We were itching to travel somewhere when our friends mentioned they might go to Turkey. The pieces all fell into place and two weeks later we were on our way!

Traveling with a trip planner makes trips easy. Our friends, the Martins, are fantastic travel companions. Everything was arranged and all we had to do was show up! You know it’s going to be a good trip when you’re staying at a sweet spot. Louis Appartments Galata. The area was fantastic, we’d totally stay here again. Lots of shopping and wonderful places to eat. And just down the street from Galata Tower.

We enjoyed a fabulous Turkish Breakfast twice at Privato Cafe. Oh my goodness. My mouth is watering just remembering this amazing place. It’s a MUST for sure.

It was easy to get around, we walked lots of places, or used public transportation. Tünel was especially fun. We did the Big Bus tour, that was a fun way to learn more about Istanbul and get our bearings. We had 6 of us and were able to negotiate a better deal for the tour. The tour took us across the bridge to Asia, Istanbul is one of only a few cities that are on two continents.

We spent our few day touring some of the big spots. Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar, and the Spice Bazaar. We loved all the sites, and especially the food! Another fun stop was Salt Bae’s place, we had to come back another day because they were out of the meat we wanted, but it was worth it. So delish.

I especially enjoyed the Basilica Cistern because of it’s appearance in Dan Brown’ Inferno. It was a little sad the water was all drained for renovation work, but still awesome to see.

The Blue Mosque was also under construction, but peeking through scaffolding, you could still see it’s marvelous tiles.

One of the last things we did in Istanbul was experience a Turkish Bath. Wow. What an experience. The place we found had separate women’s and men’s hours, which I was thankful for. There were many options around town but we chose Kilic Ali Pasa Hamami based on a friends recommendation. I only wish we’d had more time to add a massage as well!.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Istanbul, and while I’d only envisioned a couple day here merely to see Hagia Sophia, there truly is so much more to do, see and experience here.