We just returned an hour ago from a week in the south of Turkey, at a beautiful resort called Rixos Premium Belek. It's about 45 minutes from Antalya on the Mediterranean Sea. Everything was fabulous, including the food and the weather, with the temperature hitting highs of almost 40 degrees celsius almost every day. Hot yes, but bearable because we found the perfect spot under a gigantic cypress tree everyday. The resort has a grand buffet which we loved for breakfast and lunch, but for dinners we booked places every night in a different ala carte restaurant. So we tried everything from French to gourmet Turkish food (our favourite). All inclusive resorts are just the thing when you don't want the worry of a huge bill at the end of your trip.
Rixos Premium has lots to offer, especially for families, and since we went with our friends Fiona and Steve and their 2 adorable kids, it was a lot of fun, especially for Scott and Sarah! They rode wildly on a Sea-Do, spent hours at the resorts own Troy AquaPark, succeeded at climbing an incredibly tough rock face, did their first scuba dive, and much, much more. But really the highlight of the trip for all of us was the opportunity to swim with two beautiful dolphins! It was truly the fullfillment of our dreams. What incredibly intelligent and social animals! Unfortunately the experience was far too short and 'controlled'. We wished it could have been longer and a little more informal, but it was still quite a thrill as you can see from the photo.
Another hugely enjoyable part of the vacation, especially for me, was the afternoon spent at the Spa. I had my first Turkish Hamman Peel, followed by a Cleopatra Milk Bath, and then a Spa Relax Massage. I'd love to tell you what it all entails but I think I better save that for another time! What I can share is the incredibly soft, smooth skin I now have because of the treatment. I always imagined the Hamman would leave me with scratches all over my body because I have skin that reacts so easily, but in the end all that I had was silky moist skin. Amazing and certainly something I'd do again.
Photo taken by Sarah, age 7
All in all, a wonderful, relaxing vacation!
10 comments:
Welcome Back! I heard that Turkey offers some great vacations, and now you confirm it...and I think the dolphin experience is terrific and a plus!
Good for you!
Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great time. Swimming with dolphins has always been a dream of mine. What a wonderful experience!
Sounds lovely ... lol, so different to my experience of living in Istanbul and teaching 160 private school teenagers ... so different that I had to begin that sentence with laughter :)
I Googled it and had a look. It did seem a bit packaged to me as well, as you said. I do want to hear about that Hamman scrub!
Turkey does have so much to offer the adventurer, but I don't think I'd go adventuring with two little kids either.
So, do you know about spa Salsamaggire? I may have spelled that wrong. Saltiest water on earth and supposedly great for the skin. It is also the place where they have Miss Italia, but must be forgiven for that.
That all sounds so amazing...just what I need! And Sarah is a budding photographer...a very natural shot she's captured!
This whole thing is just thrilling, Kim. (For one thing, I now know where Fiona was :). Donica and I had a "controlled" time of swimming with the dophins on Paradise Island a few years back, so I totally agree about that amazing experience. I want to know more about Turkey. We are thinking of a 12-night Mediterranian cruise next year, one with Turkey or Palermo, Sicily, as a stop. One or the other. Do you have a recommendation?
Hi Kim,nice to see you back. Saw` your comment at my blog. Funny things people dream and write. I had a good lough, specially now when we all are frustated with Switzerland playing that bad against Ukraine. Ukraine is bad too, they are both bad and our nerves, the nerves of all a country are at the edge of breaking down. have a nice time back in Tirana
Thanks for all the lovely 'welcome back's'!! It's so sweet of all of you, and makes me feel rather loved. I'll try to answer some of the questions later this week ok?
Thats it - I have to go back if you can swinm with Dolphins...... thats on my list .........
sounds so relaxing and so much fun! And yes swimming with dolphins, something I've never done, odd for the fish I am.
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