Jess and I have traveled a fair bit. Travel has been our passion in our almost 4 years together (Prague,Paris, London, Paris (again), London (again), Tallin, St. Petersberg, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Oslo, New York, Vegas, Rome, Florence, Venice, Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre) but we hardly have a picture of us together in any of these places. Today we made a pact to change that and headed out at 6am this morning with our tripod and camera in hand to get the first of what we hope will be a series of portraits in front of the "signature site" in the cities we visit. What do you think?
After breakfast, we went for a glamor breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We have been loving our breakfasts here, amazing food, fresh coffee, English newspapers, and planning our day while seated in the beautiful courtyard gardens. The staff here orchestrate everything with such precision and grace. I love observing impeccable customer service and this place has it nailed down. You can not find fault in a single staff member. I don't know how the Four Seasons does it but they have staff that just never missed a beat. On our tour yesterday Jess mentioned to our guide (not a Four Seasons employee) in passing that the beer on the roof top patio of the hotel was rather expensive and she reminded him "you are not buying the beer you are buying the Four Seasons brand" and it is so true.
After breakfast we toured Topkapi Palace, home of the Sultan and his Harem. This time no private guide, just our Rick Steves travel books. I gotta hand it to Rick, his books are bare bones but they have all the info on when to arrive, how to beat the crowds and lineups. We arrived at 9 a.m. and had the place to ourselves (almost). As we were leaving two hours later, we had to fight our way through the throngs of people. The highlight of the palace was seeing the "Spoonmakers Diamond" which is a 86-carat diamond (one of the worlds biggest). This sucker was huge and surrounded by 49 other diamonds, so pretty, I am a sucker for sparkley things (hint, hint Jess) . Unfortunately we were not allowed to photograph the diamond. Here are a few photos from the palace:
That is Europe on the left and Asia on the right.
After breakfast, we went for a glamor breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We have been loving our breakfasts here, amazing food, fresh coffee, English newspapers, and planning our day while seated in the beautiful courtyard gardens. The staff here orchestrate everything with such precision and grace. I love observing impeccable customer service and this place has it nailed down. You can not find fault in a single staff member. I don't know how the Four Seasons does it but they have staff that just never missed a beat. On our tour yesterday Jess mentioned to our guide (not a Four Seasons employee) in passing that the beer on the roof top patio of the hotel was rather expensive and she reminded him "you are not buying the beer you are buying the Four Seasons brand" and it is so true.
After breakfast we toured Topkapi Palace, home of the Sultan and his Harem. This time no private guide, just our Rick Steves travel books. I gotta hand it to Rick, his books are bare bones but they have all the info on when to arrive, how to beat the crowds and lineups. We arrived at 9 a.m. and had the place to ourselves (almost). As we were leaving two hours later, we had to fight our way through the throngs of people. The highlight of the palace was seeing the "Spoonmakers Diamond" which is a 86-carat diamond (one of the worlds biggest). This sucker was huge and surrounded by 49 other diamonds, so pretty, I am a sucker for sparkley things (hint, hint Jess) . Unfortunately we were not allowed to photograph the diamond. Here are a few photos from the palace:
That is Europe on the left and Asia on the right.
Right now we are reposing in the room, enjoying the air con (it is so HOT!!). Next on the agenda was supposed to be a trip to the Turkish Bath but "I'M F'ING SCARED!!!"(they describe the massage as the pummeling massage... and apparently, you only wear a little towel), I have told Jess I will do it but I am hoping we can maybe go shopping at the Grand Bazaar instead. We'll see.
4 comments:
It looks like you're having an amazing time!
Might as well get that turkish bath outta the way asap. When I got one at the end of my trip, dude scrubbed my whole tan away leaving me rosy pink and a little bruised!
Come on ry, you can do it! Be careful about the scrubber gloves!!
Damn- you are making me regret not going to Turkey when I had the chance. The problem was that I was standing on a street corner in Anthens when an old fart actually asked my then BF if he could buy me. It kinda sealed our impression of turkey when en route to Greece, we were told by other American travelers to not go to Turkey, they kidnap and sell women. We laughed-until the creepy guy in Anthens, who we thought was Greek.....................
Post a Comment