Even though we were both a little sick in early May, we decided — on a whim and a bunch of bonus miles — to go to Istanbul for the weekend.  It was the week after swine flu hit the the papers, and we tried to keep our sneezing and coughing to a minimum, since every sniffle caused the entire plane to stare in fear as if your head was spinning, exorcist style.  In theory, we were supposed to walk by a body heat-sensing detector as we disembarked at Ataturk, but due to the general disorganization of landing at 11 p.m. on a Friday, and the fact that both of us actually were feverish (not swine flu, I swear) and did not want to get detained, we managed to sneak right by without questioning from the authorities.  

We stayed at a charming little hotel within walking distance of all the sights: Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar. We walked along the mighty mighty Bosphorus. We ate dinner in a narrow cobblestone alleyway in the now-trendy part of the old city. It’s definitely a place we could live and feel at home.