Jule's Hikoi: The next adventures

Phew that's the cruise posts taken care of and I can move to the next adventure. With so many adventures in between like the weekend of seafood eating at Seafest Weymouth, the stop at Westminster on the way home and various day trips exploring close by. And the very biggest, most exciting and wonderful of news, the arrival of number 7 grandbaby. Raphael is a fellow Leo, like his next up cousin Lily, and he's delightful. I can't wait to meet him, I'm booked to head south again for November so will get plenty of cuddles very soon.

The next big adventure was a trip to Turkey. It's been 19 years since I was last there, far too long really. I loved my trip in 2004 when I got to stay with Di in Istanbul and travel through the country to the south. I celebrated my birthday that year in a cave hotel eating the best cake and drinking raki with white cheese and watermelon with the hotel owner. All arranged by the lovely Hayden, a wandering kiwi in Istanbul. It was the very best trip.

This time it was Antalya, a different spot from where I'd been before. I was so excited when we landed, late so needing to get to the apartment in the city quickly. We stayed right at the start of the local shopping district, a short wander from the sea and the touristy areas. I much prefer to stay a bit local, eating at local restaurants and spending money in local shops. Like the Migros under the apartment, the supplier of the essentials and chocolate. The first day we wandered to the old city, found the best seafood restaurant and people watched while acclimatizing to the heat. The food was delicious. Very fresh fish washed down with a cold Efs.

Emperor Hadrian was very busy while he reigned and I've been to many places he touched. Like here where there's a gate named in his honor. A very old gate set within the very old city walls. The worn flagstones under the gate were slippery so I kept to the rough stones as I looked for the best places to capture this amazing place. It was really hot so the nearby cafe was a good spot to rest and cool down, joined by the cutest kitten who appreciated time on my knee and the largest dog who lay next to us.

Kangal dogs are a large, powerful, heavy-boned dog, whose size and proportions have developed naturally as a result of its continued use in Turkey as a guardian against predators. They are gorgeous although I did see a few tourists shy away from the particularly large one who befriended us. The wandering animals are treated with respect, well cared for and loved. We enjoyed the company of many of them as they received a pat and wandered with us. The restaurants welcome the animals and feed them on table scraps.

We booked an outing on a boat the next day, exploring the coast and a swim seemed easiest from a boat. Well, what an adventure that was! One where a few people had to be rescued, the last a woman who had floated off on a very strong current. Luckily there were passengers who could swim and knew how to rescue someone. The poor crew were at a loss and, despite moving the boat closer to the woman, the ropes were too short to reach her. She was exhausted when she finally got back on board, and a bit sheepish. I'd been in the water twice and the tide was so strong I decided to abandon the swim as I know I'm not a strong swimmer. It was lovely being in the warmish sea again, I've missed that.

One thing I love about Turkey is the freshness of the food and that evening dining at a local kebab restaurant I tucked into the very best salads and dips while my companion enjoyed a kebab with all the trimmings, and chai lots of chai. A couple of days of wandering in the heat left me looking for other transport options like the tram for the next day's wander to the beach via the museum.