Turkey for me

There's this old Adam Sandler skit wherein he sings about how much he loves to eat turkey (if you ask Anna, she will attest to my similar adoration of turkey). My sister Delphine and I sing the bits of it we remember during Thanksgiving.

I sit in the quiet living room of Karen and Emre's apartment in Bodrum, Turkey. And though I just posted a big long one, I thought it'd be nice to just record a day's thoughts or so. Mix things up a bit.

I arrived yesterday evening after a bus, another bus, a flight, another flight, a bus, and a final car ride. Karen is so excited to make day trip plans for me to see other parts of Turkey she went to bed really late. Which was kind of bad because their cute-as-can-be daughter woke up at 7am. The last (and only other) time I've met their little girl, she was a few months old. Now she's walking and talking (in English and Turkish and some German slang) and playing. Adorable!

Today, after a nice solar-heated water shower, and a breakfast of bread and cheese and honey, Karen drove me around the country side which is spectacular. Mountains, sea, masses of wildflowers, cows, roosters, windmills, gentle blue sky. We both had tea for 1 Turkish Lyra at the chai shack (I forgot the real word and Karen's asleep) and looked at the tourists (the season is just getting into swing) wading through shallow water to a low slung island. There was a little shark for sale with other fish and a flat lobster, never seen one of those before.

After a cheese omelet back at their place, baby girl took a nap and Karen and I flipped through pages of a guidebook and talked more about the many options I have. Emre came home and their daughter woke up, we drove to Bodrum town and walked around. At one point, we met up with Emre's mom and her friend to say hi. Earlier in the day, the two of them had visited a new hammam only to discover today is men's day. Funny.

Karen bought a new pair of really cool sunglasses, their girl played on a swing, we inquired about my bus/ferry options to the Greek island of Rhodes and it's not going to work so I'm probably going to Kos instead on Wednesday, should be nice.

Iskender kebab for dinner, roasted cubes of meat over thick bits of yogurt covered pita bread. Yum. Then back home. Oh, first we had to stop for ice cream--same place Karen and I stopped last night. Bath time, email/fb check, TV and now, bed. What a nice day. Easy, pretty, yummy. It is a form of paradise here.

I asked them how they keep up with world news, thinking that if I lived here, I'd never know what was going on Out There. They said their CNN international coverage probably guarantees they're more informed than the Rest of Us. I assented.

We may rendezvous in September in Athens after my Greece/Israel tour for a sail back to Turkey. How fabulous?

I miss my nieces and nephew and am glad to dote and goof around with their sweet daughter in my absence from my own beloveds. Happy sighs.