But have no trouble taking the metro, to the funicular to the ferry to visit the Princes' Islands in a completely foreign country? This just makes no sense to me. I couldn't take the bus from home to work in Los Angeles but somehow can figure out any other countries public transit system in no time!
Well enough about my poor sense of direction in my home town. Let's get back to the Princes' Islands. I had read about them over a year ago and they were one of main places I wanted to go while visiting in Istanbul. I had read they are just about an hour by ferry from Istanbul and that there are no cars on the islands. Everyone gets around by foot, by bicycle or horse drawn carriage. It sounded like a step back in time and an opportunity to take some great photos!
So of course, it was one of the first places I asked the concierge about when I
arrived and I was more than a little disappointed when he told me it
would not be worth my time to go. It's completely off season, so he
said there wouldn't be much to do.
As usual, I didn't listen to advice and I'm glad I didn't. He was right
about there not being a ton to do, but it's not like I wanted to go and
lie on the beach anyway! I wanted to wander around and see what it
was like and hopefully take some great photos.
Now there are five islands in all and you can visit four of them.
Given my limited time, I went to two of the five, Heybeliada and
Buyukada (the largest of the five). I spent a little time wandering around Heybeliada and then grabbed lunch. Lunch consisted of some chips I bought at a little store and a panini this elderly man made me at what I guess was a cafe. I'm not exactly sure what it was but it was delicious! I have to say so far the best food I've had in Turkey has been "street" food!
After lunch, I hopped on another ferry and headed to Buyukada. If this was "off-season" I would hate to visit during the season. It was swarming with people and there were a ton of shops and restaurants right by the dock. I quickly left the dock area and just wandered the streets. What a beautiful and charming place. Given the crazy traffic congestion in Istanbul, I can see why people from this city flock here in the summer.
Showing posts with label Istanbul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Istanbul. Show all posts
Friday, December 20, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
ESPA Spa...Quite the Experience
The ESPA spa at the Istanbul Edition is on floors -3, -4 and -5. Three floors in the "basement" of the building? I'm intrigued. Plus when I checked in, the front desk gave me a ticket for a "30 minute extension" for whatever treatment I wanted at the spa. It was just too hard to resist. I had to check this spa out for myself. So after I returned to the hotel from my day of sightseeing, I headed to the spa to see when I could get an appointment. Luckily, I was able to secure one within about 45 minutes! The spa did not disappoint. It is warm and inviting and very relaxing from the moment you walk in. They have all the usual amenities, steam room (which is amazing), sauna, quiet space and they also have a pool. I didn't use the pool so I never even saw it. It must be on one of the floors I didn't go on.
As for my massage, I think I actually nodded off one or twice during my massage. Even with the extra 30 minutes, it seemed far too short. I left feeling relaxed and ready for another nap! A much needed recharge for the couple more days of sightseeing ahead!
As for my massage, I think I actually nodded off one or twice during my massage. Even with the extra 30 minutes, it seemed far too short. I left feeling relaxed and ready for another nap! A much needed recharge for the couple more days of sightseeing ahead!
The Traveling Hillbilly Visits a Mosque?
If you don't know much about Istanbul, you have probably at least heard about the Blue Mosque. It was the sight I was most looking forward to seeing. I decided to do a half-day tour, figuring it would give me a chance to see some of the main sights of the
city including the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar
A 7:30am pick up almost made me rethink the whole plan, but at least I'd still have most of day and evening left after the tour. So up I got and out I went.
The first stop was the Blue Mosque. I have to say I was slightly underwhelmed. Maybe my expectations were too high. Don't get me wrong, it is worth seeing and very majestic from the outside, but when you've seen some of the other churches in Europe the Blue Mosque just doesn't compare. What is amazing is the fact that about 10,000 people pray there on Fridays. People pray there everyday, but Friday is comparable to Christian's Sunday so everyone is there and many have to pray outside in the courtyard.
After the Blue Mosque, it was on to the Hippodrome and then Aya Sofya which is apparently Istanbul's most famous monument. What makes this monument so unique is it was originally built as a church and later converted into a mosque. Unlike christian churches there are no images or mosaics in mosques. So now you have mosque that has images of saints, angels, Madonna and Child on one side and huge medallions inscribed with Arabic on the other. It's no longer used as a church or a mosque, it's now more of a "museum" that is going under near constant renovation.
These were all within steps of each other, so it made seeing them in a shorter amount of time easier. After Aya Sofya, it was time to head to the world famous Grand Bazaar. It is definitely Grand and I think a little bizzare! It's like a gigantic flea market, mainly enclosed with over 4,000 shops inside. It's crazy and quite the spectacle. I didn't last too long. Everyone is really aggressive and you are constantly being bombarded with, "come into my store," "come look," "hello, come, come, come here." It can be quite overwhelming for some and quite frustrating for others. If you are a shopper and you enjoy haggling you could spend a whole day here. I am not a shopper, so I came, I saw, I left.
All in all a good day of sightseeing before heading home for some much needed rest or maybe a visit to the spa.
A 7:30am pick up almost made me rethink the whole plan, but at least I'd still have most of day and evening left after the tour. So up I got and out I went.
The first stop was the Blue Mosque. I have to say I was slightly underwhelmed. Maybe my expectations were too high. Don't get me wrong, it is worth seeing and very majestic from the outside, but when you've seen some of the other churches in Europe the Blue Mosque just doesn't compare. What is amazing is the fact that about 10,000 people pray there on Fridays. People pray there everyday, but Friday is comparable to Christian's Sunday so everyone is there and many have to pray outside in the courtyard.
These were all within steps of each other, so it made seeing them in a shorter amount of time easier. After Aya Sofya, it was time to head to the world famous Grand Bazaar. It is definitely Grand and I think a little bizzare! It's like a gigantic flea market, mainly enclosed with over 4,000 shops inside. It's crazy and quite the spectacle. I didn't last too long. Everyone is really aggressive and you are constantly being bombarded with, "come into my store," "come look," "hello, come, come, come here." It can be quite overwhelming for some and quite frustrating for others. If you are a shopper and you enjoy haggling you could spend a whole day here. I am not a shopper, so I came, I saw, I left.
Friday, November 29, 2013
The Traveling Hillbilly Feels Like a Celebrity at Dinner!
And spends like one too!
As I mentioned in my last post, I arrived at the hotel too late and too exhausted to go out exploring so I decided to just have dinner at the hotel. I had already read a couple of reviews on Cipriani, the Italian restaurant in the hotel and the net, net was it was a MUST while you're at the hotel so my decision was made.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, I was starved. I'd pretty much had a banana and a piece of toast of all day and it was almost 9pm. After a quick shower, I headed downstairs to feast!
I'm not sure whether it was due to the late hour, or if it was just an unusually slow night, but there were three tables in the restaurant. One had five people, one had one guy and the third one was me! There were like 7 waiters in fancy white coats, plus the hostess and another guy in a fancy suit, he may have been the manager, but I'm not sure. Anyway, with all that staff and so few patrons to wait on, you can imagine the service we three tables got! No sooner than I put down my glass, it was instantly refilled. These boys hovered around our tables like they were afraid we were all going to band together for a mass exit out the door at any minute. Don't get me wrong, they were not rude or anything. They were all very pleasant. I just think they were bored and each just wanted something to do. When I was finished with dinner, three of them came over bearing tempting offers of dessert. While each of the offerings look delicious, I was just too full to partake. I had started with burrata mediterranean and then had a pasta dish with eggplant, not to mention the bread! All in all a great meal.
I settled my bill and headed to my room. And here is where the spend part comes in. See I had forgotten to check the exchange rate before I left my room and of course the prices were all in Turkish Lira. Based on the prices on the menu, I knew there had to be a significant exchange rate, otherwise I was about to consume the most expensive dinner I'd ever had!
When I got back to my room, I was happy to see the exchange rate is significant, about 50%. So 10 Turkish Lira is about $5 US dollars. It did make me feel better, but I still had a very expensive dinner. Although given my state of exhaustion, I wouldn't have changed anything. The food was delicious!
As I mentioned in my last post, I arrived at the hotel too late and too exhausted to go out exploring so I decided to just have dinner at the hotel. I had already read a couple of reviews on Cipriani, the Italian restaurant in the hotel and the net, net was it was a MUST while you're at the hotel so my decision was made.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, I was starved. I'd pretty much had a banana and a piece of toast of all day and it was almost 9pm. After a quick shower, I headed downstairs to feast!
I'm not sure whether it was due to the late hour, or if it was just an unusually slow night, but there were three tables in the restaurant. One had five people, one had one guy and the third one was me! There were like 7 waiters in fancy white coats, plus the hostess and another guy in a fancy suit, he may have been the manager, but I'm not sure. Anyway, with all that staff and so few patrons to wait on, you can imagine the service we three tables got! No sooner than I put down my glass, it was instantly refilled. These boys hovered around our tables like they were afraid we were all going to band together for a mass exit out the door at any minute. Don't get me wrong, they were not rude or anything. They were all very pleasant. I just think they were bored and each just wanted something to do. When I was finished with dinner, three of them came over bearing tempting offers of dessert. While each of the offerings look delicious, I was just too full to partake. I had started with burrata mediterranean and then had a pasta dish with eggplant, not to mention the bread! All in all a great meal.
I settled my bill and headed to my room. And here is where the spend part comes in. See I had forgotten to check the exchange rate before I left my room and of course the prices were all in Turkish Lira. Based on the prices on the menu, I knew there had to be a significant exchange rate, otherwise I was about to consume the most expensive dinner I'd ever had!
When I got back to my room, I was happy to see the exchange rate is significant, about 50%. So 10 Turkish Lira is about $5 US dollars. It did make me feel better, but I still had a very expensive dinner. Although given my state of exhaustion, I wouldn't have changed anything. The food was delicious!
The Traveling Hillbilly Spends Turkey Day in Turkey!
Well, a lot of it was spent in airports or in traffic, but at least I arrived in Turkey on Thanksgiving!
When you get the chance to go London for work, you have to take advantage of the opportunity and extend your trip, especially when that trip is right around Thanksgiving!
As most of you know, Turkey, Istanbul specifically, has been on my list for the last four years. A trip to London for work so close to our U.S. Thanksgiving , seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally make that happen. So being the Traveling Hillbilly I am, I immediately starting looking into flight options to Istanbul from London.
The morning after my work was done, I hopped on a plane to Istanbul. Unfortunately, my flight landed right at rush hour. Even more unfortunate, it was raining! For those of you who live in LA, you know what traffic is like. You also know what traffic is like in the rain! However, LA has nothing on Istanbul when it comes to traffic and traffic in the rain. It took me just over 2 hours to get from the airport to my hotel!
While I arrived at my hotel much later than expected and didn't go out to explore after I arrived, I was still so excited to finally be in Istanbul!
When you get the chance to go London for work, you have to take advantage of the opportunity and extend your trip, especially when that trip is right around Thanksgiving!
As most of you know, Turkey, Istanbul specifically, has been on my list for the last four years. A trip to London for work so close to our U.S. Thanksgiving , seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally make that happen. So being the Traveling Hillbilly I am, I immediately starting looking into flight options to Istanbul from London.
The morning after my work was done, I hopped on a plane to Istanbul. Unfortunately, my flight landed right at rush hour. Even more unfortunate, it was raining! For those of you who live in LA, you know what traffic is like. You also know what traffic is like in the rain! However, LA has nothing on Istanbul when it comes to traffic and traffic in the rain. It took me just over 2 hours to get from the airport to my hotel!
While I arrived at my hotel much later than expected and didn't go out to explore after I arrived, I was still so excited to finally be in Istanbul!
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