Change

Absolutely spectacular to wake up to a serious trouncing of the Tories in the UK general election. Political regime change at home and being on my second week of holiday from work = very strong ingredients for a good day. Much celebrating and congratulating with friends all day.

And a good day it was, spent walking and eating our way around Istanbul. The Grand Bazaar is very interesting but so teeming and confusing that it requires periodic breaks, for example on the shaded steps of the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, adjacent to one of the Bazaar exits, in the warren of crowded streets. In a year of poking around here, I doubt I would be able to navigate successfully in the Grand Bazaar.