We left McLean right on time and arrived at Dullas with more than enough time to get checked in and then on to wait at the gate! What awaits us this day is first a flight to JFK and then on to Istanbul. Our chance to share new cultures and new countries with two children whose minds are like sponges soaking up everything new.
We are ready for the questions, and ready to be the supportive older folks who have the privilege of making this trip with these children.
Now at 35k+ feet and 591 mph with the outside temp at -58 we have had dinner, for the adults a glass or two of wine and watched a few movies among the four of us. There is wifi on the plane, but Delta charges over $20/hour or a mere $49 for the whole trip...and we thought Time Warner was bad...when JetBlue gave it to us to free. Granted we are on an International flight, it does seem odd that one would be charge while the other not. Oh well, we will wait until Istanbul before we post this.
Needless to say the kids have been great. Even though they have flown this far internationally before this is the longest trip they have made in general. Driving to Maine doesn't count.
Now it may be a challenge to get them to sleep or a few hours, but we will try.
So now a few hours of quiet time before we have breakfast and then make our way to the hotel!
Tuesday in Istanbul
We did succeed in getting the kids to sleep a few hours on the plane. Breakfast was a lost cause and their excitement was growing while our energy level decreasing. We deplaned and got our visas and then worked our way through the long line to passport control. It really went rather quickly so it wasn't long before we were waiting for the bags in the baggage area.
We took the light rail part way into the city and then switched to the metro and arrived at the hotel around noontime.
The view above is from the rooftop of the Hali Hotel.
We ate lunch near the hotel in a very typical Turkish place where the various dishes are all on display in the front window and one selects what they want and the waiter brings it to your table.
Kira and Sandro were not sure what they wanted to eat so we went with a basic dish from which they could make a sandwich of sorts.
While in the restaurant a valuable lesson about toilets was learned by Kira and Marty. For years we have seen the small nossle at the back of the top of the toilet bowl. We know it was a bidet feature but never saw one in operation. Kira used the facilities in the restaurant and after several minutes Marty went and stood outside the door and was hearing Kira inside saying "help me, let me out." When the door opened the reason for her distress was clear. She had found the handle for the bidet which was now shooting water across the top of the toilet bowl and drenching the floor in front of the toilet. Marty soon figured out how to turn it off and both were relieved! A lesson learned. Only use the highest handles or buttons for flushing! They both got a good chuckle out of the experience.
With full tummies energy was really low so it was back to the hotel for an afternoon rest period.
August 5 Wednesday
Today we have been to the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya), rode the tram to the waterfront, taken the ferry across the water and had lunch, then back across the water in an air conditioned ferry. Tram up to the Grand Bazaar to visit Turgay our carpet dealer friend who has children nearly the same age so Kira and Sandro. Then some Turkish ice cream and small shopping and back to the hotel to "cool our jets" for a while as it is a humid 90 degrees outside.
Our wi-fi connection at the hotel is very slow so this will not be as well edited as we really wanted to get it posted before too much time passed.
Next installment will be from Georgia.
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