Sunday Morning Brunch

We have moved into a great new apartment at the back of the Taipei Library on Chienkuo South Rd. and we have had the opportunity to share our home with many people. Anyway, before our photowalk yesterday we decided to do a brunch with our friends Ron, Melody, Doug and his son Raymond. It was awesome!

Sunday Morning Brunch

Ok preparing for brunch is always fun! I woke up early to do some shopping and got bacon (five packets!), tomatoes, bread, fruit, milk, onions and mushrooms. Most of the stuff we didn't use. Doug bought some sausages and bagels to the brunch and Ron & Meldoy came with dill and lots of fruit - so we had way too much food. Considering Queenie bought (pineapple & mango) cheese and French bread the day before, we definitely had plenty.

Once the shopping was done it was time to prepare! I first decided to prepare the fruit salad (but nobody wanted it as Ron and Melody bought a lot of fruit with them). The next task was to fry the bacon - easily done under the watchful eye of grand master chef Ron! In the meantime we prepared cucumber and tomatoes, bread and some fresh juice to drink. Once the bacon was done Doug cooked the scrambled eggs (even though he can't eat them). And then it was time to sit down and eat. The brunch was great and the food very delicious!

The Angry (not naked!) Chef

Doug Scrambling the Eggs

I finished cookin the bacon

Once prepared, we all sat around our dining room table and ate food! It was brilliant! We have never hosted a Sunday brunch at home before. Everyone had fun!

Sunday Morning Brunch

Sunday Morning Brunch

Raymond at Brunch

Raymond Still Hungry

Of course, after the brunch we all need to sit down and relax before we went out into the hot sun to take photo's! All in all it was a brilliant day!

Doug Relaxing

Ron texting

We are definitely doing brunch again!

Ta An Park Photowalk

We enjoy taking photos and videos of our travels and our lives in and around Taipei, Taiwan and the world. Most of this blog shows that. Well we decided to try and improve our skills and our friend Ron from Rosh Images has taken us under his wing to teach us photography. Today was our first Photowalk

Green Leaves (by Queenie)

Queenies Pictures

Some of Queenie's pictures were awesome. The one with the tomatoes and melon below is great and also the one with the dry leaves on the ground is a good picture that contrasts depth and color with detail. The squirrel picture is not quite right but it is cute so we just stuck it in there. Anyway, awesome pictures by Queenie

Squirrel Eating

Red Flowers

Leaves in a Line

Yellow Flower

Leaves in the Sky

Grounded Leaves

Flower Bed

Apples

Fruit

Paul's Pictures

Most of my pictures didn't really come out, but some of them looked ok. I had an awesome time taking them and lots of fun doing it. Some of my pictures are below. Hopefully the can improve (the one at the top of this post is one I took too.

Green Trees in Ta An Park

Branches in the Sky

Squirrel Rails (no one likes this one except me)

Tree Knots (bit blurred but the right idea)


Bark Texture

Anyway, we had an awesome time and appreciated the time Ron took out of his day to help us. So thanks Ron and Melody!

Ron and Melody (by Paul)

Let us know what you think of the pictures. We had a blast taking them and learning one or two things about photography. It was fun.

Turkish Delight Pt. 03: Turkish Breakfasts in Marmaris

One of the joys of visiting Turkey is without a doubt the food. We both love Turkish food with a passion and especially the bread. One of the best dishes served in Turkey is breakfast. All fresh foods (cheese, olives, tomatoes) and of course bread. And all breakfasts are served with really delicious Turkish tea.

A Turkish Breakfast

Turkish breakfasts are awesome and always a highlight of visiting Turkey. The plates are filled with different cheeses, black and green olives, beautiful thick Turkish bread, butter, jam and honey. And just for good measure a bottle of olive oil is thrown in just in case you want more flavor. Of course we cannot forget the slices of fresh tomatoes and cucumber that are also ever present on Turkish breakfast spreads. Side orders include sejuk (my sister calls it Turkish bacon) and boiled eggs (we usually order one each). A good Turkish breakfast is nothing without Turkish tea, and that is always in abundance. Of course the most important part of any breakfast is the company and the best company is always family and the people you love. As it was for us we were with our sister and nephew and had an awesome time.

Being in Turkey for a couple of weeks means we got to eat these traditional breakfasts in a number of restaurants. Our favorite restaurant though was a small little house in the mountains behind Marmaris. We first tried to go to an outdoor restaurant that was next to a river (and a truly beautiful place) but they were doing construction so we decided to try a different restaurant in the shadow of the mountain. The restaurant was surrounded by orange trees and scent of citrus fruit floated in the air. It was a very rustic restaurant and the perfect place to while away a cold (but sunny) winter morning eating a Turkish breakfast. The day we visited this particular restaurant was on the first day of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit) so it was a special day (especially for Queenie). You can see this restaurant in the video below.

Some of the pictures from this restaurant and the surrounding area are shown below. All I can say is that we really had an awesome time here and showed us a glimpse of the superb natural beauty of the South of Turkey.

Mountain Road Near the Restaurant

Local Walking the Dog & Sheep

Uncle Paul and Tibet in the Restaurant

Mountains Surrounding the Restaurant

Mountain Trees

Queenie taking an After Breakfast Walk

Cow Near the Restaurant

Judith and the Cow

We had an amazing time in this restaurant. The chances of us ever getting back there is very remote. But we are glad we made it just once and can only pray to have the chance to return a second time.

Another amazing restaurant with a great Turkish breakfast (the one pictured at the top of this post) was a mere 15 minute walk away from Judith's house. It was on the sea with great views of the bay. We went there a couple of times for breakfast and just to hangout and walked back from there a couple of times. It was just such a magical place to eat and very often we were the only customers in the restaurant. Fantastic food, fantastic environment. Some pictures are below

Queenie at Breakfast

View from Seaside Restaurant

Breakfast Restaurant

Judith Eating Breakfast

Tibet Playing Backgammon

Turkish breakfasts are always great. In the South of Turkey they combine with brilliant views and make the whole experience more complete and more amazing. I can't wait to go back again.

About this Series:

During Chinese New Year 2011, we headed off to the South of Turkey to visit my sister. These blog posts are short accounts of some of the things we did and appear in random, not chronological order, hence the title of the series: "Turkish Delight." We hope you enjoy the South of Turkey with us in this series.

Turkish Delight Pt. 02: Picturesque Marmaris

Marmaris is a picturesque Mediterranean resort town buried deep in the South of Turkey. It is a popular tourist destination in the summer with its beautiful beaches, clear blue skies and deep, blue sea. In the summer there are many things to do but, in the winter it is mostly dead. Our sister Judith, our brother-in-law Ahmet and nephew Tibet now live in this paradise.

Judith, Tibet, Queenie and Paul

We visited Marmaris in February 2011 and had an absolutely amazing time. Marmaris itself is a fairly small town that sits in a small enclosed bay on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a truly picturesque town with yachts, a castle, great restaurants and wonderful views.

Picturesque Marmaris

Picturesque Marmaris

It is a popular summer tourist destination with tourists mostly from the UK. It kind of made it surreal to see restaurants with names reminiscent of English pub names. But, as ever, since we were there in the winter there was nobody around. Sadly this meant that most of the shops and restaurants were closed and many of the activities available in summer (e.g. rafting) were also not available. That didn't worry us too much however and we still had an awesome time. The video below gives you a good perspective of Marmaris and the layout of the town.

There are two Marinas in Marmaris: one is in the town and the other a short drive out. Both Marinas are filled with luxury yachts and boats that are probably very expensive. The Marina in the town has a few restaurants with views of the boats and the sea (see pictures below). It was pretty great just hanging out in the restaurant, chatting and looking at the luxury yachts. Marmaris and the surrounding areas are great places for sailing and, apparently, in the summer, most of the yachts that were docked in the Marina are at sea touring the coastline.

Marmaris Marina

Marmaris Marina

The greatest views from Marmaris though are the views of the sea and the islands accross the bay. On a sunny day the sea is spectacular. And along the shoreline there are many day trip boats that are berthed in the winter but used to take people to the surronding islands on day trips during the summer. There were quite a few berthed when we were there. The walk next to the sea in Marmaris is truly spectacular and if you ever visit, you spend an hour or two walking next to the sea, just for the views.

Marmaris Seashore

Looking at Icemeler

Day Trip Boats

View of the sea from Marmaris

Yacht in the Bay

Berthed Day Trip Boats

Day Trip Boats

Marmaris Shoreline

Of course where there is a sea there is a beach. Although not too many people were swimming, on the days we visited there were a few people mingling on the beach, walking their dogs or just chilling out and watching the sea. The beach is just a great place to relax and stretch your legs. Highly recommended.

Marmaris Beach

Dog in the Water

Relax

The few times we visited the town itself we enjoyed it. We enjoyed the trinket shops, the restaurants, the views and the humdrum of the people. Although many shops were closed, there was still enough life to enjoy and most of the restaurants that were opened catered to Turks and not foreigners (which meant more yummy local food for us). We had an awesome time and I am sure, if you decide to visit, you will have a blast too.

About this Series:

During Chinese New Year 2011, we headed off to the South of Turkey to visit my sister. These blog posts are short accounts of some of the things we did and appear in random, not chronological order, hence the title of the series: "Turkish Delight." We hope you enjoy the South of Turkey with us in this series.