Feteer

Turkish food

I had many different food items in Turkey during my time there that I thought it would be appropriate to have a post dedicated to food items.

Fermented carrot juice is not as good as I thought it would be.

Dinner on a rooftop bar

Vegetable plate

Raki is an anise drink like Sambucca or Ouzo.

Stuffed bread and some sort of dried fruit pudding at Topkapi Palace

Manti

In Cappadoccia

Old Cappadocia Cafe & Restaurant

The bread dipped in that spice and oil is heavenly

Turkish ice cream is sweet, creamy, stretchy and sticky at the same time.

Turkish delight

That time when I should have used google translate and did not I end up eating a raw meat sandwich. Luckily I did not die.

A nice dinner out

While in Selcuk I decided to have a fancy night out to dinner so I went around the corner to the upscale hotel that had a rooftop restaurant. I enjoyed the sunset views (forgot pictures) and view of the pool.

I can’t remember what I ordered as an entree but this meze platter (see above) was marvelous. I tried for the first time sea beans and I love them. Growing up in Florida it seems like I should have had them before but I have not. I am going to seek them out when I return home. Also in the platter is hummus, yogurt sauce, eggplant and beets; all are excellent.

My only regret from the night is that I did not purchase this lamp that was at my table. It was the only battery powered one I saw in turkey. I really wanted a lamp but the power supply (European plugs) always kept me from buying one.

It was a great night out and I am glad I treated myself.

Ayasoluk Restaurant

Alaçatı

During my visit to Turkey I wanted the chance to visit a couple different regions. After some research I decided on the beach town of Alaçatı.

Most trains are non-existent in Turkey so to get around you need a plane or car. In my case I flew from Istanbul to Izmir. From the Izmir airport there is a regional bus system called Havas to get you to nearby cities. The bus itself isn’t too bad but my problem is that it wasn’t clear where to catch the bus at the airport. I wasted about an hour trying to locate where to catch the bus. After following signs that said shuttle down to a sleepy lot I decided to go back up and look again for my bus after waiting 30 minutes or so with no sign of my bus. I finally see the signs for Havas. I am still not sure why I did not see them the first time.

I get on the bus to Cesme. It stops first in Alaçatı, my intended destination.

From research before hand, Alaçatı doesn’t look too large. Not knowing where the bus will drop me off I wing it. The bus “station” is about 1.5 miles from my hotel. It is hot and my bags are heavy but I decide to walk. I can’t justify such a short cab ride, besides I am not sure there is a cab around.

I make it to my hotel but it is before check in and my room is not yet ready. I drop off my bags and wander around.

This town reminds of a cross between Greece, south beach Miami and Southern Italy. It is very cute. During the day it has an island feel where you can shop the day away but at night the streets are packed and music is loud.

After a little while I am finally able to check into my hotel. My room is charming and named after an author.

After settling in I go out to the city to explore. During my stay I never made it to the beach and I didn’t do any sightseeing. This part of my traveling was all about traveling locally. I enjoyed my stay in Alaçatı but if I had companions I might have tried one of the nightclubs. I just am not the type to go clubbing alone.

But I did dine at some of the cute restaurants.

Local grilled cheese: A cross between halloumi and blue cheese

And I did wander and shop around town during the day.

Amazing hotel breakfast spread, every morning!

Caught live music one night

It was a slow pace and I liked it. Alacati town was well worth the visit.

Lisbon Day 2: Belém

Today we take the bus to Belém because it is a little far to walk.

First it is time for lunch, especially Portuguese roasted chicken. It is the best. A finds us a great place nearby to try.

After lunch of course it is time for dessert. We head over to Pastéis de Belém. We try their wonderful custard desserts.

We both ended up buying six, which probably wasn’t the best idea. But I finished them over the next couple days: ate them in the morning and as a train snack.

After our dessert we walked over to the Jerónimos Monastery.

Lit candle for my mom

We soon discover we are where Vasco da Gama the explorer is buried.

Rope with different knots

We have Fado reservations for the evening so we return to closer to the main part of town. While we wait we watch tourist boats in the harbor. I ended up taking this boat about a week later when I was traveling alone again. It was quite fun.

Now it is off to Fado. I’ll dedicate a post to this later. Bye!