August Vacay

Blog Post About August 2021 

It's funny to think about August right now when it's so cold outside, but I remember the evenings being something everyone looked forward to because the brutal sun would set, and instead of 110 degrees, we could enjoy 85 degree evenings.

August 5, 2021

Kylie had a break from school and went to California to see a friend she met overseas. 

We also missed her 19th birthday. Happy belated, birthday, Kylie!

August 31, 2021

Doug had planned a getaway for us as well, especially since he and Caleb had stayed in country in the heat all summer while we took advantage of the air conditioning in America. However, 72 hours before our flight, the country we were going to banned travelers from the country we are living in. 

Doug had to go into the airlines office and see which country we could go to that was not blocking our country. The man recommended a part of Turkey that we had never seen before, and seeing that was one of our only options, Doug and I began hunting online for a house in that area we could rent.

This is the view from our rental where we were 48 hours later!

August 17, 2021

Doug had already investigated things to do in the first country we were going to, so now we were in a new situation, but with the help of our rental car and the internet, he got busy making new plans, and then we voted.

We went to the grocery store, but also decided we would eat out for one breakfast, one or two lunches, and maybe two or three dinners.

This is me trying to get a picture of the sunset while my children think they are SO funny!

One of our dinners we opted for a sunset cruise. 

The captain of the boat cooked a wonderful dinner for us on his grill while we hung out, swam, and enjoyed the evening.

After dinner, the captain turned lights on under his boat so we could take a night swim. You can see Keira in the picture below (along with another boat in the distance).

The next day, we took a boat ride to another part of the coast to eat at this "Resturan." When we hiked to the top of the hill, the man who lives there had cooked fish for four of us and chicken for Keira. A friend we had made in the town we were staying in had called him and told him to expect us.

After lunch, we swam around the bay before taking another boat back to our marina.

The next day, Doug, Caleb, and I went scuba diving. Doug and I are certified, but it has been awhile. It was fun to take a beginning dive with Caleb. He was a natural.

Doug also booked us a kayaking tour in a town an hour away, which took us directly over some ancient ruins of a sunken city, allowed us some more swim time, and took us to another part of the coast where we climbed over 200 steps to see an ancient castle from the 4th century. This castle can only be reached by water. There are no roads that lead to it. 

Here we are at the top, looking back. 

Since I had gotten sunscreen in my eyes and they hurt, I kept my eyes closed a lot. I find this picture funny because with my eyes closed I couldn't tell where Doug was taking the picture, so I'm looking in a completely different direction from everyone else. 

I opted to stay out of the pictures after that.

It was a short vacation, but we squeezed a lot in. It was nice to be somewhere cooler for a while and also be near water where we could jump in and cool off.

We missed Kylie, we played a LOT of Settlers of Catan, we read, and Caleb even had an online class for school, but we are looking forward to the day when we can get away again.

Locked In?

On May 10, 2020, we decided to do some "talking" as we walked around the old city. 

This particular day, our "talking" was answered, and we met a family, which started some Good-news chain of events.

There weren't a ton of people out, but it was so nice to be outside.

And on any given day, I normally wouldn't have taken pictures flowers, but I saw these on my photo roll and realized I must have just been really excited to get out and be in "nature" this particular day.

May 10, 2020

As if "lockdown" wasn't enough, Caleb decided to go for "locked in."

The story, as I understand it, is that Caleb, Doug, and Karis were in the kitchen, 

and Caleb told Karis he didn't want her to leave, so he locked the door.

Karis said she was leaving and walked over to simply unlock the key in the door.

Caleb told her if she got closer, he would throw the key under the door...

and that is exactly what he did.

He tried using a pen and a toothbrush (as evidenced in the picture) to get the key but to no avail.

That's when the hollering started.

We were upstairs, but eventually we heard them, and Keira saved the day.

I was laughing too hard to help, but I decided to document it with a picture.

May 17, 2020

 

Castle on a Hill

We went to the top of the original city during the first week of March 2020

with some friends. They hadn't been up there yet, and we always enjoy going 

for the history and the view. They took their two kids and we took Keira.

Only a few people live up there now while it is being restored, 

but people still visit up there every day, walking the streets and looking around

This is the first time I had visited this particular shop.  I've been to a couple of the museums and one of the rug shops, but I don't think this shop has ever been open.

It was crammed full of interesting items.

Some of the restored buildings.

An old mosque.

We also visited a small amphitheater

Before heading out the other end of the city.

The buildings and high walls of the original city shielded us from the sun, 

so we were pleased to walk out to this warm glow hitting us.

The old bazaar was just below us. I've shown you 

other pictures of it here when Karis' friend came to visit.

Some of my favorite parts of the bazaar are the crafts on these steps.  

They are so colorful!

You'll see them again when I post Kylie's graduation photos, 

because she took some of them down here in the old city.

Keira is always a popular attraction.  You can see the men behind her, 

looking at her, while she looks at me.

Some of the many carpets and bags for sale..

Pomegranate and pomegranate juice are some of my favorites, 

ESPECIALLY when someone else does the work of peeling the fruit for me!

The old city really is built higher than you think.  

Civilization built on top of civilization for a few thousands years 

resulted in where it is today.

And the new city is always bustling below.

 

March 4, 2020

Another Day of Discovery

The next morning, we went looking for breakfast and we found a tiny shop open selling assorted breads and coffee.

What more could we ask for? 

The pastry that Karis is looking through and that Keira is sitting under a picture of is called a Trdelnik. 

We called them "turtlenecks," which makes sense since they do look like a turtleneck...for a giraffe.

Dough is wound around a stick, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and then cooked over an open fire while spinning. We didn't add chocolate or whipped cream, etc. They were good just as they were, off the fire, and they quickly became my new favorite thing!  

It was also a good morning to get pictures in front of the entrance to the famous Charles Bridge entrance. 

Some of us were more excited than others :)

Keira modeling on the bridge

Next, we met up with our friends to head to the castle on the hill (Sheeran, anyone?)

We had some trouble understanding the transportation system and how to buy tickets, but we eventually made it.

I took a little advantage of all of us being together to take a "few" photos.

All the kiddos

Vitus Cathedral is inside the castle complex

We decided to walk all the way back, sightseeing on the way. It was such a nice weather day.

Kylie had been planning to get her ears pierced whenever we left our country, so this was a perfect opportunity.

We split up for a bit because Doug and the girls wanted to explore parts of the city that required a lot of walking, Caleb wanted to go back to the Airbnb, and Keira wanted to find a Claire's Boutique.

Yes, you heard that correctly.

It's her favorite store in the whole world, and when our friends told her they had seen one in the mall, she just HAD to go.  Actually, it was a smart move.

I sat outside the display window, reading my book, while she looked for over an hour!  I was able to buy a lot of cheap things that she wanted, save them, and put them under our Christmas tree later as gifts from my mom and her other grandmother.

The middle picture was taken as she signed and mouthed things to me from inside the store

And can I just say, this girl can find a rainbow or a unicorn just about anywhere.

Actually, maybe they just find her. The one on the left was in a fudge shop and the one with pink hair was on a street, advertising a flower shop.

Doug and the girls had some fun of their own out on the town.  They found a new Christmas market.

And hot apple cider.

Later that evening, we met up for dinner and a stroll downtown to see another market. We loved the lights and the feel of Christmas in the air.

Before we climbed the stairs to our apartment, Doug found a marker for the Prime Meridian in the courtyard, so we took another "family photo."

December 8, 2019