h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It was marvellous.

I don't think I've ever walked so many stairs in my life.

More later.

Glad you had a good time and lots of excercise Look forward to an account when you have recovered.

Websailor

I'll try to tell it all - possibly with photos.

Thank you, my son had a holiday there many years ago.

Websailor

welcome back B'el - I missed you!

I missed you all, too.

It's good to be back. They had snow in Ankara today, but nothing in Izmir, fortunately.

Welcome back. As you can see, we got up to all sorts of mischief at in your absence...

Hello Bel! I'm also really looking forward to that account!

we got up to all sorts of mischief atnot all of usme

welcome home B'El

Welcome home

Welcome back, Bel!

Welcome home! I look forward to hearing all about it.

Our flight was only due at 7.15pm, so we had a relaxed day packing our suitcases and then leaving early for the airport. We had decided it was OK to arrive there about three hours before the flight, so we only left home at 3.15pm. Arrived at the airport an hour later and found that we were hungry, so went to eat a burger. While seated there, I noticed policemen, heavily armed (with really large guns). We had seen quite a few policemen but didn't wonder, after all, it was the airport. Then my son sent text messages, asking if we were OK, as there had been a shooting with two dead US soldiers at the airport. We would never have known without his SMS, everything was quiet and normal. Turned out, the shooting took place when we got on the bus here, so a whole hour before we arrived.
Check-in went pretty fast - that airline is very organised. My husband paid an additional €15 for a seat at an exit which allowed for more space for his legs. The plane really didn't have a lot of space, once seated, you could hardly move at all. However, three hours isn't all that long, so it was OK and the flight was uneventful. The landing was a bit hard, but somebody mentioned it was how they were taught at (Boeing).
On arrival at Izmir airport somebody waited for us to tell us where to go.
There were various men packing our suitcases on a trolley and leading the way to the bus. To our great surprise, they then charged €2 per suitcase! Welcome to a different culture.
Once our baggage was stored in the bus, we boarded and chose our seats. There were nine buses in total, all full with passengers from that plane. Our guide welcomed us, then we were transferred to our hotel - ca 100km south of Izmir:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Izmir,+T%C3%BCrkei&daddr=Ku%C5%9Fadas%C4%B1,+T%C3%BCrkiye&geocode=FaI5SgIdkPOdASnNymKnYti7FDH-6JylobuMYg%3BFaCyQQIdYPSfASknVGqVK6m-FDH0Lg8QXXKb2A&gl=uk&hl=de&mra=ls&dirflg=h&sll=38.158275,27.288805&sspn=0.748313,1.172791&ie=UTF8&ll=38.142117,27.284546&spn=0.748479,1.172791&z=10
On the way to the hotel, we got the first information about the program for the next week. We could book a 'package' which included the three optional trips as well as lunch and dinner each day. At €219 per person it wasn't expensive (so far, we had paid €149 for the whole journey, ie: flights, transfer, breakfast and three trips), and since we had taken my mother in law, we thought it best not to go and search for a restaurant in a country none of us speaks the language of. Btw, that's something which is fine on a guided tour, but which I wouldn't recommend if you go on your own. I may try to learn some Turkish - something I should have done years ago.

At the hotel, we got a welcome drink (some alcohol-free fruity cocktail) while somebody fetched our suitcases. We got our room keys, and everything went quick and smoothly.
Our room was nice, spacious and clean. All rooms were with ensuite bathroom.
We had been told the bus would leave at 9.30am for the first tour, which left us with about five hours of sleep, since it was nearly 2am when we finally made it to bed.
But then we weren't on a holiday, we were on an educational journey.

I'll try to upload some photos later.

"" we got a welcome drink (some alcohol-free fruity cocktail)""

did you partake of effes????

We had an Efes each day for dinner (and sometimes for lunch, too). It's a very good beer. It took us until we went to Ephesus to find out that that's how the Turks call Ephesus: Efes.

Welcome back B'El - looking forward to photos. We have some friends from Bristol in UK who have moved permanently to Turkey although I can't remember where and they absolutely love it.

Welcome back Bel, looking forward to the pics!

Good to see you back.

Welcome back.

I thought of you when the news about the shooting came, but I realised that you wouldn't have been at the airport at that time, as your flight was not till 7.

So - where were all the stairs then?