Istanbul -just a hop, skip and jump from Atlanta

Jim and I started off with a leisurely drive to Atlanta. Our plane didn't leave til late afternoon so we left in plenty of time to avoid the traffic jam from the construction and to get our boarding passes fixed for the Paris to Istanbul flight since we could not get those online.
The flight from Atlanta to Paris was fine and uneventful and even though we were not lucky enough to get bumped up to first class or anything, it was a pleasant flight. We arrived in Paris at breakfast time and had plenty of time to figure our way around the new terminals. They surely do not make it easy. Things were at least marked this time but it seems whoever designed it, made it is difficult as it could be. I feel for people who have disabilities that go through there. But we made it fine after going up and down several flights of stairs and going outside and getting on a bus that drove all around the parking lot and got us to the terminal that was directly next to the one we arrived in..... We all were sitting in the nice waiting area and suddenly, an Air France guy came over and said that the plane had changed gates and we needed to come now. It was still almost an hour before flight time so that kind of seemed rushed. Again we got to go through and give our boarding passes and go down steps and get on a bus that drove us out in the tarmac-but literally, the bus driver was not sure exactly which plane was ours! Someone ran in and made sure it was the right one and we filed off and went back up another set of steps to get on the plane. Well that is all just part of the thrill of traveling and the sense of satisfaction when you actually are able to hump all the hoops and make it on your plane. We settled in for a four hour ride from Paris to Istanbul. I have to say that this Air France plane had the least leg room I think I have ever seen in a plane of this size, but the good thing was, no one was seated in the 3rd seat so Jim and I could spread out just a bit. We doze a bit, eat a bit, read a bit and before we know it, we are approaching the Istanbul airport. It is cloudy and the wind is gusting and the plane is waving back and forth as it comes in over the ocean toward the runway. At the very last minute, the pilot pulled the plane back up and took off back up in the sky. He came on and announced that the wind was too bad and he was going to try again. It took about 10 min for him to get back in position and we all held our breath and prayed! We were bobbling around and he did seem to come in slower and when he touched down, he only bounced about 5-10 ' off the ground and then came back down and was able to stop the plane just fine. We all clapped. whew. That was not a fun experience.

Our hotel is lovely-the Crowne Plaza in old town. Tomorrow we go on our tour if Istanbul that is included and we are looking forward to that. Amazingly, most of the signs and all are in English. We signed up for the optional tour the next day as well -they will take us to the places we don't go to tomorrow an then they take us to the ship at the right time.
We are tired and heading to bed. Hope all is well back in Tiger land.

Off On Another Adventure!

Tomorrow we are leaving for another adventure. We are flying from Atlanta to Paris to Istanbul where we will spend two nights and tour some before we get on our NCL cruise ship, the Jade, for a 12 night mediterranean cruise. We end up in Barcelona where we will spend two nights and tour there as well, before flying home. So stay tuned for our blogs along the way.