Istanbul

Part of my job is planning my organization's International Meeting. Yes this is cool, but NO I do not actually get to travel to said country. My first meeting to plan was in Dublin, so I was okay with the fact that I didn't get to go ... I had already been there. But then I heard about our next destination - Istanbul.

Istanbul had never been on my list of "must-see" cities. When I studied abroad in England I hit a good portion of Western Europe, but did not show any love to the Eastern section of the continent. My boss told me that I needed to start looking up properties in Istanbul, and I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw in the city. Then The Bachelorette with Ali took the men to Istanbul and the city quickly jumped up there on my bucket list. The history, the water, the gorgeous mosques and extravagant markets really pushed me over the edge. I was officially really bummed I didn't get to travel there for work. My mood, however, has dramatically changed since the start of this work week.

My boss arrived on Sunday, and Monday we learned our packages with all our meeting supplies were stuck in customs. Have you ever tried to deal with Fed Ex, customs, and a EXTREMELY irritated, jet-lagged boss?? Not FUN! Evidently contracts aren't big in the country, and everything has been very last minute for the whole meeting. All the stress I have gone through in just these 2.5 days has turned me off. There must have been a reason why I stuck to Western Europe in college. Sorry Istanbul, Venice is still holding strong at the top of my Must See list.