Asia, here I come!
Sadly, I won't make it to Jus in Bello in 2011 :( I really did want to go, to see the boys again, plus other fans and Kripke, but I had to choose between JIB and another trip. And as much fun as I had in JIB, I've been there once, whereas I've never been to Turkey.
That is to say: we're going to Istanbul in April! We got our holidays approved and booked flights and hotel. I was delighted to discover that Finnair flies directly from Helsinki to the Atatürk International Airport and that the flight takes only a little over three hours.
N and I spent a couple of hours determining the area most suited for our needs (Google maps rocks, FYI) and picked Sultanahmet with its many historical attractions. The hotel we found through booking.com, another great resource for figuring out stuff. There were several good contenders in our price range but we ended up in a place called Hotel California, because how could we not?
I've been fascinated by the Byzantine empire since my early teens and a whole week in the middle of what remains might be just the thing to quell my thirst for more. I'm terribly excited already but also a bit worried. There are so many questions! What vaccines do we need? How well do they speak English there? Do you need to be covered to enter the mosques? Are you allowed to kiss in public? Chew gum (I’d probably get deported from Singapore before I even exited the airport)? What to wear?
We've both travelled Europe quite a bit but it's been to countries that are relatively similar to Finland (in the general socio-political sense, at least). I don't imagine that the tourist hot spots in such a major city will significantly differ from what we're used to (even if the countryside might) but it's always good to be prepared. I'll have to pick up a book or two and see if there are tips and tricks to make our stay as smooth as possible.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. You can also comment there using OpenID.
That is to say: we're going to Istanbul in April! We got our holidays approved and booked flights and hotel. I was delighted to discover that Finnair flies directly from Helsinki to the Atatürk International Airport and that the flight takes only a little over three hours.
N and I spent a couple of hours determining the area most suited for our needs (Google maps rocks, FYI) and picked Sultanahmet with its many historical attractions. The hotel we found through booking.com, another great resource for figuring out stuff. There were several good contenders in our price range but we ended up in a place called Hotel California, because how could we not?
I've been fascinated by the Byzantine empire since my early teens and a whole week in the middle of what remains might be just the thing to quell my thirst for more. I'm terribly excited already but also a bit worried. There are so many questions! What vaccines do we need? How well do they speak English there? Do you need to be covered to enter the mosques? Are you allowed to kiss in public? Chew gum (I’d probably get deported from Singapore before I even exited the airport)? What to wear?
We've both travelled Europe quite a bit but it's been to countries that are relatively similar to Finland (in the general socio-political sense, at least). I don't imagine that the tourist hot spots in such a major city will significantly differ from what we're used to (even if the countryside might) but it's always good to be prepared. I'll have to pick up a book or two and see if there are tips and tricks to make our stay as smooth as possible.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. You can also comment there using OpenID.