Blogs from Bodrum, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East - page 8

Geo: 37.0391, 27.4302Alex: The other day we went to the beach bright and early in the morning and had a little fun. On the way home we stopped by Kate' new Turkish friend's house. She was going to the beach and we asked if she would like to come up to our house to the pool in a little while. Then we organized the time for 2:00. We met her there and had more fun and then Kate and her Turkish friend and we came back to our house for chai and popcorn. She loves puppies, so we showed her the puppies in the bush. The neighbors feed them. I like to drink tea so I had 3 glasses of it. Mom didn't let me have a fourth, even though the tea pitcher was full to ... read more

We sure enjoyed our time in Turkey. The 3 of us had so much fun bargaining with the shop fellows and actually having fun talking to them. They were really charming to us. Arlene and Myrna did some jewellery purchasing with fellows following them with good deals as we went from shop to shop. We got a great appreciation of this city. It is a beautiful city of neat houses, resorts, shops and food. Would travel here again. The port was also so beautiful. ... read more

Geo: 37.0391, 27.4302We've had a very social 24 hours. Last night we had Amishay and his mom, grandmother and baby brother over for tea and cake and had a very nice time. We had to spend a fair amount of time consulting the dictionary, but we also played with the baby and looked at some of our Turkey travel photos together. The children also gave me some anniversary gifts. Kate negotiated for a salt and pepper set that says, "Bodrum" and Josh bought a family of five cats sitting on a straw mat. They scare me a little--the eyes are a little creepy. I'm a terrible person to buy gifts for. Luckily, Josh understands that this is my failing, not his. He laughs about it. I will, however, dutifully carry the creepy cats home to share ... read more

Geo: 37.0391, 27.4302Since we were back a late from Ephesus, it was a slow morning Sunday. Grandpa spent a good part of the day gathering his things. I drove down to town to the internet café to send off an email for him and find a hotel room in Istanbul. I ended up getting him a great deal ($65, including taxes and breakfast) just off Sultanahmet Square at the Hotel Nena which has gotten great reviews from both people on the internet and people we have met. After that, Grandpa couldn't avoid it any longer: we dragged him to the hamam. He still insisted on washing himself, but the boys got the full-body giggle scrub. They came out to the waiting and refreshment area in their towels, so I got a picture (btw- lots of people ... read more

Geo: 37.0391, 27.4302There has been no internet at the house for the last several days. Luckily it has been timed with the arrival of a car at our house, but we've been out running around and haven't gone into town to blog for a couple of days.Nanny and Grandpa arrived Monday night. We were hoping that they would manage to make it to the house before dark so that they wouldn't have as tough a time as we had finding the place, but no such luck. They relied upon the kindness of German strangers to help them get to the house. There was much rejoicing. I believe there was an entire suitcase filled with books, movies, peanut butter and other assorted gifts. We all stayed up until past 11pm talking and hearing about their adventures and ... read more