holiday impressions

I feel like I have never been away... and yet it has been just a few days since we returned from Turkey. We all loved it, even Annie I think. I didn't take that many photos, I get a bit tired of photographing everything, everywhere... Sometimes it is a bit weird to take photos and feels a bit intrusive. So I don't.

We enjoyed a very low key holiday with very few activities. Mostly, we explored the area on foot, or by minibus. It is so much fun sitting on those little buses and watch the world go by. We stopped in many places (off the beaten track) for a bite to eat. Turkish food is so tasty and simple, it is a pleasure to try all sorts of different dishes. The local eateries have food on display, a bit like in a school cafeteria but much much better. This is useful because the menus are only in Turkish unless of course the restaurant is along the beach promenade or other tourist hotspots. We don't try to avoid these, it just somehow happens. My godmother has a lot of local knowledge, which is very handy indeed.

We spend an entire day on a small boat, which took us to several small bays where we could swim and enjoy the surroundings. The water is just the most beautiful colour of turqouise. In one bay, there were some invisible prickly things in the water and every now and then, there was a little prickle like a mini nettle sting. I have no idea what it was and it was not too bothersome. The other bays were perfect. We shared the boat with another family with teenage boys. They jumped off the top of the boat and of course James and Alistair also had to jump off the top. It was quite high and I am surprised they had the courage. We had a delicious meal on the boat, barbecued chicken and lots of salads. It was a perfect day. James got to be captain, which he loved very much. The actual captain was very chilled about James steering his boat.

Richard and the kids went kayaking once but I thought this was too energetic for me and I stayed behind, reading a book. I had planned to go running but unfortunately packed my winter running tights and I could not face putting these on in the heat. The temperature was in the high twenties, sometimes higher.

One day I went into Fethyie with my godmother and Annie for a spot of shopping. We met the boys for a bite to eat later. It seems that we were mostly eating! There is this most amazing haberdashery in Fethyie and you must visit it if you are ever in the area. I have never quite seen a shop like it. The tall walls were lined with shelves and the shelves were literally groaning under the weight of yarn, ribbons, thread, zips and all sorts of other things. I bought a few balls of Perle cotton for quilting my Ice Cream Soda quilt (sometime in the near future). We found a shop that sells every imaginable spice and dried fruit. It was so much nicer than the market stalls, nobody could stick there filthy hands in the open tubs as happens on the market... We bought a big back of dried strawberries, chicken spice (it smelled nice) and some pink rock salt. Of course we could buy all this here in Glasgow but edible souvenirs are always best. Also, dried strawberries are almost unaffordable here. My best souvenir was a bag full of quince. I already made quince jelly and with the pulp, quince jam. It is ever so delicious and will be a lovely reminder of our holiday later, when winter starts to feel a bit dated.

Richard experienced the health care system (excellent) because he had a terrible rash that didn't respond to any creams and really bothered him. He was promptly hooked up to a drip of steroids and was all good very soon thereafter.

I spent so much time chatting to my godmother.  She is the best godmother of all and I don't see her often enough. Richard and the children adore her, too. She organised a couple of BBQs for us and some of her friends, which was fun.

Do you like going to supermarkets in other countries? I do, it is a great pastime. We went to Migros a couple times for the minimal food that we prepared ourselves. It is so funny actually, Migros is one of two big supermarket chains in Switzerland and it amuses me to find it in Turkey, too. It is quite different from the Swiss branches, which probably reflects the different populations and shopping preferences in each country.

We also visited the local market and bought fruit and vegetables. I find this quite overwhelming, so much to see and deciding which tomatoes look best is rather difficult. I am not so keen on the non-food sections of the market that target holiday visitors specifically, I find it stressful and sure enough, the bracelet seller that would not let go of Annie's wrist last time we visited (three years ago) was still there, this time grabbing hold of Alistair's are and not letting go. There are some very interesting characters on the market and my godmother seems to know them all. It is fun to see how she chatting with everybody and how their eyes lit up when the see her. Being a fluent Turkish speaker sure opens door.

We didn't really want go back home and hope to visit again soon.

Thanks for dropping in and saying hello. Christina xx