This trip started off well... my alarm didn't go off. I woke
up at 8:30, the time I was actually supposed to leave my flat for the train
station. OOPS, so I booked it for the door and hoped I had everything. I made
it JUST in time to meet Mollie and Jeff at the train station before the train
got there. Once we made it o the airport, we waiting grabbed our boarding
passes, waited in line for security, then rushed to our gate only to find out
that we were going to be delayed for a bit. About 20 minutes later they let us
board the plane. We then waited over an HOUR for a ONE single passenger that
was not on the plane. So it was time to take off, or so I though since we were
taxiing on the runway, but nope, we had to turn around to get the excess
baggage off the plane from that very same passenger that never showed up. Finally
after being delayed for over 2 hours we were on our way to Istanbul to begin
our Turkish Adventure. Our taxi from the
airport couldn't find the flat we were staying at making us more than 3 hours
late instead of just 2. When we finally got in, we met up with Flora and Lora
and had a grand ole time just hanging out in the flat since it was pretty late.
We decided we wanted some dinner(chips, water, and some gummy bears). So we
headed to the store downstairs and caused quite a scene. We broke a few bags,
and had bottles of water flying
EVERYWHERE. We waited up until Jen got in, but then we decided to get some
sleep so we would be functioning human beings for our long day ahead.
We started off Saturday by making our way to breakfast. The
owner of the apartment we were staying at took us to his brothers cafe! It was
really good food for CHEAP!! We then wandered over to the Topkapi Palace and
spent some time in the sun snacking on some traditional Turkish snacks and
chilled in the park next to the Aya Sophia(one of the world's oldest cathedrals
until it was turned into a mosque and now a museum). Next stop on our list was
the Tourist Police Station... yes they have a police station just for tourists
(basically just an information hut). We went there to see what else there was
to see in Istanbul. The policeman didn't sound very legit as he told us he is a
backpacker too, and that he was the kinda person that would have a backpack
like a ninja turtle...However, he did tell us that we should buy all of our
goods from this little shop around the corner as it was much cheaper than the
stuff that you would find at the Grand Bazaar(Market). We went to the Blue
Mosque in the afternoon. Us girls had to have our knees, shoulders, and hair
covered so lucky me got to wear this fancy suit thing that made me look like I
should be working with hazardous materials. Next stop was supposed to be the Grand
Bazaar just to check it out, but it began to rain so we ducked into this
Turkish pastry shop that had a covered rooftop terrace and an amazing view of
the Bosporus river and the Blue Mosque.
Finally we made it to the Grand Bazaar, it was CRAZY there were
thousands of stands selling trinkets, jewelry, lamps, and rugs! It was quite
the experience. I even had some random guy that worked in a rug shop tell me
that he was almost free...but still single. We all took that as a sign to make
our way to the Galata Bridge to see the sunset. We then crossed the bridge to
the 'New Europe' side of Istanbul to get some dinner. I had Turkish Meatballs
and Vine Leaves. It was an amazing dinner.
We got a little lost on the way back to the apartment, but decided to
stop at this restaurant, but what we all really wanted was some sleep!
Sunday we started the day by grabbing some pastries at a
local bakery and heading to the Aya Sophia to get in before the lines got too
long. But I think my favorite part of the trip had to have been going to the
Basilica Cistern. It was AMAZING! We even took some pretty cool group photos
while we were there. Us girls looked like Turkish Princesses and Jeff got to
have a sword and all that fun stuff. We took the tram to the rainbow stairs,
and then the ferry to ASIA! Once we got
to Asia it got real... they were WAY more conservative on the Asian side of
Istanbul than the European side. We were wearing shorts and t-shirts and were
getting nasty looks so instead of wandering around we headed to the rooftop bar
of the Double Tree Hotel to grab a few cocktails and enjoy the 360 degree view!
The six of us grabbed some Turkish Kebaps for dinner and went back to the
apartment.
On Monday it was time to return to London and reality where
the sun NEVER shines. Apparently there was a magnitude 6.something earthquake
just off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea while we were
there...#didntfeelit. But now I must get back to writing my final paper. Sooooo
close to be done!
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