Looking for spring in Bodrum | Istanbul through my eyes

Looking for spring in Bodrum

Obviously, we all were tired of this neverending winter, loads of office work and killing routine.

In Estonia it can take nervewrackingly long time until spring shows its warm and sunny face. Especially this year. Though we hadn´t much snow this winter , we´ve had „lousy ski-weather“ with slush, rain and cold winds until April… But enough of this. Bygone! Some e-mails whizzed between Estonia and Turkey and…

Two dear friends of mine, Kaire and Iiris, me and two of my children took off to Bodrum at the end of March.

Why Bodrum?! In March?!

The reason is that we have a secret garden there… Let´s say – we simply do some gardening there before gardening time starts in Estonia. The secret place is Hotel Gülec and we enjoy every minute being there, planting and „re-organizing“ flowers in the garden. We help to tidy and decorate this garden before the season start in Bodrum. To be honest, garden is the gem of this pansion. Just a thought of breakfast served in the sunny garden under tangerine trees and bougainvilleas… In March apricot is in blossom, yellow plump lemons ready to be picked, geraniums showing their shy buds…

Bodrum-Turkey, photos by Kaire Raiend

Choosing new plants, haggling with the market seller… then carrying „home“ selected goods, thinking where to plant all these beauties, how to group the colors. Have a cup of tea. Or two J All that stuff, you know.

Off-season time in Bodrum is just perfect for us – no tourist-stress, calm and laid-back atmosphere. Already it is possible to sit at the seaside (with a cup of warming sahlep). No, we wouldn´t recommend swimming in March… too cold. We´d suggest a visit to a hamam instead (its just across the street from the bus station). Eateries are not crowded. One can see more of local people´s life.

This time we also managed to visit Kos. Trip to this Greek island takes only 1 hour by boat. One can catch a glimpse of Bodrum neighbors by going on a one-day trip there. Of course, there are plenty of possibilities to prolong the stay. But we didn´t stay this time. Part of this day we spent in an eatery named Evdokia (13 Bouboulinas Str.). Incredibly tasty home-made food. Strongly recommended by random locals and now we recommend it too. Definitely.

Bodrum-Turkey, photos by Eleka Rugam-Rebane

Bodrum-Turkey, photos by Eleka Rugam-Rebane

So, with somewhat sad feelings we left Bodrum after 5 extremely laid-back days and took off to Istanbul. It is not thinkable just to pass by Istanbul…

Istanbul greeted us with sunshine, yet it was quite windy. As I had two children with me, it was inevitable to check out some places attractive to them. This time our choice was Istanbul Akvaryum in Florya and it was definitely worth visiting. Impressive exposition. Captivating sea world – Black Sea, Mediterranean, Aegean Sea, oceans… twisted with some episodes from Turkish history.

via Looking for spring in Bodrum | Istanbul through my eyes.