...finally, a bit of good news in Istanbul (at least for the moment)

Thanks to the generosity and open hospitality of our friend Gilles, we traded our smoky and noisy hostel for a park-side penthouse in with great views of the entire city! For the next 10 days, until Gilles and his wife return from separate business trips, we have the run of their place. And this bit of luxury could not have come at a better time since Kevin is fighting a cold and the lack of sleep and surplus of smoke of the past 10 days have done neither of us any good. So, this morning we eagery packed up our things and loaded up our bikes and...nothing, my bike wouldn't start! It seems the red lion got stiff from being parked outside in the cold and rain without any activity for more than a week. Kevin diagnosed the problem as a low battery, and he went to ATA Moto, where he has become a fixture, and procured some jumper cables and a spare battery. But low and behold, by the time he came back and tried the ignition once again, it started up without a problem. Go figure. No worries though, we were just so happy to zoom off and away from what has often felt like a college frat-house dorm room and into a proper "home".