Day 1 and 2 - Turkey

We arrived at Denver airport only to be told that they were overbooked on our flight to Munich. Therefore, we got put on a direct flight from Denver to Istanbul. A+ for eliminating the fear of our bags getting lost. F- for the fact Ale lost all his points for the flight (United dumped us on Lufthansa who dumped us on Turkish Airlines). We had to wait an extra 3 hours at the airport but did in fact do a 10-hour straight shot to Istanbul. I slept 6 hours on the flight. Everyone slept less than 3. [Shrug]. We keep telling them to sleep on these flights and they don't listen. So be it.

We landed in Istanbul. The customs folks pulled Raphy over and x-rayed his bag. We were already out so he called us. They wouldn't let him have a parent present so he just stayed on the phone with me. He was not thrilled. We ordered an Uber - which...well, a different car showed up and when we asked he answred the other one ad "Polis issues." So we didn't pry. Great vehicle though. It took all six of us, as well as all our bags (6 checked, 4 carry on, 6 backpacks). 

The hotel was okay. Melanj. Look, for 20 euros a room a night, it was fine. But we asked for a 3-bed, and a 2 bed, for a total of 5 beds. We showed up and it was two identical rooms, each with a twin and a queen. That left us short a bed...unless the boys shared. Raphy refused - he'd "rather sleep on the floor." So I went back down and asked for 2 things. We asked for one more room and asked to extend one of our now three rooms for an extra night so we would be able to leave our bags in there. Easy you think? Ha. Funny. Never.

We went out to dinner. Lovely. Cheap. $50 for all six (five) of us to eat like piggies. I was NOT hungry so I sat there and looked forward to the next day. I had the fermented yogurt drink (name to be added later). The kids ate - kind of. Lorenzo is easy. Raphael is heart-achingly difficult. Caterina had her chicken but pined after Raphael's pita with cheese (so I promised she'd get it the next day). Fernando also had chicken. So, well, not that picky in hindsight. The chicken was a hit. We went back to the hotel and split the kids up amongst the room only to find the third room they rented us was in fact the one I had expected. When I pointed that out, the hotel receptionist answered that the 1 queen 1 twin had "three beds" because "they can be split into three beds." But that's not how the rooms were set up. So for the price of three rooms I got the two I had originally reserved. But at $20/night/room, I just ate it. I'm not getting into an argument with a hostel keeper at 9 pm in Turkey.

The next day was a bit of a mess at the start - as can be expected. We put Fernando in a room by himself because he has a cough and we were trying to quarantine him. I woke up at 2:30 am. So did Ale. We hung out until about 5:30 am when I went to check on Fernando (who has no electronics). As soon as I open the door, Fernando asks "What time is it?!?!" Because in a room, by himself, with no watch or electronics, time was passing and he had no idea which way was morning. So he came to hang with us, upstairs. Caterina was in the room with the big boys. I checked on them at 7 am and they were still out.

Eventually, we all got up (I slept another 2 hours) and got out of the hotel at 10 am. We went to a huge mall, had a fantastic lunch (I got raw meat, Raphy was picky, Lorenzo ate whatever, Fernando was a little picky, Cate got her pita with cheese). We walked around some more. And made it back to our hotel.

The front desk attendant kept asking when we were leaving. We kept telling her we had the place booked a 2nd night. She didn't get it. She kept asking. Eventually, we left to get picked up by the Uber to go to the airport anyway. Leaving the airport was easier.