But of course, this is my five star vacation so there will be nothing normal about it.
(note to self, must acclimate to a different standard of life asap to avoid looking like a fool)
So we hop in and first stop is the Topkapi Palace. Which is unreal. I won't get into the touristy details but if you find yourself in Istanbul, you must go check it out.
(I also made friends with our guide so if you ever need a guide, email me on the contact page)
ANYWAYS - after two hours at the Palace it's off to lunch with an insanely famous international jewelry designer who just so happens to be...Armenian.
I am fully prepared to hate him because if they're going to be racist towards me, I am going to be the same right back -- boom, take that you big bullies!
Of course this guy is incredibly nice. Let's me try on all of his $50k pieces of custom designed jewelry, he is funny, & I can't hate him. waaaahhhhhhh.
We then lunch at this very fancy, authentic Turkish spot - food was amazing and once again it didn't feel real.
Fast forward -
Post lunch Ta is visibly exhausted from the site seeing - I send him back to the hotel and I continue on for another 3 hours with the guide. She takes me to see the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and underground cisterns.
I hate site seeing but this was amazing.
We get back to the hotel and immediately I shower and get ready for dinner.
Ta has made reservations at this place.
We sit outside and the view is INCREDIBLE.
I can't believe my surroundings - every woman at this place looks like Turkey's Next Top Model, simply unreal.
We dine on sashimi and sake, indulge in great conversations -- older men are really the way to go, so mature and so much to talk about. I am beginning to see the other side of life.... Don't worry, I don't think dating older is going to be my new "thing" because i really want kids but it was 1000000x better than the dates I have with my own age range of fellas. AND if I didn't want kids, I'd be tempted.
We head back to the Four Seasons early so we can get some rest before our early flight to Dalaman the next day.
I sleep from 11pm-3am.
I think I am so excited about my Turkish adventure I can't get my body to really zen out. So I hit the gym, call a few people in the US, and get ready for part two of my trip.
Stay tuned for my island adventure & summation of this insane trip to Turkey.
Elle