Bodrum

11/10 - 16

We left Antalya and drove the 5ish hours to Bodrum. Bob picked out a lovely seaside place about 15 minutes outside of town. Fortunately we stopped at the grocery prior to arriving so we didn't have to leave again for dinner and breakfast items. It was great to arrive and just get settled!

Love the west facing location for sunset

A beautiful property, but the pool is not heated so it was freezing!! The sea was warmer.

The view from our bedroom

This was the favorite activity for sure. Our hostess called it a 'canoe', and then Simone started calling it 'going sailing!' Ha! It did cause all of us to sing the song "Sailing" by Christopher Cross for much of the week though. This song is way catchier than any we could think of about 'kayaking.'

Mom keeping an eye on the kids ;-)

It was a gorgeous scene - our hostess and her husband live next door

Such a shame we can't get in the pool!

Our typical morning routine in each new place - find a spot to get exercise!

Exploring the Bodrum castle and Underwater Archaeology Museum

Not as impressive as the guidebooks had us believe

The harbor and boats were lovely

My artsy pic

We found a HH spot right on the beach. Lovely!

The view from our hostess' balcony. Our 'canoe' is on the left.

Our hostess, Anne Marie, and her husband, Adnan.

When Bob booked her place to rent, he asked if we could meet them for a happy hour sometime during our stay as we really wanted to connect with local people. Our time with them was a highlight of our stay in Bodrum. We had really meaningful conversation about Turkey and the US including our recent election and their thoughts on Erdogan's leadership, their business of operating a luxury boat company, and CMT. He is from Bodrum, and they met in 1989 when she was on a holiday from Belgium. They speak Turkish mainly, but their English was really good, so conversation was easy. We definitely could have stayed longer, but they were leaving the next day for a vacation to Spain. It was also interesting to learn how little they have travelled - only to Belgium, Italy, and now Spain.

We didn’t do a lot of touring in Bodrum, but we enjoyed our time there. Our location on the sea was amazing, and our home was super clean and comfortable. We all enjoyed the downtime. Bob had a lot of CMT work that he needed to accomplish and this was a perfect place to do it.

I also had some work related things to take care of - I have been on FMLA since my surgery in April, and although Quinn’s neurologist advised for me to be off of work for a year or more to be with him, the University will only hold my position for me until I have exhausted my PTO hours. I will have used all of my hours by December 6, and I will not be in a position to return to work. This is definitely a period of work transition for me after 17 years at the University. I spent some time communicating with a few of my friends and colleagues who stayed at Highlands Ranch with the new anesthesia group there, and fortunately I will be able to fill in there once we get back. I was able to use our downtime in Bodrum to fill out various forms and plan a bit for my work when we return.

Bodrum memories:

canoeing/sailing - clear water, spotting fish, and jumping fish from the boat

picturesque home by the sea with a super cold pool

fresh mandarin and lime trees on our property

Our neighbors (hosts) had orange trees, HH with them was a highlight

We are all ready to leave Turkey - fresh fruits/veggies are a bit hard to find compared with Europe and the US. The lack of recycling is wearing on us. It has been challenging for our family to be here for this length of time: tough to get exercise (cities not designed for walking), public transport not good, parking difficult, no recycling, need to buy bottled water. Grocery store options seem very limited. Everything just seems harder than it should.

Simone’s idea to add this to the blog - I have to keep finding creative ways to dry our laundry!

We have also discussed that coming to a place for vacation is different than the experience that we’re having (traveling for 5 months now changing location every 3-5 days). When you’re on vacation, you’ve got a set amount of time and you’re amped up for newness and experience. You also know you’re going home to familiarity and your routine life. I’m certainly not complaining, but for us, we have been so incredibly fortunate to have seen so many amazing sights; we feel kind of saturated with constant newness and change. Bob and I especially feel this way - every time we go to a new grocery store and can’t park, and can’t find what we’re looking for, and constantly need to make do with what’s there - we feel a bit worn down. The kids have done great though with eating the basic things we bring home - they love the chicken schnitzel :-)

We feel like Turkey has sucked the energy out of us - it will be interesting to see how we feel when we get to Sarajevo.

Simone is: not exactly homesick, but tired of touring. Both kids talk about missing the routine we have at home - with school, activities, meals, and fun breakfast on the weekend (my waffles have come up a few times!) Simone specifically misses biking to school with Ellie.