1 week later

So I'm sitting at my kitchen table and finally need to finish the story.....

I left off on Thursday after the conference ended. Now I was invited by Jen to go on a "cruise" of the Mediterranean with one of the labs. It was all expenses paid, buffet, booze and 3.5 hours. My stomach was just not what it should have been and I didn't think that it would have been in my best interest to be on a boat if something went wrong. So I told Jen thanks but I couldn't do it. Eventually it was decided that I would go to dinner with Eric, Alan, David and Alan's friend Brad. We got in the same cab we had used earlier for shopping and he promised that he would take us to a memorable dining experience. After another harrowing ride through "Old Antalya" we arrived at the Alp Pasa Hotel which also happened to have a real honest to goodness "ala carte" restaurant. The waiter was a dead ringer for John Turtorro, down to the fake smile. I kept thinking of Quiz Show and Do the Right Thing. But Eric was thinking more about Transformers. At any rate the waiter had never heard of him...so much for Hollywood's international influence.
The best dish on the menu was a stuffed steak with cheese...this normally would have been fine for me to order but I really wasn't 100%, so I just ordered a steak without the cheese and a salad. The salad was fantastic, but the steak was just ok. Everybody raved about the stuffed steak but I just knew I couldn't deal. When we got back I knew I had to pack and get ready for the long trip home.

Next day I got up early and headed down for breakfast. Alas the restaurant was not open yet. My stomach still didn't feel quite right, but I was really hungry so at the airport David and I (who had shared a cab with me) had breakfast. I had an omelet then headed through security with David. Now my itinerary was tight, I would have just about 1 hour once I got to Istanbul to get to my next leg from Istanbul to Munich. Of course my flight was delayed; I had a very good reason to get home, as I was playing in the Take a Swing At Cancer softball tournament with my team. We took off about 10 minutes late and when we landed I realized I had 40 minutes to get to my plane. I was walking with Murray, who was very chatty but I had a big problem; my stomach was sending me a message: go directly to the bathroom right NOW!! I ignored the message as I THOUGHT I will just mosey on down to my gate then go. Well, 1st I had to leave the Domestic Terminal and get a new ticket for the rest of my journey. This actually meant leaving the secure area entirely and essentially starting over. I go to the ticket counter get my tickets, then I have to go through security again. Then Passport control.
By the time I get through there, I have 20 minutes until my flight leaves, or 5 minutes until the gate closes. Also I am having a huge problem; if I don't get to the bathroom, I'm going to be one really embarrassed adult; lets just say I was looking for a Depends box. Murray is jabbering away and I cannot stop thinking about going to the bathroom; now I'm close to my gate my thought is get on the plane and go there; we go down a ramp, my gate is of course the last one ...Istanbul is a huge airport. Finally I get to the gate and OMG there is a huge line, we have to go through security to get to the gate!! However my flight is delayed 20 minutes!! Murray says: "No WC at the gate Josh." I literally turn and run back the 150 yards to the last one I saw.
Well the story ends happily....I got on that plane and the next one from Munich to Boston. No more drama and nothing else very interesting.

thanks for reading this blog; its fun writing my travel experiences, I hope you enjoyed reading them as much I as I enjoyed writing them. Until the next trip....