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<\/a>The village on a cold winter night.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Spring flowers.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Peach blossoms near ?irince.<\/p><\/div>\n
And it’s not just plants coming out. One sunny morning a chameleon turned up in our back garden and I was lucky enough to get some pictures. At first we thought he was an escaped pet, but it turns out they’re native to Turkey and some other parts of the Mediterranean as well as Africa and India. \u00a0He was an impressive character, although he didn’t do a lot of colour-changing.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Chameleon suns himself on the roof of a dog house: both the dogs and the cats were not sure what to make of him.<\/p><\/div>\n
The warmer weather has brought human visitors too. \u00a0My brother Sean and his family flew in from Vienna last week. \u00a0It was great to see them, and also great to have an excuse to put down our tools for a while and revisit places like Magnesia and ?irince.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The theatre at Magnesia \u2014 looking a little flooded with spring rain. It was too dark for photos last time we were there.<\/p><\/div>\n
We also got to explore the Dilek National Park (Milli Park in Turkish) out on the Mycale peninsula. \u00a0(This had started to become a bit of an embarrassment for us: on two previous attempts last summer the authorities foiled our visit plans with the simple countermeasure of a 4pm closing time.) \u00a0So glad we finally got there. \u00a0The park is fantastic and we will be recommending it to all our future visitors. \u00a0It has beautiful, secluded beaches that look across to the Greek island of Samos.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Stone tower on a quiet beach in the national park.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>A picnic table as close to the sea as anyone could want. That is my brother being dynamic and sporty in the background.<\/p><\/div>\n
Much of the park isn’t accessible by car but only on foot. \u00a0We tried the first section of one of the many walking trails. \u00a0Doing the whole trail would have been quite a walk: it goes straight up and over the ridge of Mount Mycale (1237 metres). \u00a0But at least the first part, walking through deep canyons with little streams running through them, would be the perfect escape from summer heat. \u00a0And I really enjoyed getting an impression of what the landscape around here might have looked like before human settlement.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Walking path in the park.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Stream coming down from the mountains.<\/p><\/div>\n
I’m sure we’ll be back soon. \u00a0As spring turns to summer we have lots more visiting friends and family lined up. \u00a0And that beach in proper swimming weather will be amazing. (We hear that it’s also an excellent spot for diving.)<\/p>\n
On to construction and renovation topics: well, the kitchen is nearly there<\/em>. \u00a0If I was a more disciplined person I would hold out and only show you the photos once it was 100% finished, but I can’t help myself. \u00a0I’m quite proud of what we’ve done with it, and the work definitely makes our life more comfortable.<\/p>\n From this…<\/p><\/div>\n via a Sketchup plan…<\/p><\/div>\n to this!<\/p><\/div>\n We like the new splashback tiles a lot, and we were very happy when, having wrestled the corner wall cupboard section into position, it stayed up as the plans suggested it should. \u00a0Not much left now: there are a few cupboard doors still to build, and the worktops need to be tiled. \u00a0But then it will finally be done.<\/p>\n Wall units above the worktop, with a corner shelf for cookbooks. The walls are made from clay bricks, so I didn’t want to drill into them: everything is supported from the floor upwards.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>