Not a particularly exciting day...traveling from Izmir to Istanbul. But I adore train rides & this one was wonderful...just under 6 hours to get from Izmir to Bandirma (on the Sea of Marmara). Lots of snoozing, daydreaming, writing & eating all the tasty snacks I had bought the night before.

Then I was absolutely tickled when an extremely attractive man carried my bag from the train station to the ferry terminal. I must have looked really confused when I stepped off the train & was looking for the ferry. It was a short walk, but he insisted on this & was just lovely. Too bad he wasn't coming to Istanbul! Nice to know chivalry is still alive & well!

Then a 2 hour ferry ride to Istanbul. Then it was haggling over taxi fare to get to my hostel. I have to say, this was not fun & then the driver didn't know how to get to the place, so he literally dropped me off & told me to walk b/c it was close. To his credit, he found someone to give me directions & it was only a 15min walk. But I was not amused. Instead of telling me he didn't know, he just said that the traffic was blocked in the area. Absolute hogwash b/c when I got to the hostel, taxis were going up & down the street.

No matter though, got to the place...seriously awesome & the rooftop bar view of the Hagia Sophia was stunning! And the bar tender was super awesome & played great music.

I love the slow days where I don't do much & still enjoy myself immensely;0)

Tagged: sophia chivalry izmir bandirma istanbul journey travel destination