That's What Jenni Said

In 2014, I made a return trip to Turkey. My third visit to the country, I set out to explore more of the southwest area of Turkey. As always, I flew into Instanbul from the US and got in a lovely visit to the Turkish baths at Cemberlitas Hamam and made time for a quick visit to the spice market before making my way to the Anatolian peninsula. I started my adventure in Aphrodisias. It was once the capital of the Roman province of Caria and renowned for its sculptures. While the city was devastated by a 7th century earthquake, the quality of its marble buildings was so great that ruins remain today.  Once I'd had my fill of the ancient city, I departed for Pamukkale (ie the Cotton Castle). This is a phenomenal natural landscape, with limestone terraces hosting cascading pools.

To round out my 2012 travels and push my Delta miles beyond the Diamond threshold, I dashed off on a quick weekend mistake fare trip to Madrid (where I stayed in the hotel nearly the entire time ordering room service while I was bogged down with work and studying), enjoyed another weekend spa getaway to Las Vegas (lounged by the pool most of the time and sampled some of the high end restaurants on the strip), and then ventured into Turkey for a long weekend.  This was my second trip to Turkey and so on the first day, I set about revisiting all the spots in Istanbul I'd fallen in love with on the last trip .  That meant, of course, a visit to Cemberlitas Hamami  on the European side of Istanbul (not far from the Blue Mosque) for a relaxing scrub and massage. This little slice of heaven is, hands down, my favorite place in Istanbul to recharge after a long flight from the Americas. I also spent some quality time in the spice market, picking up more Turkish Delight than is...

  Each Thanksgiving, Jonathan and I like to travel somewhere new over the holiday. Turkey seemed like a logical place to visit as of course everyone associates Turkey and Thanksgiving. Brilliant! We gathered up a few friends from the Beautiful Life meetup group and made our way to Istanbul to get things rolling. Our first day of the trip was consumed with just getting to Turkey (via Paris on Air France for maximum miles of course) so we had time only for dinner before we called it a day. I chose Mezze based on its stellar reputation on Trip Advisor and the restaurant did not disappoint. Lovely little small plates was the name of the game for everyone and the lamb was tender and juicy. The establishment has a featured dessert that is unique: Ballý Bademli Cevizli Kaymaklý Muz (Geleneksel veya Acýlý) . Oh sorry, did you want that in English? Bananas Topped with Honey, Almonds, Pistachios and Clotted Cream with Chili Sauce. Read that again out loud and think about it. Cream. Hot ...