And now for some natural beauty

IIf you like shopping, just skip this part because we're going in a different direction now! Away from the city on a big plane to "the land of milk and honey" as I like to call it. 

We needed a little break from the city while we wait for Jim's VISA to be finished, so we booked a flight  to Antalya, where we set off in our rental car for a hotel by the coast. Good thing we got the extra GPS as I'm not sure we could have found our way out of a paper bag, much less the city, without it! 

That nice British lady led us down narrow streets, right to our hotel, the Puding Marine. While we did not spring for the sea view, we were just steps away.

This was the view from our dining spot the first evening! Very dramatic backdrop of the Targus mountains in the distance. There was even a bit of snow on some of the peaks.

And even some lanterns! I have some of these solar lanterns at home, but I think I need more. Did they buy theirs from IKEA too? 

I had forgotten about Apple tea, which is common in Turkey. It has a nice mild apple flavor and a beautiful clear red color, which stains paper a nice lavender. I love using tea bags for color in my journal.

Breakfast was even more elaborate here...

This is just a small sampling  of what was on offer. Also omelettes and any kind of egg dish made to order. This could really be your one meal of the day. Could be.

On our walk through the historic old town, I was thrilled to start seeing citrus trees! Ah, we finally found our mild, sunny weather. The smell of orange blossoms hung in the air- heaven! 

And I was also happy to see signs of Spring, which I had been hearing about back home, but missing so far on this trip.

Since this is also a tourist destination, there were the carpet sellers nearby, and they had my number! 

I tried not to look too longingly at these as I strolled by...

Now I understand this guy, who is trying to get a toga full of coinage. Jim thought perhaps he was exposing himself, but I had a different interpretation.

Ruins abound from the old city.

To counteract that gray, I had to throw in another nice carpet.

And a demonstration piece of how they are woven.

But now it is time to get back to the clear blue sea. See those lounge chairs waaaay down there? They are just waiting for the tourists who will be there in droves, come April through October.

But for now, it is relatively quiet, save for the occasional German or Korean tour group.BTW Germans love to vacation in Turkey, so most often we were mistaken for Germans, and were addressed in German. Funny. Ich spreche keine Deutch!