Shreveport to Istanbul

I left Shreveport Friday afternoon for two fun-filled weeks in Turkey with OUT Adventures. This is a company I have traveled with previously (to Nepal and India), and I will actually know three of the other travelers on this trip, which will be nice. Paula, my step-mother, took me to the airport, where I waited without Internet access (don't know what happened to the usual access at the airport) until the plane arrived. We boarded, and made our way to Houston. This has become the airport I know best at this point, so I maneuvered my way through there like a gymnast on the rhythm mat, had a bit of a respite in the business class lounge before it was time to board my flight to Frankfort.

On the flight I watched Thor (kind of a fun movie with lots of eye-candy) as I downed rum and diet cokes (the red wine selection this trip was severely lacking) until it was time to try to get a little sleep. After tossing and turning most of the abbreviated night, it was time for breakfast before we landed in Frankfurt. This is the third airport I've been to in Germany, and each has been worst than the last. This is one of the biggest cluster-f of an airport. There were no screens anywhere near where the flight landed, so for connection information, you had to rely on the one Lufthansa representative who was waiting at the gate. She quickly got swarmed, but I eventually got my gate information for my flight to Istanbul. I took the tram to the next terminal, and had to pass through security. Which took forever. I then made my way to the "gate" which was really just a garage, and got loaded into a bus which drove for nearly 15 minutes before we reached the plane we were taking to Istanbul. For awhile there, I was wondering if they were just going to drive us to Istanbul... But we eventually made it to the plane and had an uneventful flight to Istanbul!

I made my way through passport control, and was thankful I already had a Turkish visa in my passport from the cruise I took last night, as the line to procure a visa was ridiculously long. I collected my bag, passed through customs, and was met by a driver who was taking me to the hotel for the night. Upon check-in, which was done in the room, I was told I had been upgraded to a suite. The hotel was actually a remodeled prison, but my room was so ridiculous. I don't k ow that I've stayed in much nicer a room. I done normally share pictures of my room, but I will this time:



The living room









The bathroom had a jacuzzi tub and a walk-in shower that was also a steam room. Out of control... After a quick shower, I made my way to meet up with the folks from the group I'm with who arrived the night early. Passing by the Hagia Sofia on the way:



We went for dinner and drinks, and three of us went to a club. We were out until 3am, and decided to come back to my room for a steam before the other two had to head back to their hotel for bed! A great start to what should be a great trip!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Istanbul, Turkey