We are back from Turkey, and I will start the update with the easiest day first, Friday! Our flight was delayed but only an hour and a half or so, and we hung out in the airport lounge and ate a good (free) dinner there. Then we also got food on the plane, but that food was almost barely not edible so we were thankful to have already eaten.

After stopping and picking up our visa (good for 90 days for $20), we went through passport control. With no luggage to pick up, we shot through quickly. The hotel we booked (a really great hotel in Istanbul for anyone needing one, the Sapphire, which had free breakfast, an awesome Turkish bath, and a perfect location) also arranged for a car service, free of charge, to pick us up at the airport, and in the throngs of waiting people outside, the guy holding the “Erin Hess” sign was front and center. I felt bad because it was midnight their time and the poor guy had been waiting for us for a long time, but I guess that is part of the job.

He took us to the hotel and on the way drove us by two of the city’s most famous night-time sights, Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque. They were gorgeous at night, all flood-lit and beautiful.

When we got to the hotel, the front desk staff was AWESOME and spent about 15 minutes talking to us about what we should do. The only problem is that it was so late, and I was so exhausted, all I wanted to do was sleep! So we soaked in some of what they said and went to bed, planning on hitting the pavement early Saturday.