Venice, Italy and Istanbul, Turkey
This morning we got up decently early to have time to get some activities in before heading to the airport. We started off the morning by catching a ferry to San Giorgio Maggiore. We walked around the island, visited its basilica and enjoyed a random display on architecture and redesigning urban spaces by the Louisiana Museum of Modern art out of Denmark. One of the neater things we saw on the island was a bird that Ben named DJ Seagull. It's hard to see below but it looks like he is wearing earphones. Once again my dry cereal snacks came in handy as we were able to coax the bird back with some shredded wheat for this photo.
Our next stop was back on the mainland towards St Mark’s square. Ben and I both had a few things we wanted to buy, so we grabbed some lunch and did some final shopping before the conclusion of the Italian portion of this journey. One thing I've failed to mention that is really fun about Venice is the proliferation of masquerade masks. They are literally everywhere. It's like New Orleans on steroids. It has left me wanting to attend or throw a masquerade party.
To get to the airport in Venice we road the ferry system’s water bus. It took a little over an hour but was a nice ride. I enjoyed the scenery for part of the ride and slept for part of the ride. I can now mark arriving at an airport by boat off my bucket list. We pulled up to the doc, walked for five minutes and were then inside the terminal. The experience was pretty neat.
A view of private jets at the end of the Venice runway from our water taxi to the airport.
We flew on Turkish Air from Venice’s Marco Polo Airport to Istanbul. The plane was brand new and had all kinds of fun random features along with fantastic service. On the two hour flight in coach we were served a meal with a printed menu and drinks twice. Each coach seat was equipped with its own video screen with movies, TV shows, games and music. I played Free Cell for the first time in forever, I told myself I would only play it until I beat it once. Fortunately that only took two games. The most random and likely coolest thing on the plane was seat to seat calling. You could literally pick up the phone in your seat and dial any seat on the plane. I frankly didn’t even know that technology existed on any plane.
Upon landing in Istanbul we quickly purchased our entry visas and got into the customs line. Customs took a little while. I didn’t time it but I’m guessing 20 to 30 minutes. We had fun chatting and people watching. Both of us expected to see more women in traditional muslim dress but it appeared to be an incredible hodgepodge of people from all over the world. Clearing customs was entertaining. The guy took my passport, flirted with me and welcomed me to Turkey. I was through in 30 seconds. Ben was asked many questions and took substantially longer. I guess he looks like trouble.
When we made it through customs our bags were waiting for us on the carousel. Finding a taxi was quick and easy. Within 45 minutes or so we were arrived at the Radisson Blue Bosphorus. The check in process was also quick. The hotel was pretty nice. I’m not sure if I expected it to be even nicer for the price tag. Istanbul was a weird mix in terms of price. Cabs, public transport and food all seemed to be reasonably priced, so in some ways hotel pricing was a bit of an outlier.
After organizing our stuff at the hotel we decided to take a short walk. Thus far I don’t really have a feel for Turkey. I’m not certain what a Turkish person looks like. I’m not sure of the food or the vibe of the street scenes. One thing I am certain about is the smell. Istanbul’s residents could stand to discover deodorant.
We’re now back at the hotel. I’m looking forward to seeing Scott in the morning for breakfast which is five short hours from now! I must sleep.
Until tomorrow,
Katy
No comments:
Post a Comment