.....and, frankly, I didn't expect this trip to be so packed with activities but it's been great.
The second evening here, we were having a reception at the lounge in the hotel here and somebody said "Let's to to Asia for Supper." A bunch of us took taxis to the brand new underwater train service and caught about a fifteen minute train to the Asian side and had dinner. The train actually goes through a tunnel beneath the Bosporus Strait. The station had only been open ten days at that time--was pretty big in the news a couple of weeks ago.
This old machine stirred, roasted and ground the beans in one operation. The final result is a super-strong coffee that ends up with about a quarter-inch of grounds in the bottom of your cup.
It's almost required to mix in a lot of milk and sugar to digest. Personally, I didn't try one--I'd had a Turkish coffee once when I was in the army.
Walking back to the hotel, we stumbled across the old railroad terminal--the final destination for the famous Orient Express. While the Express closed down in 2007, the terminal still operates and the old historical section is operational.
The next morning (yesterday), was race day. We were up early and took a bus over to the Asian side, making an unexpected stop at the highest point in Istanbul, again, on the Asian side. For the first time this trip, the weather had turned beautiful and the views of the city were great. I shot this photo of a barge going under the Bosporus Bridge. On the very left-center, you can see the toll booths, which were actually the starting point for the race. We ran across the bridge into the Old City, meaning that we started in Asia and ended up in Europe--the world's only transcontinental race.
The race itself was well-organized and great fun. There weren't that many Americans here although our group had 33 runners. There was a strong European presence--especially Scandinavian.
As had happened in Iceland, the marathon and half-marathon routes crossed at one point and I just happened to meet Devin going the other direction there. A brief "high-five" and didn't see him again for a while. I finished my race in 2:14 (I started in the back of the pack at the beginning so I was about a minute behind the starter clock), and was satisfied with my run.
Afterwards, I walked about three or four miles over to the finish line for the marathon and saw Devin finish. He's the orange jersey in the center of the picture.
He was trying to beat four hours and finished in 3:59:47 so he was happy with his result. Genevieve and Alida finished just over six hours which, technically, was over the 5 1/2 hour limit but they got their medals anyway. It was Alida's first official marathon, so it was a good day all around.
Last night a group of us met up in the hotel lounge. I was kind of concerned about my legs being so sore and stiff but Devin was the same way. Turned out a lot of the runners were in the same shape and supposedly it was the cobblestone streets we were running on. Anyway a small group of us went to an Irish pub beside the Blue Mosque (something strange about that combination) for fish and chips and a celebratory drink.
Definitely a good day, an excellent trip so far, and we now have two free days before we fly back. Since these two days weren't included with the tour, Alida found another hotel in the Old City that was about half the price and we'll be moving there later this morning.
The second evening here, we were having a reception at the lounge in the hotel here and somebody said "Let's to to Asia for Supper." A bunch of us took taxis to the brand new underwater train service and caught about a fifteen minute train to the Asian side and had dinner. The train actually goes through a tunnel beneath the Bosporus Strait. The station had only been open ten days at that time--was pretty big in the news a couple of weeks ago.
It was a fun trip--the train and stations were obviously immaculately clean--and the dinner was fun.
Next morning was an "off day" and everybody slept in and in the afternoon we went back to the Spice Market and pretty much just wandered around and enjoyed the sights and smells. Stopped at a Turkish Coffee place--a real one, not Starbucks (although they do have Starbucks here but won't check them out).
It's definitely a "coffee culture" over here although I've pretty much converted to tea at home, but it was interesting.
It's almost required to mix in a lot of milk and sugar to digest. Personally, I didn't try one--I'd had a Turkish coffee once when I was in the army.
Walking back to the hotel, we stumbled across the old railroad terminal--the final destination for the famous Orient Express. While the Express closed down in 2007, the terminal still operates and the old historical section is operational.
Lot's of history in this old building, World War I intrigue, Cold War spies, and , of course,the famous "Murder on the Orient Express."
The race itself was well-organized and great fun. There weren't that many Americans here although our group had 33 runners. There was a strong European presence--especially Scandinavian.
It was truly international. This older Japanese runner couldn't run fifty feet without somebody wanting to take his photo. Here's mine:
Even the local sheep got into the spirit.....
As had happened in Iceland, the marathon and half-marathon routes crossed at one point and I just happened to meet Devin going the other direction there. A brief "high-five" and didn't see him again for a while. I finished my race in 2:14 (I started in the back of the pack at the beginning so I was about a minute behind the starter clock), and was satisfied with my run.
Afterwards, I walked about three or four miles over to the finish line for the marathon and saw Devin finish. He's the orange jersey in the center of the picture.
He was trying to beat four hours and finished in 3:59:47 so he was happy with his result. Genevieve and Alida finished just over six hours which, technically, was over the 5 1/2 hour limit but they got their medals anyway. It was Alida's first official marathon, so it was a good day all around.
Last night a group of us met up in the hotel lounge. I was kind of concerned about my legs being so sore and stiff but Devin was the same way. Turned out a lot of the runners were in the same shape and supposedly it was the cobblestone streets we were running on. Anyway a small group of us went to an Irish pub beside the Blue Mosque (something strange about that combination) for fish and chips and a celebratory drink.
Definitely a good day, an excellent trip so far, and we now have two free days before we fly back. Since these two days weren't included with the tour, Alida found another hotel in the Old City that was about half the price and we'll be moving there later this morning.
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