a veg life

We are hoping to do a series of posts for our destinations, sharing a bit more in depth about how we used points and miles to get here. Since Rick is the expert in all things points related, he'll be the one explaining how all of this works! Enjoy! The Barclaycard company offers a Lufthansa credit card sign up bonus for 50,000 points after $5,000 dollars in spending within 3 months. I signed up for the card and after meeting the spending requirements, we booked 2 separate one-way flights from San Fransisco to Istanbul (no layovers).   It was only 25,000 points per one-way flight, so the bonus was perfect to book both of our trips to Istanbul.  Each flight has $175.60 in taxes, so we really booked two of us to Istanbul for $351.20.  Keep in mind these flights would have cost a couple thousand dollars each if we had paid with cash only.   Now obviously, we needed to get to San Francisco to catch our first flight; so we booked a quick Southwest flight from...

(posted by Emily) 30 June 2015 Istanbul, Turkey 26,461 steps (11.48 miles walked) On our last morning in Istanbul, we wanted to explore a bit more of the Asian side of the city. Spoiler alert--when we thought we were in Asia the other day, we weren't in acuality.....oops.  Rick did some research about which boat to take, so we hopped on a ferry over to Kadikoy. Some may pay a pretty penny for a Bosphorus cruise but let me tell you--the views were just as stunning from this boat and it was a fraction of the cost! Only 4TL per person.  View of the Old City From R to L: Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, and the Blue Mosque Once we arrived, we wandered around the neighborhoods near the water. Moda has a great reputation for being sort of like the Brooklyn of Istanbul, and we found that we really loved it. The streets were quiet, and it was the first insatnce we had had in the city where we felt like we were actually experiencing Istanbul and what it is really like to live there....

(posted by Emily) 29 June 2015 Istanbul, Turkey 39,766 steps (18.23 miles) Monday was another early morning for us. After another great breakfast at Black Tulip, we walked up to the Hagia Sophia area in order to be on time for the opening of the Basilica Cistern at 9am. We wandered the neighborhood a bit, taking in another calm morning and views of the museum. While we waited for the istern to open, we found a spot on a bench nearby and made a new friend, who followed us over to our seats. Almost as soon as Rick said, "I don't think she'll jump up here," we had a seatmate. The Basilica Cistern is an underground water storage area named for a basilica that was once in existence on top of the subterranean cavern. Of all the museums and exhibits we've seen here, I think this one was my favorite. The lighting was spectacular, and it was quiet and calm so early in the morning. There is music playing inside, adding to the mystical mood.  In the back corner of the cister...