There’s a chance today’s blog will be short for I’m afraid I may fall asleep writing this. It was a non-stop day and I now need a vacation.

We left this morning at 4:45 for a hot air balloon ride. For my first balloon ride, it was amazing. We had a basket that fit exactly 12 people and there were 12 of us. It was a little tight. Jose, an older man from Brazil, and I got very close very quickly. It was a clear morning, a little cool, but it was beautiful watching all the balloons as they prepared to lift off. We counted approximately 75 other balloons. The ride was an hour and fifteen minutes. As someone who is afraid of heights, it was not an issue for me at all. Mom chose not to go for fear that she’d be lying on the bottom of the basket the whole time. Our driver looked so young, early 20s, and it was amazing how he could maneuver the balloon through the fairy chimneys. Twice he lowered the balloon and we brushed the tops of two trees. I don’t have any pictures to upload because they are all on the other camera.

After we returned to the hotel, and ate breakfast, we drove to the three graces, fairy chimneys that look like a father, mother, and child. It’s in many of the Cappadocia brochures. Then we went to an underground city. This city was discovered in 1972 by a man who happened upon it in his backyard. Mom actually met him and took his photo. They’ve found 20 hidden cities in the area. This one was 7 stories and was in great condition. It felt like we were seeing Fred Flintstone’s house. In one of the rooms there was a 5 foot high wheel that they could roll in front of a door for protection.

Then we went to Vanessa Seramilk, for a pottery demonstration. This place is family owned and most of the people working there are family. We watched a man create a wine jug in less than 15 minutes. Incredible. So guess what I left with…yes, a wine jug, it’s being shipped home. After all of my things arrive home and are installed, I’ll have to have a few of you over for Turkish night.

Next was lunch in Avanos. We all had Turkish pizza, then on to Gerome open air museum. You pronounce the name of the town so differently – hard G heir o me. Another beautiful fairy chimney spot that had 10 churches dating back to the 7th century. The first church, St. Basil was closed, but the next church called Apple had these beautiful frescos from the 11th century. The interesting name probably derives from a red orb held by St. Michael the Archangel in a fresco near the entrance, but an alternative theory is that an apple tree used to grow next to it. The frescoes depict saints and bishops, with a Last Supper including a large fish to the right of the altar.

We still had a few more stops after that. I’m tired just writing this.

We went to the home of a family who currently live in a fairy chimney. Their family has lived there for at least 4 generations. We had tea with the family, while Sezgin asked the husband and wife our questions in Turkish.

Before heading back yo the hotel, we stopped at several more scenic locations for photos. Pigeon Valley, Upsigar and one more. Needless to say I’ve used up almost 6g of memory so far. Mom is now taking photos on her iPad and is getting quite good at it.

Tomorrow we get back in the bus and head towards Antalya….leaving at 7am.