Day 8 & Day 9

Day 8

This was my favorite day in Istanbul. I slept in til 9:30, then go up and had the breakfast buffet for almost an hour. With a full stomach, I did 2 meeting reports before taking a walk. One of my favorite ways to explore a city is by walking around aimlessly. I walked for about 3 hours, passing the soccer stadium, some mosques, and the heading along the waterfront. On the way back, I picked up a very tasty 2 TL turkish chicken kebab, sour cherry juice (3.50 TL), and a bag of doritos (2 TL). Then, I totall splurged and bought a Turkey soccer scarf from a street vendor for 20 TL. My negotiating skills clearly paid off as he started off indicating it was 35 TL (which I probably would have bought it for, but enjoyed the challenge of talking him down).

My colleague and I went out for lunch with my company's new representative in Turkey, who took us to a traditional Turkey restaurant in an indoor/outdoor mall (The Canyon). The food and company were both fantastic.

I ended the night doing some more work, and then relaxing and watching Good Night and Good Luck which I borrowed from the hotel concierge. A nice last full day in Istanbul.


Day 9

My colleague and I got up early so we could enjoy our last breakfast buffet at the Park Hyatt Istanbul. Forget the Waldorft Hilton in London, this PHI is my favorite hotel. The fact there was basically no-one staying there at the same time as us meant we had the staff's full attention, and experienced excellent customer service.

We were driven to our 3 meetings, and then had a company driver take us to the airport. We barely had time to check in and fill up on Efensen Pilsner and nuts in the first class lounge, before we flew to Brussels. Brussels is a much more managable city, and made a good impression on me when our cab took Amex!

The Sheraton Brussels is more of an...efficient hotel than the two others we've stayed. I'm just another guest to them, but I like my room, and the service is just fine. Typing this in the lobby using complimentary Internet, and will then head off to bed. Good night!