Istanbul encore

I slept most of the flight to Istanbul.  But that, along with an apparent glitch in the onscreen clock, meant I had no clue what time it really was when we landed.  All I knew is it was dark outside, and the screen didn’t match my itinerary’s listed time.  Who knew Turkish Airways celebrated April Fool’s Day?  The guys at the counter must’ve thought I was nuts when I had to ask them for the correct day and time, but it turns out the itinerary was right all along.

This meant I had another chance to run around Istanbul!  Not nearly as long, but now I confidentially took the metro downtown and walked around that spice market that eluded me before.  The cool, foggy morning was the complete opposite of the Indonesian weather I’d just left, but it was exactly what this groggy girl required to stay alert.  Clearly, this is a city that deserves to be a destination on some future trip.  Back at the airport, I had way too much time and Turkish lira on my hands, but the gift shop took care of both for me.

I was determined to stay awake on the flight back to start fighting jetlag, which meant a movie marathon was in order.  Some great films, but I was over-saturated by the time we landed.  All things considered, the flights were so long I could’ve watched the entire "Lord of the Rings" or Harry Potter series with time to spare, but I opted for mostly foreign films.

Back on US soil, the customs line at Dulles was the longest I’ve encountered, but it came with a pleasant surprise:  I ran into some friends who’d just returned from India.  If I needed proof that I’m surrounded by jetsetters, this was it!  It was fun swapping stories on the drive back and while I wasn’t ready to return to cold, the cherry blossoms promised warm weather ahead.