Lopez Blogs

It's hard to feel the magic after only two hours sleep, the unavailability of hot water in the mornings, an uninspiring breakfast, and the traumatic sight of some sunbathers (too horrific to mention here!)

But the sun is shining, and we're centrally located in Bodrum, so let's explore. "Bar Street" is the main street in Bodrum - actually a mix of two streets which run from the beachfront to the marina - and is a mixture of bars, restaurants, clothes shops, souvenir shops and the legendary 'genuine fakes' although there are less immediate bargains to be had here than in İçmeler - none of that "two for a tenner" stuff here! On our first day it felt like there was less of the 'hard sell'...first impressions can be deceptive though!

The immediate and lasting impression is of a cosmopolitan resort, attracting tourists from many countries and also from Turkey itself. That's probably the first difference I notice between Bodrum and İçmeler, which seemed to attract more British tourists. The other difference I notice is that Bodrum is a real, working town and not just a holiday resort.

Let's stop for a Turkish coffee, shall we? ;)

Wherever you are in Turkey, you'll never forget where you are. Turkey has a uniqueness which you just don't get anywhere else. None of this "British fish and chip shop" rubbish. And it has pide - Turkey's own version of pizza. Ooh....it's time for lunch!


After lunch we do some more exploring, and walk to the other end of the beachfront, as far as the famous Halikarnas open-air nightclub (tagline: "You can not say you've been in Bodrum if you haven't been to Halikarnas"), take a back-street wander and then back via the many beachfront restaurants all competing for trade. Aah yes....the hard sell. But in this heat (a boiling 33 degrees) you need to stop for a cool drink in the afternoon.


Imagine the scene: you're sitting at a beachfront cafe-bar and a guy who is the double of Eddie Razaz is sitting at a nearby table...it suddenly becomes very hard to concentrate on the other sights of Bodrum :) anyway, dear readers, I just know that you'll be wondering about the eye candy. Well I can reassure you, the eye candy is very, very appealing indeed, and continued to be very appealing over the rest of the week :))) Lots of lovely girls for faithful travelling companion too ;)

On return to the hotel we discovered the Power Turk TV channel - a music channel playing all the latest hits. For a fan of European music like myself, this was like striking gold. We discovered so many new songs and artists thanks to this channel, and it also helped to inform my CD purchases in the coming week.....! Catch up with the latest Turkish top 40 at http://www.powerturk.tv/.

In Bodrum, Bar Street is the place to be, morning, noon and night. There are many restaurants between the beachfront and marina, some of which are quite upmarket, but all of them have one thing in common - you enter the restaurant on Bar Street but you dine at the seashore. Just don't lean over toooo far....oops! Man/woman overboard :))) We had dinner at one of these restaurants tonight - very nice. One particular thing which appeals to me about Turkey is the wide variety of dishes available in restaurants, which cater to all tastes. That is certainly the case in Bodrum - there's something for everyone, although less of the set menus found all over İçmeler.

We round the evening off with a seafront drink - it may only be a Tuesday night, but there's a lively party vibe going on. But not too much partying for us tonight - need to catch up on sleep!!