Istanbul, Part 1 of 78.

Just kidding! I mean, I could easily do it AND provide you with at least 3 pictures per day…but I shall refrain, simply because well, there is a great big world out there to explore!

Our first day in Istanbul was all ours. So once we got to the hotel and unpacked our things, we grabbed our cameras and went exploring! While we tried to blend in as much as possible, we obviously didn’t do a very good job because random people would stop and ask us where we were from. And before we could even answer, they would start guessing–as if they had a bet with the coffee shop guy next door. English? Nope. Australian? Nope. German? Are we wearing socks with our sandals? I mean, nope. South African? Nope. New Zealand? Nope. Canada! Closer, but no. Finally, they would throw their hands in the air, which would give us the opportunity to respond with [at the same time] The United States and Texas [because yes, I’m that kind of Texan!]. We usually got puzzled looks, followed with a “we usually don’t get Americans visiting here.”  Ah, well…we’re excited to be here and they sure as heck don’t know what they’re missing!

As we started wandering, we realized our hotel was literally right around the corner from Taksim Square.  Oh sure the taxi driver pointed it out as we drove through it, but we didn’t realize just how close until we were walking!

Afterwards, we had dinner at a restaurant near our hotel.  While there was a lot of pointing involved–the food was delicious and of course, it wouldn’t be complete (for me, anyway) without a Turkish coffee.  I know, I know I’ve already shared this picture with ya’ll before, but it was a monumental occasion!

It was a great day–although April will be the first to tell you that I was a party pooper and went to bed waaaaay too early!  c’est la vie! 🙂