Just another typical day as a tourist on the road in Turkey

My brain is going into overload; so many experiences and so many more to come!  Take a deep breath; we have another busy day ahead. We start the day with a swim in the indoor thermal pool before a large buffet breakfast at the Hotel Tripolis.

Our journey takes us to the picturesque town of Şirence; a popular day outing for tourists. Manoeuvring the van into a parking spot, through the jam of vehicles is quite a challenge.

Cobbled streets, winding up the hillside, lined with restaurants and stores, selling everything from specialty fruit wine, jewellery, clothing and trinkets, lead up to pretty views of the area and the ruins of a 19th Century Church.

This town has pretty much got it locked up with the many ways to get tourists to part with their money!

We dutifully spend some of our Turkish lira, lunch on delicious gözleme with tahini and stuffed squash flowers and sample the local fruit wine - not a crowd-pleaser with our group.

In the town of Selçuk we take time to explore the vast remains of the Church of St John the Evangelist (the youngest Apostle, which includes his grave. 

St John reportedly came to Ephesus with the Virgin Mary after the death of Jesus. The basilica was built over his grave in the 4th Century AD by the Emperor Constantine.

Selçuk has much more to offer. We enjoy the shopping streets with attractive displays of carpets and the relaxed atmosphere of the vendors. Cats and dogs as usual are a common sight. They roam free and are never shooed away, even when they relax on the merchandise.

Before going to our hotel in the neighbouring town, we stop to visit a leather outlet. Relaxed and sipping tea, we watch an impressive fashion show of jackets and coats. In the showroom, we each get our own sales attendant. Out of the 12 members of our group, 8 people end up buying a jacket. Peter gets a nice suede bomber jacket and I like Vicky's choice so much, I succumb to the buying frenzy and get the same jacket in navy blue.

The Hotel Marina in the port town of Kuşadası has a good view of the harbour and an island beyond. Dinner is included so we have another buffet. I enjoy the variety of vegetable mezes. The desserts are unfortunately plentiful and irresistible.