....Hello Istanbul!

Even on the airplane, I knew Istanbul was going to be fantastic. It was one of the most amazing views I've seen from an airplane window.

The one description of Istanbul that I had heard over and over was it's eclectic mix of East and West. I could see it even in the airport, young girls in their Western trendy clothes mixed with young girls dressed more conservatively - a head scarf here, a full Burka there. I was about to learn that, in Istanbul, anything goes and everything is possible.

When we got off the plane, the girls and I were crossing our fingers that our Turkish hosts would be waiting for us at the prearranged location. Fortunately, after a bus and taxi ride, we arrived at Akmarkez Shopping Mall - and there they were.

The back story on our Turkish hosts: Two Turkish brothers, Bahadir and Tolga, both university students, we met in Amsterdam. We talked with them for 30 minutes, maybe a little longer at the Smallest Pub in Amerstdam, and exchanged contact information. After a few Facebook messages, we informed the brothers we wanted to visit Istanbul, and they invited us to stay with them. Crazy, I know. Even they knew that, as Bahadir said on our taxi ride to the house, "I say to Tolga yesterday, how do they know to trust us?'' Good question, Bahadir. But as we both agreed, it only takes a few minutes after meeting someone for your intuition to kick on and say, this is a kind person (there are exceptions of course, but we won't get into that...let's just say, thank god this was not an exceptional situation).

Back to the trip... we taxied to their house, and the first thing I noticed (other than the gorgeous view from their street which was on the side of a hill overlooking the city and the water), was the stray dogs and cats parading around like they owned the streets. Apparently, Istanbul is full of stray animals and they are taken care of by the city and its inhabitants. The house, which was actually a 1-bedroom apartment inside a shared house, was small but sufficient. A futon, one bed, and an extra mattress, fitting exactly 5 people. As girls, we were skeptical, but the boys (thanks to their mother who did a wonderful job raising them to be polite gentlemen and rotary club members - yes, in Turkey), were fully prepared with sheets, pillows, towels and a ''guests take priority'' policy.

The first thing they did was take us for Turkish food at a local university food joint called Wonderlands. It was great - spicy meats and bread soaked with sauces. A needed break from the rich but bland French foods. Then, we went for a walk through the Bogazici University campus - surprisingly it looked like a Virginia college campus! Finally, we walked through Bebek, a wealthy Istanbul neighborhood right on the water. We walked past the docked boats, the little shops and food stands, and ended up, of all places, at Starbucks. This wasn't any Starbucks though - it had a back deck that overlooked the Bosphorus, the strait connecting the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara. So we sat, enjoyed the atmosphere and got to know our new friends until it was time for much-needed sleep.