A Perfect Getaway

Now, I know we’re all different & what’s perfect for one isn’t the same for all, but in my book, our recent week away in Turkey deserves the label ‘perfect’!!  Rosemary, Carol & I flew out on June 1st from Birmingham with no delays & not even a queue for checking in or passport control! That must have been a good omen!

We were travelling to Icmeler. Rosemary had booked the holiday & as our previous Turkish trips had all been to Olu Deniz, we had no idea what we would find. But when we arrived we were thrilled to find that our small, family owned complex of just 24 apartments was situated in the ‘old town’ amongst quiet residential streets. We had driven through the new bustling & buzzing ‘new town’ (just a 15 minute walk away) & were more than happy to have the best of both worlds!

Our apartment was on the ground floor & both comfortable & spotless…in fact, everything about the place…gardens, bar, restaurant, pool…was so well maintained. So, we set about enjoying our week!

Now, in the UK I rarely drink alcohol…the odd summer Pimms & that’s me done! But when I get to Turkey I love the local Efes beer…it’s so light & perfect chilled in the heat! Along with the locally baked bread I thought I’d make a big dent in my weight loss over the week…but I came home to just a 1lb gain…result!!

On our first night we walked into the new town & discovered a stunning restaurant built around a waterfall. They had an Indian chef & we enjoyed an amazing meal (washed down with copious amounts of Efes beer, of course!)…I loved the simple cucumber heart garnish!!

 

 

 

 

 

The only excursion we signed up for was to the mud baths in Dalyan. Rosemary & I had done this trip in 2005 but Carol was a ‘mud bath virgin’ so it had to be done!! The day also included a trip to a Turkish carpet factory, a three course lunch, & two hours on ‘Turtle beach’. In between all these was a couple of hours ferrying on a river boat…my favourite part! We also got to see the ancient tombs carved high up in the cliffs along the river…& yes, we even saw two of the protected Logger Head Turtles who nest on the afore-mentioned ‘Turtle Beach’!

The beach is quite unique as it’s really a sandbank between the freshwater river on one side & the saltwater sea on the other! The mud baths themselves had been revamped since our last visit 7 years ago & I have to comment that the mud itself was much less clay-like & more watery, so it wasn’t easy to get coated, but we did our best!!!

The rest of the week past blissfully, plenty of walking to & from the beach, market & restaurants in the evenings! Days that seemed endless, stretched out in the sun, temperatures soared & frequent dips in the pool were needed. My shoulder was well enough for me to manage a few lengths of breast-stroke!

I was happy in my natural
habitat & we were well
looked after by ‘Juan’ (no
not his real name!) the
barman who kept us well
supplied with Efes beer at
the poolside! What a
decadent life!!

All of the apartments were occupied, yet it was always peaceful by the pool. Most of our fellow residents were from the north of England but our neighbours were  couple of very spritely octogenarian ladies from, off all places, Baldock in Hertfordshire! So I will be popping over to them for a cuppa one day soon!

Rosemary has a passion
for cats & we soon had
regular ‘guests’ for milk
each morning! We are
early risers so we didn’t
disturb anyone else who
may not have been such
ardent cat lovers! If Ro
could have got away with packing them to bring home with her, I think she would have done!!

Finally, a couple of shots taken as we walked around & about! As I mentioned, in the old town we were surrounded by local life, from a small holding with hens & sheep (our breakfast eggs came from here) to an orange grove (our juice!) & a small market garden where we could buy fresh fruits on our way to the beach! There were grape vines everywhere, much as we have hedges it seems vines are the natural choice of boundary marker!!

This one made me smile, spotted
outside a restaurant/bar near the
weekly market & obviously aimed
at us Brits! We’d had the good
sense to leave our menfolk at
home & didn’t need to avail
ourselves of this service, but I
can think of many a time here in
the UK where something similar
would go down very well!!

Love the p.s.!!

So that’s a round up of our perfect week…no delay's coming home either, just a very bumpy landing in gale force winds at Birmingham!! It makes a very nice change to report no injuries, losses or disappointments & I hope all of you will be having your own perfect getaways this year too!

Thanks you for stopping by & do come back soon!