Kavahlti | lisezfaire

46 days. 17 flights. 6 countries. Old friends. New friends. Desert night. Beaches. Sunshine. Dancing. Wedding. Calamari. Rosé. Champagne. Rakı. Baptism. And so much more.

From Oman I went on to some familiar and some new spots…Here is part 2.

Stop #4 – Country #4: Turkey. Istanbul. What can I say. I cannot help myself. Initially I was flying through Istanbul 5 times without stopping. Not sure what I was thinking there…it felt wrong to just fly through and not stop at least once! As always, I stayed at my favourite hotel – the House Hotel Galatasaray. It feels like home.

It can be hard to leave this room…but with all that Istanbul has to offer, I generally find my way out!

Caught up with some “old” friends and introduced them to some “new” friends who were visiting. And also managed to catch up with a friend from NYC who happened to be in Istanbul at the same time. Love it.

Dinner in Beşiktaş with old and new friends.

The lovely Nuray – a friend from Baku, who was on her way to Toronto with her hubby.

And of course…there was the requisite visit to the Cağaloğlu Hamam.

When in Istanbul, do yourself a favour and go to the Cağaloğlu Hamam in the old city (Sultanamet). Sooooo good!

Istanbul – it is always a joy to see you.

Kavahltı – Turkish breakfast. My fave. So much so I make it at home sometimes as well. Menemen…bal kaymak…Yum! Even tastier when eating it down by the Bosphorus.

Our view at breakfast. Beautiful. Never gets old.

Stop #5 – Country #4: Turkey. Ankara. Time well spent catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in about 18 months.

Red, red wine…and another delicious dinner. I seriously need to stop drinking and eating like this.

And…was taught how to properly drink rakı. I’m not the master that Taylan is, but I held my own. I have said for a few years now that my first rakı experience would be with Tay – but somehow I managed to live in Istanbul for the better part of a year without doing so (and that was 2 years ago!). Clearly it was time…

Rakı! In a beautiful little Greek restaurant.

This was my first visit to Turkey’s capital. It’s a government town (I lived in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, for 3 years – so I know what those are like). I enjoyed it. As a city it has a huge footprint (really spread out). The central area is easy to walk around in and I managed a short visit to the Canadian embassy.

For a moment there I was standing on both “home” soils…one foot in Canada, the other in Turkey. 🙂

I was also taken to Ataturk’s mausoleum – a must see.

Ataturk Mausoleum – beautifully done.

Ataturk Mausoleum. The exhibit is really well done. Hard to photograph though, so you will just have to go see it yourself.

In the 35+ degree heat we also managed a trip to the old fort in the city. I wouldn’t stay in a hotel there (too separate from the part of the city you want to spend your evenings in), but it is definitely worth a visit.

With the walls of the old fort, which dates back to the Byzantines.

Inside the old fort in Ankara. I loved seeing women on the street working on their handicrafts. I wanted to take a close-up of this lady, who has a beautiful, National Geographic, face. But it felt like I would be intruding, so I didn’t ask.

Stop #6 – Country #5: Greece: Athens! A pit stop for a couple of days to meet up with friends before we headed to Mykonos for a week. It’s my second visit to Athens, and I know I’ll be back. This was really a functional stop (laundry, etc.)…so no photos. That said, we did manage a beautiful dinner overlooking the Acropolis and an evening walk in the area. Lovely.

Stop #7 – Country #5: Greece. Mykonos.

The day we arrived – a sunset swim at the hotel pool where my friends stayed. And of course, some rosé.

Mykonos – incredibly beautiful sunset. From the pool deck at the Vencia Hotel (which is where my friends stayed).

WOW. What a week. Beaches by day – dinner and some clubbing by night.

Such beautiful beaches and water.

What became my daily meal – Greek salad and calamari (friend and grilled).

One day we took a break from the beaches (who knew you would need that! But we did), and we rested by the hotel pool. Underwater photos were taken…but somehow my head never appears in them! Either I was lazy and didn’t swim as far as the rest of the gang, or I simply float too easily. I’ve always said that if floating were an Olympic sport I would have more gold medals than anyone in the history of the Games. It was soon determined that if we were on a sinking ship, I was the one to be beside. We tested it out…and apparently I’d be the only one drowning as everyone grabs onto me for bouyancy. Rumour also had it that I am “clearly” a secret agent… No comment! 🙂

Where is Lise’s head???

Even when I was the only subject matter….no head in the photo. So funny – but a great shot nonetheless!

And then our last beach day arrived – how quickly a week goes by!

Final day at the beach…say it ain’t so! But luckily I would be at another beach in a few days.

A farewell shot, brought to us by our server (on the very right) and the guy who booked our beach lounge chairs (2nd from the right). See you again gentlemen!

So much fun. And such a beautiful place. White washed houses, blue skies, clear blue water, hot sunshine, dancing, rosé, drag shows, friendly people, new friends. What more could you ask for?