Buses and Branches

It was quite a wait to be collected from the bus stop. The tracker didn’t seem to work and we were desperate to get away; partly to avoid the long walk back and partly to leave the beggar’s area. A few local buses came and went and it was a shame that we didn’t take the time to explore these services. Eventually it arrived and we made a dash for the top deck and plugged in our headphones. The bus made a long detour on the main road then passed a stadium and crossed the Bosporus into the Asian side of the city. We had to duck our heads as our bus swiped against overhanging tree branches. After pausing outside the Dolmabahce Palace, we headed down a hill past what looked like a craft beer bar. Then it was into rush hour traffic. Eventually, it seemed as if our driver had enough as we took a back route off the route map down a service road. We soon arrived at our embarkation point. I was all for doing the second route as we’d already paid for it, but Mum wanted to head back to the hotel for a rest. As we’d unlocked the door, I realised that in my haste to connect my headphones to the bus’s on-board commentary system, I’d dropped my sunglasses and left them there.