Then We Went Down South

After our two days in Istanbul, we flew to a tiny airport in a town called Dalaman. We flew on Turkish Airways which was tricky for me to book, but I was apparently successful! It was a good flight, and we landed with little fanfare. Actually, the Turkish are quite emotive, and after the great landing by the pilot all the passengers clapped and Huzzahed. It was great!

We rented a car and drove two hours to a little village called Kalkan. We experienced the beautiful Turkish countryside. I kept thinking to myself, I wonder who has been here before us. This country is so very ancient and the Christian history of this Muslim nation is still in evidence. The beautiful countryside as we drove to Kalkan
The kids loving the ride in the back seat of our rental!
The view of the valley from the road as we came upon Kalkan

The first thing the kids did was jump in the pool! It was beautiful and relaxing.

Patrick showing off ....
Lounging by the pool
Dining at a terraced restaurant near the harbor in Kalkan



Our third night in our villa, the doorbell rang at about 11:15 PM. Patrick and I were hanging out reading in the living room. Patrick answered the door to find the English couple staying in the villa next door to us. They wanted to make sure we were okay as they had noticed our car had been in an accident.

Apparently, a hit-and-run driver hit our car which was parked off the road, and he left the scene leaving a very badly hit rental car.




Fortunately, whoever was driving the hit-and-run vehicle was dumb enough to have left their license plate on the ground next to our car along with the Ford plate from the front of their car. They didn't notice that their license plate had come off in the crash.
It all worked out fine for us as the property manager came over right away and went to the police station with Patrick. Avis was great, too, and brought us a new rental first thing in the morning.

After that bit of excitement, the rest of the week was blissful. We spent time at Patara Beach, visiting some Lycian ruins on our way.




The purpose of this photo is to show you, yet again, how very patriotic the Turkish are. Did I mention this in my last post? The Turks are very patriotic, and we saw Turkish flags everywhere we went. On every mountain-top, on every car, home, building. They are very American this way. Very non-English. As I can recall only once have I seen a British flag flying anywhere but a government building.This was the restaurant at the beach. We didn't eat there, but I thought the architecture was interesting.

The rest of our time was spent relaxing, reading, and swimming. It was a wonderful time away as I don't remember the last time we just relaxed like this on a holiday. We are so thankful we had this opportunity.

Don't the boys look adorable in their matching outfits? Joshua has one, too. I love these pics of the boys relaxing together.




And now, back to England. We returned home to cold, rainy weather, but the past five days here have been a veritable heatwave! Aaahhhh! It puts a smile on my face and a bounce in my step. Thank the Lord for these small mercies!

And now, too, I am re-energized and ready to get back to home schooling. I feel refreshed and have new ideas and an excited attitude. The kids are ready, too. We are blessed by our life.

It was Great

We love, love, loved Turkey. Well, I loved it. I think everyone else did, too. The first two days were spent in Istanbul.

We landed at Ataturk International Airport and had a driver from our hotel meeting us. When you book these types of things you hope for the best - will a driver really be there? Is the hotel everything they promised on the website? And it all was - the driver was right there with his sign for "Erin Borine," he drove us on some amazingly tiny cobblestone streets to our hotel tucked in a tiny corner of Istanbul about three blocks away from The Blue Mosque.

I must say that when I booked the hotel I had no idea what a great location it was. I booked the hotel based on the ease of the website and the fact that they would allow five people to stay in one room. You have no idea how hard it is to find a hotel that will allow five people to stay in one room. It's as if every family should have no more than two children.

We arrived in the late afternoon, so we spent the first evening out walking around near our hotel and in the bazaar near our hotel. We ate dinner at the hotel next door to ours - nearly every restaurant has a terrace on the roof where you can eat to take advantage of any view over the harbor. We did this as much as possible.

Can I just say how much I love Turkish food? There is a Turkish restaurant in Cheltenham where we frequently eat, and it is one of my favorites. However, being in Turkey, I realized that I could eat Turkish regularly and not miss American food. This is not the case in any other country I've ever visited.

I ate things like this:






Lots and lots of olives, olive oil, stuffed grape leaves, eggplant, lamb, hummous, yoghurt and cucumber, it was so yummy. I even bought two different Turkish cookbooks because I want to learn to make so many of these dishes.

Other than the food, we did appreciate the culture, the buildings, the history, the people. We just enjoyed all our time in Istanbul. We saw The Blue Mosque, the Haghia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern.

We sat through two different Turkish rug presentations (twice because we didn't get savvy enough to avoid these leech-like salesmen until after the second time). We did not buy a rug - but we enjoyed the apple tea they shared and the rug presentation - it's an art, believe me.

We walked through the maze of the Grand Bazaar (thousands of booths) - we got lost several times and had to ask directions. We enjoyed the spice market most of all. It was an overall amazing experience.That's Joshua and a street vendor posing in front of Haghia Sophia
One of the many avenues of the Grand Bazaar
One of the many spice booths in the spice market
The Basilica Cistern
A Whirling Dervish dancing as entertainment during our dinner the second night

Because Turkey is quite "Western," Gillian and I did not have to wear head coverings. Although it is still a Muslim country, so we heard the call to prayer five times a day coming through whatever mosque loudspeaker was closest.

Something that was quite disconcerting to me was the fascination that Aidan held over people. I quit counting how many times people came up to him on the street and touched his head. They smiled at him, gave him free Turkish Delight everywhere we went, free pistachios, free cookies - it was wild. Three different times ladies came up to him on the street, grabbed his cheeks and kissed him.
He was a trouper through all of this although he wasn't keen on all of it. I know he appreciated the free gifts. I was very proud of him for not freaking out by all the attention. I have to say that I was proud of all three of my children for their adventurous spirits. They all tried every food put in front of them, they were well-behaved and polite and respectful of a different culture. I can't wait to do it again!In front of The Blue Mosque
Corn-on-the-cob vendor

Vacation

This is not a slam on my parents.

However, growing up, I don't remember going on vacation. And when I say, "vacation," I mean, VACATION.

I mean, not somewhere where you have to be somewhere at a certain time. I don't remember going on a trip that didn't have a goal that had to be met each day. Maybe my siblings can correct me where I might not be remembering correctly.

However, I truly don't remember going on a trip that did not involve Spring Canyon, White Sulphur Springs, visiting family like grandparents or aunts and uncles (not that there's anything wrong with that), or meeting a driving deadline. Going to Spring Canyon and White Sulphur Springs meant helping with the cooking, cleaning, and making up your rooms before you left. Mother was not a fan.

Sometimes we would drive somewhere with Marmee and Grandpa in the Itasca (motor home), but the end always meant that we were going to see family (again, not that there's anything wrong with that).

Do you hear the guilt in my words? For years, I have never truly known what it meant to go on VACATION.

But now, I get it.

Patrick grew up in a family that vacationed every year. And it's not like they went to posh places, hotels, resorts or anywhere like that. They didn't have money - neither did my parents.

But Patrick has these GREAT family memories of vacationing. They went every single year. They went camping. They went skiing - wearing skis they'd bought in a gas station wearing matching sweat shirts they'd bought at Target to keep track of all the Boline kids. They borrowed friend's cabins. They stayed cheaply at different hotels and made do. And who noticed? Not Patrick nor his siblings, to hear them regale others of their stories.

There are actual home videos of the Boline kids having a ball in hotel pools, at Disney Land, at parks, playing together.

When David visited last month, he and Patrick had several moments of reminisce talking about the times they had together as boys - not only the every day fun they had as brothers (who never seemed to fight - are they the Waltons, truly?) - but the times they had on family vacations.

So here I sit, blogging in the south of Turkey - I shouldn't even be on the computer - I should be enjoying my VACATION. But I have this nagging guilt! I have this guilt like - how can you be here? How can you lounge for an entire week? By the pool? Reading books? Not worrying about normal life out there! How can you sit, drinking a glass of wine, looking out from the terrace on the Mediterranean, watching the pool boy clean up after our day in the sun in the pool, and not think about the fact that your baby sister is house-sitting for you in rainy, cold England? Okay, I AM thinking about those things.

But I'm also thinking about how amazingly blessed we are. That no matter where we are, God is at the forefront of our minds and activities. That we know that we are totally undeserving - be it Spring Canyon or the south of Turkey.

And I have to say, I want my children to know and appreciate a true vacation. I don't think we ever learned that as children. I do believe it is such a privilege, such a blessing, and we need to learn to remove ourselves from the daily grind and enjoy a respite from that.

And on that note, I am off to eat ice cream with my children, to finish watching Cinderella with them, to put them to bed - completely tired from being in the pool all day, and I, to enjoy the rest of my vacation.

Pictures and posts on Istanbul/Turkey to follow.

I Can't Believe I'm the Mother of an 11-Year Old

Or I could say, I can't believe I'm married to a 50-year old! Hahahah! But no, this post is about Joshua and the amazing kid he is. We are so blessed by you, Joshua. We thank the Lord for giving you to us. We are constantly amazed by your quest for knowledge. I love that I can ask you questions about things I don't know (how embarrassing to admit this) like, "How do you spell camouflage?" And, "What is the time zone in Turkey?" And, "Joshua, please show Gillian where Israel is on the map."

I love watching you grow, my son, in so many different ways. I love that you seek the Lord in your daily life, that you strive to do better every single day. I love you, kid.

My Man is 50

I do believe Patrick had a great birthday.

I do not believe my hus is 50.

Wow. What an accomplishment!

The life he has lived, the roads he has traveled, the things he has learned, the way he has grown and changed in the Lord, I am so thankful for you, my dear husband. I am the most blessed woman in the world.

Patrick's birthday week began with the arrival of his brother, David, and David's wife, Polly, for a visit. We had a GREAT time with them.

For Patrick's big birthday surprise, I rented two Harley-Davidson's and sent Patrick and David off for the day to ride to their heart's content in the English and Welsh countryside. Lots of good pictures of the guys on their "Cross Bones" and "Heritage Soft Tail."Patrick
And David. I believe this was taken in Wales.


Unfortunately, I do believe this experience has only whetted Patrick's appetite for his very own Harley.

Then comes the evening celebration. We had a Tuesday night BBQ. Caitlin and Artur came up from Bristol, and our friends, the McMahans, joined us, too. What a great night.

Patrick had a great time opening presents.

And blowing out his candle.
A big highlight of the evening was when David read his ode to his baby brother, Patrick, describing, in detail by form of verse, Patrick's life these past 50 years.


Thank you, all our loved ones, for celebrating with us in spirit and heart even while we are so far away.

And seriously, this brings new meaning when I now say, Gotta run and make dinner for the old man ....