Yes, Please: Bodrum

Ok, it's been a month and a half since I got back from this trip and I still haven't finished blogging about it.  I like to think it's because I enjoy prolonging the memories, like people who celebrate their "birthday month", but really I'm just caught up in other stuff including watching Netflix, which is very important.

The weather is turning to fall, and the idea of lounging bikini-clad at a Mediterranean resort with an ice bucket of beer at arm's reach sounds SO last summer.

We actually stayed a little outside of Bodrum, in a town called Ortakent, where we had the pleasure of meeting more of Gio's family, including her aunt, uncle, and cousins.  We were all staying in an apartment complex they negotiated for an amazing deal: 2-bedroom apartments for $50/night.  Absolutely crazy.

We walked down to the beach at some point every day, taking in the sun and the salt, using our dorky goggles to chase fish, and drinking Efes.

But we weren't beach bums the entire time!  One day we went to the market in Yalikavak which has both a produce and a goods section.  We spent most of our time ruminating over which Turkish towels to invest in-they were only about $7 each, but space in our luggage was becoming more and more of a concern each day!

May have finally found a fan big enough to keep B cool!

I think I pull these off quite well.

We enjoyed so many meals together with the family.  Gio's aunt is famous for her breakfasts, which always included several cheeses, tomato and cucumbers, fresh herbs, su borek-a layered pastry dish, fresh breads from the bakery, olives, eggs and sausage and more.

One day we saw the women that run the residence kitchen rolling pasta dough, and so we planned to sit down to a lunch of manti, Turkish ravioli with yogurt sauce.  It was delicious!

The best night was when we out in Bodrum.  The "young people" went to Vittoria, where Gio's cousin Ozzy had a connection to someone who had a connection to someone who owns a Turkish restaurant in the south bay.  As that makes you practically brothers, we were well taken care of!

Later on, just the four of us remained to go to Halikarnas megaclub.  We knew it was both late in the night and in the season, but it was still fun to explore the club, dance it up, and observe the people. 

 We got photobombed by a terrorist.

Oh wait.  That's just our friend Shawn.

Brittany discovered a mirrored cube that we made our private dancing studio.  Not long after, a club employee came up to us.  Thinking we were in trouble, we jumped out and apologized, but he just turned on the floor fan and bid us a good time!  Here we girls are enjoying being go-go Marilyns for the night:

The next day we spent some time in Bodrum, exploring the castle and finishing up some shopping.

Learning a new scarf-tying technique

For our final evening together in Turkey, we wanted to take Gio's family out to a nice seafood dinner to thank them for their hospitality.  It was a perfect summer evening and the sun was setting as we ate on the edge of the water.

Ozge taught me to eat fried fish right off the spine!

Some of us were really excited about the fish...

...and others, less so.

 

It was hard to say goodbye to friends and vacation, but Brittany and I felt we had had a solid rest and were ready to be back home!  Here's one final picture of the gang:

 

That's all, folks!  Kelly out.