Today started reasonably well, although way too early, with a trip to the Spice Bazaar. For some unknown reason we were picked up before dawn by our tour guide, and arrived at the Bazaar almost before the store holders.
They were just setting up their stalls and washing down the floor as we carefully stepped around the mops and puddles. As always, the store holders were very friendly and we all trooped in to one stall for a cup of tea and a sales pitch.
Eventually Darren bought some tea and we went outside to take photos of the only sunbeam of the day, and another magnificent mosque.
By the time we left to catch a boat the rain was tremendous, and once the boat set off we had a very limited view.
The Bosphorus is a very important Strait that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and then on to the Mediterranean. It also separates Europe from Asia, and has a bridge between the two.
Unable to see anything from the warmth of the indoor lower deck, we headed upstairs to fully appreciate the view of the two continents.
Arriving back to the dock fully chilled, and with the rain really hammering down, we decided to cut short our day and catch the bus back to our hotel.
This is when the day took on a very disappointing turn - we stood in the rain at a bus stop for 40 minutes as the first bus didn't turn up, but then the second one waved us away and wouldn't let us on. Fully fed up, to put it mildly, we then walked along the road and found a small bus station, and after a delay another bus did then arrive.
It ferried us to our distant hotel, but dropped us 20 minutes walk away. At long last it stopped raining and we found a path over the ultra wide highway and back to our room.
Four hours later and I am just warming up, the hotel happy hour is just starting and so things are looking up.
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