We didn't do much of anything our last few days in Mahmutlar other than enjoy the comfort and view of the apartment. There was one other thing we could have done, but it would have been a major trek and expense. We didn't want to be all beat up just before we left for our next destination.
Madrid, Spain
Today, Sunday the 27th, was a day completely committed to travel. We were picked up at 7:15am by our transfer people right where we asked. Alanya/Gazipasa airport is pretty small. We were the only flight leaving at that time in the morning. The flight to Istanbul was full. We were flying Turkish Airlines, where we have alliance privileges because of my status on United Airlines so we get to check in and board the airplane with the business class group. This was very valuable at our transfer airport, Istanbul.
Our plane was late because of a long wait on the tarmac after we arrived. We had a tight connection window and it was necessary to go through passport control because we were connecting to an international flight. The lines were LONG. Not good. But de-I, experienced traveler that he is, saw there was a 'Fast Track' line for Business Class passengers, and Star Alliance Gold frequent flyers (we're talking about you de-I!). Boom. Through in no time. That was fortunate because Istanbul airport is massive. But we made it to our gate with a few minutes to spare before boarding.
The flight to Madrid was nowhere near as crowded as that from Alanya to Istanbul. And even though we were flying economy, we had a really good meal...not something you say often about airline food, but something that comes out again and again with Turkish Airlines. I had a stuffed eggplant (meat and tomato filling) with rice, and a cucumber-yogurt salad. It was as good as any restaurant food we had in Alanya. Even the bread was good. How this airline can continually do this, when so much of the industry cannot baffles me.
Arriving in Madrid, we had no issues with the EEU's new electronic border entry system as we are already registered. However, we almost freaked out as our bags were the last (I mean THE LAST) to come out. We were even in the lost luggage line when they finally showed up.
We used a new (to us) service to get to the Airbnb called Welcome Taxi. It gets you a regular taxi fare but lines up the driver like a transfer service so you know who is going to pick you up in advance, Our driver spoke excellent English which was great because we had to go to a separate location to get the keys for the Airbnb.
We shopped for a bit of food and now are recuperating from the travel. We're hoping to do a bunch of photography while we are here.
