A day in Antalya

Françoise, Evelyn, Karen

Today, my usual Senior Trailblazer hiking day, was spent hiking around the town of Antalya. Since the meeting is being held in a hotel far from the town (a half an hour) and on the Mediterranean away from everything, I had not seen any of the local environs, but today I was joined by three others to have an excursion in town. Evelyn's husband, Claudio, who is with the WMO who sponsored the conference, found a car and driver and gave us a chance to have a wonderful day, getting to know each other as well as the town. Mickey said go ahead and go, so I didn't ask twice. Karen (Mickey's wife) and I have known each other for ages, but the other two are now fast friends as well.

A street in Old Town

We have the most incredible weather today, after two days of rain and wind, reminding me of home! But today dawned clear and cold, and the weather just got warmer and warmer all day long. Just perfect with a light jacket. The streets were pretty clear early on, but as it grew later, we saw more and more people. The shop owners were mostly friendly and not too pushy since it's the off season and we were obviously out to shop. There were a couple annoying ones, but otherwise we made new friends!

One of our new friends

We promised this gentleman with a silver shop that we would stop by before returning to the hotel, and we did, but when this picture was taken it was still early in the day. We wandered in and out of many of the shops in Old Town, visited an ancient mosque that was originally built in the 2nd century. It is now just a pile of old stones that I had to peer at through a fence. As we got hungry, we looked for a place that had been recommended, the Castle Hotel and Restaurant on the water.

Our table, with Karen sending a picture to Mickey

It was everything we had hoped for. We sat in the sun, feeling a nice gentle breeze off the water and enjoyed the view. We also learned that there are many feral cats in Old Town, and they obviously knew their way around. In fact, the owners of the hotel have created some nice little catwalks for them.

Cat snoozing over the water

Being fond of cats, this didn't bother me at all, as they rubbed against my legs as we ate a fantastic lunch. Karen ordered some kind of fish, but Françoise and I ordered grilled vegetables that were wonderful. Thinking of my blogging friends who asked for food pictures, I took a picture, trying to show the amazing view as well.

My grilled vegetables in a fantastic setting

After lunch, we wandered more around town, knowing we only had a couple of hours, and went into a tea shop. They have all these piles of different teas, and as soon as we walked in, the proprietor made us up some samples, knowing that we wouldn't be able to resist.

I ended up getting a Sultan and eucalyptus tea blend

When he held up the fresh tea under my nose, it immediately gave me a rush. I found out that it is because it had a great deal of eucalyptus in it. Oh my! I couldn't help from buying it. I will be drinking it for a long time to come. And then, before I knew it, we had to make our way back to the spot where we would be picked up by our driver. We went back to the silver shop, meeting our new friend Aytekin, while making promises to see each other again. I took this selfie of myself so I could be included in the day's pictures.

In the mirror, my selfie

There was only one thing I didn't buy that I wished I had: an Eye of Fatima charm. I intend to get one tomorrow, and the story of the Eye is that when you wear it, you are protected from harm. I figured it's not a bad thing to have.

The Eye of Fatima earrings

Everywhere you look in the shops, you see these things: key chains, bracelets, necklaces, you name it. I remember seeing them in Macedonia years ago, but I think this time I'm going to indulge in a few of them. They would make great gifts, don't you think?
:-)