Different

With my limited traveling experience, I don't know much about anything. However, I can tell that Turkey is VERY different than my last European vacation. Upon arriving to The airport in Istanbul, my dad and I were already confused (along with other Americans) on where to go and what to do. We eventually figured out we needed to buy Visas before going through passport control. Luckily, they didn't really question us on why we were there. (even for Turks who speak English, it is hard to understand them). We finally exited and met with a man who was holding our names. He took us outside, it was hot and smelled of heat as well. We got into a shuttle and headed to our temporary abode. It turned out to be a lot more temporary than planned. Apparently he thought we were Barbara Silva (do I look like a Barbara) and family and therefore took us about 25 minutes out of the way. Eventually, I showed the driver the name and address of the hotel and we arrived! Also, Brett was waiting outside of the hotel for us!

We settled in and decided to take a 4 hour nap. When we finally woke up and got dressed (9:30), we hit the town! We took the tram across the golden horn and walked around Istanbul to the top of one (out of seven) hills. There we ate Duram (meaning wraps) that were quite delicious. Finally we walked all the way back (took about an hour). We only got lost a few time amongst our short journey.

I better get some sleep so I can be ready for the adventures that lie ahead tomorrow. (such as me wearing a burka)