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So, after the party was over and everyone was hugged (and kissed :), I spent a nice and quiet weekend, enjoying my freedom and packing for a holiday. Our beach holiday, finally! The destination is Turkey and this time it is for the whole 2 weeks! I envy our flat mates, I wish we could have the flat just for us for so long :)

4 hour flight and we are so far away from the depressing grayness and damp of London autumn to enjoy the sun, the sea (which water is still up to 25C) and light-hearted life of tourists.

Once we got into our hotel room I had a chance to see how well I packed my bag. Everything seemed to be there, but one thing, actually one tiny piece of a wardrobe. Let me give you a hint. When you are going to a beach holiday, what would be the most necessary, the most appropriate piece of clothes you take with? Yes, swimming trunks. Believe me or not, I forgot to take them :) Ironically, when I was doing my packing, I suddenly remembered about them and I said to myself, ‘Well, that would be so dumb to forget them’. And this is exactly what I did. Hehe… I spent a day moaning, and then bought a pair of them at the local store. They looked a bit pimpish, but hey, it’s not my fault that plain colours are considered boring there ;)

Though we tended to spent most of our time on the water and on the beach, working hard on our tan, we did a bit of cultural exploration as well. As a matter of fact, our neighboring town was a place called Bodrum, more widely knows as formerly Halicarnassus. If it still does not ring any bell, The Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was there. So went to see it, I mean what is left of it. Not much, I must say. The 45 m tomb, build between 353 and 350 BC, stood there for sixteen centuries undamaged and spared during various wars, but then destroyed by the series of earthquakes. So what is left now is just some poor ruins with few stones and frescos. Not much of the former glory…

Another place to see in Bodrum was the castle of the Knights of Malta (where by the way, some stones from the ruined Mausoleum were used for the walls), which was quite massive. Yeah, we love castles (I am still dreaming of living in one of those).

We also visited a local bath, which is was quite interesting. It’s not very hot, just about 45C but very humid, so you sit and soak there, but the very best part of it is that you get washed and massaged by a ‘bath man’ (not sure if this is how you call him). Well, no one washed me in my life apart from my mom, and that was decades ago :) …

Apparently, 2 week holiday is just right, just enough time to get relaxed and refreshed and ready to go back to your work routine.

We definitely enjoyed the holiday and quite liked Turkey, it felt chilled and relaxed, even at the markets you are not hassled by shop-men as much as in some other Eastern countries :) And you can get a cheap bag with a famous label on it. Or a bracelet. Or even a ring with huge D&G. Well, they stamp designers’ labels on virtually everything :)