Arrived in Istanbul

Sunday I flew Turkish Airlines to Istanbul from Vancouver.  Now, I have been lucky enough to fly business class a few times but TA certainly lives up to its reputation as being one of the top 10 airlines.  While it doesn't have Premium Economy on its flights, the upgrade to business class was affordable and certainly worth it given it is a nearly 13 hour flight.  What impressed me the most was the service and the little extras - like little votive candles on our tables for dinner, trolleys with choices for appetizers and desserts, and a very good wine list.  The food, except for the filet which was disgustingly overdone, was excellent.  I know some of you are familiar with this kind of service but I'm not.  I sure enjoyed those two glasses of Tattinger!





The arrival in Istanbul went smoothly and the airport, which is huge, seemed quite quiet.  I was through passport control and had my luggage about 30 minutes of landing.  Of course, being in Row 3 helps.  I had had a driver arranged to take me to my hotel and, while the traffic in this city of over 18 million is absolutely nuts, the ride to the hotel was fine.  It took about an hour and a half.

My room at The And Hotel has views of the cruise port and, after a bit of a nap, headed to the rooftop restaurant for dinner.  The terrace has views of both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.  Of course that means you hear the calls to prayer regularly throughout the day.  The first one, as I found out this morning, is at 5:45!  




The only mistake I made - a seriously huge rookie mistake - was ordering the wine the friendly and charming waiter recommended WITHOUT checking the price.  Little did I know that even a glass of wine in the restaurant was $20 and a bottle was well over one hundred!  Live and learn but I certainly fussed a lot about that when I tried to get to sleep.  How could I have been so stupid - and trusting!  At least the other half of the bottle is being stored so I can have it this evening.  The ridiculous part was that I didn't even really like it that much!  



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