I really ought to tell you more about my last big trip. The one to Turkey and Greece. The one I've been home from now for a couple of months.
I've avoided writing about it. I'll admit it. Writing about it would bring a sense of finality and finish-ment that I wasn't ready for.
You see. It was THE.BEST.TRIP.EVER.
Not even kidding.
So today I'll tell you about the beginning.
It all started with the airplane jitters. The excitement of packing and prepping and not sleeping the night before a trip. I love that process! I love leaving work for the last time before a trip and feeling that fabulously freeing sense of having nothing left to do. No responsibilities to take care of. No jobs to finish. Only fun things to think about and adventure on the horizon!
SFO>JFK. Pause for a failed attempt at sleeping on the floor in JFK's American terminal. Big fat FAIL, American, BTW for having the chairs with built in armrests between each seat instead of the big benches late travelers can sleep on.
JFK>LHR (I really love Heathrow airport. I'm not sure why. I just do.) Pause for a good night's rest in the airport Marriott.
LHR>IST... First REAL Destination acquired!
I stayed in a great little hotel called Sarnic Hotel in Sultanhemet, which is located literally a block (as the crow flies) kitty-corner to the Blue Mosque. Great location. The beds were a bit on the hard side, but it was a pleasant place with very friendly staff.
Three nights and three days I spent exploring Istanbul. It's the kind of place that goes on forever. It's the kind of place you could explore and explore and explore until you finally reach the end of it only to have to turn around and explore it all over again because it'll never be the same in two instances. Kind of like New York. With more falafel.
My favorite part of Istanbul? Topkapi palace. Because it's kind of amazing. And the Byzantine Cistern. So very cool. No wait, maybe it was the Grand Bazaar. Or sailing up and down the Bosporus?
You see, every part of Istanbul is both foreign and grand and comfortable. It is the stuff that Western filmmakers have made their movies and our dreams of since film began. You've seen these places in pictures and movies your whole life, only you didn't know it was Istanbul! Istanbul is an amazing combination of comfortable, foreign and hospitality. It's a wonderfully enriching travel experience.
Visit Istanbul. Trust me on this one. Just go.
I've avoided writing about it. I'll admit it. Writing about it would bring a sense of finality and finish-ment that I wasn't ready for.
You see. It was THE.BEST.TRIP.EVER.
Not even kidding.
So today I'll tell you about the beginning.
It all started with the airplane jitters. The excitement of packing and prepping and not sleeping the night before a trip. I love that process! I love leaving work for the last time before a trip and feeling that fabulously freeing sense of having nothing left to do. No responsibilities to take care of. No jobs to finish. Only fun things to think about and adventure on the horizon!
SFO>JFK. Pause for a failed attempt at sleeping on the floor in JFK's American terminal. Big fat FAIL, American, BTW for having the chairs with built in armrests between each seat instead of the big benches late travelers can sleep on.
JFK>LHR (I really love Heathrow airport. I'm not sure why. I just do.) Pause for a good night's rest in the airport Marriott.
LHR>IST... First REAL Destination acquired!
I stayed in a great little hotel called Sarnic Hotel in Sultanhemet, which is located literally a block (as the crow flies) kitty-corner to the Blue Mosque. Great location. The beds were a bit on the hard side, but it was a pleasant place with very friendly staff.
Three nights and three days I spent exploring Istanbul. It's the kind of place that goes on forever. It's the kind of place you could explore and explore and explore until you finally reach the end of it only to have to turn around and explore it all over again because it'll never be the same in two instances. Kind of like New York. With more falafel.
My favorite part of Istanbul? Topkapi palace. Because it's kind of amazing. And the Byzantine Cistern. So very cool. No wait, maybe it was the Grand Bazaar. Or sailing up and down the Bosporus?
You see, every part of Istanbul is both foreign and grand and comfortable. It is the stuff that Western filmmakers have made their movies and our dreams of since film began. You've seen these places in pictures and movies your whole life, only you didn't know it was Istanbul! Istanbul is an amazing combination of comfortable, foreign and hospitality. It's a wonderfully enriching travel experience.
Visit Istanbul. Trust me on this one. Just go.
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