Cappadocia

So much fun - yes, Cappadocia was a great adventure. 3 days is all you need to see everything but a 4-day trip will give you time to relax and enjoy everything without exhausting yourself. The history from the underground caves to the open-air museum are must-see sights, but they are probably most famous for the hot air balloon extravaganza. So beautiful seeing all the colorful balloons in the early sunrise. Our pilot was fantastic and skillful almost to the point that the flight was boring. The $70 price tag was a bargain that will be a lifelong fun memory.

Of course, you are in Turkey so the best advice I can give you is to be careful not to overpay. In the town of Göreme where we stayed, every other shop is a travel agent so walk around and see who offers the best price.

We took a taxi to the underground without negotiating a price but our driver was an excellent tour guide so I felt that the knowledge and insight he provided was worth the extra money. When he suggested other things to see we wholeheartedly agreed. I'm sure he saw sucker written on our forehead but I had fun so if he thought he was bamboozling us I'm okay with that because I enjoyed the adventure. One of the places we went to is Aladdin ceramics and yes, we bought a plate which again I'm sure we paid too much for but at some point if you like something then sometimes you have to bite the bullet and pay their price. Well, not their initial price - to give you an example, the price as marked was $3400 and we wound up paying $1200 - in my opinion, still too much. Hopefully, by the time we get home and see it, we will be happy with the purchase but currently, I'm having a bit of buyers remorse.

Overall, the food was delicious and we had great weather - a fun time was had by all!

Göreme

Göreme Open-Air Museum

Uchisar Castle

Derinkuyu Underground City

Hot air ballooning