Karen Maloney's Dispatch: Turkey, Florence and Rome

Trying not to slip over and loving every minute of the snow!

Dear Friends, we remained in love with the Cappadocia area and thank you to everyone who googled the Museum Hotel and sent comments. Carol asked if we felt claustrophobic, but it is quite roomy and charming, even though it is a cave. To get to our room, we had to descend two flights of stairs, which can be tricky after a bottle of wine at dinner. There are niches in the walls to put your belongings, two pigeon holes, with hand-painted glass pictures of pigeons, many Turkish rugs & kalims, and even Frank Page or John Smith could stand upright without difficulty. The spa bath is easily the most comfortable and enjoyable one we have experienced in years and the rooms are heated by wall heaters, which are handy for drying washing. There is even a small box of matches in the bathroom to eliminate odours (Viva would approve).

On our second afternoon we took it very easily after a busy morning & lunchtime – Wes had a bath & a sleep & I worked on the computer. We finally realised that the internet works best if only one device is using it, so we disconnect our phones if one of us is using the laptop. We decided to have room service of toasted sandwiches, salad & fruit, as we had eaten such a big breakfast & lunch.

Wes at our lovely lunch spot

On Friday we had a leisurely start – the snow was even heavier than the night before and it was quite treacherous getting to the breakfast room – we laughed all the way there and enjoyed the powdery feel of 4 inches of snow under our feet! At breakfast, we were once again beautifully looked after and we gave our waiters & chefs little koala bears as gifts, as there may be different staff tomorrow. They all giggled and thanked us.

Sercan and Michael took us for a wonderful long drive through heavy snow to visit underground caves, which were temporary homes to people over 3,200 years ago. It was an amazing experience and we remain in awe of the ingenuity of people whose lifestyle was so much simpler than our own. Wes and I have never seen as much snow in our lives – I cannot breathe in the snow in Australia, but this seems different as there is no humidity. The temperature was -7 when we woke & reached -2 while we were out, but the sun was shining most of the time. We then visited the ruins of a Roman city, which were discovered by the farmer who owned the land in a small village. The government bought his land and has been excavating for the past 11 years (only in good weather). The most amazing thing was the mosaics which are in very good condition.

Looking pretty thrilled with the snow as we leave breakfast!

Lunch was genuine Turkish food in a Greek hotel & restaurant in a small Greek town. We enjoyed a lovely selection of dips and dishes in one of the many small rooms in this old home. Then we stopped to see the Three Beauties, which are stone formations, and finally back to our hotel for a rest before dinner. Dinner was stunning – Wes enjoyed a beef casserole served in a pottery jug for want of a better word, and I had shrimps & vegetables cooked in a claypot, like the mushroom dish I have fallen in love with. We had a beautiful bottle of local wine & finished up with a cheese platter – not on the menu, but anything is possible in this hotel.

Today was an early start as the drive to Ankara takes 3.5 hours from Uchisar. I turned on the computer to ring Viva on Skype before we left, but had to leave a message, as she was probably having her afternoon sleep. There were two lovely messages awaiting us, one from Carol Bruce who keeps thanking us for keeping her abreast of our travels (she is even following us on Google Earth), and another from Caroline Storm, a dear friend we met in Daylesford, who also loved her St Pat’s Day e-card. I can’t tell you how much we rely on info and feedback from you – we both love it. Jane Knox is keeping us abreast of sport results that we might not already know; Jeff is a regular correspondent; Ron Prophet is passing on our comments to the Australian tour organiser in Sydney who arranged our Turkey trip; Glenn is loving my Blog, and both Judi & John, who are looking after things for us, keep us informed on how things are going in Daylesford.

The view on our way to breakfast, we climbed two flights of stairs up from our room

When we arrived in the chaos that is Ankara, we spent an hour in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, where we were in awe of the finds of the archaeologists. Sadly half the Museum is closed, so we may have to return. As well we missed out on seeing the caravanserai in the Cappadocia region as it is closed for repairs. We had lunch at an interesting restaurant high up on the hill with stunning views of Ankara, then off to Ataturk’s Mausoleum, which is quite a magnificent tribute to Turkey’s most famous figure in the last 100 years.

Anyone who doesn’t live in Ankara doesn’t like it, especially those living in Istanbul – it brought back thoughts of the Melbourne-Sydney rivalry – we love to visit our Centre of the Universe, but we wouldn’t want to live there, and we resent the Sydney-centric news that is imposed on us so often in our lives. It seems the same in Turkey, where Ankara feels superior to the rest of the country.

We checked into the Radisson Blu hotel, where the clerk suggested we might be more comfortable in a Business room – we took his advice, paid an extra $A36 & find ourselves in a two-room suite, with a desk at which to work on the laptop, two balconies with gorgeous views; a filter coffee maker, and two TVs. We have to get up at 5.30am, have a quick breakfast & then get driven to the airport to fly to Florence via Vienna. The next part of the journey begins!