Canakkale - Istanbul

Well... There's not much to write for today. We played the old "pack our bags" game (it's getting a bit old now), before showering, breakfasting, and checking out. Once again we dragged our bags down the street, but we dumped them at the travel agency so that we were free to roam the streets more easily.

From there we made our way the the naval museum. We didn't go inside because it was so lovely out, and there were a lot of things to look at in their outdoor area, including mines, machine guns, torpedos, a periscope, and the wreck of a submarine.

The wrecked submarine was pretty bizarre to see. They had only been able to find half of it after it was destroyed by a mine (or torpedo, we can't quite remember) and what they recovered was looming over it's surroundings towards the back of the park. All crew perished on board so again it almost didn't seem right that it was on display.

We sat in the shade surround by weapons and gazed out over the harbour. A long time passed as we chilled out watching the boats. I still can't get over how so many people lot their lives while trying to capture the expanse of water just in front of us.

Most of the rest of the day is passed much like this. We go and grab drinks on the waterfront at a cafe, we have a late lunch/early dinner at an eatery that doesn't see many tourists (the ceiling is amazing, and Willy accidentally orders kidney which neither of us can stomach - it's really strong), we grab a couple of bags of msg laden spicy peanuts, and eventually hop on the ferry which takes us to the tour agency's bus that will take us to Istanbul.

The bus driver doesn't win many friends as he spends the entire ride with his window wide open, half in the other lane, stopping for smokes,txting, and talking loudly on his cellphone... We eventually arrive in Istanbul an hour late. When we arrive they drop of the first few people then transfer us to a mini bus. There's a problem though... There are fifteen seats for seventeen people, and nowhere near enough space to fit all of the luggage.

Willy and I look at each other. Stuff it, we think. We hop in a taxi and ten minutes later are delivered to the door of our hotel. As we drive off, the mini van is still trying to sort out luggage and people, everyone is getting frustrated, and it's just so much easier to not be a part of that at half past midnight.

We step into our room. It's... Ok. Air con, good bed, good pillows, seems quiet - no external windows, but the bathroom smells of damp - I can't see any mold to explain the smell, and despite the bathroom being large the toilet is in the shower. It's as good a place as any for a night but I am pleased that we are moving to our old hotel tomorrow.