The Wheel and Axle

And it was all so glorious!

Tehran

We stayed in Seven Hostels, a cheap yet very clean hostel. There were a lot of foreigners staying here, and the service and helpfulness of the staff were top-notch.

Free unlimited breakfast at the hostel! We would learn that hostels everywhere we went had breakfast provisions that were always unlimited.

Our first lunch in Iran meant we just had to try their traditional kebabs. We found a simple restaurant close to the hostel and immediately ordered the kebabs. This was friggin’ inexpensive! And quite big. Yes, even bigger than Behrouz’s portions here in Manila.

Shiraz

In Shiraz, we stayed at Niayesh Boutique Hostel, which is an affiliate of the 7 Hostels Group. They had excellent restaurants and dining halls. We would have lunch in the traditional… huts, I guess? And we had to sit this way. The carpets and place mats, by the way, were gorgeous.

We had dinner in the Persian/Italian resto Quattro, which was on the second floor and overlooked the open courtyard of the hotel grounds below. On the first night, we had roast beef pizza! The following evening, we had some more Persian food, and I tried a vegetarian version of their kofta balls.

In the mornings, we would eat at the grand breakfast hall.

Of course, we also took time to explore food beyond the hotel. We found a small shop near the bazaars; it sold corn with salty yogurt plus different fruit juices. I had my first taste of pomegranate juice. Yum!

Pasargadae

During our tour of Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam, and the Tomb of Cyrus, one of the stops was lunch at a traditional restaurant in Pasargadae. The cost of the lunch was already part of the package, which was arranged through Niayesh Boutique Hotel.

Bambdad Home not only served tasty food unique to the area. It in itself was a lovely Persian house that hearkens back to the days of yesteryear (but with WiFi!).

Isfahan

In Isfahan, we stayed in another Seven Hostels affiliate, which was branded as Seven Hostel as well as Orchid Hotel. It’s in the city center and about 10-15 minutes of walking to the Square and the Bazaar. Although a bit pricier than the Tehran and Shiraz hostels, it’s still reasonable and affordable. They serve free unlimited breakfast as well, more similar to the Tehran fare than the Shiraz fare.

During our day exploring the Grand Bazaar, we found a quaint little resto located on the second floor of a row of shops and dining places. The food was also kebab, but the preparation was slightly different. And the presentation? Just artistic and fabulous.

We had ice cream and coffee in the afternoon at a cafe near the bridge of Si-o-se-pol. I tried the Turkish coffee – another first for me. It was strong, thick, and just delicious. And the ice cream was an excellent blend of different fruits.

For dinner, we found another place – slightly more expensive but still affordable and always delicious – in the Grand Bazaar. This was another place where we had to sit Indian-style. A bit difficult at times to eat sitting that way, but as they say, when in Rome…!

Also, as with almost all places we ate, the portions were always generous.

Just thinking about all the Persian food we ate makes my mouth water.