Alone but not lonely

Because of all my work travels, I've gotten accustomed to dining out alone. As a matter of fact, sometimes I rather enjoy it--I can bring something to read or do some people-watching, I can be on my own schedule, etc. But every now and then I run into situations where it's incredibly awkward, and Friday night was just such a time.

I decided to try what I had heard was one of the trendiest restaurants in Istanbul. When I got there and asked if they had a table for one, they looked at me like I was a leper but pitied me and seated me near the bar. I quickly realised that dining out alone--not only in that culture, but especially at a see-and-be-seen place like that--is Just Not Done. It was probably 10 minutes before any of the unsmiling waiters acknowledged my presence, and although my food came incredibly quickly, when I was finished I swear my waiter was going out of his way not to make eye contact. In fairness, he had a bunch of tables of four so it's only natural that his priorities would be there, but I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to get up and physically accost him just to get my check (you'd think that they would want to get me out of there as quickly as possible if my presence was bringing the hipness quotient down). In the end I'm glad I went because the views were amazing and the food wasn't bad, but I also learned my lesson about dining alone.