To Istanbul via Madrid

As I mentioned in my previous blog, a family wedding in Istanbul took us to Turkey via Madrid.  The wedding was in an amazing hotel called Ciragan Palace overlooking the Bosphorous river.  The wedding colors were orange and fuschia and here is feast for your eyes...

Our trip to Istanbul also included of course stalking some design stores.  I didn't have any volunteers who wanted to browse any design stores, so my cousin/niece Jani (gorgeous bachelorette) felt sorry for me and tagged along.  The first few pictures are of Tulu a beautiful shop in Istanbul.

And ofcourse the Grand Bazzar...

For the first part of our stay in Istanbul, we stayed at the Byzantine Hotel.  It was right smack in the middle of all the mosques and the tourist attractions in Sultanahmet.  The best part of it was that most of the hotels in the cobble stone streets were mansions converted to hotels and restaurants. 
We hounded this restaurant Albura Kathisma practically on a daily basis as the food was outstanding and the service even better.