As Beau described in his food post, the Pera neighborhood is the place to go when your belly starts talking to you.  It is also a place to fill your appetite for design.  Several of the restaurants crowding the alleyway are beautifully finished in eclectic or retro-modern decor.  The street comes alive as the sun sets and young trendy Turkish people and ex-pats fill the restaurants.  There is an open free flowing feel between the restaurants as well as between the interior and exterior of each space.  It was the perfect place to catch up with some of best friends from home that had made the long journey to Turkey. 
  The Pera area is also filled with boutique hotels and small fashion boutiques .  Our boutique hotel, Pera Tulip, was a delight to stay in and elegantly designed.  The finishes and furniture tastefully complimented the historic architecture of the area but keep a modern aesthetic.  Every time we stay in great hotels like this I get excited about design.

The fashion boutiques ranged from edgy structured designs to retro and funky.  Beau and I picked up a few t-shirts to replace the ones with holes from the African camp fires.  I guess this was an excuse to shop, but then again, it's nice to have a little piece of Pera.