They brought us by bus to a Cistern which has been converted into a restaurant. We arrived on a red carpet and were greeted with Champaign. A lady was on a swing, high above the room, singing opera. After a few appetizers, they brought us to our tables.

The first course was a nice salmon salad. Of course, Lynn had to point out that it was raw salmon. No more for me, thanks. The dinner also included spinach ravioli, beef medallions, and turkish delights. Throughout the dinner, a band played live music. Between each course, they had turkish dancers. They were very good.

We arrived back at the hotel by midnight. The bad news is, our plane ride home leaves at 2:30. So, I’m still awake.

GREAT TRIP!!!

The post Istanbul – Day 3, Dinner first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

Today was boat cruise day. We took the boat from our hotel to the largest of the paradise islands, on the continent of Asia. It was very small and reminded me of Mackinaw Island but more crowded. We walk around for a while and had a drink in a cafe.

During the boat ride back, we had a great lunch with traditional Turkish foods. Not Bob’s favorite but pretty good.

We then went to the Grand Bazaar for some shopping. What a crazy place that is. Everything you could possibly want in a single location. To buy anything, you must “haggle”. I found it funny that I was haggling with both the shop keeper and my wife. He said “$150”, I said “$90”, Lynn said “OK $125”. hahaha

We are now heading for dinner with the company. I’ll send more posts later.

The post Istanbul – Day 3 first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

The day started with breakfast (everything you could want) in the hotel We had a brief introduction to the history of our host city. The entire group then went to see the Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque and the Hagia Sofia temple.

Lunch (Sea Bass and salad) was at a great Cafe. After this, Lynn and I split up. She went back to the hotel and I continued on with the tour. We visited the Sultan’s Palace which was huge and beautiful. It has over 400 rooms and the outside wall extends over 5km.

Finally, I went to visit the Cisterns. This is where they held the water from the aqueducts about six hundred years ago.

After a full day of site seeing, I had only 45 minutes to shower, dress and make the bus for dinner. The meal was excellent. The appetizers where enough of a meal but then they brought two more courses that were very heavy meals themselves. The selection of desserts was great too. Lynn especially liked the belly dancers; both male and female.

Thanks,
Bob and Lynn

The post Istanbul – Day 2 first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

The flight from NY to Turkey was difficult. A passenger got sick about half way across the Atlantic. We had to turn around and land in St John’s Newfoundland. Without being allowed to exit the plane, this added almost five hours to our flight because:

• 90 minutes to turn around and land
• 90 minutes to refuel, submit a new flight plan, get the passenger’s luggage out
• * 90 minutes to get back on track

Once at the hotel, we took a quick nap and went to dinner with Sogeti. That was awesome. The three course meal with salmon, lamb and a great desert.

Very nice so far.

Talk to you soon,
Bob and Lynn

The post Istanbul – Day 1 first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.