In About 2 and half hours we were in Roses without any difficulties on the road as they were proper signs so we did not even need the GPS. Roses is a small and really beautiful beach resort near the city of Girona. Near Roses are some really nice places like Empuria Brava L’Estartit Tossa, De Mar and others. These are places which are definitely worth visiting but I will get in details about them in my future posts. We chose a hotel right on the sea front. It was a small hotel but we liked the location and the view from it. The rooms in the hotel are the smallest I have ever seen in my life but they were good enough. Two double rooms were good enough for us.

I was tired from the traveling and did not care much about the small details so I fall asleep straight away. In the morning around 9:30 I woke up and impatiently dressed up and went for a quick breakfast in the lobby restaurant. The breakfast was nice as there were many options, that actually impressed me, it was a 3 star hotel and still the breakfast was as good and diverse as in a 5 star hotel. At about 11 we were all ready to leave and see some places.

What I heard about Spain before I came here was that it is overbuilt and is too crowded and is not a pleasant place. It was October and this is out of season but still there were quite a few tourists and a lot of cars. The streets are narrow and there is not much places where you could park, I can not even imagine what would be the situation in the summer months. One thing turned out to be a completely false. It is not excessively built up at all, there is about 200 meters line from which 50 – 60 meters sandy beach from the sea to the first buildings. After walking trough a few interesting places and sightseeings it was about time for lunch…..

After almost a month away from home I had to change three planes and spent 26 hours in the air to go back home in Sofia. But when things go wrong at the beginning, the chance of missing a connection flight drastically increases. By the time we landed in Paris the last of all connections we were already too late and had no other choice than wave at the lucky passengers that made it to the gate in time. What made it even worse was that the next plane to Sofia was 24 hours later.Grrrr…

Lucky for us we were offered free accommodation and free meal from the flight company – Air France. Awesome!!! I always wanted to visit Paris..It was like a dream come true.Only if I could get out of the airport…Everyone who has landed in Charlles de Gaulles knows what I mean – 3 levels,too many terminals,hundreds of exits – a real nightmare for first time visitors. French people would say “There are signs”…yeah but in French…30 minutes wondering around I got my way out of here and was waiting on the bus stop for the hotel. 20 minutes later…still waiting…and waiting..and waiting…Maybe that wasn’t the right exit?…Yes it is!Of course it is!…and waiting…

And then the guy from Air France’s office pops up…One after another we started talking and he offered to show me around Paris and then drop me off at the hotel.Awesome!

A few minutes later we were driving to the center of Paris.It was amazing.We passed through the Arc de Triumph then the shopping street and then of course…the Eiffel Tower!

This is a massive building that makes you feel sooo little and insignificant.If you ever have a chance..go to the top!You will never forget it.Right next to the tower one can enjoy a massive green area called Champ de Mars with plenty of fountains,golden structures and of course well organised green areas.

Monuments are great but you get the real feel of the country or city only by going to a local restaurant or bar.I asked my new friend to take me to one such place and there we were in a small artistic restaurant on the main street. Nothing too fancy but still very nice place. We had a meal and we had a chat about Paris overall. Something one can’t miss to notice – food looks great but comes in so tiny portions. No wonder French women are so thin. They hardly eat anything. And is a must to have a glass of wine no matter what time of the day it is.

After a short walk along Champs-Elysées I headed back to the hotel. I woke up early in the morning to catch my flight extremely delighted from my experience in Paris.

Be very wise though as they most likely will try to go on a date with you.Turns out this is  typical – they slip a phone number and a name into your pockets. It’s up to you to make that call or not.

The Turkish bath is quite interesting and relaxing experience but is a bit over exaggerated if you ask me.

Something typical Turkish and way more interesting is of course the belly dancing. We went to one of the most popular restaurant with show programmes in Marmaris – the Kervan Saray. Kervan Saray was called the place to accommodate the travelers and traders with their cargo long time ago. It has ever since been a synonym of entertainment and good food.

the restaurant itself has more than 100 tables and huge stage in the center. We could see original belly dancers, fighters with swords and lots of traditional dancers. Food was a bit scarce but the show was great.

Our next day was fulfilled with something I tend to think was the best experience ever – scuba diving! We got on to a yacht early in the morning and traveled to some deserted islands. We had a short orientation  how to breathe under water,  how to swim and most important – how not to drawn.

5 minutes later all of us got into those scuba costumes and oxygen bottles and jumped into the sea. Yeah I got some problems with the pressure in the years but the second you see the colorful fish and octopus around you, you don’t really care. We did a 4 meter dive and 10 meter dive. The pros would probably laugh but it was quite extreme for beginners like us. And those heavy bottles…at some point I thought my legs are going in one direction and the body in another…funny… next time I do it I will probably do better.

That pretty much was the end of our experience in Turkey.A week and a lot of tan later we got back to Sofia quite happy from our vacation in Turkey. I would recommend it to anybody and I am sure to return once again.

Every seller is literally pulling you for the arm and asking you to enter his/her shop. It takes only 5 minutes to learn one Turkish word – Indirim. This means discount. If you don’t bargain, that’s considered as an insult. Yeah, really!!! If you don’t get at least 70% off then keep on debating.

Funny thing we experience was back at the hotel when trying to buy cigarettes.The very first day we bought them for 2.50 euros. Next day we went to the same shop,same seller and tried to buy the same type of cigarettes. Imagine our surprise when we were asked for 3 euros. Well we got our bargain skills into action.

Apart from that shopping in Marmaris is quite fun. Here and there you will see carts with special Turkish ice cream. Don’t miss this. It’s nothing like you have ever experienced before. It’s fantastic. You can’t buy this in the supermarkets or in the Delta’s carts.They add some special sauces and make the ice cream taste fantastic.

An interesting thing to spot in Marmaris is the garbage cans. They are all wooden.If they were metal they would probably melt after the first hot summer day. Actually most people just throw their litter on the street. Thirty minutes later a garbage truck comes and collects the rubbish. That’s quite impressive!

After 100 euros later i.e. late in the afternoon we got back at the hotel to prepare for one of the most fancy parties we ever attended to. We went to a party on a private yacht that traveled along the bay. Nice music,a lot of drinks, friendly people…what else could you ask for. And the view…WOW…Marmaris at night is fantastic.

..We probably ha too much of the drinks and the friendly talks last night because waking up at 8 am felt like dieing. It was day four of our holiday or the day we go to see Pamukkale. This is a village 225 km from Marmaris and is one of the most unique phenomenas of Turkey. the mineral springs actually make the mountain look like it is covered with snow even at 45 C degrees. You must see this with your own eyes to believe it.

On our way back we stopped at one of the biggest carpet museums int he region. We could actually sit with some old ladies and see how the carpets are done. Turns out that it takes 7-8 months work to make one decent carpet. We could even see silk carpets that took years to complete. You don’t really appreciate this until you see those old ladies bent over the machines to make a few cm of the carpet a day…

Thessaloniki is a well arranged town, in fact pretty clean for the second largest city in Greece. The town has a very long history and traditions and is a perfect place for a short visit as there is plenty of things that you could see there. The ancient town Salonica use to be the capital of Macedonia and there is plenty of monuments and fortresses in the town. One of the most impressive ones is the monument of Alexander the Great which is located on the alley along the coast.

Thessaloniki has a population of around 380 000 people and still it does not make the impression of a crowded place until you get on the main street or on the alley along the coast. It was around 12:30 lunch time and we were walking on the main street Tsimiski, we were all hungry by that time and decided to have a quick snack. We spotted a place selling something like a burito or turkish diuner and decided to try it. I forgot how they call these things but they were nice. It was good that my friend speaks Greek otherwise we were probably going to die hungry ) I was left with the impression that no one in this town speaks English or any language other than Greek.

As far as prices Thessaloniki is about the same with Italy and France. For us that is expensive as we re used to the much lower prices in Bulgaria. I do not remember exactly now as it was some time ago but I believe we paid arround 20 euro for 4 buritos and 4 cokes, in Bulgaria that think will cost around 10 euro at most.

After the quick lunch we headed to the alley by the sea, that was the most crowded street I have seen till now. It was not later than 13:30 and still all of the caffes and bars were full. Another thing is that every available building on the coast street is turned into bar or caffe or restaurant and they are all full with young greek girls and men. What made a good impression to me was that all of them were dressed in shiny clothes with stylish haircuts and sun glasses. It is probably the local fashion or something.

When we finally found an available table in one of the bars we sat for to taste the Greek coffee.

I will continue later…

First you need to go to the Lukum Faktory, you need to try one of the original Turkish baths, you need to go to a belly-dance in the Kervan Sarai and you definitely must visit the island of Cleopatra.

The second day of our visit was full of planning. We were fitting every little excursion available into our tight schedule. After a few argues and compromises we already had a busy plan:

First day: the Lukum Faktory, the Leather Shops

Day Two: trip on a yacht to Cleopatra’s Island, disco clubbing

Day Three: walk around Marmaris, night party on a yacht

Day four: trip to Pamukkale and the biggest carpet museum in the region

Day five: Turkish bath,night at the Kervan Sarai belly dancing show

Day six: scubadiving

Day seven: hmm nothing but relaxing on the beach

The very first day was just a little trip to get to know the scenery. Making sweets and leather clothes is one of the biggest industries of Turkey so it was a must to see where all those Turbo chewing gums are coming from. It was quite educational to see how things are done.

Day two was way more interesting. We got onto a yacht and we traveled to a distant island in the Aegean Sea. We arrived on a small island in just 20 minutes. The special thing about it is that it was a present to Cleopatra from Marc Anthony. Cleopatra’s Island has one of the most special beaches in the world. The sand is unlike you have ever touched before. It is said that this organic sand was brought by ships from the Red Sea especially for Cleopatra. Each grain of sand is a perfect sphere and is extremely white. For this reason the beach is heavily protected – you are not allowed to place your towel on the sand and you are asked to wash yourself when you leave the island so all the sand stays there. Wicked but it works. With the amount of people going there it would have been lost in no time.

Apart from Cleopatra’s beach the travel with the yacht was quite pleasant. It was delightful to see the crystal see and the rocky island and lagoons along the way. Something else that doesn’t need any comments -sunbathing on a yacht with free drinks…how about that?

After such a nice day we had to write the line with something even better. Marmaris is famous for its night life. There are literally hundreds of bars and disco clubs along the so called disco street. And every club is better than the previous – plenty of lights, loud music, huge plasma tv screen…fantastic place to dance your ass off…

My girlfriend, me and a couple of friends decided to go for the weekend at the villa. After playing cards, watching TV and wasting time for the whole Saturday we decided to go to the Greek town – Thessaloniki to check what’s up there and how is the life there.

Around 10:00 am on Sunday morning we left to Thessaloniki. In about 15 minutes time we are at the Kulata check point – that is the check point between Bulgaria and Greece. Passing the Bulgarian side was much harder than passing the Greek check point, although we are Bulgarians. The Bulgarians asked us to open the trunk, to give them our documents for the car for the passengers and anything else that they could possibly think of. It was like we are immigrants in our own country. The Greek on the other hand were very friendly and nice, they just asked to see our IDs and that was it.

After entering into Greece we felt the difference right away. The narrow road on the Bulgarian side became a large and wide highway on the Greek side. At that time, as far as I remember it was 8th of March, they were making the final parts of it, which means that it should be finished completely by now. I noticed a major difference in the infrastructure in Bulgaria and the one in Greece immediately. We were driving on a proper road and the feeling was different as we do not have such roads in Bulgaria.

Another thing that I noticed and made a good impression to me was the perfectly arranged villages. All of the houses were with straight roofs, there was not a single ruined property at least from the ones that I have seen. For me that is very unusual as in Bulgaria a normal village would have only few renovated houses all the others would be ruined. I have visited other places like the USA, the UK, Spain, France and others and I know what well arranged means. What impressed me is that the Greek and the Bulgarian villages are just a few kilometers apart and still there is a major difference.

Anyways ….  we continued traveling on the good Greek roads to Thessaloniki and in about 1 hour time we were in Thessaloniki… I am running late now so I will continue the story later…

The whole complex consists of several villas scattered in a forest slope. Apart from the villas every visitor had access to the swimming pool, a 24 hour bar, the restaurant, massage center, Turkish bath room, tennis and volleyball courts, the theatre(oh we will come to this later;)) and of course the private beach with a small sunbathing area in the sea itself. That was way more than what we expected for a 3 star hotel. The forest was kind of surprising having in mind we were going to a beach resort but it indeed saved us a lot of sunburns as it kept the whole complex cool. And in July temperatures in Marmaris never drop below 40!!!

So we got into our room in one of the villas on top next to the massage center. It was nothing special very basic but more than what we actually needed – king size bed, shower and of course air conditioner. We even had our own terrace with sea and pool view. Anyway we didn’t stay a lot in there…the whole fun was outside.

20 minutes after check-in we were at the pool. Big mistake! We did see a lot of people when we arrived and we were more than happy to find free chaise-lounges by the pool. No wonder why! At 2 pm the sun can cook you alive. And that’s when we discovered the open bar…great place…we spent most of our time there. I almost forgot we paid for all inclusive. I hadn’t been to all inclusive hotels before so I didn’t know what to expect. Well now I know…free drinks, free snacks literally 24/7.

Something interesting about Turkey- If you ever go to vacation to Turkey, you will no doubt notice the heat. Something else you will notice are the juice machines with super salty airian (yoghurt drink), water and sour cherry juice. All those are your only chance to survive the heat. Pepsi or coke wont’ do…believe me.

Anyway let’s go back to the pool. Or maybe not the pool, but the sea. Yes the sea – fantastic white strip of sand and crystal clear water. The Aegean Sea would have been fantastic if it wasn’t the salt. The second you go out of the sea, you can see white salty lines along your skin. Quite funny and painful experience if you have small cuts.But who cares. Everything looks sooo perfect…like a piece in paradise…it wasn’t long till we dropped dead in bed with reddish cheeks and shoulders…

Next day I woke up at 6:30 in the morning and headed to the airport in Sofia. I live in Razsadnika distr. in Sofia which is about 30 minutes away from the airport at that time of the day. I called a taxi and in 20 minutes I was at the airport, that early I was the first one from the group which was 11 people.

In half an hour everyone was there we proceeded to the check in section of the Sofia airport. The check in was quick and easy as our flight departs from Terminal 2 which is the brand new extension of the Sofia airport. We went trough the free-shops which after Bulgaria joined the EU are more expensive than the shops on the outside, but… there was nothing else to do, we had to kill some time. Anyways we bought some drinks for the flight and … there we go … it was about to time to get on the plane.

I heard some stories about the plains of Bulgaria air before but did not believe that an airplane could be narrower than a bus. I do believe it now . Narrow or not we had to sit somehow, thank god the flight to Barcelona was short. In no time we arrived at the Barcelona airport….. I will continue the story later…

I am one of those computer maniacs who prefer to google everything before they act so I had a list of things I wanted to do and places to see once we go to Marmaris. I didn’t expect that things over there never go s planned.

Anyway we packed all of our very very short shorts and skirts,sexy tops and high heel sandals as well as two pairs of bathing suits and we were ready to go.

At exactly 13.30 on 28 July we got into our bus and left towards the Turkish border.

The very first impression was …WOW…it is so narrow and we are about to spend the next 24 hours in here. We were literally squeezed like sardines in a can.Oh so what…we were too excited to worry about that.

Five hours later we were at the Turkish border.So far so good…not much of a traffic and we passed the border fairly quickly. We didn’t even have time to do the regular duty-free shopping.

On the Turkish side it still felt like Bulgaria…you could hear people speak Bulgarian, Bulgarian levs were accepted everywhere…The only funny thing was the toilets.They were kind if…hmm…last century. Ok I have been in the countryside with the toilets outside but this was a bit worse. A single hole in the middle of a small cubicle. the funny thing was that there was no toilet paper just a tap next to the hole on the ground along with a small metal cup…Yes ,that’s right! you are supposed to wash your bud with that. It would have been ok if it was a single case but those toilets were everywhere.Anyway that’s not so weird to scare us. After all we are on holiday.

Well nothing really exciting happened in the next 5 or so hours.Close to midnight we got into the big jungle called Istanbul. We were supposed to pass the Bosphorus in order to continue our journey to the Aegean coast.

Istanbul is an interesting city with a population of 11 million people.This single fact explains most of the ridiculous things one will see there.Anyway the post is not about this but about Marmaris.

So 45 minutes later we were a

lready in the Asian part of the city moving closer to our destination.

Well the next 6-7 hours we tried to sleep so nothing exciting happened.

Early in the morning we

passed through Izmir which was quite impressive.The city looked quite modern and very well organised.It was also surprisingly clean.

Our next stop was finally Marmaris.We arrived at the amazing Joy Club Marmaris Resort at 13:30 sharp to discover a small piece of the paradise…