Good afternoon from onboard Turkish Airlines in real-time, flying 30,000 feet in the air somewhere over Pakistan, on my way home from a wonderful #Travelife sort of long weekend in Istanbul.

The flight was past midnight so we checked out of the Park Hyatt Istanbul – Maçka Palas, Istanbul’s most private luxury hotel, at 1030 PM, conveniently avoiding rush hour traffic in Istanbul so that our hotel car was driving up the Ataturk Airport ramp in just 30 minutes.

This was a simple R&R weekend, just for a change of scenery from Asia. I admit it’s a pretty long way to go for this, but I am so glad we did it. 

Everyday we simply did what we wished to do, and usually this meant breakfast at noon, a few hours of sightseeing in Istanbul, in just one chosen neighborhood, and then back to the hotel for a good dinner there or in one of the great restaurants around Nisantasi, the most fashionable area for locals.

We did lots of room service at the Park Hyatt Istanbul for lunch and dinner, just because they have a great Angus rib-eye, very fresh seabass straight from the market, and an excellent assortment of baklava. 

But we also ate at a casual but very well regarded restaurant called Basekosi in Nisantasi twice. 

This has always been a great favorite of mine and it has the best kebabs in Istanbul, being the sister restaurant of the Kosebasi chain, where I once took over 70 Travelife Magazine readers and friends for a kebab dinner I’m sure they still remember.

Yesterday, our last day in Istanbul, was spent pretty much the same way. Breakfast at noon — IMHO the Park Hyatt Istanbul has the best room service breakfast in Istanbul so we always ordered the same breakfast everyday and room service already had our orders on file — and then a short walk around Nisantasi. 

Breakfast consisted of eggs royale, plates of fresh fruit and plates of fresh vegetables, plus a wonderful bakery basket, yoghurt, olives, honey and clotted cream. Plus my daily round of raw juices. Nothing unusual as far as luxury hotels are concerned, but this room service at the Park Hyatt Istanbul was absolutely delicious.

Then we walked across the hotel for the famous minced lamb kebabs of Basekosi, just 1 minute from the Park Hyatt, for dinner.

It was a beautiful day at 21 degrees. 

I took this selfie sitting on the steps of a 12th century mosque in Nisantasi while my companion went inside for a look as it was prayer time. This is a wash & wear hairstyle, by the way, straight from the hammam in my Park Hyatt Istanbul spa suite, simply because I forgot to bring my hairbrush to Istanbul.

And then we went to the food hall to stock up on white asparagus, leafy herbs and greens, pistachio and the sweetest blackberries I’ve ever tasted — all to bring back home and keep the feeling of this wonderful long weekend in Istanbul a little longer with me, living a #Travelife.