CommunityBuzz! - SZG's birthday dinner at IST - 9th October 2010

Dear fellow FTers,

After celebrating my birthday in LAX, SFO and HNL, the 4th birthday party will be held in IST.

I will be from the 8th until 10th October 2010 at IST and will celebrate my birthday with a dinner on the 9th October 2010. If you would like to come and meet me, please let me know!

There is no secret about my age - I will celebrate my 37th birthday.

I haven´t choose the restaurant right now, but I know, that we are all busy and I thought, that I will tell you the date as soon as possible, so that there is no excuse not to come.


Day: Saturday, October 9th 2010
Location:
Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul
Ciragan Caddesi 32, Besiktas,
34349 Istanbul
+90 212 326 4646

Meeting at 6 pm for drinks at the bar
Reservation at the restaurant at 8 pm

ATTENDEES: (4)
szg
gvdIAD
Lori_Q
lili
totmode
rcs
flysurfer
Where2Next?
Mipf76
violist

REALLY WANT TO COME, BUT CAN'T QUITE CONFIRM YET:
egon.olsen
violist
wijomas
BizziBB

CAN´T COME:

Count me in - calendar booked :)

IST has been on my list for awhile. I will try to be there!

Count me in - calendar booked :)

+1

Consider me interested. It's so considerate of you to have a birthday that works so nicely with the American Columbus Day holiday!

IST has been on my list for awhile. I will try to be there!

+1

Interested, though the dates were spoken for by something else. That will be fixed.

Whether I can justify 3 trips from NZ to Europe in as many months or not is the question. But it's a question I'll definitely try to find a positive answer to if I can! :D

I mentioned the question your upcoming birthday Do while chatting in the IC lounge in ADL last night. :p

Answered with this thread. :)

IST is also on my list; It's also my birthday at the same time and I want to make it to one of these, sooner or later.

Not sure if I can get this far at this time but will see if it's possible. ^

Greetings from Adelaide wine country. :)

I added all of you to the list !! ^ Wow !! I am really impressed !!

I'm closer to being a confirmed attendee: I've made reservations at the Conrad arriving the 8th and departing the 11th. I may try to arrive the 7th if I can swing the vacation time. I'll start looking for flight reservations shortly, probably connecting through FRA on either Lufthansa or Turkish.

Hmmmm. DL has a nonstop from NY. Hmmmmm. That makes it feasible for a short weekend hop.

I would like szg to color us as interested. Very interested.

Hmmmm. DL has a nonstop from NY. Hmmmmm. That makes it feasible for a short weekend hop.

I would like szg to color us as interested. Very interested.

Great news !! ^

I'm booked! Flying LH, arriving 4:55 p.m. on Friday, October 8, leaving 5:55 a.m. on Monday, October 11. I haven't decided where to stay yet, but I will make sure it's either the Conrad or someplace in the same area.

So excited!!! If anyone is interested in sightseeing, please let me know. I've never been to Istanbul, and I am very interested in exploring.

Please move me to definite. Checking hotels and air. The Conrad seems rather far from the center. Is there a reason for choosing it over the other Hilton properties?

Just realized that I had not posted that we too are booked for air. Caught awards on the JFK nonstop, in Friday 1015A out Tuesday 1215P.

No decision yet on hotel since that may heavily depend on how many more points we manage to accumulate in the next 30-40 days. Got lots of *wood and Marriott but need some top offs for Hilton or IC.

The Conrad seems rather far from the center. Is there a reason for choosing it over the other Hilton properties?

The reasons I've booked there is for the view over the Bosphorus, but I'm willing to reconsider if other Hilton-ites have different preferences. We all know that szg will be at the IC, so perhaps we should try to find the Hilton property closest to that.

I'm looking at fares and expect to book within the next few days. Like Lori_Q, I'll be arriving Friday and departing Monday, though I should be able to avoid her god-awful departure time on Monday. I had thought about sticking around until Tuesday, but it now appears that I'll need to attend a conference in Columbia, SC beginning Wednesday a.m., and will need to make an appearance in the office on Tuesday.

Move me to confirmed, please. I found a fare that was below my pain threshold and booked.

I'm arriving via FRA on LH3340 on Friday October 8 at 1:00 pm, and returning via MUC on LH3355 on Monday, October 11 at 6:40 am (slightly less bad than Lori_Q's departure time).


ADDED:

szg: It looks like your birthday party has now reached critical mass to qualify as an official FT event!

I'm arriving via FRA on LH3340 on Friday October 8 at 1:00 pm, and returning via MUC on LH3355 on Monday, October 11 at 6:40 am (slightly less bad than Lori_Q's departure time).
Yes, but will you be able to withstand my wheedling to share a taxi to the airport on Monday morning? ;)

I haven't made hotel reservations yet. I'll wait until everyone settles on a consensus, then stay at (or near) the hotel where most attendees are staying.

I will arrive on the 9th Oct at 1 pm, just right for an afternoon tea and the birthday party at night. I am flying back on the 10th Oct at 5 pm.

I have updated the list.

Please put me on the "Can't Come" list, since it's empty. :)

Please add me to the confirmed list. Thanks!

The nasty hand of business has intervened and again we are forced to miss the birthday party of one of our favorite FTers. :(

We regret not being able to fall in with this gang but are sure we will be able to catch up with most sooner than later.

Hello, everyone. Sorry to have been such a slacker recently about posting news. Here goes:

Where2Next? will be joining us! For those of you who have met her on various 'Dos, including SIN 'Do, you know that she is great company. She's also suggested that we spend Saturday touring with the same taxi driver who took Anthony Bourdain around Istanbul on a recent episode of No Reservations. We'd like to get a count of participants, so please PM me if you'd like to come along with us.

SZG, do you have a birthday dinner spot in mind, or shall we hunt for some suggestions? Perhaps some reservations would be a good idea.

It's hard to believe we're only two weeks away from meeting in Turkey! I'm really looking forward to spending time with all of you.

Just saw this thread. So disappointed I can't make it. I'll have to toast szg's birthday from afar! I should buy a bunch of minis from the grocery store & toast with those, so it will seem like I'm helping empty out the IC minibar ;) :D

Cheers.

violist is in Taksim or however you spell it.
Looking forward to a great party this weekend.

I think I still have szg's cell # programmed into mine (the +49#), so a call to wish a happy birthday might be in order! Now - to do it early or when everyone is drinking the entire mini-bar. Decisions, decisions :D

Cheers.

I am on the way to IST.

See you all tonight. ^

I got a phone call. Thanks !! ^

I didn't. :td:

Happy birthday to lili too!

Thanks for joining. We had a great dinner at a great location.

See you next year again ....... :)

I didn't. :td:

Happy birthday to lili too!

Ok that's a thread that needs to be started. Happy Birthday lili! Oh and you to SGZ.

Hey to violist and Lori_Q. That had to make for a great dinner.

I only called the birthday folk whose cell # I had, and that would be szg's. Hopefully he's forgiven me for singing Happy Birthday way-y-y off-key. And since it wasn't noon yet here, no drinking on my end as an excuse. :D

Hope you all had a fab time & sorry for any birthday folk I missed.

Cheers.

Bummer, I just saw this thread :( It is especially disappointing since I just landed in Athens, coming from IST and I was there during the weekend!!!

Anyhow, I should check flyertalk more often.

Happy birthday szg! Wish you all the best.

Happy birthday for the other day szg - hope I can make it to your birthday DO next year! :eek:

Anyhow, I should check flyertalk more often.

:rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

:D









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:D

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Edited to add:

rorschi

Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ZRH / MUC / VIE
Programs: LX/LH HON
Posts: 3,987

:rolleyes:

Bummer, I just saw this thread :( It is especially disappointing since I just landed in Athens, coming from IST and I was there during the weekend!!!

Quite a bummer, indeed. Here are a few pics from my weekend excursion in IST: http://gallery.me.com/ricopress#101077&view=mosaic&sel=0&bgcolor=white

Quite a bummer, indeed. Here are a few pics from my weekend excursion in IST: http://gallery.me.com/ricopress#101077&view=mosaic&sel=0&bgcolor=white

Thanks for sharing your pictures !! ^