Turkish Delight Part 1: Istanbul (cont)

The next day we enjoyed a leisurely morning breakfast at our hotel and then headed to check out the Basilica Cistern (one of our last stops in the historic part of Istanbul).

From there we headed to the shores of the Bosphorus to jump on a cruise up the Golden Horn and then back up the river to view both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul from the water.  The sun was out, there was a nice breeze and we were crusin!

We're on a boat!

The crew arranged for us to have a private area in the front of the boat & brought us some cold Efes!

it was a good morning

After the boat tour we headed back to dry land and crossed the bridge to find a good spot for lunch.  Erin found INSERT NAME OF RESTAURANT - we got a window seat upstairs with a view of the river and enjoyed one of our favorite meals: grilled calamari, meatballs and wine!

the waiters (11 year old son of the owner) had a solid pour

After a lovely lunch, we headed back to our hotel to check out and grab our bags and jumped in a cab back across the river to our 2nd hotel PERADAYS guesthouse in Beyoglu.  We really wanted the chance to experience the newer (read: where locals actually live) part of Istanbul.   We spent the afternoon wandering through windy, cobblestone streets, popping into antique shops and boutiques and enjoying a lovely dinner at an open air restaurant at The Corrine Hotel (where I would LOVE to stay on my next visit).  

Dinner @ The Corrine

We spent our last day in Istanbul exploring more of the Beyoglu area: Galata Tower and along Istiklal Street and drinking wine in a cave (great practice for the final leg of our trip - staying in a cave hotel in Cappadocia):

Another great day!