Travel day!!! I have been looking forward to this day... We have a car rented for the next 11 days and it will be great to have that freedom! But first, a couple of flights: back to Istanbul, then a quick transfer to our flight to the Mediterranean coast - the province of Antalya.
The rental car process when we got to Antalya airport (Antalya is the name of the capital city of the province of Antalya, just to confuse everyone...) was super smooth and I had the paperwork done before Beth and the kids had collected our bags. By 2:30, we were in our little fume sputtering Volkswagen (sorry for the dig Volkswagen, but you lied!) and making our way through the city and out along the D400 highway heading West.
Before long, we were out of the city and zooming down a beautiful stretch of road that alternated between hugging the turquoise waters of the sea and rolling over forested valleys tucked between small mountains (after Nepal, all mountains shall hereby be labelled hills or small mountains!). The terrain here was a pleasant surprise - we had no idea it was this hilly at the coast. It was gorgeous and the car was buzzing with the chatter of newfound freedom......road-------trip!
Our destination was Cirali (chi-ra-lee), to a hotel that Alex and Kim and the boys had stayed at last year called the Canada Hotel. The place is owned by a Turkish man and Canadian woman and with that name we were pretty much obligated to stay there. We were not disappointed - the place is amazing. It has a large hotel building in front of a huge pool and outdoor dining area. Behind that is a yoga area and chill out area with ten hammocks (take note Stephen!), followed by a large open complex that had perhaps 12 little bungalows.
Our bungalow has a living room area with bunk beds, a separate room for parents (though I'm sure Abby had her eyes on that...See below for more on that!) and a nice bathroom. Perfect!
That reminded me of our little Princess, Abby. It is only the best for Abby, and we have given her plenty of ribbing for it throughout this trip. Here is an example that happened early on that we all laugh about every once in a while.... When we got to our first hotel in Tokyo so many hotels ago, the plan was two to a room. Sleep wise, Beth and Robin were most compatible, so Abby and I got our key, and opened the door to our room. Now, the picture below is accurate, but they were using a fish eye lens - the room was small - big city small. As soon as we got in, Abby took one look at the double bed and pointed to the little couch (that thing is perhaps three feet long) and said, in all seriousness "I get the bed, you're there!". Man I laughed. Her face turned from anger, to confusion to self deprecating laughter (luckily for her!). Oh, too funny. To a small degree, that has happened throughout the trip, much to the occasional chagrin of the rest of the family (especially Robin) :-).
This group turns it around quickly. Within minutes, we were ready to head down to the beach. We hopped on loaner bikes that the hotel had on hand, and cruised down to the little town, then right through to the beach road. Before long, we had our toes in the warm, crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean.
The beach was really rocky, which I guess is a sign of perpetual calm waters here. With the temperature at a not humid twenty-seven degrees and clear blue skies, it was really nice.
We rode back to the little town and sat down for some meze and pomegranate / orange juice. I had a little hot water bottle jumping on me and keeping me warm!
In the late afternoon, we got back to the hotel where the kids proceeded to "take it for advantage". Beth and I chilled, caught up with friends from home (apparently my buddy Probir has been having lunches with Greg Lyndell so I will have to eliminate that guy when I get home!), chilled, blogged and chilled. This place is so relaxing and I can see why Alex and Kim loved it so much. Alex sent me a picture of the boys in the pool that looked very familiar....
We have a middle aged German guy as our "host" at the hotel (although the Turkish owner has also been by to chat) - he's a long time friend of the owners and they asked him to help them out during the slower season and he has been excellent. The multi course dinner was served - kind of Sri Lankan style. He'd asked us earlier if we'd like beef, chicken or fish, so the adults tried the trout (excellent) and the kids had meatballs (also, apparently, excellent).
It feels like we are getting a good slice of Turkey with this itinerary. We've enjoyed the first two legs in Istanbul and Cappadocia, and by the looks of it, Antalya will be great too!
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