Day One - Istanbul,Turkey

Our first view of Istanbul - This is what we immediately saw coming off the tram.

We arrived in Istanbul at about 4:00pm our time(5:00pm Istanbul time) and took the subway from the airport to our hotel. Most tourists usually take a taxi, but if you know anything about me, you know I'm not your typical tourist. I really enjoy exploring and experiencing the culture when I travel. So at the airport we found the Istanbul metro and headed toward the direction of our hotel. After just a few conversations in which something seemed to been getting lost in translation we realized once we hit the main hub we would need to transfer from the metro system to a street tram system. We quickly figured out what direction we needed to go and jumped on a tram which dropped us off right in front of our hotel. In the end the whole family came to the conclusion that it was a pretty quick and painless mode of travel. To top it off it only cost us 3 Turkish lira - or about $2.50 for the whole family as compared to $40 for a taxi... So not only was it cheap, but it also was a great way for us to quickly see different aspects of the city. We then arrived at our hotel, dropped off our luggage, freshened up a bit, and headed out to look for a restaurant for dinner. We stumbled upon this great area of quaint restaurants right around the corner from our hotel. After being hassled by many friendly turks trying to get us to dine at their particular restaurant, which we quickly discovered was the standard mode of behavior in Istanbul, we finally decided on one. It was a great choice. The restaurant was simply magical inside. The ceiling was covered with hundreds of hand blown glass beaded Turkish lamps which made the atmosphere very warm and inviting. It was quickly evident to my family that I would surely be returning home with at least one of these lamps. As for food, Tom and I shared a typical Turkish dish: Lamb and vegetables with sheep's cheese and yogurt sauce and the girls decided on chicken kebabs and rice. All of it was fresh and very good! We finished the meal off with typical Turkish coffee and apple tea. After our dinner we decided to explore the area around our hotel for a bit before we headed off to bed for the night. Stay tunned for day 2: Our first full day in Istanbul.

Istanbul's Metro

Istanbul's Tram

Our Hotel

Quaint restaurants near our hotel.

Our Restaurant

Tom & Hailey at Restaurant

Lights on the ceiling.

Our meal served Turkish Ottoman style.

Glass Mosaic Lamp - I bought one similar to this one.

Beautiful Lamps

Sarah and apple tea.