Tag: hot air balloon
Good Bye Istanbul- Final Thoughts…
It was our last day in this beautiful and friendly city as I woke up and couldn’t help thinking how much fun these last eight days have been. It was partly because we traveled in a group with family, partly because of the sights, food, once in a lifetime experience of hot air ballooning, but mostly because of the hospitable and friendly Turkish people. The people in Istanbul were super nice but the people in Cappadocia were gracious and genuinely kind- the way I have never experienced before- I guess that is why I didn’t feel like leaving Turkey. Usually when we go away on vacation, I am happy to come back home after about a week- but this time was very different- I was sad to leave. I will cherish these wonderful memories for a very long time to come and look forward to going back and enjoying the amazing mix of east and west again some day.
For any of you out there thinking of going to Turkey, I would highly, highly recommend it.
Cappadocia – Day 2
Day six started super early at 5 AM. We got dressed in multiple layers to get ready for a once in a lifetime experience of a hot air balloon over the beautiful Cappadocian landscape. It was all of 34 degrees and we were all a bit scared of how cold it was going to be up in the balloon. We were picked up by the balloon company and taken to a restaurant type of place with lots of other people waiting in the dark. They were serving a light breakfast consisting of coffee, cherry juice, bread and pastries. We quickly had a few bites to eat and got back into their van and made our way to an open field where our balloon was being blown up. In about ten minutes we were on our way up as was the sun! It was the most spectacular views of the rock formations all around us. It was gentle, peaceful and one of the most unforgettable experiences we have had!
Kuvarma Platter
After an hour we were back on the ground and enjoying some cake and champagne! We headed back to our hotel, had breakfast, packed and left to explore some more before our flight back to Istanbul. After a few hours of exploring, we made our way back to Urgup town to enjoy our last meal in Cappadocia. We headed to a small, modest restaurant serving all sorts of kebab! We ordered a variety of kebabs including a beef doner kebab platter, a kuvarma platter-which was cut up beef pieces, perfectly marinated and cooked with slightly spicy green peppers. It was served with tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and a bit of rice- it was delicious. After the yummy lunch we ordered rice pudding with a dollop of cream and a vermicelli pudding filled with cheese and served with ice cream- both were really tasty but for me the rice pudding took the cake! The cream took it to the next level- yum!
Rice Pudding with Cream
Vermicelli Dessert
Soon it was time to leave and head to the airport. I will never forget our visit to Cappadocia- it has been an amazing variety of delicious food, exotic spices, yummy wine, the most amazing desserts and most important of all- the most hospitable and friendly people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!