* Being met at the airport by a guy holding a sign with my name on it
* For J, being allowed to smoke on the bus driven by the guy who met us at the airport holding a sign with my name on it.
* Cruising the crazy backstreets of the dodgy neighbourhood around our 5 star business hotel and checking out the way people lived.
* Having a colleague with me to confirm that these were in fact the worst and most frustrating project meetings in the whole entire world
* All the free nibblies (nuts, carrot sticks, popcorn) that came with drinks in the hotel bar after long long days of boring boring meetings
* Having J there with me to share drinks in the bar after long long days of boring boring meetings
* The heated outdoor swimming pool - 39 degrees - and the steamroom in the hotel fitness centre
* Cruising the local food market and taking in all the sights and smells
* J would say the turkish delight and turkish tea
* I would say the prolific availability of baklava
* Leaving the business hotel and heading into the old city to stay
* Discovering the blue mosque out our bedroom window
* Drinking free wine on the rooftop terrace as the sun went down
* The walk home along the waterfront after dinner
* The crazy meal in a random local restaurant where the waiters just kept bring delicious dish after delicous dish
* Finally seeing the Grand Bazaar
* Finally finding my perfect brown leather travel bag, at the Grand Bazaar...I am soooo looking forward to using it for my next travel in a couple of weeks...shame that Birmingham and Amsterdam don't offer quite the same sense of exotic allure as Istanbul...oh well, can't be spoilt rotten all the time :) xxx
1 comment:
Istanbul!!! Amazing in one way, bizzare the next..(no pun intended)..Pumkin for dessert?? The pool was sooooo warm that after a few laps, you began to sweat..But, the Grand Bazzaar was awesome apart from constantly being hassled...The Turkish Delight, was delightful, especially the hazelnut delight, the Raki gives you headaches, 20 million or so people makes things a little crowded..Would I go again, yessirree, no questions...
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