Turkey Round 4 (Mount Ida, Ayvalık, Bergama)

You really can't beat waking up to a private breakfast in the mountains.

We stopped at a little waterfall on our way on the walk from the road we both spotted a coin in the dirt...Made it a good thirty foot past and I decided I wanted said coin.  Most patient boyfriend in the world joins in the search for the silver gold coin in a ten by forty foot path of sandy soil....FYI, found it...equivalent to about six cents. I have no idea why I decided I must have this coin, but I adore it none the less.

The long beautiful trek back up and down the entirely unpaved single lane was relaxing and exciting. Stopping occasionally to take pictures of flowers and scenery.

And it was beautiful scenery, mountains, olive trees, conifers and the sea.

Our next stop was Ayvalık and who can have a bad day when after searching ...ummm... 'briefly'.... for our hotel we are greeted with this view to our left.

And this view to the right.

After a brief nap we ventured back out for lunch.

A further bit of insight into Turkish travel- these people are hard core meat eaters.  Meat bread and cheese.  Asking for a vegetarian day is like asking a southern girl to drink unsweetened tea...it ain't happening y'all. Likewise asking them to remove meat from an item elicits much the same response as telling her there is sugar on the table for their unsweetened iced tea. (A look of shock followed by, I'll just have something else)

The little cafe we ate at was adorable and the company was pleasant....ie....far a few between, quiet and primarily of the feline nature.

It was then off to Bergama.  Up the lift, which I don't recall the Turkish word for and Love did not immediately recall the English word for- making for an interesting charades type moment in the car.

We reached the top of the long lift to start venturing through the ancient city.  First stop, ancient Greek puppies of course.

I remember grade school science fairs. One particular poster I created was about the force an arch could withstand.  As I looked at this arch I recalled my very clearly written instructions to remove your rings before squeezing the eggs (perfectly constructed little force withstanding arches)........Apparently adults can not read because I had multiple smashed eggs and teachers with gooey hands. Rant ends here.

Ahhh, giant amphitheater, hundreds of steps, a swift breeze that would nearly pick me up on the way down......Ninety degrees with out a breeze and seemingly a thousand steps on the way back up. None the same height. Either way, totally worth the climb.

I couldn't go through a single perfectly constructed tunnel without being in amazement at the ability to withstand time.

This is that moment we realized we had to go back up all those steps at some point in the heat, c'est la vie.

I was obsessed with touching things, more specifically rocks, old carved rocks.

I recommend purchasing a remote shutter release for your camera if possible, no need to hunt down a stranger to take the photo with you.  I almost never carry my tripod...This days scene provided many ornate rocks to prop my camera on (a what self respecting camera wouldn't prefer an ancient hand carved pedestal to a modern tripod anyway).

My remote shutter release has a two second delay setting which I use to tuck the remote away for the picture. Love uses it to randomly attack me with kisses in front of the camera.

Isn't it wonderful...I figure there are at minimum three more like it and they should have just let me take this one, Love seems to think it was a bit big for my suitcase and I'd have better luck trying to smuggle drugs than any of these rocks out of the country.

OOOO OOOO OOO...carved rock, must touch it!

I think we should have detail work like this installed in the Rads department, who wouldn't want to come to work every day if the ceilings looked like this.

We can put a few of these of the Flouro hall.

And these over by CT....

I'm not saying I always resist the random kisses.

It was windy, very windy.

Why hello little lion dude.What is your prior purpose?

These little lovelies were behind a big gate. Probably because people like me have brief thoughts like, "Look purse sized."

Back down the lift, listening to two middle school teachers from Australia talk about their shopping adventures, Ugg boots and being a bit worried when their students say they love their outfits.  And now time to sit by the sea again. (Sigh of contentment.)

Little boys ran past as we sat a climbed into the water gathering mussels as the sun set.  They and the cats provided great amusement as we waited for dinner.

The chairs were a bit close to the edge for my comfort but you forget the constant fear of dropping a chair leg of the edge and plummeting into the sea fully clothed when you look into those eyes.

Abandoned tea glasses. (That's all, I just like them)

Three little fishies that never saw me coming.  I thought about naming them, but here was no time, I was starved.

Lots of little scraps for the patient cats that joined us for dinner.

The harbor was lined with cute little cafes and these vintage Coca Cola chairs and tables were to die for. But it does now make me wonder about the Turkish pronunciation of it as the "c" is given a "j" sound.  Joja Jola?

We finished the night with a hunt for Baklava, and boy did we find it. Enough to have leftovers in the morning. (which were mysteriously gone when I woke the next day.)