant opposite our hotel. We are having two chickens with rice. Coming here we stopped at the Abbasi again, to go to the toilet (without having drinks this time). It’s like a relaxing place for foreigners. The sofas along the corridor were occupied by us two and two Chinese guys, all busy checking emails and Instagram (the only Social Media currently allowed in this country).
I loved the bridges and the Armenian area, with churches, small squares, and coffee shops everywhere. Different from the usual Iran. All the coffee you want (not so easy to find), and made the Italian way!
During the three days we spent in Isfahan we visited a lot: Masjed-e Jameh, Zayandeh, Jolfa, Kakh-e Chehel Sotun, a palace with a beautiful garden where we met some female students on a school trip, that enjoyed talking to us for a bit. But at the end of the day we always went back to Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Square, the huge main square in Isfahan, probably one of the most beautiful in the world. Truly impressive.
From Isfahan we took a night bus directly to Tehran airport, so we didn’t have to go back to the capital and then to the airport, that is not so well connected. It was a scary trip because the chauffer was driving like crazy, as usual, but we made it safe and sound.
