Bodrum Birthday

Amazing Restaurants Life Travel

Hello!

I’ll spare you the details of my low-key weekend at home and share the last of my Turkey pictures!

After our time in Istanbul, we traveled to the beach town of Bodrum along the Aegean coast. I was really, really excited about this part of the trip, but after the whirlwind of the city, I hadn’t thought much about it. I think Matt and I were both blown away when we arrived and saw how ridiculously beautiful it was. We didn’t stay right on the water to save some money, but our hotel had a breathtaking view from a hill overlooking the city and harbor, so it was fine with me!

IMG_5652.JPG

IMG_5658.JPG

I knew the town was old, but I didn’t realize how much history there was until we started walking around the city and learning more about it. On our first day we explored and visited the ruins of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world! We probably could have spent another whole day going to historical sites (the castle looked so neat), but we had a birthday to celebrate!

IMG_5660.JPG

We walked down to the harbor on our first night and discovered tons of waterfront bars – reminded me of the cove we’d go to in Mykonos every night before dinner on our honeymoon!

IMG_5664.JPG

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous posts are the cats in Turkey! They were everywhere and the locals and people working at restaurants kept them well-fed and gave them attention, so it wasn’t a sad situation (or at least didn’t appear to be) like some of the other places I’ve visited where the animals are thin and sickly.

IMG_5668.JPG

This was the view from our dinner table down to the docks where the cats were waiting for scraps of seafood.

IMG_5685.JPG

Anyway, back to the birthday. Matt turned 30 on the 3rd, so I wanted to do something extra special for him. It didn’t take much research to discover that renting a gulet, or a traditional wooden boat is a big thing in Bodrum. A friend of mine had also done this and highly recommended it, so I made arrangements with a wonderful lady to hire the Adorya gulet for the day.

IMG_5686.JPG

Matt didn’t know a thing about it until the morning of, when I gave him a pair of sunglasses and a card that explained the surprise. He was one happy 30-year-old!

IMG_5703.JPG

IMG_5698.JPG

The boat was absolutely amazing and the day was right out of a fantasy….by far the best excursion I’ve ever done!

IMG_5729.JPG

We sailed into quiet coves and swam in the brisk water,

IMG_5733.JPG

we snorkeled (but didn’t see much),

IMG_5695.JPG

we drank beers while floating on noodles,

IMG_5742.JPG

photo10.jpg

and jumped off the top of the boat.

photo16.jpg

photo17.jpg

Our captain prepared an incredible fresh lunch of salad, fruit,

IMG_5711.JPG

and fish caught that morning.

IMG_5712.JPG

Of course, I arranged for a bit of cake:)

IMG_5737.JPG

photo 5.JPG

It was seriously one of the best days of my life.

IMG_5713.JPG

After the boat trip, we rested and then strolled into town for dinner. We took a break from Turkish food and had dinner at a Spanish restaurant called La Pasion.

IMG_5749.JPG

We sat in a beautiful courtyard and had tapas. I think we ordered 7 and all of them were phenomenal. I’m so glad we found this gem!!

IMG_5758.JPG

We went to this one bakery every night in Bodrum to pick a dessert to take back to the hotel. I think Matt’s birthday is about the only day he’s willing to eat dessert with both lunch and dinner!

IMG_5761.JPG

On our last day in Bodrum, we took a bus over to the beach side of the town and spent the day at a beach club.

IMG_5768.JPG

The view was great! We had crazy winds, so we wrapped up in towels to stay warm and watched the huge beach pillows blow into the water. It was cozy.

IMG_5762.JPG

We had one last dinner in the harbor, and then it was back to Istanbul for the long trek home.

IMG_5773.JPG

Looking back at these pictures, it’s like the whole trip was a dream. I know I am very fortunate to be able to travel and I’m so thankful that Matt and I had the opportunity to visit such an amazing part of the world and celebrate a fun milestone on a gulet:)

You Might Also Like

  • Susan
    July 14, 2014 at 9:07 pm

    You sure know how to arrange wonderful vacations!

  • Emily
    July 15, 2014 at 7:36 am

    It looks like you had an amazing trip from beginning to end. And what a way to celebrate your 30th! Traveling is such a blessing and I pray it’s something I always appreciate. Thanks for sharing your travels.

  • Shannon
    July 15, 2014 at 9:19 am

    We went to Istanbul and Bodrum after I took the bar exam a couple of years ago. This brought back so many great memories. Except, my recap would have included the epic night we spent on Halikarnas after I found out I passed the bar, haha!

    • Laura
      July 15, 2014 at 7:30 pm

      Haha, that sounds fabulous!

  • Roving Jay
    July 15, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    So glad you and Matt had a fabulous time in Bodrum. Some great photos of the boat trip! No trip to Bodrum is complete without at least one day out on the Aegean. Lucky you having the Adorya all to yourselves.

    I’m a blogger that writes and published the Bodrum Peninsula Travel Guide website, can I include an excerpt from your blog post and a photo on my blog? I’ll credit you as the source and include a link back to your website. thanks, Jay

    • Laura
      July 15, 2014 at 7:13 pm

      Thanks!

      That’s fine with me – thanks for asking!

      • Roving Jay
        July 17, 2014 at 12:35 am

        Great, thanks so much Laura.

  • Kat
    July 20, 2014 at 9:39 am

    A+ for renting the birthday boat. I am a big water fan (not shocking, living in the land of 10,000 lakes) so that looks like an absolutely perfect outing! Also, big fan of that bakery case. Glad y’all got to hit the cake for lunch AND dinner on the special day. 😉