So we farewelled London with a dinner of roast pork and red wine with two of our loveliest girlfriends (will post pics as soon as my laptop is up-and-running), and early the next morning we set off to Luton - heaven help me - for our flıght to Istanbul.
Thankfully both our three hour flight and subsequent hourlong bus ride to our hotel were event-free; unfortunately it seems we've brought a years' worth of London rain with us.
From what we can see, through the teeming rain, Istanbul is indeed a vibrant city. Stretching across two continents, it is also one of the oldest cities (excavation in 2008 unearthed evidence of a Neolithic settlement dating from circa 6500 BC). Today we managed eight hours on foot (on both the Asian and European sides) and we barely made a dent in the map. We did, however, manage a trip to the renowned Grand Bazaar - the largest covered markets ın the world, with more than 2,000 stalls crammed into 58 streets - although Boyfriend kept me on a tight leash when we passed the jewellery stores so sadly, I left empty handed.
While the food so far hasn't impressed us too much, we're both big fans of their Turkish tea and coffee. With two cubes of sugar per tiny serving, it's hard not to like stuff!
Along with a serious caffiene addiction, it appears every man, woman and child in Turkey smokes. And if our current hotel is anything to go by, our rooms will be filled with the sweet (suffocating) scent of tobacco for the next five weeks. Boyfriend - who hasn't smoked in two and a half years - even had a dream last night that he was lighting up. My hair reeks and my skin is dry. Add to that the sadness that is my soaking Alberta Ferretti parka and my almost-mush Converse trainers, I go to bed on this our second night, one sad panda*.
Apology: Without Wireless internet my laptop is sitting idle, so any of the photos I post are borrowed from Google images. When I figure out a way to upload my own pics I promise I will... in retrospect too!
*For you... my darling Anna!
Thankfully both our three hour flight and subsequent hourlong bus ride to our hotel were event-free; unfortunately it seems we've brought a years' worth of London rain with us.
From what we can see, through the teeming rain, Istanbul is indeed a vibrant city. Stretching across two continents, it is also one of the oldest cities (excavation in 2008 unearthed evidence of a Neolithic settlement dating from circa 6500 BC). Today we managed eight hours on foot (on both the Asian and European sides) and we barely made a dent in the map. We did, however, manage a trip to the renowned Grand Bazaar - the largest covered markets ın the world, with more than 2,000 stalls crammed into 58 streets - although Boyfriend kept me on a tight leash when we passed the jewellery stores so sadly, I left empty handed.
While the food so far hasn't impressed us too much, we're both big fans of their Turkish tea and coffee. With two cubes of sugar per tiny serving, it's hard not to like stuff!
Along with a serious caffiene addiction, it appears every man, woman and child in Turkey smokes. And if our current hotel is anything to go by, our rooms will be filled with the sweet (suffocating) scent of tobacco for the next five weeks. Boyfriend - who hasn't smoked in two and a half years - even had a dream last night that he was lighting up. My hair reeks and my skin is dry. Add to that the sadness that is my soaking Alberta Ferretti parka and my almost-mush Converse trainers, I go to bed on this our second night, one sad panda*.
Apology: Without Wireless internet my laptop is sitting idle, so any of the photos I post are borrowed from Google images. When I figure out a way to upload my own pics I promise I will... in retrospect too!
*For you... my darling Anna!
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