Istanbul, Turkey
Today was a fairly uneventful travel day. We had originally planned to visit another French town on the way back to the airport, but sleepiness and rainy weather got the best of us and we decided to sleep in a little and head straight to the airport instead.
Today we were back at Charles de Gaulle – this time in Terminal 3 – a much smaller, older, way less hectic terminal. There was no jetway leading to the plane so we actually boarded a bus, rode out to the runway and then walked up the steps of the plane – kind of like the President.
It was a much smoother flight and Josh was particularly thrilled that we got upgraded to exit row seats with more leg room. We flew with AtlasGlobal and I must say looking at the flight attendants made me feel like we were back in 1960.
They all looked like matching super models – tall, thin with bright red lips, red nails, and 4 inch red heels. There were no less than 3 outfit changes during our flight. I left feeling a sudden urge to watch Mad Men and drink an Old Fashioned.
After the 3.5 hour flight and the one hour time change, we arrived in Turkey around 7:30 p.m. Josh had prearranged a car to pick us up, but they lost our reservation. We had to wait a little longer – but luckily everything worked out – and we rode to the hotel in a tricked-out van with blue interior lights, tinted windows and shag rugs.
Our hotel is right in the center of many of the cities’ main attractions on a curvy, cobblestone street. I thought our driver was going to run over a couple people while flying around the curves.
The hotel staff has been amazing! As soon as we arrived, they have been on top of everything. The bell hop offered us tea as soon as we walked in and then the concierge sat down with us in the lobby to show us important locations on the map, provide us with a language guide and answer any questions. After that, they carried our bags up to the room and gave us address cards so that we could call if we needed any assistance while out and about in the city. I definitely plan on leaving a great review.
We arrived in our room just in time to hear the 9:00 pm Ezan ringing from a nearby mosque. Too tired to go looking for food, we decided to try out the hotel restaurant. This turned out to be a great idea! The staff was the same as the hotel and the quality of service was exemplary again. We thoroughly enjoyed our traditional Turkish meal.
Josh had an Adana Kebab (ground minced meat on a skewer) with roasted tomatos, peppers, rice and steamed veggies. I had a restaurant creation, Kebab Topkapi (lamb, eggplant, tomato and peppers with a tomato sauce and rice).
After dinner, despite being full and exhausted, the staff insisted we have dessert and Love Tea – on the house.
Tomorrow, we’re planning to explore the city – but for now, were enjoying the view of the street from our window and relaxing in this super cool round bed!
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