Last night was spent on a bus*, making it my 5th night bus in 65 days and my third in Turkey. Whew. But don't worry about me because I'm now enjoying my birthday gift from my family - being pampered at the Hilton! I've got: a view of the Bosphorus from my room, a bathrobe and slippers, champers and birthday cake, red wine and cheese, a beautiful fruit plate, and a gal at the executive desk who is taking care of all my needs and wants to emulate me and quit her job and go travel (it's contagious). It's pretty slick but I can still find a way to thwart myself in such circumstances. As I write this, tomorrow is my birthday, so I was going to save the bubbly for then and dive in to the red wine tonight. I started to open the bottle, and I broke the opener. So I called guest services, they delivered another of the same type within 5 minutes and...I broke it too. I just couldn't call again, so I popped open the bubbly, lit the candle on the cake and sang the happy birthday song to myself one day early. Now I think I'm going to go finish it (don't worry, it's a small bottle) on my balcony and watch the boats, barges, and ships sail by me on the Bosphorus.

* published on a day lag - do not complain to management