Istanbul
Now that we are in our last six months of our European adventure, we are on the countdown and I had to get in my number one place to go before we leave - Istanbul, Turkey. Turns out November is the perfect time to go; less tourists, no lines, not too hot.
We hired a guide from Tours By Locals to get through most of the big sites in one day (guides have the advantage of skipping lines) - the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Royal Palace, Underground Cistern, and Grand Bazaar. All worth it but we were happily surprised by the Royal Palace which houses the treasury and the family portraits of the Ottoman empire. Although, I wish we did have time on our own to go back the Grand Bazaar. Its a touristy thing and the prices are outrageous but I think if we would have done some homework before hand and shopped around, we could have negotiated a fair price on some lanterns, trays, carpets, or other handmade fabrics. Perfect souvenirs.
We stayed in the Beyoglu area which was an easy trip by public transport from the old town but had much more options for shopping, dinner, and drinks. We enjoyed lazing at a few good coffee shops with the local cats, eating baklava, and sipping fresh pomegranate juice from one of the local stands. And the food, well who doesn't love fresh authentic Turkish food?
And it was a great place to go with a baby. Riley enjoyed all the attention and pictures. Luckily he likes strangers. He got presents from the local shop keepers and we got free babysitting at dinner when the waiters passed him around the whole restaurant.
We hired a guide from Tours By Locals to get through most of the big sites in one day (guides have the advantage of skipping lines) - the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Royal Palace, Underground Cistern, and Grand Bazaar. All worth it but we were happily surprised by the Royal Palace which houses the treasury and the family portraits of the Ottoman empire. Although, I wish we did have time on our own to go back the Grand Bazaar. Its a touristy thing and the prices are outrageous but I think if we would have done some homework before hand and shopped around, we could have negotiated a fair price on some lanterns, trays, carpets, or other handmade fabrics. Perfect souvenirs.
We stayed in the Beyoglu area which was an easy trip by public transport from the old town but had much more options for shopping, dinner, and drinks. We enjoyed lazing at a few good coffee shops with the local cats, eating baklava, and sipping fresh pomegranate juice from one of the local stands. And the food, well who doesn't love fresh authentic Turkish food?
And it was a great place to go with a baby. Riley enjoyed all the attention and pictures. Luckily he likes strangers. He got presents from the local shop keepers and we got free babysitting at dinner when the waiters passed him around the whole restaurant.
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