Istanbul
Monday 5.50 a.m. caught express bus 68 to Waterloo and underground using oyster cards to Heathrow so that we arrived in good time for our British Airways flight. We boarded from the new section of terminal 1 and were served with a good hot breakfast. On arrival the coaches took us into the city where we were asked to change to the Hotel Richmond which was a good move as we had an executive room with a Bosphorus view and very comfortable. We went looking for the Atlas restaurant in Beyoglu but in the end went to Afacan which is self-service and we had aubergines and salad. Tuesday to Borusan BMW headquarters and we rehearsed with Mark in the morning and lunch was provided. The orchestra the Istanbul Philharmonic are pros but the conductor Gurer Aykal has them say sorry if they make a mistake! There are 5 of his relations in the orchestra. He was charm itself throughout and at every break there was coffee, tea and delicious cakes! We picnicked in our room and had a rest! Wednesday was a ...