Europe 2014 (part 6)

Day 9: Istanbul

We arrived in Turkey and ‘hopped on’ a Hop on-Hop off bus. We saw lots of interesting sites throughout the day:

On the bridge between the Europe side and Asia side #continenthopping

Dad eating fish cooked on a boat along the river

 

D found the vegetarian option

Our brother was a little less adventurous in his eating

Walking through the infamous Spice Market and Grand Bazaar—WOW was it crowded!!!

Touring the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque

Day 10: Ephesus

We split up this day with one group going to tour the Ephesian runes and the other staying in the bazaar near the ship.

J and D were on a mission to find some ‘genuine fake’ purses to take home. I was their official haggler which was really fun for me!

They spent so much time in one store that our mom, who was waiting outside, made a friend who gave her some apple tea.

To be honest, Turkey was a little lackluster compared to some of the places we had visited. This is just personal opinion,  but Istanbul was so crowded that it was hard to enjoy. Ephesus was neat for the group that went to see the ruins (those that didn’t join had already seen them) but just didn’t compare to some of the other sites we had visited. Maybe we were becoming jaded by this time (Just another Wonder of the Ancient World? Yawn)

Next week: Back on track in Athens!