14 Hour Flight from Vancouver to Frankfurt, then a 3 hour layover in Frankfurt then a 3 hour trip down to Istanbul and then a one and a half hour taxi ride to our hotel (after standard confusion getting a cab – why don’t I prearrange a pickup from the airport!?). We finaly made it to our hotel.

I went out exploring to find a grocery store and we found a little restaurant to grab a bite to eat, but we’re very hazy having been up for 27 hours straight. The street is packed with people and families eating and going to bars – a lovely atmosphere.

I thought this would be like Egypt or India, but it’s much more like Greece and Italy.

Everybody smokes here , but it’s fun and we’re having a nice time on our first night.