MWF Seeking Normal Hotel with Pool

As we were planning our trip out east I searched for a hotel with a pool.  The area we were headed to doesn't get many tourists and the tourist that do come typically come in the summer.  So, most of the hotels had nice outdoor pools, but I only found one that had an indoor pool.  It was reasonably priced and looked decent so I booked it.

When we arrived at the hotel we checked in and then the girls wanted to find the pool.  They were very excited about the opportunity to swim.

Well, we went down and asked at the front desk.  The lady said that today was the "mixed" day and so we could go down one floor and check out the pool.  Mixed day?!  UGH!  Just when I think I've got things figured out here, another thing surprises me.  Typically it involves a dern hotel pool!

Due to our hotel experiences in the past, when we called to make the reservation we asked... 1. Do you really have an indoor pool?  2. Is it open for swimming?  3. Does it cost extra to use the pool?

However, we failed to ask if it was a "tesettür," modest/ conservative, pool.  Sure enough, it was.  That meant that with the exception of 4 hours on Mondays, the night we arrived, the pool could either only be used by men or women.  But not both at the same time.  So, no family swim nights for us!  Oh well, we took our turns having girls swim and boys movie night and then switching it up and having boys swim and girls movie night.  It didn't end up being a big deal at all.  Just a reminder that I never really know what to expect!

Some of our other pool follies include...

- The time our dear friends came to stay with us.  They had an early flight out on the final morning.  So they treated us all to a night at a fancy hotel with a nice pool just so the kids could swim.  When we arrived at the hotel the pool was emptied out for cleaning.  Our friend looked like he was going to go through the roof!  The manager assured us that they would fill it through the night and we could swim in the morning.  He was true to his word, but the water was too cold to set foot in!

- Most hotel pools are super cold and/or require swim caps.

- We booked a hotel online that said it had an indoor pool.  It did not.

- One hotel we stayed at charged extra to use the pool.  And, I'm not talking a few bucks (which still would have been insane in my book), I think it was like 50 lira per person per day!  That was a heartbreaker!


So, now I have another question to add to my list of things to find out before booking a hotel with a pool!  Ha!

The Highlands

The coastal region is known for it's tall mountains with small plateaus sprinkled about called yaylas.  We had heard that they opened a ski run on the providence's most well known yayla and decided to head up there and check it out.  Before we went we searched the internet and asked everyone in town for info, but no one really had any concrete information.  We had our ski pants, gloves, and stuff with us, but I kept reminding the kids that it was unlikely that we would actually get to ski.

The drive was incredible.  The Lord always surprises me with how gorgeous this country is, and this area did not disappoint!

When we started out this morning it was overcast.  But we went through the clouds and blue skies were on the other side!  Then things started to get snowy...

Putting the chains on was not the highlight of the trip!
Poor Justin had a few "Come to Jesus" moments!

We found a tiny village at the top.  We could see the ski run, sort of.  But it wasn't open yet. :-(  There is supposed to be a big snow festival this weekend and people said that it would open during that.  So, we explored the town a bit instead.

This dog was in the back of the garbage truck chowing down!

the local mosque

I bet the water coming out of the faucets was unbearably cold!
Muslims have to do a ritual washing before their prayers five times a day!
Brrrrr!

The colors on this dome were some of the prettiest that I've seen.

We were on a flat part, but every where you looked there were more mountains.

Main Street

the butcher

The clouds rolled in and it started to snow.
I must admit, I felt a moment of panic.  But the snow passed quickly!

The road looks like it just stops right at the end of the earth.

On the way down it felt like we could have stopped every kilometer to take pictures.

It was just indescribably beautiful!

Another tiny village, complete with mosque and zillions of hazelnut trees.
This providence is the world's leading hazelnut producer.

This is my favorite picture I've taken lately.

Second favorite- same view just a bit further back.

Hazelnut trees with a small graveyard in front of the pine trees, and of course, ridiculously beautiful mountains in the background!

Once we got back down to our hotel we just sort of vegged out for the rest of the evening.  The girls and I went to the swimming pool for a bit.  But that's about all we had the energy for!  That fresh mountain air really zaps you!

To the Top

We spent the majority of the morning walking around the main downtown shopping area.  The only western chain is Burger King, and Noah had been begging to eat there.  We gave in and visited the king for lunch.  Then my friend (that I talked about yesterday) called and we met for a little while.

We also went to the mall.  It's a bit of a joke to even call it a mall.  There was one quick service restaurant, a coffee shop, a two cinema theater, and a few shops- one being a grocery store, of course!  We were not impressed!  Ha! 

Afterwards we went over to visit with a new friend that the Lord has put in our path.  It turns out that our pediatrician is from this town and his family still lives here.  While Justin was out here in December our doctor put him in contact with his brother.  So we dropped by he and his wife's office (they are doctors, too) for awhile.  (They are plastic surgeons/ dermatologists/ estheticians.  They do all sorts of skin stuff, hair removal, etc.  It's very common in this country and big business.  I'm hoping to get some work done for a cheap price!  HA!)

Then we decided that we should head to the top of the mountain on the gondola.

The ride up was really pretty.  We  walked around a little bit and ate a simple dinner at the restaurant on top.  This is a really nice place to have a tea during the spring and summer!

As we were walking back to the gondola station (Do you call that a station?  Do you even call it a gondola, for that matter?) we noticed that the weather began to change a bit.  The wind picked up and it started to sprinkle!  Well, that made for an exciting ride back down the mountain.  I was pretty nervous, but I kept myself together.  Poor Callie was flipping out!  She was so scared.  

We made it down without a problem.  I think Callie was ready to kiss the ground!

Jason and the Argonauts

As a lowly American, I don't have much of a handle on mythology.  Our English friends put us to shame in that area, as well as  the history and swoon-worthy accent areas!  Before we left, I told them all about the things we planned to do and the places we planned to visit.  One of those places was a place where jason and the Argonauts had supposedly landed.  Not having a clue who any of those folks were, I had to rely on our friends to fill us in.  Here's the wikipedia story in case you are clueless, too.

As we made the 35 minute drive the weather started to cloud over a bit and temps began to get chilly.  Regardless of the weather, the view was beautiful and Jason's pointe was fun to explore.

Jason's church
I cannot find information on why there is a church there, although, admittedly, I didn't try too hard.
I do know that throughout this coastal region there is an extensive Christian history.
Unfortunately, all of that is over now.

This region is famous for its delicious anchovies.

Looks like a shark is lurking around in the background!

Noah just read the Percy Jackson series, so he was excited to learn more about the mythical Jason.  He ran all around reading the information plaques and searching for clues as to where the golden fleece is located!

This was a fun place to stop and explore a bit.  The coastal drive was beautiful!

Exploring the Town

After an amazing experience at the kids' school we headed back into the main part of town to explore a bit.  We parked the car and walked all around.  It is funny to me that throughout all the places we have traveled in this country the architecture is pretty much the same.  They certainly don't have the American mindset of suburbs and spreading out a little bit.  You pretty much either have dense urban style cement apartments or very rural farm-style houses.

I snapped these few pictures from the top of a parking deck.  It had a really nice covered bazaar on the ground floor.
We laughed at how inexpensive it was to park- 2lira!  The night before we ate at the nicest restaurant in town and it cost us $35!

The mountain between these two building is the one that you can ride to the top of on a gondola car.

We found a cheap little restaurant downtown to grab a quick lunch.
The view was fantastic... and I'm not talking about Noah's cute face!

An old mosque in the center of town.
You can see the gondola cars going over the top of it.

That's the mountain peak that you can go to.

Quick pic by the sea.

The funny thing is that as I was taking this picture I heard someone calling my name.  I turned around to find a lady that lives in a building across from us!  What a small world!  I knew that she would be out here visiting her family over the two week winter break.  We made plans to get together the next day!

Going For It!

After a long drive and a terrible nights sleep (I never sleep well my first night at a new place.  I don't know how people who travel a lot survive!!), we were anxious to explore the town with new eyes.  When we visited back in October, we had no idea that the Lord was going to ask us to move here.  So, this time we were looking at things very differently!

We had an 11:00 appointment at the kids' school.  Before the appointment we drove through all of the potential areas that we hope to live in.  We are really hoping that the Lord will provide a nice place in the flatter part of town near the sea.  The mountains rise up sharply after that.  Although there are some really nice new apartment complexes with pools and amenities, I don't think I can handle the uphill battle.

The area down by the sea is older, but it is lovely.  The providence is one of the few along the Black Sea that has actually worked to preserve the coast.  So, the coastline is really lovely, with parks, running paths, and nice sidewalks!

They were waiting for us when we arrived at the school.  One teacher took the kids on a tour of the campus so that Justin and I could sit down with the principal.  She immediately started asking me specifics about the my background and explaining their needs.  Then we moved on to general information about the school, curriculum, etc.  Then we talked prices and registration.  I just felt such a peace.  Justin and I looked at each other and decided to go for it!  After that was all done and our lives were signed away the principal asked me to send in a resume as soon as possible.  Then we all went on a tour.

Anyhow, I feel like the school visit could not have gone better!  The kids loved the school.  The faculty were really open and pleasant, and in the end we went for it!  We not only registered the kids to attend in the fall, but I also applied for a part-time job for the Native Speaker English teacher.  YIKES!

It feels like the deal is done now!  After our 2 hours at the school, Justin and I got in the car looked at each other, breathed a sigh of relief, and laughed with excitement and nervousness over our bold step forward!

The school and it's facilities are beautiful.  The kids were so excited.  The is situated on a lot of property, so there are lots of things that our city school doesn't have!

This is the main building.
I blurred out the school's name.

The little pens and houses on the left have different animals like rabbits, peacock, doves, etc. for the kids to help take care of.

This is the ecology building.  When Justin visited the school in December they were teaching the kids how to pickle vegetables.  They do all sorts of different activities with plants, fruits, vegetables, etc. in this building.

The pool was empty for the winter.

This is the ice skating rink (it has a plastic ice substitute), a big gym, and a few multi purpose type rooms.

The stable

Lucy was so excited about the horses that the principal called the guy who cares for them and had him come out and let Lucy ride.

The little pony that the kindergarteners ride.

Chicken coop

There are two beautiful golden retrievers that live on the campus.  The kids loved playing fetch with them until Callie threw the ball into the empty pool.  I was terrified that the dog was going to jump into the pool after the ball and die!

I didn't get a picture of the playground, the art and music rooms, the classrooms, or the vegetable gardens that each class plants and tends.  But, you get the point.  It's a beautiful school with a really wholistic and fun approach to learning.  We are all excited for the next school year!