Me, Felipe and the Nargile

Well, the day started in quite a normal fashion with breakfast and then heading out to explore. We managed to work out how to get on a ferry, then board the ferry and get to the Asian side of Istanbul. What was supposed to be a nice waterside walk was a trk through a construction site but we did find the little waterfront mosque we were looking for. For the first time, I was allowed to run riot and walk around at will. It was lovely, very tiny and had the tomb of a grand vizer. An elderly gentleman opened up the mosque especially for us, and then talked us around...in turkish.

Further we walked along the waterfront, stopping at a cafe on the side of the Bosporos with the most immense view of...well pretty uch everything...Sultanahmet, the sea of Marmara, the European side and Asian side. We whiled away many hours looking at the view but then decided to follow the walking tour. We had intended to go to 5 mosques but alas we only found the one!

Half way around I had a very urgent call of nature, so we found a mosque (not one we were looking for), which was derelict, no one around. While Phil kept a look out saying he would stall people in some mapreading conversation, i ventured into the unknown. I pushed a heavy steal door open, expecting animals to leap out but no, just the most awful smell but when you gotta go you gotta go! The worse bit was when I had to close said door and was in complete darkness with a hole in the ground! One of the highlights of the trip, I have a feeling it was the mens too. I resisted the bucket of brown water in the corner to wash the hands!

So, relieved we carried on and I was full of cheer. We failed to find any more Mosques, just walked around on the hottest day yet, with the sun blaring down on us. We eventually found our way to the port but stopped in a lonely planet recommended restaurant beforehand. I tried the doner kebab that turned out to be doner kebab meat on a side plate, a quarter of tomato, a chilli and 5 chips on top. Phil's was 'interesting', lamb in bechamel sauce! with liquid natural yoghurt to wash it down with. For dessert I asked for baklava, but yety again the waitor (that had recommended lamb in bechamel sauce for Phil) suggested I had shredded wheat for dessert. What i didn't know is that it would actually be shredded wheat, caked in sugar. If we don't get ill, I will be very surprised.

Back on the boat (we are old hats at this now), and walk back to the hotel having had the weirdest day of the trip, mainly due to being on a mosque walking tour and only seeing one out of five mosques, and using the toilet in a desserted mosque.

Birthday bash on the Bosporus - including leather cat walk

What an unusual birthday, in Istanbul on the Bosporos, our first official tour. We were really looking forward to it, so filled up with the huge selection of breakfast we have never witnessed due to always being the last to breakfast in the morning. We were picked up by a mini bus and to our surprise, we were dropped off at a cafe in Kumkapi, where we visited 2 days ago. 15 mins there we were then picked up by another bus. What transpired was that they used the cafe to collate people and then add them to further buses. Madness.

Our first stop was the spice bazaar, where we were 2 days ago again. The slight problem is that neither Phil nor I own watches, so the synchronise watches and be back on the bus in 15 minutes was a real test of our inner clocks. While others shopped, we went to the Mosque...I'm getting slightly addicted. The best bit was that there weren't any tourists there.

We joined the boat on the Bosporus, I couldn't tell you what I learned on the trip as the english and spanish translation was so faint. We passed bridges and the palace and to our surprise we were back at our original point. We thought we had a whole day cruise, so what followed was a complete surprise in every way.

Before lunch, I can only describe it as the weirdest spectacle I've ever witnessed. We were ushered into a shop with a cat walk, sstrobe lighting and Rhianna playing very loudly. Models walked down the catwalk and pouted, Phil and I just looked at each other completely shocked. At £900 a jacket, we declined.

Lunch was a con, it cost £4 each for a small beer, then we visited the palace on the side of the Bosporus. A gorgeous place with many rules. We covered our shoes in bags, couldn't hold handrails going up and down stairs...to be honest I'm surprised we were allowed to breath. However, it had the most amazing Sultans ceremonial hall with 5 tonne chandelier and small windows with a grill that hid the women that couldn't join the ceremony.

Back on the bus, this time to the Asian side for a fantastic viewpoint. The Asian side is much greener, and it was odd to be on a bridge between 2 continents. Then we repeated the crazy bus madness and had to get on another bus. The coach loads of cruise groups can get through the streets but this company seems to like going past the same monuments multiple times (we saw the Orient express terminus 4 times, the BJK stadium 6 times and the Galata tower 4 times).

A celebration dinner and drink and Nargile ended a great birthday.

Apple tea in the grand bazaar and a very long walk

You can tell Phil now has a posh job, the day started with him writing emails. Breakfast of toast, feta and tomatoes is now getting a little repetitive. Off to the travel agents to book the Bosporous tour for tomorrow, then onto the Grand Bazaar. It wasn’t what I thought it would be. My last Souk was in Tunis, narrow curving streets and merchandise everywhere. People trying to bring you into their shop but there wasn’t any of that at all. It was all rather posh, there was a roof, windows and when you said ‘no thank you’, nobody followed you down the street saying ‘nice price’. How things have changed since the last time I came to Turkey.

We bargained for Phil’s t-shorts, then I offended a scarf seller saying that I can get two scarves in Birmingham for the price of one of his. He didn’t believe me, but I was actually telling the truth. As someone that has pretty much the whole spectrum of the rainbow in scarves, I know what I’m talking about. However, the t-shirt man took us to his ‘brother’ to buy scarves so while Phil sips Apple tea, I bartered.

Off to Suleyman the Magnificent mosque, but not before some more apple tea and naghile for Phil. It was very cute, a sunken courtyard. However, the hole in the floor toilets put me off. If I had known that I wouldn’t have gone to the toilet for another 3 hours, I might have thought twice. Into the mosque we went, with a lot of women still disrespecting the rules and having uncovered shoulders, short skirts and their heads uncovered. The mosque is meant to be better than the Blue Mosque but I guess it depends on your colour preference, I’d say I prefer the blue.

Phil took me on one of his concentric circles tours through some very rough districts with the houses falling down, but it was very nice to get away from the tourists again and actually see some Turkish people. We eventually got to the aqueduct of Valens, unfortunately a very major road goes through this great monument but impressive none the less.

However, we were now miles away and had to walk back. What the guidebook doesn’t tell you is the number of hills in Istanbul. Once you are up, then you are down. I wasn’t in a very talkative mood so it was silence all the way back, just trying to keep the legs going.

Interestingly, we passed a great number of shops though, my favourite has to be the comic eyes shop. I kid you not, they were piled high, plastic eyes. The other shop I liked was the screw shop that just sold screws. It did make me think that we maybe have it all wrong but combing everything under one roof, we should separate it out into the eye shop, the screw shop, the cabbage shop. It would make like so much easier. If you need comic eyes in the future, I know where the shop in.
Writing the blog on the roof terrace looking at the Bosporus…what a way to end a very exercise orientated day. Dinner overlooking the sea of Marmara eating chicken shish kebap, and an early night for a busy day ahead.

Sweeny Todd, concubines and call to prayer

First stop of the day was to a barbers for Philly, to be fair he was looking a little like a caveman. I sat outside the barbers shops on a footstool looking like a garden gnome waiting for the person before to be done. There is something quite intriguing about barber shops for women, an unknown place. As I sat in on the seat and marvelled at the very old pictures of the barber in the 60's and various photo's of lathered up men, Phil had his hair cut and a cut throat razor on his neck. All I kept thinking of was Sweeny Todd. I kept this to myself until after. The weirdest but was when the barber took a flame to Phil's ears. Luckily he still has them.

Then off to Topkaki palace and we donned yet another audio guide. We waited for a good 30 minutes to get into the teasury and I'm sure some people would love to see the gifts and jewells but to me they were shiny pots...and Phil and I don't do pots, even jewlled ones.

The sacred islamic arts was crowd as we shuffled through, with the signs at hip level so we couldn't actually see what it was we were looking at. Without a doubt the best bit was the Harem, where 300-500 concubines lived. The decoration was spectacular, and the stories of princes murdering each other as they were next in line to the throne.

Lunch on a roof terrace looking at the bosporus, Phil crisped while I sat in the shade getting burnt anyway. Lunch tasted liked something the numerous cats around would have delivered...slightly unpleasant. Lessons learned, mezze is different in every place.

We walked along the sea front, by a dual carriage way, past the many fisherman and the curious balloons on washing lines. Later we found the shot gun in front of them. Some fun game I guess. Over a foot bridge and then walking along a motorway back to Sultanahmet...up a very steep hill. There has been a theme this trip.

We found the hippodrome, where chariot races were helpl, back to the Blue mosque and then on the roof terrace before dinner. We went back to the Blue Mosque before prayer time and it was deserted, only people there to pray. It was heaven, no tourists. We sat on the carpet and marvelled at the changing colours of the roof as the sun went down. Then we were kicked out for the actual prayers so we sat watching people arrive as they were called to prayer on the loud speakers. Mezze while watching whirling dervish, then to bed.

How can I help you spend your money?

Eleven hours sleep is unheard off, but after waking Phil up at 6:00, he told me to go back to sleep until a sensible hour. Turkish breakfast of feta, tomato and cucumber took me back to Olu Deniz. Our first stop was the Blue Mosque, which is on our doorstep, literally. We managed to get through the hoards of tourists to wait in an extremely long queue to get into the mosque. We removed our shoes, I regretted not bringing socks and imagined the millions of bare footed people that had tread the carpets before me, and donned the head scarf. To say the interior is impressive is an understatement. If you can get through the crowds of tourists, you then see a wall of windows and men praying. The women through covered rooms on the side. What was surprising and very disrepestcul was the number of people that removed their head scarves after they entered to mosque and the number of people trying to get into the praying areas to get ‘the photograph’. The staff were really herding cats.

Then it was onto Aya Safia to marvel at the impressive dome. This time we got an audio guide, but as usual we didn’t follow the normal format, so did numbers 3,8, 15 before we realised we were really confused and should probably fine number one. It’s a very stange mixture of both Christian and Muslim influence in the same room.
Off to the cistern, what I thought was the thing at the back of the toilet, but not in Istanbul, it’s a vast cavern where water was stored. Following the tourists, we walked through the arches and looked at the carp in the water.

Lunch was mezze…again, relaxing on low seats and Phil smoking the water pipe.
I persuaded Phil to go and see the train station as it was the terminus of the Orient Express. Alas, I took him in the wrong entrance so it was a bit like taking him to London Euston…he wasn’t impressed.

We wandered past the passenger ferries that take people up the Bosporus and for the first time we saw Turkish people. I’m amazed how many tourists there are here. We walked over the Galata Bridge, past the many fishermen and imagined what Londoners would think if we fished off of Westminster Bridge.

Phil risked my life in crossing a majorly busy road and then the only way was up, up to the Galata Tower for an amazing view over the city. Alas, the width of the walkway was the size of my hips exactly, and two people had to go by each other so it was a little bit of a tight squeeze to say the least but the view was worth it.
On the way down, Phil said we should try a new route, as always it didn’t have any tourists, was quite run down and had a sign “pink pig watching you”. Comforting.

We meandered back to the hotel, through the spice bazaar and I wish the camera could capture the smells and sounds of “how can I help you spend your money”. At the hotel we sat on the roof terrace, between Aya Safia and the Blue Mosque on either side and the Bosporus on the other. The boy done good, he couldn’t have got a better location if we were sleeping in the Mosque!

Dinner of shish kebab and the first baklava, with some mezze to start of course and then on for a after dinner drink and water pipe with a difference. They also had whirling dervish, who in a trance spin constantly. It was amazing to see, I fall over if I spin around once.

A fantastic first day, and can’t wait for the next.

Croissant and a pint

After a very early drive tHeathrow, I knew I started a holiday with Phil when he ordered a pint at 8:29 in the morning. The efficiency of Terminal 5 never ceases to amaze me, why can't all regional airports get in right? It's as though they like to see us in long queues, holding up trousers becuase out belts, laptop, shoes, keys, change and jewllery is in the black box going through the scanner.

To complete a random morning, we then went to Wagamama's for breakfast, or second breakfast for me. Strangely coconut porride and chilli jam really works. Never thought I'd say that in life.

There is something quite proud to fly to British Airways. I had two choices, to travel easyjet from Luton, only 39 minutes from home but land somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where they claim it is in Istanbul but could be in Greece for the distance you have to travel...or to travel British airways. You can guess which I chose, if only for the allocated seat and feel meal and drinks. There is something quite refreshing about not queuing and elbowing people to get to the right seat. However, have you ever noticed that it's always quite a surprise to people when they get on a flight, and then they hold up the whole queue while they get their book out of their luggage? You would have thought they would know. Maybe it's becuase I'm a girl guide. Phil didn't have this quandry, his only luggage was two history books of Istanbul and his luggage was a bit of a mystery as he packed it in a drunken state last night and doesn't actually know what he packed. It later transpired that he packed 5 jumpers, 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and 2 pairs of trousers...in 30 degree heat. This is nothing like being prepared.

Being picked up from the airport was a luxury, I've always wanted to have my name written on a sign. However, I wasn't prepared for the 200 or so taxi drivers outside arrivals with names of signs. Phil didn't let me down, while he was saying 'where's mine', I followed the same tactic as always. If he says that, it's cos it's really close and probably right behind him. And it was.

What he said was called in Hotel Ibizia is actually called something completely different, I'm so glad I spent ages trying to find Hotel Ibizia on google to no avail.

Dinner resembled sitting in the window display of Habitat eating mezze and smoking a 'water pipe'. A 4 hour meal over conversation and smelling the strawberry sent of the smoke, listening to the 'call to prayer'. We have definitly landed in Istanbul.

Bambi at Woburn Abbey

We are getting into a habit of going to grand buildings but with the English weather, it's slightly necessary. I blame the weather on the fact that the government announced we are currently in drought conditions, so it's rained ever since. The abbey was wonderful, and we managed to avoid the hoard of coach tourists. Particularly interesting was the flying duchess and the person who invented afternoon tea becuase she couldn't hold off between lunch and dinner. A wonderful walk around the gardens with ali's off piste map reading, and the best bit was seeing the deer on the way out, hundreds of pere david deer, brought here from china to avoid extinction.

A clothed Chatsworth House

A drive past the Bakewell pudding shop, then off to Chatsworth House, it was still raining. We had to wait for Chatsworth to open, then stood in the rain listening to the free tour guide that was outside, and then walked around the house. Not people for national trust properties for grand houses, we didn't take too long to walk around but did enjoy the northern accents shouting down the banquetting room"why are the forks the wrong way round". Ali's response to the house was 'there is a lot of clutter' aka antiques. The gold leaf on the balcony was a bit bling and the majestic front of chatsworth house that you know of from Pride and Prejudice was actually all covered in scaffolding so we had to imagine what it was like.

A stand off with cows

What a better way to start the day but in the hotel gym with Ali looking like a hamster that just woke up. Breakfast was the toughest task yet, hotel breakfasts are usually taken in courses. The bread and cheese first, then the cooked breakfast, then the croissants and muffins but not this time, a plate of bacon for me.

We were told about the snake pass over the peak district and it didn't disappoint. We arrived at Derwent water, last visited when I was in sixth form. We took a walk in the rain, until we were stopped in our path but a group of cows with calves. We took a few steps back thinking they would move...but no. After good half and hour, we were still there, the cows were still there making a loud grunting noise at us. What I don't think helped was the bright rainbow umbrella.

Back on the scenic drive trips and Leek for lunch, alas we didn't eat leeks but we did eat sat in the car at Tittesworth lake. Back to the hotel for a rest, a soak and a gorgeous meal in the high ceilinged restuarant...and it was still raining.