Despite the fact that…
- I spent one night throwing my guts up in a bathroom which smelled of eau de septic tank
- Tadpole had to be taken to see a doctor with a suspected ear infection
- Tadpole’s ear meds made her throw up
- On one of our boating trips, the boat left an island stop WITHOUT US (and who in their right mind leaves a heavily pregnant woman and a six-year-old on an island in 40°C heat minus their belongings?), leaving The Boy with no choice but to swim heroically after it
…we had a fantastic time in Turkey.
The landscape was beautiful. The beaches were largely unspoilt (thanks to the presence of loggerhead turtles who nest in the area and prevent any sort of permanent construction.) The ruins made this ‘old stones’ lover very happy indeed. The food was yummy (although, predictably, Tadpole lived on a diet of cucumber, tomato and chips). The people were über friendly, especially to Tadpole, who now boasts a large collection of complimentary lucky eye charm beads and bracelets, and I was forced to coo over at least twenty pictures of newborn babies belonging to various waiters, taxi drivers and hotel owners. Tadpole learnt how to snorkel, and the way her face mask compressed her mouth and nose, resulting in a Meg Ryan style trout pout provided a constant source of amusement. And the dance she performs when wearing the shocking pink, jangly coin-infested costume I bought her from a bazaar in Istanbul is truly a thing to behold.
But the funniest moment, in my opinion, was when we returned home to Paris and I handed Tadpole my phone to call her daddy, who has now whisked her away on yet another holiday. Of all the things we’d seen and done, what did she tell him about? The turtles? The snorkelling? Her new costume?
No.
‘We saw a DUNG BEETLE daddy!’ she cried into the telephone. ‘It was rolling along a really big piece of goat poo-poo! And guess what? Manuel managed to kill the plante carnivore on my Princess Peach DS game and he opened up a whole new level for me!’
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petite anglaise 
so nice to hear that you enjoy TR as i ve been your fan from Istanbul for years! next time, hoping to give you my must be seen points of the city Istanbul.. pls feel free to contact me for any guidiance.
olympos / kas and fethiye.. good choices btw.
cheers
banu
Comment by banu — July 22, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
Dung beetles and carnivorous plants – I think you have a little naturalist on your hands!
I (predictably) want to hear more about the food :)
Comment by Meg — July 22, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
Glad you had a good time, I love the Lycian Coast, went to Sovalye earlier this summer, a little island just off Fethiye where there’s no roads and the tortoises roam wild – wonderful!
Recommend Brian Sewell’s book ‘South of Ephesus’, the historical bits can be hard going, but he tells a good saucy anecdote, and of course you have to imagine his Edwardian vowels as you read it.
Comment by Clare — July 22, 2009 @ 2:38 pm
Sounds FAB!!
Comment by rhino75 — July 22, 2009 @ 3:05 pm
Oh bless.
Comment by Damian Clarke — July 22, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
Sounds fun!
Comment by BeanMa — July 22, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
I’ve been wanting to go to Turkey and particularly Istanbul for ages! Your photos are beautiful and it sounds like you had a marvelous time!
Comment by Nursing Anatomy — July 22, 2009 @ 4:22 pm
Oh my goodness…. good to hear you are all back in one piece !
Comment by Elise — July 22, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
How sweet. They were clearly very important to her! Hope you’re all feeling better.
Comment by L.C.T. — July 22, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
What an adventure! It makes what happened on our 20th wedding anniversary getaway last week seem passe. All we encountered was a bear on the steps leading to the cottage we rented. Dung beetles? Now there’s an adventure! ;-)
I’m trying to imagine Manuel swimming to the boat shouting “Wait, wait!!! You left my pregnant wife behind!!” ;-)
Comment by Dave of the Lake — July 22, 2009 @ 5:12 pm
Too funny! I’ve been there, too… right down to the ear infection followed by antibiotic-induced vomiting! Hilarious. :)
Comment by Jen — July 22, 2009 @ 6:04 pm
Looking good preggers, Petite! And WHO is that dish grilling fish? Reminds me of my smokin’ hot brother in law . . .
Comment by Leslie — July 22, 2009 @ 6:51 pm
I just came back from Istanbul myself and am quite impressed that a pregnant gal such as yourself braved one of the bazaars and actually purchased something! I could not believe the teeming mass of shouting humanity in the bazaars and found them rather claustrophobic. Maybe I needed a baby bump to clear the way for myself – or, if we were there at the same time, I should have just followed you!
Comment by pinklea — July 22, 2009 @ 7:09 pm
At least everyone enjoyed themselves…and obviously, lesson learned, happiness is found in the little things like dung beetles!
Comment by Melissa — July 22, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
Glad you had a great holiday.
Comment by Googlebear — July 22, 2009 @ 11:22 pm
Awesome! Who doesn’t love a good dung beetle? :-)
Comment by unbalanced reaction — July 23, 2009 @ 1:45 am
Lovely pics! They make me long to go back there!:)
Glad you enjoyed your holiday despite a few inconveniences:)
Pregnancy really becomes you: you look positively radiant:)
I can’t believe just how much Tadpole’s grown since last year! Amazing!
Thank you for sharing some of your experience:)
Comment by Duchesse — July 23, 2009 @ 2:11 am
your words are as tantalizing as ever, petite, and your photos are brilliant, too.
Comment by Lizounette — July 23, 2009 @ 2:14 am
It sounds like you all enjoyed yourselves despite the difficulties! Tadpole’s priorities are her own.
I see that Meg has asked for details of the food; I’d share that interest, but it would be topped by “The ruins made this ‘old stones’ lover very happy indeed.”
Any news you care to share about those in Lycia would be very welcome. You will know that modern Turkey, especially around the Aegean coast, was part of the Greek sphere in Classical times, and that extended eastward during the Hellenistic period. I’ve never been able to travel thither, but am fascinated.
John Norris
Comment by John Norris — July 23, 2009 @ 9:33 am
Ha ha, so recognizable: I once met a little girl from Great Britain in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Beautiful architecture everywhere! And she had already seen the Great Wall and the gorgeous karst landscapes in the south. I asked her: “What did you like the best?” She smiled at me and answered: “I guess… the seats in the plane.” ;) Thanks mum and dad, for that awesome and expensive trip to China… :D
Comment by *Martha* — July 23, 2009 @ 9:53 am
My goodness, Petite! Those photos were stunning! You’re so adventurous while pregnant. Amazing~ But of course, you still had your knight in shining armour. ;)
I am also curious to know what type of camera you own. Such beautiful clear pictures!
Comment by Alyssa — July 23, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
It’s just not a holiday without the odd drama. My 3 year old daredevil son claimed his first broken leg on the first day (to be specific, the first hour) of our recent family skiing holiday. On the bright side, after that he was always where I put him, no chasing around. Thanks for sharing your photos – just stunning.
Comment by Lianne — July 23, 2009 @ 8:21 pm
Hi Petite
Just finished reading your book “Petite Anglaise” whilst working in Madrid and it had me engrossed, and I could thoroughly relate to it being a student studying languages (French and Spanish, but my strong leaning is towards the Spanish). I will now definitly be a frequent visitor of your blog.
Tadpole looks gorgeous, and it looks like you had a wonderful holiday (I hope T has recovered from the ear infection, I frequently used to get those on holiday as a child due to all the swimming), I hope she is having a wonderful time on holiday with her father.
All the best to you, will be commenting more in the future!
Love Suki xxx
Comment by Suki — July 23, 2009 @ 8:54 pm
What a nice surprise to check and find a new entry–thank you, this brightened my day.
You are indeed an adventurous soul to tackle such a trip so far along in your pregnancy, and I am glad it went well and you are home safely.
I would enjoy hearing more specifically about your reactions to any of the ruins.
Who doesn’t love a dung beetle? Me.
Comment by Steve G — July 23, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
Typical! just like small children playing with the empty cardboard boxes their presents were wrapped in at Christmas time, rather than the actual present. Hope you’re feeling better.
Comment by Gutsy Writer — July 24, 2009 @ 6:51 am
Sounds like a wonderful vacation. I hope the last countdown to the arrival of your next child will continue in such a vein. And congratulations on the cover to your novel that I just noticed – have been a bit distracted lately, as I’m moving back up to Paris in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I’ll not be able to attend a signing at Brentano’s anymore…
Comment by Alethea — July 24, 2009 @ 10:13 am
Your daughter looks like a sweet-pea. My oldest daughter’s nickname is Bug. Sometimes I call her Bugalicious. Yeah, she loved insects and dinosaurs and the like when she was Tadpole’s age, hence the nickname. Of course, the bugs on the ground are a lot closer for them when they are so young and little.
Comment by gwappa — July 25, 2009 @ 3:45 am
I am reading your book: petite anglaise.
It is a fantastic book! I almost finished it.
I apologise, my english is not so good. I am from holland (the netherlands)
Go on with new books and with your blog.
Regards, Audrey
Comment by Audrey — July 25, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Sounds like a fantastic holiday minus the boat incident. Didn’t the heat bother you ??
I’m looking forward to the book.
Comment by Kate — July 25, 2009 @ 4:07 pm
Actually dear,
I just got to know your website.
I got your book as a present and I’m so happy I got it!
It’s exciting for me to know it’s a real story and that I can approach you here.
I have 15 pages left, which I’m about to read now.
take care,
Adi-
Israely Sunshine
Comment by Israeli Sunshine — July 26, 2009 @ 12:50 am
great pictures petite! i too am surprised a pregnant woman would venture into a turkish market… its so busy!!
btw: the eye is meant to ward off the evil eye
it works like this: when someone tells you you are cute or beautiful it may result in the evil eye (often recognized by feeling very tired!!)
the eye ensures that doesnt happen if you are wearing it!!
also making yourself “imperfect” (wearing 2 diff color socks or folding one sleeve over and not the other) would have the same effect = not perfect!!
Comment by kara — July 26, 2009 @ 3:07 pm
Thank you for the travel pictures. Your trip reports are up there in my “Petite’s Top Ten,” as usual. (Tadpole sings is Number One). Your posts make me want to go places that the travel brochures failed to do.
So the boy chased down the tour boat? There must be more to that story.
Nice hats.
Comment by PJ Carz — July 27, 2009 @ 1:09 am
Have a nice holiday and enjoy your spare time.
After get cracking on your book
we are ll extided to read
Comment by Aaron — July 27, 2009 @ 12:46 pm
Don’t little ones give holidays a whole new meaning and outlook!! Dung Beetle…love it!!
Comment by Andrea — July 28, 2009 @ 11:03 am
You’ve seen more of Turkey in 1 summer than we have seen in 11! We are off to Bozcaada island in August so I will mind those boats. You have obviously won the hearts of the locals by admiring their babies.
Comment by Ann-Marie — July 28, 2009 @ 12:16 pm
entertaining post! ps slippery elm is great for tummy bugs (rather than n-legged bugs!)
Comment by Tiffany — July 30, 2009 @ 7:29 am
Dear Petite, I have just finished your book and have LOVED it……. am bereft that it is finished, but so delighted to have found your real-live blog. Feel like I am spying on you and little tadpole and so pleased to hear that you are expecting another one. I have just moved to Paris for year, following my husband’s job. I have 2 little boys and am looking forward to some of the experiences of French living, that you have described. Thank you so much for a fantastic book…………… x
Comment by Caroline — July 30, 2009 @ 10:10 pm
So glad you enjoyed your holiday, sorry to hear about the sickness etc.
I love the way a child’s mind works- Dung Bettle ha ha!
When I took my eldest to the Odeon Leicester Square, London, to watch his first film ‘Toy Story 2’, his highlight of the whole film was the cup holder in the seat!
Lovely photos, thanks for sharing x
Comment by 3boymum — July 30, 2009 @ 10:50 pm