My Trip to Istanbul

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their loved ones^^ I was fortunate enough to celebrate twice with a Friendsgiving that was too lit last weekend and with Joe at his apartment yesterday. I ate real good both times and have a blast.

Earlier this month I had my first work trip abroad to Istanbul. I didn't really get to see to much until the last morning before my flight. Each night I would try to go out and see a little bit near my hotel. A lot of the modern building construction reminded me on China and the driving oh lord that sure did remind me of China haha

There was a street near my hotel that was like 5th avenue in NYC. I also got to go to a really cool street near Taksim Square. It was a really long street that had different shops and restaurants along side.

On the last day I woke up early and headed to Hagia Sophia; it was so beautiful! I originally wanted to go to the Blue Mosque, but it opened later due to the prayer schedule on Friday. I'm really happy that I took the time to go see it rather than sleeping in.

You also had the option to walk up to the next floor above the main area. What was really interesting is the walkway was so old that it wasn't stairs. It was like walking on cobblestones that gradually got steeper and steeper as you made your way up.

 Once you get to the top you're greeting by this beautiful ceiling.

I actually took the metro to get to Hagia Sophia and it was very easy to navigate. Apparently if you take a taxi you can end up getting stuck on the bridge that takes you from the Europe side to the Asia side for hours.

I made my back to the hotel to pick up my bags and headed to my first flight back from Istabul to Paris. Traveling back was a little scary because I was in Paris during the attacks at the airport but I didn't know what had occurred until I landed back in NYC after my second flight from Paris to NYC. I remember feeling really shocked when I saw what was happening on social media being that I had just been there. I always take the time to be thankful and cherish the people in my life and being that close to a tragedy that has affected a lot of people has only reinforced that for me. I hope you all stay blessed and safe.