After 6 months of working flat out, I realised that I still had 6 weeks holiday to cram in between now and November. Remembering the old addage of "use it or lose it", I fired up the web, looked for a cheap holiday away from Saudi and therefore away from the phone, and hey presto, here we are in Istanbul. What a place. This has been on the visit list for a few years now but for some reason, never made it to the top. We are staying in a small place called The Legend Hotel in the heart of the Old City; a great location with about 1,000 + restaurants, or so it seems, within walking distance. If you are a vegetarian, I would recommend visiting a different country, but if you like meat, meat and more meat, get on a plane and come here! The smells and sounds of sizzling kebabs make it hard to get through the day on only 3 meals, and the local tea shops provide a great social gathering place for locals and travellers alike, with a cup of local tea at about 40 pence. The architecture here is incredible; a trip into the Hagia Sofia with its stunning mosaics and paintings, followed by an afternoon in the Grand Bazaar with its 4,000 shops selling everything you could possibly think of...Inclement weather today, but so what? A mile walk to the ferry terminal, onto a ferry across the Bosphorous to...Asia...and another mile walk to check out the marina for future potential as a wintering spot for Quasar IV in a few years time. A wander back through a student demonstration, another ferry, a trip to the Hodja Pasha Cultural Centre to book a ticket for a traditional Turkish dance evening, tea in the tea gardens near the hotel, followed by a 1 hour kip and a thirst quenching Efes beer, one of our favourites from Northern Cyprus days. Time for dinner in the roof restaurant overlooking the Blue Mosque now. I feel a kebab coming on.....