Tulips! a visit to Keukenhof Gardens

I woke up early on a Saturday morning to visit the world's largest flower garden. And it was worth it! You should definitely consider making a trip to Keukenhof Gardens soon. The tulips are blooming, and they are beautiful.

Getting there: the gardens are in a small town called Lisse. You can take a long bike ride to the gardens, drive, or take the bus. A bus runs from Den Haag Central Station during the week, but on the weekend you can take the train to Leiden and from there buy your bus ticket to reach Keukenhof. The bus ticket is 20 euro and includes the return bus trip and entrance to the gardens. It's not a long bus ride, and you pass some of the tulip fields when you are close to the gardens. (When you arrive at the Leiden train station, get your tickets at the Connexxion booth.)

Timing: GO EARLY. Or go during the week if you can. The crowds really get in the way of strolling at a leisurely pace and enjoying the flowers. The garden is huge, and you will want to see as much as you can before you get tired. Plus the views are much prettier with fewer people around. I went on a Saturday, got to Leiden around 9:45, only had to wait about 20 minutes for a bus, and had a few peaceful hours in the gardens before it became packed. By 2:00 when I left, there were large crowds to enter the park and to get on the bus in Leiden.

Food: There are a lot of cafes and food stands in the garden, so you could eat breakfast there if you want. And if you're there for a long time, you can keep your energy up with food breaks.

ISTANBUL

Istanbul is a fantastic city! We were told it's neither really Europe nor Turkey. Istanbul has its own character. Here are a lot of tips from five happy tourists:

- OTRAKOY: definitely take the time to visit Ortakoy mosque and eat the street food right outside. The food is great and you can eat right next to the water. It's a great place to watch people and boats go by. They have stalls of baked potatoes with a ridiculous number of toppings, and we have decided this is the place to get the BEST street food dessert IN THE WORLD: Ortakoy Waffles. You get a waffle topped with your choice of about 20 toppings! (including various types of chocolate, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, coconut, pistachios, cherries, chocolate chips, etc.) They are FANTASTIC. Try to go on a Sunday so you can shop at the Ortakoy sunday market. To reach Ortakoy, take the tram to the end of the Kabatas line, then walk or take a cheap taksi. You'll pass Dolmabache Palace on the way if you walk.

- Dolmabache Palace: worth the trip, but to avoid the lines, try to go around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. They don't allow you to go on both the general tour and harem tour around those times, so fewer people go then it seems.

- Arasta Bazaar: a small bazaar right by the Blue Mosque that is a much easier place to shop than the Grand Bazaar, plus it seems you can get better deals there.

- Taksim at night: a great place to hang out, go for drinks or dinner, and shop.

- Taksis (taxis) are cheap if you are in a group, and reasonable if you are not. Make sure you ask the driver to use the meter before you get into the cab. The meter is the cheapest way to go. If you are trying to give directions if you are right by your hotel/hostel and you know where you are, use so (left) and sa (right) and your taksi driver might give you a big grin like the one we got!

- Expect to pay for whatever food is brought to the table at a restaurant. If you don't want something, kindly refuse the dish. The meze (small plates) will sometimes be given to you, assuming you want them as starters.

- You might see brochures for the She Tour of the Bosphorous and Spize Bazaar. It's 30 euro. It's a great trip on the Bosphorous, but stay at the spice bazaar (don’t go to the leather "production" - trust us) at the end. Or just take the ferries along the river, which are cheaper but might not have a tour guide telling you what you are seeing... just look around for your Bosphorous options.

- Try Turkish Delight if you've never had it - but make sure to ask the shopkeeper for the kind made with honey instead of sugar. If you taste both you'll see the Turkish Delight made with honey is a lot better. Usually you can ask for samples.

- The street corn might look good, but there is better street food around.

- You can bargain in most shops around the city.

- At the Galata Bridge, there is a tall building with a restaurant called Storks at the top. It has great food and wonderful views (both an outside deck and seats inside with glass windows for the view).

- Hamdi Restaurant: also at Galata Bridge, close to the Spize Bazaar. You'll see it, or ask any of the street vendors where it is. You will need a reservation. Also a place for great views and good food.

- Get to Aya Sofia early in the morning to avoid the line. It's the only Mosque where we paid an entry fee, and the lines are often long.

- Topkapi Palace is not the same as the archeological museum section! When you get inside the gate, the garden is in front of you. The way to get to the palace is to the right, before you go through the gardens. Once up there, the archeological museum is right in front of you, and you keep walking to get to the Palace.

- On a nice day, walk through the garden at Topkapi Palace. At the end of your walk, have Turkish tea or Turkish coffee at the café, overlooking the Bosphorous. (If you order Turkish tea, make sure to mix the tea with the hot water that comes with it. We learned from experience.)

- It's hard to find ATMs and you can't always use credit cards, so keep Turkish lire on you.

- Wander through the gardens of Istanbul University by the New Mosque. You can even go into the school, even though all the students seem to have to show ID to enter.

- New Mosque (next to the Spice Bazaar at the Eminonu tram stop and Galata Bridge)

- Spice Bazaar

- Grand Bazaar (overwhelming at times but very fun; can be more expensive to shop here than other shops)

- If you are going to visit the grand mosque of Sulemaniye, stroll through Istanbul University on your way. (The mosque is magnificent so it's worth seeing the outside, but it's getting renovated so we couldn't see inside)

- Visit a hammam! A Turkish Bath will rejuvenate you after a few days of sightseeing.

- Don't stir you Turkish coffee! It might seem like a futile comment, but in practice this is crucial.

- Mehraba (meh’-rah-bah) = hello

- Tesekur ederim (tesh’-eh-kuhr-ed’-eh-reem’) = thank you

- Nes’-sel-sin’-iz (phoenetic spelling) = how are you

- Women should bring a scarf to mosques (for a head covering)

- Wear shoes that you can slip on and off easily for mosque entry

- The little shops bordering the outside of the Blue Mosque were cheaper than a lot of the shops at the various bazaars

- If you want to hang out under the bridge, grab a drink instead of eating at the restaurants there because the food isn't great, however the cheap food stands selling fish sandwiches and mussels close to the bridge, next to the water were cheap and delicious and you can hang with the locals.

- You might be surrounded by a random swarm of Turkish school children! They are charming and talking with them helps them practice their English.

- Turkish shopkeepers will talk you up but might not be happy when you decline to come in - it's probably better to talk to them if you are genuinely curious or interested in what they have to offer in their shop

- The Baklava is good everywhere!