For maritime reasons , we were docked on the far side of the Istanbul ports overnights, early morning today we made our way into the Istanbul Port and getting glimpses of the amazing Istanbul sights.

Amazing seeing the Istanbul landscape again with the distinctive mosques !! So love this place.
It was a quick coffee and we were all down exiting the ship.
Everyone had booked a walking tour whilst Nita and I had decided to skip that and just chill and relive the moments from our 2013 visit.

The Istanbul Cruise Terminal is massive, almost like an airport. It was a bit of a walk to just make it outside the terminal, outside it was cold ! A short walk up to the tram system.

We all walked about in the Sultanahmet district and then the others went to find their walking tour.
Nita and I headed towards Hagia Sophia and found a nice coffee shop for a morning coffee break whilst just taking in the environment.

People watching is great past time, all you need is a nice coffee and croissant…. nothing fancy , these two is all you need and a comfortable chair.
Next we walked about, visited the first hotel we stayed back in 2013, revisited the coffee / chocolate shop where Priya found her stalker , Grand Bazaar visit for Saffron buying and finally ended at Istiklal Cadesi.

Lunch was a Turkish wrap and Shish Kebab in Istiklal Cadesi . Great food here.
Back at the Ship for a freshen up , then it was to meet the gang to head out for evening rooftop drinks. Unfortunately weather was not the best, it was drizzling…..

The rooftop location was amazing , however it had limited shaded area , and with the wet weather it was not ideal for us to be there. We head down to the Gelata Bridge – there were numerous restaurants on the bridge, lets try that.

Gelata bridge restaurants do have the best views, however food can be average. It was not bad but not the best, still a great experience.

By the time we finished, rain had stopped, we all headed to the Blue Mosque area, that place is a must view at night.
Getting there, the front view was not too great due to bigger trees now…guess these trees have grown in the last 11 years!
Walked around found a great vantage point from the back and were able to get some great clicks.

Called it a night post the night viewing of blue mosque, now to get back on the ship and tomorrow it was back in Istanbul visiting the Gelata Tower and doing things on our own. The gang were heading to the Grand Bazaar first and then would join in Gelata tower area.