May 22, 2013 - My Healthy, Happier Life

Many people have mentioned that they had to look Istanbul up on a world map. Here is a map of Europe for your reference. As you can see Turkey borders Bulgaria and Greece to the West and then Syria to the East. Clearly we are staying on the western side of Turkey due to unrest in the eastern side and areas near Iran and Syria. Actually, Istanbul is a city on two continents, Europe and Asia!

After arriving at our hotel Bo and I both decided that we wanted to spend the afternoon relaxing as we were both suffering from a bad case of jet lag. Luckily, our hotel is known for their infinity pool overlooking the Bosphorous River which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. It forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia as well!

We spent three hours napping and enjoying the sun which felt like absolute bliss. There were very few people around the pool since most people spend their days touring Istanbul but the weather and temperature couldn’t have been better. The high each day is around 80 and in the evening it only gets down to 65 or so!

Around 2 Istanbul time we both were hungry and enjoyed a poolside lunch. The Greek salad and prawn pizza were perfect for sharing and the most delicious pool bar food! I love the fact that the Greek salad didn’t have any lettuce instead filled with huge chunks of cucumbers and peppers!

After our relaxing afternoon we toured the hotel grounds and enjoyed the gentle breeze and an evening cocktail.

Okay gang, we’re off to Sunset Grill and Bar for dinner tonight and then hitting the sack early so we can hopefully set our body clocks! Have a great evening!

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After ten hours of flying we have officially arrived in Istanbul!

Our flight left JFK an hour late due to luggage issues and runway traffic. Unfortunately, even once we left the flight wasn’t the greatest. We were sitting together in the bulkhead seat of Economy Comfort on Delta which meant we had wonderful leg room (win) but had narrow seats due to the door and an arm divider which wouldn’t move (fail). Though we enjoyed the extra legroom it was very difficult to get comfortable and our small fold out tray tables could barely hold our dinners much less our computers.

We were served dinner two hours into the flight. I tried something different and ordered the low fat meal option whereas Bo went with the standard. The LFML or low fat meal included salad with fat free dressing, water, fruit salad, dinner roll, Promise margarine spread, and chicken with brown rice. It lacked flavor but definitely felt healthy.

The standard meal was a choice between chicken with pesto dumplings or cheese tortellini. In addition to the main course it came with a salad, lite dressing, crackers and cheese, dinner roll, and brownie.

After eating dinner we relaxed with a movie, This Is 40, and glass of wine.

Bo and I both intended to watch a movie and then sleep for 6 or 7 hours thanks to the help of Zzzquil. Unfortunately two glasses of wine and the ZZzquil had no affect on me and instead I spent the five hours trying to get comfortable, cleaning out my work email inbox, reading, and watching Mad Men. Meanwhile, Bo slept for at least a few hours.

But, none of that mattered when we finally landed in Istanbul ten hours later! Within minutes of landing the reality of just how much of an adventure this trip will be set in. There are so many new things to see and experience! This is the longest trip we’ve taken together and our first time traveling together in Europe. Here are a few pictures from our first hour in Istanbul.