We were staying in Istanbul’s Galata neighborhood, which is where our friends Annette and Murat used to live, so we had lots of great recommendations. We started our morning at their favorite coffee shop. Millie ordered crepes which I ate most of.

We packed up our Airbnb, stored our bags in a nearby hotel, and took a taxi over to another Annette & Murat recommendation: their favorite kebab place. We each got small ones and even Millie enjoyed it. We slowly headed back to our bags and waited for our ride to the airport. The little artist drew and drew.

The van-taxi had real shaggin’ wagon meets sultan vibes. The airport is over an hour from central Istanbul so Millie slept for half the ride. Nick and I suffered in our boots since it was so hot. On travel days we have to wear them because they don’t fit in our bags; a flaw in our packing strategy.

The flight was short and easy. When we landed Millie said “wow, it’s beautiful here!”

And she was right! We picked up our rental car and drove the 45 minutes to our hotel. The landscapes reminded us of West Texas: expansive, long shadows, sandstone valleys, and pockets of green alongside the river.

We checked into our traditional cave hotel, with rooms carved into the side of a mountain.

Even though it was past bedtime by this point, we needed dinner. Millie got dressed up (unicorn horn, tutu, extra chapstick) because “it’s a special birthday dinner”.

We walked through the small streets and had a great meal of lamb shank, salad with lots of mint, meat pastries, and a mezze platter with yogurts and hummus and spicy dips. We got back to our cave hotel for a very late bedtime. Nick is reading to Millie now as I finish this post.