I’ve got to admit, I love birthdays, especially mine! Well that’s the Leo in me unashamedly admitting that I love being pampered. And one way of pampering is getting dolled up in our best clothes and going out for a special dinner.
We did that this year while we were moored in the Setur marina at Kuşadası.
I’d chosen a restaurant close by (was wearing high heel shoes so didn’t want to walk far), which also had excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. La Terazza, which is in the marina complex just outside the marina, was the one we chose and we were very glad that we did.
The menu choice was vast. Enough to have me debating for way longer than most people as to what I’d order. In the end I chose steak medallions in a creamy pepper sauce and Baz went for a burger which he’d discovered on his research, received a lot of rave reviews. Plus his had bacon on it.
We had a mixed platter to start with and a very good bottle of red wine thanks to our good mate Kev’s generosity.
We sat, overlooking the beach enjoying the view as the sun went down and even though it was still in the high 30s (degrees Centigrade/100s F), we thoroughly enjoyed our evening together.
The service was fast, friendly and attentive. And the food when it arrived exceeded expectations. Everything was cooked perfectly, the steak melted in my mouth (all 200g of it) and each vegie had a different dressing which all complemented each other. Plus it looked amazing on the plate when it arrived. Baz was glad he’d ordered the burger.
While I was extremely stuffed, I did manage to squeeze in a crème brûlée because (a) it was my birthday and (b) we rarely eat desserts and I do have a sweet tooth.
All in all the whole meal was fantastic and I’d definitely go there again.
Thank you
As well as thanking Kev for our wonderful wine, I’d also like to thank Flemming Sørensen my birthday ‘twin’ for your generous donation. Thank you Flemming, it was very much appreciated.
Thank you too, to the office staff at Setur Marina at Kuşadası for bringing me a delicious chocolate birthday cake to the boat. I’m so sorry I missed you as I was in the shower but it made me (us) feel very welcome and we appreciated it very much. I hope the office staff enjoyed the rest of the cake that I brought back to share the following day.
Aren’t I a lucky girl?
Okay what’s this about a toilet fetish?
When we were having a long lunch in Moreira on mainland Spain three and a half years ago, I shared with Baz that I have a thing for toilets. Although I wouldn’t call it a fetish, so much as appreciation for when toilet owners go above and beyond the call of duty, than simply address the call of nature.
For instance, the reason I mentioned it at all was because I’d discovered that the restaurant’s toilet had a baby toilet for little kids. I thought that was very cute, so I took a photo of it. I’ve since taken pics of other toilets which are aesthetically pleasing to me. Maybe I should start an Instagram page, what do you think? Here is a very luxurious loo at Klass Pastanesi cake shop in Finike, Turkey.
Marina tour
Anyway, Baz went for a shower before I did and was away for so long I thought he’d dissolved. It turns out the shower was so amazing that he’d had an extra-long one. In fact, he came back raving about it. Why? I went and had a look for myself.
While these marina showers (and toilets) aren’t what you’d call opulent, they are spacious. The shower stall itself is larger than many others I’ve been in. There are wooden mats on the floor so when you’re dressing you don’t dip your clothes into someone else’s drips. There is a large aqua glass shower wall separating the wet from the dry area. But best of all, is the rainfall shower. Each stall has a large square shower head set into a nice piece of wood above the cubicle. And the powerful spray that bathes you is fantastic!
Especially if you’re a yachtie and are used to either bathing in the sea, or having a Don’t-waste-water-SHORT-shower off the back deck. So hats off to Setur Kuşadası for your showers.
Kuşadası marina itself is large to walk around and they were in the process of adding three new pontoons while we were there, so they’ll be able to accommodate a lot more boats when they’re finished.
There are plenty of restaurants nearby with a couple on-site. And the town itself, being a tourist town, has more eateries than you could visit in a year.
Sightseeing around Kuşadası
We spent a few days in Kuşadası and very much enjoyed walking around the town. We visited the Caravanserai built in the Ottoman days (1600s) for camel caravan traders to stay, refresh and overnight safely without losing camels or goods that they were bringing along the Silk Road.
There is a large area dedicated to fish restaurants right next to where the trawlers bring in their fresh daily hauls.
The fort on Pigeon Island, which gives Kuşadası its name, is also well worth visiting as it has fabulous views of both beaches and out to sea.
If you’d like to see a bit more of the places we visited while we were there, do check out this week’s video just click here.
Until next week, I wish you health, wealth and courage, as you take the actions to bring your dreams to life.
* As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases. The Amazon affiliate links above are for your convenience. If you choose to use the link and purchase something on Amazon, we get a tiny percentage of commission (at no cost to you).