Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Our First Night Here


Matt and I arrived safely after a 9 hour flight to Frankfurt. This was followed by a frantic one hour layover, which was spent running through the Frankfurt airport to catch our next flight. We then proceeded to a three and a half hour flight to Turkey. Our poor cab driver had to stop and ask at least four different people to find our hotel. He also managed to go at least 100 km in a 50 zone.

The hotel we are staying at is lovely. It had hostel prices, but feels more like a boutique hotel. We also got a complementary upgrade to a much nicer room. The picture to the left is the view from our room.

We were also lucky enough to meet up with some of Matt's former roommates from the Fish House. We spent the evening at the roof top bar on top of their hostel. We smoked hookah and talked about American politics.

Here is a video of Matt smoking hookah. I tried it too, and it makes your whole mouth and throat taste like green apples.


Today we visited the Blue Mosque and explored the streets of Istanbul. It's such a vibrant city. We will post pictures and a video later tonight. We miss you all. Thanks for following our trip.

-Hannah

10 comments:

Amelia said...

OHHHHH!!!! Me and Bethany just watched the Matt smoking hookah video (with the hannah laugh at the end) We love you guys!

Hannah said...

Thanks Amy. We miss you too!

Anonymous said...

hookah huh... I tried that once... at my bolivia party, lol I am glad to see you are having fun and trying new things :-) I love you guys and I can't wait to hear all about your adventures.

noelle vacchio said...

sounds like so much fun! how wonderful that you guys get to share this adventure together. i hope you enjoy every moment! but on my side of the globe i miss you too much. we should all go salsa dancing when you get back! be safe, love to you both!

Eva Sylwester said...

I just saw the bit about US politics and wondered, how is Matt going to vote if he's still over there through November? Your trip so far looks pretty cool, though. I bet real Turkish hookah is a lot better than suspicious ODE party hookah.

Anonymous said...

Warning...Matt's grandma is freaking out about the hookah! Keep enjoying your adventure!

Love you guys...Matt's Mom

Hannah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matt P. said...

Hey Eva,

I already voted with the mail-in ballot. I went to the elections office and registered, and they immediately gave me my ballot. I sent it in the day before we left. :D

Also, don't worry about the hookah. It's not like there were any drugs in it.

Jessica said...

I'm about to comment with questions on all (most?) of your posts. Shoot me a postcard or email when you're back in the States. Turkey is near the top of a lengthy list of places I wish to go.
Question #1: Meet anyone interesting on the freaking long Frankfurt flight?
Question #2: Did you stare at Greenland as you flew over? I found it enormously beautiful.

Hannah said...

Jess,

On the Frankfurt flight we met a girl next to us. She worked in Portland for a book publisher, and was going to a conference. On the flight to Istanbul we hung out with a business traveler who gave us tons of tips.

Sadly, Greenland was covered in darkness when we flew over.