Life of a travel writer: loving the work

As much as I loved the dinners and parties in Istanbul, I have to admit though that the highlight for us was the work rather than the play. While some of the other press, including writers who'd flown all the way from New York for just a few days, seemed content to sleep in, enjoy the free spa treatments and meals, and kick back at the hotel, for us there were too many other fabulous opportunities in the city to ignore. Every day was jam-packed with interviews and shoots - with chefs, fashion designers and an oud craftsman - and squeezing in time to explore and photograph the less written about areas of Istanbul in between. After the W we shifted to another boutique hotel, Lush, closer to the action around Taksim and Beyoglu, and we pounded the pavement all day every day. It was hard work but we got to meet some incredibly fascinating people and not only got great material for the stories we were commissioned to write, but we were also able to gather content we can continue to use for many months to come. That's the life of a travel writer for me. And I love it!