Last days

Tomorrow, Auro and I are flying to Osaka, where Remo (hopefully) will be waiting for us! Here are some pictures of the last days in Begijnendijk.

Auro has been trying to skip his morning nap, but sometimes it is just stronger than himself ;-)

Auro loves taking all of his toys out of the bag and throwing them around. And in the end he still wants a mobile phone or some keys to play with...Auro on his uncle's shoulders... for sure the highest place he has ever sat!

My mother

Two days before going back to Belgium, more precisely on Monday evening, we finally did what we came here to do: we parted with the last physical remains of my mother. As she had requested more than once, we enthrusted part of her ashes to the sea in Turkey which she was so fond of. My mother, who was the reason for many more things in my life than just me coming to Turkey this time, now has a final resting place from where she can gaze at the rocky coast of Kiris and keep an eye on her apartment that had become her favourite place over the last couple of years!

Numbers

The fact that we are relaxing in Turkey, does not mean that Auro's physical and mental development has taken a break. On the contrary! Here are some numbers.

* Auro's weight (measured just before we came to Turkey): 8900 grams
* Auro's height (also measured just before Turkey): 75 cm

* number of breastfeedings in a day: 2 (we recently replaced the afternoon-milk with some fruit and/or a cookie)
* number of 'frietjes' (=French fries/chips/pommes frites) Auro has refused to eat so far: 0 (He definitely IS Belgian!)
* number of ready-made babyfood Auro opens his mouth for: 1 (couscous with vegetables... everything else needs to be fresh!)
* number of shiny white (and amazingly sharp!) little teeth: 7 (number 7 saw the light right here in Turkey)
* number of (airplane) flights Auro has been on in his life: 18
* number of countries our little globetrotter has 'visited' so far: 8 (Belgium, Italy, Austria, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and Turkey)

Gözleme

The other day, my father needed to catch up on some lost sleep, so tante Els, Auro and I took the car and went out for lunch. We drove to a nearby restaurant where we ate on of my favourite Turkish dishes:gözleme. Gözleme is a hand made and hand rolled pastry, filled with feta cheese, potatoes or spinach (these are the 3 most common fillings), and then cooked over a griddle. When the gozleme is cooked, little brown round eye-shaped spots appear on the pastry and this is how the origin of the name for the dish is explained: 'göz' apparently means 'eye' in Turkish.

Adrasan

Two days ago, my father, Els, Auro and I took the rental car and drove to Adrasan (about one hour to the west of Kiris). Whereas the beach here in Kiris consists of little (and sometimes bigger) pebbles, Adrasan has a little inlet with an almost sandy beach. Also, to walk into the sea requires less of an acrobatic effort in Adrasan, as the beach doesn't immediately drop from ankle-shallow to waist-deep (though this does occassionally provide some amusing and entertaining sights!). Anyway, after a good (and cheap!) lunch, we swam in the sea, had a walk in the excrutiating heat (so Auro could take a nap in his stroller), had another refreshing swim and finally went to a nice restaurant on the river (extra nice because it's a place where my mother has not been forgotten). Amazing how the heat disappears near a river under the cover of green trees! A great place to end a surprisingly tiring day.

Neighbours

Last Friday (July 24), my father, Auro and I took the plane from Brussels to Antalya in Turkey. We are staying in my mother's favourite place in Kiris. Since we've arrived here, we haven't really done anything noteworthy. Except for swimming, sunbathing, going to the market, drinking and eating of course! And always in good company! (see picture of my father drinking the local beer in company of our Belgian neighbours)