Couldn't wait to check in to Sultania but really needed to sleep in a bit. Was not sad to miss breakfast - all these buffets have been taking their toll. My 'half-marathon' fitness level is officially a memory!
I could not believe the traffic going from hotel A to hotel B. I officially couldn't live here. My blood pressure couldn't take it...and I wasn't even in a hurry.
Hotel Sultania is a gorgeous boutique hotel with lots of nice touches. I was happy the moment I walked in. While I waited for my room to be ready and the car that the guest services lady arranged for me from the Antique Carpets store, I grabbed a coffee. It just so happened that the royal wedding was being broadcast on BBC in the restaurant and I totally got sucked in! A city to explore and I'm getting weepy when I see how nervous and excited Prince William is?!?! Oh dear!
The driver finally arrived to save me from my folly and off I was to spend thousands of Euros on a carpet! I've always wanted a proper Turkish/oriental rug. Part of the reason I chose to visit Turkey was to look for one and spend my 2010 bonus on.
I told the guy I'd had the schpeel on how they're made a couple of times this trip so we could skip that part. I told him I was after something medium to large sized with blues, so I thought, and not for 10's of thousands. He brought me some apple tea and they began showing me their wares.
It's an expensive purchase so I wanted to take my time. I went back and forth feeling badly that it was taking so long though. I must have looked at about 50-75 carpets. Some were obvious no's. Some were gorgeous but too expensive. I learned that I consistently preferred cotton on wool. I discovered that the silk carpets and actually cold to walk on in bare feet...in case the price alone wasn't enough to close the door!
In the end I settled for a 3m x 2m natural colour one for the living room and a 1.9m x 1.2m funky coloured one for the guest bedroom. I think I got a good price; they were just slightly above my budget but they're being shipped to my house and the price includes the rugs, taxes, duty and shipping. And it was quite the experience!
Having already bought a carpet made walking through the Grand Bazaar a lot easier! I could easily pass those shops and instead I mainly just wandered, ignored the vendors and bought a pair of earrings and my Christmas ornament souvenir.
Next stop was the hotel spa! I arranged for a 45min massage. While the spa facilities were gorgeous the massage itself is memorable in the 'one of the worst' category. Ah well, I've been pretty lucky so far-I guess I was due for a dud!
I chilled in the room before prettying up for dinner for one in the hotel's rooftop restaurant. It had lovely views of the city which was nice. I ate way too much and went on a short walk afterwards. My plan was to walk off dinner and explore a big but all the restaurants had guys out front trying to get you to eat at their restaurants and that got old really fast.
I could not believe the traffic going from hotel A to hotel B. I officially couldn't live here. My blood pressure couldn't take it...and I wasn't even in a hurry.
Hotel Sultania is a gorgeous boutique hotel with lots of nice touches. I was happy the moment I walked in. While I waited for my room to be ready and the car that the guest services lady arranged for me from the Antique Carpets store, I grabbed a coffee. It just so happened that the royal wedding was being broadcast on BBC in the restaurant and I totally got sucked in! A city to explore and I'm getting weepy when I see how nervous and excited Prince William is?!?! Oh dear!
The driver finally arrived to save me from my folly and off I was to spend thousands of Euros on a carpet! I've always wanted a proper Turkish/oriental rug. Part of the reason I chose to visit Turkey was to look for one and spend my 2010 bonus on.
I told the guy I'd had the schpeel on how they're made a couple of times this trip so we could skip that part. I told him I was after something medium to large sized with blues, so I thought, and not for 10's of thousands. He brought me some apple tea and they began showing me their wares.
It's an expensive purchase so I wanted to take my time. I went back and forth feeling badly that it was taking so long though. I must have looked at about 50-75 carpets. Some were obvious no's. Some were gorgeous but too expensive. I learned that I consistently preferred cotton on wool. I discovered that the silk carpets and actually cold to walk on in bare feet...in case the price alone wasn't enough to close the door!
In the end I settled for a 3m x 2m natural colour one for the living room and a 1.9m x 1.2m funky coloured one for the guest bedroom. I think I got a good price; they were just slightly above my budget but they're being shipped to my house and the price includes the rugs, taxes, duty and shipping. And it was quite the experience!
Having already bought a carpet made walking through the Grand Bazaar a lot easier! I could easily pass those shops and instead I mainly just wandered, ignored the vendors and bought a pair of earrings and my Christmas ornament souvenir.
Next stop was the hotel spa! I arranged for a 45min massage. While the spa facilities were gorgeous the massage itself is memorable in the 'one of the worst' category. Ah well, I've been pretty lucky so far-I guess I was due for a dud!
I chilled in the room before prettying up for dinner for one in the hotel's rooftop restaurant. It had lovely views of the city which was nice. I ate way too much and went on a short walk afterwards. My plan was to walk off dinner and explore a big but all the restaurants had guys out front trying to get you to eat at their restaurants and that got old really fast.
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