Arrive Antalya

Today was a much more restful day than any so far!  I was able to sleep in this morning which was a luxury.  Then I went to the fitness center which felt good after a week of no exercise.  Then I just relaxed in the hotel reading the New York Times and resting before the trip to the airport to get the flight to Antalya.  I met up with Bonnie and Sky at the airport.  We arrived in Antalya at 4:30 and were met at the airport by a driver who brought us to our hotel.  We LOVE the hotel.  It is right in the center of the old city, inside the old castle walls.  The streets are stone and narrow and very quaint, with lots of shops and restaurants and activity.  The hotel itself is two old mansions that were refurbished into a boutique hotel.  There is a lovely courtyard with a pool and tables, a poolside bar -  a great place to sit and read and enjoy a drink or coffee.  We wandered down to the marina for dinner, passing through the many night markets that are all over this part of the town.  No dearth of shopping opportunities here!  The marina is beautiful and there is a breathtaking vista across the water of mountains  on the other side of the bay.  They were shrouded in mist and looked quite magical.  We found a really fancy restaurant (Arma) up on the hill (where a wedding was underway) with a large patio out over the water so we had dinner overlooking the harbor, watching the yachts come and go and the sun set over the mountains.  It was quite entertaining to watch the wedding as well.  To say it was lavish is putting it mildly!  The restaurant has a trained white dove that swoops around periodically looking very romantic and somehow managing not to land on anyone's table!  Bonnie got creme brulee for dessert and the waiter brought the blow torch to the table to cook the top of it.  Quite a performance!  Then we wandered back to the hotel, considering it a minor miracle that we were able to retrace our steps!   Without a map, it would be very easy to get lost down here.  I'm hoping tomorrow to get out and try to get my bearings.  All these winding little streets begin to look alike after awhile!  I've included pics of Bonnie and Sky in front of the hotel and at dinner and a couple of shots of the marina at the harbor.  We can already tell we are going to love this place!  Our driver says it is a very popular vacation spot for Russians and Germans.   As I am writing this the last azzan (call to prayer) is being chanted from the mosque that is right around the corner.  The call to prayer punctuates the day in Turkey - it is quite lovely.   We're not sure what we're going to do tomorrow, but we do know we want to go out on a boat - there are many of them down at the marina and they take people out for cruises.  Deciding which boat to go on will be the trick! There is a lot to do here and we've only got three days!