The trip was amazing! Mer and I left Paris in the afternoon and got to Istanbul in the middle of the night. Our hostel had an airport pick-up service so we went straight to bed about an hour after our arrival. We had our free breakfast on the roof-top terrace that we were happy to find out had gorgeous views of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, and the Bosphorus strait.
Istanbul overall was a great city. The old part (where we stayed) was super touristy and full of great sights. The new town (across the bosphorus) was super modern and european. The city is very walkable and the public transportation system is really easy to figure out. It was cool to be in a city where there was a mosque in every neighborhood instead of a church. I also got used to hearing the call to prayer blasted throughout the city 5 times a day. The first few mornings I woke up when they call the first one just after sunrise, but by the end of the week I slept right through it.
The people are so friendly there. We had a joke that we made a new best friend everyday. The first lunch we had our waiter was named Moses and he really wanted to talk to us about Lost. He also told us he really wanted to visit New Jersey and Utah "to do the ski". We also met some turkish teenagers who wanted to practice their english with us and they were really excited to go to Wisconsin some day. We even had a waiter tell another waiter that we were his "best friends". A 15 year old waiter also fell in love with Meredith and made her a flower out of a napkin. He looked crushed when we asked for the check.
All in all, Istanbul comes highly recommended from yours truly.
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