Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

10mm diameter mosaic - Mosaic gold in sterling silver

$180 USD Size 8

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My turnaround time following the trip to Naples was a very small window for me. After three whirlwind days back in Greece, Kosta and I headed for our end of season vacation, this time to Turkey. On our first end of season trip in 2018, Kosta and I had a longish (8hr) stopover in Istanbul, and enjoyed ourselves so much that we vowed to return for longer.

There was a LOT of walking. Kosta loves to walk and get the vibe of a place, and so we walked everywhere, constantly. I'm talking 20k steps a day kind of walking. Luckily my love was amenable to late afternoon beer breaks (this gal needs to rest her back frequently still), or we might have had a mutiny. But I tend to agree with his travel strategy, if you have the time and energy, you do experience more of a city if you go by foot than public transport. 

We timed the return from Asia to enjoy the sunset (aren't we clever?)

However, the best part about Istanbul's (very excellent) public transportation system is all the ferries and boats. Straddling the Bosphorus waterway, and also at the edge of the Marmaris Sea, Istanbul is a city defined by the water. I love being on a boat, so we took advantage of these ferries as much as we could! One day saw us take ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul—the city is half in Europe, half in Asia—for a wander there, another day we took a ferry cruise up the Bosphorus almost all the way to the mouth of the Black Sea. We were blessed with sunny weather, stunning views, and Kosta got to a walk up a big hill at the turn around point, where we had a 2 hour stop.

Mouth of the Black Sea beyond the bridge

Like so many places I have been, Istanbul also deserves a return.