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Fall & Winter 2024
  • Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun

Fall & Winter 2024

Combo trip journal ... including time with family in Türkiye; a Viking river cruise (Eastern European Capitals); more family time in Türkiye; and a TransAtlantic Cruise back home on NCL Encore. Okumaya devam et
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  • Gezinin başlangıcı
    8 Eylül 2024
    Fall & Winter 2024
    Still making plans!

    No Set Plans As Yet

    23 Ocak 2024, Avustralya ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Our 2024 Southern Hemisphere summer/fall travels — winter/spring back home in Colorado — brought us Down Under ... where we disembarked our cruise in Hobart, Tasmania yesterday to begin a 3½-month overland trip around Australia.

    Our Northern Hemisphere spring/summer travels will see us at home in Colorado. We are debating taking an RV trip or doing day-outings near home while we recuperate from our grand adventure Down Under. Decision TBD.

    Our Northern Hemisphere fall/winter travels will take us to Europe as they tend to do every year. That we will spend part of the trip with family in Türkiye is a foregone conclusion. As for the rest of our time overseas? Those plans are very much TBD at this point.

    Regardless of what we decide to do between September and December, this FindPenguins trip will share the story of those travels.

    Let the planning begin!

    [TBD, by the way, means "to be determined" ... just to clarify for those not familiar with the acronym.]    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Our second river cruise with Viking ... to a part of Europe we have not been to before.

    Eastern Euro Capitals with Viking

    31 Ocak 2024, Avustralya ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    We're still in Tasmania.

    Should have been overnighting in Bicheno! Instead, we kept going and arrived in Prospect Vale … a suburb of Launceston.

    The change in plans gave us downtime this afternoon to work on 2024 travel plans for fall/winter.

    In 2022, we canceled our Swiss Alps to Paris river cruise with Viking. The reason? Concern over river levels during August. The cancelation did not hit us in the wallet. Instead, we were given a voucher for the entire fare … with a use-by date of 20 July 2024.

    So, today we deposited a French balcony cabin on the two-week long "Capitals of Eastern Europe" itinerary on the longboat Kadlin … a mid-October sailing on the Danube River ... Vienna, Austria to Bucharest, Romania.

    We are excited about finally dipping our toes into Eastern Europe!

    Keeping fingers crossed that there are no water level issues to deal with.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    DEN-YYZ on United Airlines; YYZ-IST-ADB on Turkish Airlines.

    Airfare: USA to Türkiye via Canada

    21 Şubat 2024, Avustralya ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    We've moved on from Tasmania to mainland Australia.

    At present, we are camping at the Bathers Paradise Caravan Park in Esperance, Western Australia. We spent today at Cape La Grand National Park ... words fall short of describing this amazing place. (Look it up if you don't believe me. Or check out this footprint that I published earlier today ... https://findpenguins.com/8pccjefaitoru/footprin….)

    But our sightseeing today is neither here nor there. At least with regard to our future plans.

    Instead, let me write about what we worked on this evening ... airfare to get us to Türkiye for the first part of our fall/winter trip. Didn't anticipate making a purchase. But a good deal on business class tickets changed that pretty quickly.

    We will once again fly to İzmir, Türkiye via Toronto, Canada as that gateway offered the least expensive fare. As always, there will be a layover in İstanbul before we reach our final destination.

    This time, however, we will be flying to Toronto on the same day as our Turkish Airlines [THY] flight instead of the day before. Makes sense actually ... and saves money. TK18 isn’t scheduled to depart from Toronto until 8:40p. Our United Airlines award tickets from DEN [Denver International Airport] will get us to Toronto by 3:11p. Plenty of time to make the connection.

    Plans for fall/winter are starting to take shape!    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    A late-in-the-year westbound TransAtlantic ... shorter, too.

    NCL TransAtlantic Back Home

    22 Şubat 2024, Avustralya ⋅ 🌬 88 °F

    Moved north from Esperance to Kalgoorlie today ... still in Western Australia. What a difference 235 miles makes.

    Where Esperance is known for its turquoise waters on the coast of the Great Australian Bight, Kalgoorlie is known for its gold ... specifically for its Super Pit mining operation. We'll be touring the mine tomorrow.

    In the meantime, we put another logistics ✓ on our fall/winter travel plans ... this time to get us back to the USA.

    Fly or cruise? Quick or slow? We prefer to do a TransAtlantic cruise when possible, so slow is our usual modus operandi.

    But I had a dilemma this time.

    We had already stolen time away from our family visit in Türkiye by booking a river cruise in mid-October. Would we be able to find a westbound TransAtlantic leaving later than the usual October-November time frame?

    As it turns out, there were several from which to choose.

    After a lengthy debate, we settled on Norwegian Cruise Line's [NCL] 12-day sailing on Encore ... from Southampton, England to Miami, Florida … departing on 3 December.

    The ship is much bigger than what we prefer for cruising port-intensive itineraries. But it will work for a TransAtlantic with just a few ports of call. This particular itinerary has just three stops — Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Ponta Delgada, Azores (Portugal).

    It’s been ages since we were last on an NCL ship, so I really don’t know what to expect … except perhaps that there will be a lot of nickel and dimeing. Anyway, we booked a category BB veranda, so we’ll have someplace to hunker down if all the activities around the ship get to be too much.

    The bonus to this TransAtlantic is the price. Less than airfare in economy ... and much, much less than business class tickets. Yes, it will take longer to cruise back than it would to fly. But we are retired … we have the time to dally.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Another checkmark on our travel plans for later this year.

    Cha-Ching: Viking Paid in Full

    27 Şubat 2024, Avustralya ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    The news in Perth today — as we start to wrap up the RV trip that brought us clear across Australia — was the temperature.

    Not that the temps were above normal ... as they have been on and off during the past few weeks. Quite the opposite, in fact. With just two days left before summer turns to autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, it was five degrees below the norms. That’s a good thing!

    Returning to the campground after today’s sightseeing in Perth, I went online and paid off our river cruise on the longboat Kadlin.

    Yes, that’s slightly earlier than warranted. However, the next couple of days promise to be busy ... what with preparing to return the RV and moving to our AirBNB apartment in the city. It would not do to overlook the payment and lose the booking.

    I already have the new invoice showing the cruise paid in full.

    Another ✓ goes on our fall/winter travel plans.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    DEN-IST-ADB ... one less connection is always a good deal.

    Finally: THY Flying from DEN

    3 Mayıs 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    The news is not unexpected! It just took a year or two for it to become reality.

    We learned of the commencement of the long-awaited THY flight from DEN to IST [İstanbul International Airport] early in April … while we were still in Australia.

    But bookings were not scheduled to open until 29 April. As well, we already had tickets via Toronto. “Best,” we thought to ourselves, “to wait until we get home in May to tackle what might be a complicated change.”

    We got home two days ago. And this morning, Mui and I sat down to discuss our options.

    On the minus side, our booked fare via Toronto was cheaper. And there could be a fee should we decide to cancel.

    On the plus side, flying DEN to IST nonstop would be easier. And it would eliminate the UA connection to Toronto … with the bonus of getting the miles — and taxes & fees — credited back for that flight cancelation.

    As we were debating the pros and cons of making the change, Mui asked if the schedule change we had received for the Toronto-İstanbul flight in February might work in our favor?

    True, THY allows no-penalty-cancelations when they make a schedule change. The question was … had we accepted the change already? I couldn’t remember. So, I logged into our booking.

    There it was. Highlighted by a red banner was the schedule change … and the offer to rebook or cancel the tickets if the new schedule didn’t work for us. Of course, there was no real problem with the schedule. But THY was giving us a loophole of which we could take advantage.

    As soon as I received confirmation of the cancelation and notice of the refund back to the credit card, I went to work rebooking the new tickets — DEN-IST ... and on to İzmir, our final destination in Türkiye. Choosing to fly a few days later than initial planned even netted us a bit of savings. Good deal!

    Once I had confirmation of the new THY tickets, I logged into Mui’s UA account and canceled the connection from Denver to Toronto. The miles are already back in his account; the refund back to the credit card is underway.

    Happy travelers we are!    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Every cent counts!

    NCL’s Military Appreciation Pgm

    7 Mayıs 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    Saved a bit of money on the Encore TransAtlantic!

    We were still in Australia when we booked this cruise. Before doing so, I had checked for any discounts and came across their Military Appreciation Program. But it required Mui to verify himself through ID.Me to qualify.

    Didn’t want to mess with it then. So, the agent suggested getting the verification when we returned home. A simple phone call to NCL would then get the discount applied.

    We did that today.

    Admittedly, since our fare was low to begin with, the savings don't add up to much. Nonetheless, the re-faring falls into the “every cent counts” category.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Pre-and post-cruise dates set for our Viking river cruise.

    Pre- & Post River Cruise

    8 Mayıs 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    We always try to add time before and after a cruise ... be it ocean or river. The longer the better ... if we can swing the days.

    Before we could do so for the Eastern European Capitals river cruise, however, we had a few things to consider.

    First, how much more time we'd be stealing away from our family visit in Türkiye. Second, airline schedules ... especially important in this case because the budget friendly options we were considering had limited schedules to/from our embarkation and disembarkation ports.

    Today, we managed to bookend our river cruise with the appropriate dates. We'll be spending six days in Vienna prior to embarking the longboat Kadlin. And we'll stay on for two extra days after we disembark in Constanta and Viking transfers us to Bucharest.

    Now we just need to purchase our airfare and book our accommodations.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Airfare and accommodations for Vienna are lined up.

    Vienna Pre-Cruise Logistics ✓

    9 Mayıs 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    Our pre-cruise departure from İzmir to Vienna is set for 9 October.

    We'll be flying out of ADB nonstop on SunExpress. It's not often that we find a flight that works for us without having to go through İstanbul. Thus, this booking is worth its weight in gold.

    We've got our pre-cruise accommodations lined up as well.

    We prefer renting an apartment rather than booking a hotel if we are going to be in one place for more than two-three days. AirBnb gave us what we were looking for. That the apartment is a penthouse is a bonus! As is the accessibility of public transportation.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Post-cruise logistics completed for Bucharest.

    Bucharest Post-Cruise Logistics ✓

    13 Mayıs 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    With our departure from Bucharest set for 30 October, another set of logistics for our river cruise got completed today.

    We were hoping that we could fly SunExpress nonstop back to İzmir. Unfortunately, this late in the season, the airline is no longer flying from Bucharest.

    Instead, we will be flying Pegasus Airlines ... with a layover at Sabiha Gökçen Airport [SAW] in İstanbul.

    Accommodations are all set as well.

    Since we're in Bucharest just two nights post cruise, we opted to book ourselves into the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. Convenient because this is where Viking is putting us up for one night after we transfer from Constanta, our debarkation port, to Bucharest.

    With our pre- and post-cruise logistics completed, I can now turn my attention to planning our sightseeing in the Eastern European countries we will be visiting on the cruise.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Pre TransAtlantic cruise logistics are completed.

    Pre-T/A Logistics ✓

    18 Mayıs 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Flight … bus … hotel!

    All of the logistics for our pre-cruise overnight before embarking NCL Encore on 3 December are complete.

    We didn't want to take more time away from our family visit. So, no pre-cruise this time. Not that we will be flying in on embarkation day. That would be way too stressful.

    Instead, with our departure from İzmir set for 2 December; we will have an overnight in Southampton.

    Familiarity with our destination helped speed up the required bookings … even though we won’t be flying into Heathrow as we usually do.

    Rather, we will be flying SunExpress nonstop from İzmir to London Stansted Airport [STN] ... a former US base ... now the fourth largest airport in England.

    Next, I moved onto getting us from Stansted to Southampton.

    We always take the National Express bus service when we fly into Heathrow. So, we're going the same route from STN ... with a connection at Victoria Station in London. I booked the 3:25p departure. The good news is that airport pick-up passengers are allowed to board any bus within three hours on either side of the purchased ticket … at no extra cost. Of course, that’s on a space available basis. 🤞🏻 all will go like clockwork.

    Our accommodations in Southampton are sorted out as well.

    The Holiday Inn on Herbert Walker Avenue may not be the most luxurious of accommodations. But we have stayed there before and it is the closest hotel to the port. Walking distance if the weather cooperates and we feel like rolling our bags to the terminal. If not, hopping in an Uber will be easy enough.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Every dollar counts.

    NCL Re-Fared

    1 Haziran 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Was it worth it?

    Maybe. Maybe not. But it is a done deal. And I was on the phone no more than 5 minutes to get our fare reduced based on the current promo.

    Who cares if this re-faring falls into the small change category. Any amount of savings is a good one!Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Another cruise paid off!

    Cha-Ching: NCL Paid in Full

    2 Ağustos 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    With final payment for our Encore TransAtlantic due on Monday, I did the deed today.

    I've also completed my sightseeing research for the three ports of call on this cruise. We will DIY it all the way. The stories will unfold when we call on the cities in question.

    Pre-cruise logistics ... ✓
    Final payment ... ✓
    Sightseeing plans ... ✓

    Now we just need to wait for the final documents to be issued. But that won't happen until 21-days prior to embarkation.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Will this be the only itinerary change? We shall see.

    NCL Itinerary Change #1

    5 Ağustos 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    An NCLH company after all!

    So, no surprise that we got an itinerary change right after the final payment deadline yesterday … while we were on our way to Denver for some sightseeing.

    Yeah, yeah. I know this happens with all cruise lines. But it seems like it has become a habit with the NCLH lines in the last few years. We’ve experienced it on Oceania. And now on NCL.

    I had to laugh at the paragraph that said, in part, “… pleased to share that we have preserved the amount of time originally scheduled for our visit to Ponta Delgada, Portugal.” True, but we did lose an hour each in Vigo and Lisbon, and another hour in Southampton … the latter because the sailaway has been moved up from 5:00p to 4:00p.

    Technically, I don’t mind the changes. This cruise is transportation for us. Any sightseeing we do will be DIY, so no plans to re-jigger. Plus, we will be arriving earlier ... which is a good thing. After all, we are sailing in December and it will get dark early anyway.

    I titled this itinerary change #1. With only three ports of call, I would think that there would be no other changes. But we shall see! There is always the possibility that more's to come.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Playing the NCL Upgrade Bid game.

    NCL Upgrade Bid Game

    15 Ağustos 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

    Isn’t that what they say? So, when we received an email from NCL today to bid for an upgrade for our TransAtlantic cruise, we decided to play the game ... especially since we won't be charged for the bid unless it is accepted.

    I was surprised that all of the eligible categories — except one — were in The Haven ... NCL's "ship-within-a-ship" class of staterooms. The one exception was the Club Balcony. The differences between this category and the veranda we have booked isn't worth a bid IMHO. So, we crossed that one off the list and focused on the others.

    Some of The Haven cabins were simply out of our price range — like the deluxe owner’s suite. Others were way too big for our needs — like the two-bedroom family villas. Yet others were not suitably located — like the courtyard or forward-facing penthouses. That left the aft-facing penthouses with large balconies — perfect!

    This TransAtlantic cruise is simply transportation for us. And at our current fare, it is inexpensive transportation at that. Keeping that in mind, we decided to submit the minimum bid amount.

    We might well miss out on an upgrade at the rates we submitted. NCL’s upgrade tool even rated our bids as such by showing them as being "poor." No matter. We really don’t want to spend too much more for this cruise. As nice as it would be to have the extra indoor space for what promises to be a cold-weather crossing, we’ll be satisfied with what we have booked if the upgrade bid is not accepted.

    When will we find out if one of our bids is successful? Anytime between now and just before sailaway on 3 December.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    A car and driver will get us to DEN for our outbound flight.

    🚘 & Driver to DEN … ✔️

    16 Ağustos 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Uber. Private driver. One-way car rental. These have always been options for us when past trips required us to get to or from DEN.

    Often, the car rental rates have been less than the cost of a car service. Sometimes a few dollars more perhaps. But renting a car was worth it regardless … for not having to rely on someone else to get us to DEN … especially for an early morning departure when an unexpected snag could wreak havoc on the trip.

    Our last few trips, however, have seen the rental rates going sky high. Our upcoming trip in September has been no exception in this regard. Believe me … I’ve been checking on and off since January.

    I finally gave in and made a reservation with Avis in July … just to have something in our back pocket. I’ve been monitoring the rates since making the booking … even submitting a couple of requests through AutoSlash in the hopes of finding a better rate. No can do.

    So, I turned to one of the two private drivers I have in my contacts app to get us to DEN for our evening flight on 8 September.

    When I called April, she quoted $90 for the drive … best rate I’ve seen … ever. Definitely a ‘big-chunk-of-change’ savings over the car rental rate.

    I have since confirmed the arrangements with April and canceled the Avis rental.

    One last logistics ✓ on the to-do list.

    Now, to the worst part of travel IMHO … packing. But I have some time before I have to get cracking on that.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Hotel for 12/15 ... flight for 12/16. Now checked off the to-do list.

    MIA-DEN Logistics ✓

    28 Ağustos 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    After many months of checking for a reasonably-priced flight to return us to Colorado Springs at the end of our fall-winter trip, today we made a decision and took the plunge.

    Since the fares on 15 December — the day we disembark NCL's Encore in Miami — were higher than we wanted to pay, Mui agreed to postpone his 12/16 appointment. Thus allowing us to book award tickets on the 16th instead ... on the 8:00a non-stop flight on United ... for a very reasonable number of miles.

    True, flying out on the 16th means having to stay overnight in Miami on the 15th. But we knew that we could do so for less than the cost of the airfare we'd have to shell out to fly out on disembarkation day. So, we now have a hotel reservation near the Miami Airport ... booked through United's hotel portal.

    Both the airfare and the hotel are fully refundable. If we find a better deal, we can cancel and rebook. In the meantime, it's nice to have these logistics checked off the to-do list.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    A bit of early prep for the sake of convenience.

    Xmas in September?

    2 Eylül 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    No. Not celebrating Christmas in September.

    Just doing a little early prep work.

    You see, we don't return home until mid-December. So, we figured that we would put up the tree and a few decorations before we left on our trip.

    This way, we can begin enjoying the holiday cheer immediately upon returning home. Plus, there will be that much less decorating to do in December.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    DEN's unique terminal design — Denver, CO.
    TK202 being prepped for departure @ DEN — Denver, CO.

    At DEN

    8 Eylül 2024, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    With bags packed yesterday, and a flight departure not until this evening, we had a relaxing start to our travel day.

    The car service picked us up on time. No traffic to hinder our progress … we arrived at DEN at 2:30p … well ahead of schedule.

    The Turkish Airlines (THY) check-in counter was already open with no one queued up … the TSA Pre✔️line was long, but moving steadily. All good omens for our travel day.

    We whiled away a couple of hours at the United Club before coming to our gate. The A350 aircraft that will be taking us across the Atlantic to İstanbul is being prepped. Boarding to commence in 20 minutes.

    Ready to get this trip rolling.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Hello İstanbul, Türkiye.

    Welcome to IST

    9 Eylül 2024, Türkiye ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Have landed in İstanbul … one more flight to go to reach our destination later today.

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Flying over Aliağa on our way to ADB.

    Arrived in İzmir

    9 Eylül 2024, Türkiye ⋅ 🌙 79 °F

    Our 7:00p flight from İstanbul to İzmir had a slight delay but was otherwise uneventful. Just 45 minutes or so from wheels up to wheels down and we were on the ground at ADB.

    By 9:00p, having collected our luggage, we were on our way into the city.

    We had a short reunion with mom before heading downstairs to Aylin & Murat’s place to get settled in and call it a night.

    Breakfast at mom’s tomorrow. In the meantime, a comfy bed and a good night’s rest is what we have on our minds.

    [for those unfamiliar with the family dynamics … Aylin is my sister; Murat is my brother-in-law]    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    The grandkids of Naimoş ... and honorary members through marriage 😁 — Alsancak ... İzmir, Türkiye 🇹🇷

    Reunion of the Cousins

    11 Eylül 2024, Türkiye ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    We’ve been in İzmir a few days now.

    Adjusted to the 9-hour time difference from Colorado. Established our daily routine … at least for now … that will change when we move to our usual digs after Aylin & Murat return home from their trip to the Greek Islands and Montenegro.

    Haven’t done anything exciting in the way of sightseeing yet … but there are plans to do so. In the meantime, we have had a couple of dinners out.

    Tuesday night, we went out with my Mom and Mui’s sister, Işıl … visiting from Eskişehir. We didn’t go far … just to a favorite restaurant that happens to be next door to mom’s apartment building. Forgot to take a photo … oops. But the food was good … as was the company. And a good time was had by all.

    Last night, we joined Mui’s cousins for a reunion dinner.

    The cousins have a WhatsApp group called “Naimoş’un Torunları” (Grandkids of Naimoş … named for their maternal grandmother, Naime). They’re in touch thru text messages, shared photos, and such. There have also been a couple of reunion dinners over the years with a cousin here … a cousin there. This was the first time, however, that all five of the cousins have managed to get together in one place. It was a fun-filled evening with lots of family anecdotes, laughter, and chatter. And toasts to family members no longer with us.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Deniz and Mui sending cheers to Murat! — İzmir, 🇹🇷.

    Cheers!

    12 Eylül 2024, Türkiye ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    While we were at dinner last night with Mui’s cousins, my brother (Deniz) arrived in İzmir. Like us, he lives in the USA, but has been traveling in Europe for a couple of weeks before joining us here.

    The brothers-in-law enjoyed a pre-dinner Chivas before … sending this photo to the other brother-in-law, Murat, to show him what he is missing while he is in Greece.

    I’m sure there will be a similar photo with the three of them after Aylin & Murat return home next week.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    The clock tower, which dates back to 1901, is İzmir's iconic symbol - Konak, İzmir.
    During an after-errands coffee break, Mui shows off Deniz's new İzmirim Kart — Alsancak, İzmir.1Lunch time! ... Kadınbudu (fried beef patties) — Alsancak, İzmir.

    BIL Outing

    13 Eylül 2024, Türkiye ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    While I was busy with mom today, the BILs [brothers in law] went out for errands and food.

    This year, Deniz reached that ‘magic age’ when public transportation in İzmir has become free for him. So, he used the İzmirim Kart app last night to apply for the transit card that will guarantee that he doesn’t get charged for rides on conveyances operated by the municipality … be they on the bus, the metro, or the ferry.

    Mui joined him this morning to go to the municipality office in Konak, the city center, to pick up the card. While they were at it, they also dined out for lunch 😄    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Fall & Winter 2024
    Family Dinner — İzmir, Türkiye.
    The two "anniversary couples" — İzmir, Türkiye.A joint cutting of the anniversary cake — İzmir, Türkiye.

    Fam Dinner & Anniversary x2

    20 Eylül 2024, Türkiye ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Hard to believe it's been a week since I last wrote and just under two weeks since we arrived in Izmir.

    Mui has been out and about a few times with Deniz ... mostly to run errands. I have been spending time with mom.

    Aylin and Murat arrived home from Greece on the 18th, so we're now at our usual accommodations. We'll move back to their apartment for a week ... when they leave for their Montenegro trip on the 23rd.

    We had a fun family dinner at mom's tonight. We also belatedly celebrated two anniversaries as both Aylin & Murat and Serenay & Hakan were in Chios on the actual dates earlier this week.    Okumaya devam et

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