First impressions

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10 March 2012 9:12 MST (18:12 local)



First the flight:



Drank visne (call to prayer time!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for the interruption! It was my very first one- shorter than I would have guessed) as my first beverage. Pretty name (s has the curly-q so it sounds like Vishne). Tastes like cranberry. Maybe Sisy likes it as baby name. Dinner was chicken and yummy couscous and salad and cheesecake. Watched 4 Doctor Who episodes and listened to a lot of music. They gave everyone a gift bag with sleep mask, ear plugs, socks, and toothpaste. I used an airplane toilet for the first time. Not much different from the train. Didn't get to see northern lights. Didn't get to sleep. Breakfast was eggs, potato, fruit, spinach, tomato, and cheese. Flight was ten hours. Landed. I love how international fliers ignore flight rules about getting up and getting bags while plane is on final approach and landing. Got visa, got passport stamp, caught train, transferred trains, second train was transmillennial style crowded, walked to hotel (laughably labeled-walked right past it twice.) Saw 10 times more cats in 10 minutes in Istanbul than in a week in Rome. City is huge, like NYC and Chicago seperated by Mississippi river. Drivers are crazier than even Napolese. One thing to have sidewalk parking, but Istanbul combines cobblestone streets with San Fransisco style hills, with roads that are too narrow to be anything but one way in both directions. Lot of cars reversing in the street. Cars are bigger than in Italy. Also lots of collectivo minivans (dolmas) and larger tourist busses. Altogether, no way in hell am I ever driving here. I am going to shower and get some food and maybe take a nap before the lobo game starts at 2AM.

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