Oldcity Viva Hotel Istanbul

... So, please- when Mel and I get a place, and if any of you come over, please ask for a cup of tea, so that it makes all this worth while!

While the Grand Bazaar was a bit less than expected, the Spice Bazaar was great! Cheese, buts, baklava, Turkish Delights, and spices, with many places giving out samples of each (well, the spices didn't really interest me- we can't really do much with a bag of fresh paprika-but the rest was great!)

The night was also pretty nice; we ...

... peninsula will reveal ancient Roman hippodromes, peristyles, and aqueducts, the greatest excesses of the Byzantine Empire, the mystique and power of the Ottoman Empire, and the relentless hassling by the merchant class. As a religious center (heart of the Greek Orthodox Church as well as the Islamic faith for centuries), Istanbul is the custodian of one of the world's most important cultural heritages and home to some of the world's most opulent displays of art and ...

... she had received from her hotel on a previous trip to Istanbul, and it had four different walking tours mapped out. It was the best map we saw.

The first walking tour took us to the impressive Aghia Sophia Mosque, which is now a museum. We spent quite some time looking at the giant calligraphy, stunning wall mosaics of glass and stone, beautiful glass windows, painted designs, and architecture. It was comissioned by Emperor Justinian to help restore the greatness of the ...

... Got a little lost for 3 or 4 hours but no harm done, beautiful scenery to gaze upon and wide open two-lane highway to whip along on... We flew back to Istanbul from Kayseri and spent our last night with our friend Hakan once again, watched a movie, ate a wonderful meal and on our last morning in Istanbul we made our way to the airport to head back to France. It is worth mentioning that on the day of our departure our main man Mr. Obama was in Istanbul which meant that the entire ...

... it.  Yippeee-no lost luggage for me this time! Next up was getting transportation into Istanbul.  Somehow, I managed to get a taxi for 120 Turkish lira.  That was a huge score as it was a ride to the hotel, a 4 hour private ride/tour of Istanbul, and return rides for both groups to the airport on Monday!!!!!  After getting to the hotel, we dropped off our luggage in our rooms and then went to wait for our driver and guide to ...

... by and add them up. The winner was Asda with a total of 6 trucks, although amazingly it was in last place before we passed into Scotland. Next up was Sainsbury's and Tesco both with 4, Waitrose and M+S both with 2, and last but not least was Summerfield with 1. I know what you're thinking; yes, I could very well be mad but id like to think that there was method in my madness as it helped pass the time a little. I was never so delighted to get off a bus when it finally arrived into ...

... anyways fairly sure we would be able to get back if it took us somewhere else When we got off the ferry, we wanted to double check that we would be able to get back again and that we had somewhat of the right idea. Unfortunately, we could not find anyone ANYWHERE who could speak a handful of English.- so in very broken communication, we were fairly certain that we knew what was going on. Kadikoy was a happening place with ...

... for me to join her. Now I've been known to shake a few moves in my time but this was live belly dancing to a restaurant full of strangers. Worse still I was with my parents! Well I didnt want to embarass her so I got up and shook a few moves. Could I sit down now? she kept saying something to me but I couldn't understand. I pulled a few more moves ...

... empty! We skipped rocks on the Sea, Alie saw a huge wild boar (I just heard it), and we hiked in the woods. It was a crazy trek to get back to the bus in time (we had to run), and the next morning flew back to Istanbul. Alie and I stayed at the Hotel Empress Sophie, a beautiful old-school hotel...all historic, but modern and clean. It was next to the Four Seasons, and looks about the same...I think Four Seasons paid them to clean it up and improve the ...

I've been back on solid ground for four days and I still feel this swaying sensation. It's very odd! The boat trip was something wonderful. Each night we anchored in a different cove or bay and swam in the crystal waters. Sometimes by the light of the full moon. The day typically began slowly waking with the sun to watch it rise and then just laying beneath your covers as the sky became brighter and the heat began to kick in. One by one people would appear and greet you ...