What to do in Cappadocia, Turkey?

Here's the "What to do in Cappadocia" TLDR:

Accommodations: Zara Cave Hotel 

Activities: Galerie Ikman , Walk through Love Valley , Seljukian Caravanserai for the Whirling Dervish Ceremony , Hot Air Balloon ride (we used Royal Balloon ) , visit Uchisar Castle, Goreme Open Air Museum, Cappadocia Home Cooking Class, Turkish Bath

Our Adventure:

My sister turned 41 last year and decided that she was going to finally leave North America! She told me that she didn't care where I was going for my spring break, but she wanted to join me. I had been looking on #skyscanner at flight prices for my spring break, and had found a great deal on a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. One of my travel bucket list items was to ride a hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey. This felt like the perfect opportunity to make this dream a reality! When I brought up Turkey to my sister, she was less than enthused. She was hoping for the classic first trip to Europe... London, Paris, Rome, etc... But, she was determined for the adventure, and she dove in feet first. But we still needed to figure out what to do in Cappadocia?

Of course she was nervous! She tried to think of any and every reason to cancel up until the day we were flying out. But she went! We flew #Delta from MSP --> CDG --> IST --> ASR. It was a long day and a half of travel. We had booked Zara Cave Hotel in Goreme who had arranged our transfer from the airport. Kayseri (ASR) airport is small, and was easy to navigate to find our driver. We were in a van with 8 other passengers traveling to Goreme. The ride was simple, and we were dropped off right at our gorgeous hotel for our adventure to begin!

Our first day we wandered around town, popping into most of the shops. Wandering in Galerie Ikman was a particulary special experience. The store owner invited us to sit down with Apple Tea while he taught us all about Turkish rug making. He explained what various colors, patterns, and designs meant. It was fascinating! And his store was incredible. It was definitely a highlight of the day.

Our next day, when you are trying to figure out what to do in Cappadocia, it is so satisfying to simply walk around the town. We walked through Love Valley, which gets its name from the phallic shaped stones throughout the valley. There are a fair amount of stray dogs throughout Goreme, so we had company while on our walk. We continued walking to the Open-Air Museum in Goreme which I highly recommend. For the evening, we went to Seljukian Caravanserai for the Whirling Dervish ceremony. The event cost us 15 euros per person and included transfer and and from our hotel. My sister enjoyed the ceremony. If I was going back to Cappadocia, I could see myself skipping it.

Our next day was the big show!! We were going on our hot air balloon ride! We had booked our ride in advance through Royal Balloon. There are so many hot air balloon companies, and truthfully, from what we saw, all of the experiences look similar in terms of when they start, how long they last, and the area they go through.

We absolutely loved our experience with Royal Balloon , but it's a more pricey pick. Booking in advance was helpful. They allowed us to book the Royal Queen Flight (180 euros per person) which would have been with 18 other people, but get upgraded to the Royal King Flight, with only 6 other people in the basket. Being with only 6 other people was an absolute game changer. But, I can't imagine any amount of people that would make that morning less magical.

We returned back to Zara Cave Hotel, simply giddy from the experience. It was a gorgeous morning with dozens of balloons out over Love Valley. We came back to our hotel and enjoyed the amazing spread they had out for breakfast every morning and made our plan for the day. We had noticed that Uchisar (another town) was about an hours walk from us. With the gorgeous weather, we decided to walk. Along the way from Goreme to Uchisar, there are plenty of photo opportunities over the various valleys. My sister nor myself are big social media people, so we didn't use any of them. But, for those that are, I'm sure it would make lovely photos on the walk! Below is Ushicar Castle, which you can walk through the entire structure for about $1.50 (50 Turkish Lira). It's well worth the expense!

The whole town of Uchisar is unique. So many structures to walk through from the rock, and really breathtaking landscape. We stopped and had a tea at Ciko Nun Yeri, and truthfully, I could have sat there all day.

Our final day in Goreme, it was supposed to rain, so we had looked for indoor activities. As I've mentioned, I am not a big social media person, so I still look online through #TripAdvisor and various peoples' blogs for my travel information. I found on TripAdvisor that someone had recommended a cooking class with a local family. There was a number through WhatsApp to message Tolga, the chef. I messaged him, and he offered to pick my sister and I up to take us to his home in Urgup (a nearby town). Tolga picked us up, and then we were with him while he picked up one of his sons from school. Walking into their house, we were greeted by his entire family. They offered us apple tea, biscuits and cookies. We talked and immediately felt like part of the family. We went into the kitchen to get started on our meal: stuffed eggplant, Turkish ravioli, and a delicious Turkish honey dessert. Tolga and his family cooked right alongside us, and explained various pieces along the way. It was a comfortable experience. We laughed and chatted like old friends.

When it came time for the meal, they the table all set for my sister and I. We sat at a gorgeous table in their main room, and one of Tolga's sons served us dinner. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. Truly one of the best meals of my life. I recommend this experience to anyone in the area. I have had a couple of friends go to Cappadocia since I was there earlier this year, and they've agreed that it's been one of the most memorable experiences.

https://cappadociahomecooking.com/en/index.html

We ended our time in Cappadocia with a Turkish bath. Now, most people might look up their experiences before doing them, however I don't always do this. I wasn't sure what a Turkish bath was, but assumed I would get clean. We booked the spa visit through our hotel for 40 euros each for one hour. My sister and I walked over to the spa, and they first had us get undressed and relax in a sauna for about 5 minutes. They walked us into a room with a large stone table. We both got naked (in the same room) and laid on the stone, which was wonderfully warm. Both women started soaping us up from head to toe... they don't miss one crevice! To say it's the cleanest I have probably ever been, would be an understatement. It was yet another memorable experience to cap off our Cappadocia Adventure! Next, we were onto Istanbul!

Above is our rooftop view from Agora Guesthouse. We stayed in a Double En Suite for $70/night. The location was exceptional and their breakfast every morning was so tasty! I would absolutely stay here again. We started our Istanbul experience with a Free Tour in Istanbul. https://www.freetour.com/istanbul/free-tour-in-istanbul

Our tour guide was wonderful. We walked through Sultanahmet Park, Soguk Cesme Street, and she told us instead of the Basillica Cistern, to go to Nakilbent Cistern for free, which was such a great tip! We also stayed with the group for the tour on the Bosphorus. We hadn't planned it, but it was stunning!

Our next day in Istanbul we walked over the Galata Bridge and walked up to Taksim Square. I loved this area of Istanbul. It was less crowded and more relaxed than Sultanahmet Square. Before walking back across the bridge, we took a stop at Sokak Lezzeti for fresh fish wraps. This place makes one item, and they make it to perfection. You will wait in line here, no matter what time of day. Months later, my mouth still waters thinking about this wrap.

Our final day in Istanbul was spent wandering, browsing and shopping. We went through the Grand Bazaar, which I've heard was really spectacular once, but now it's a lot of the same tourist items. I preferred the Spice Bazaar of the places we went to. My sister bought several pieces of Zultanite which is a stone produced in Turkey that changes colors depending on the light you're in. Then we were off for our final day of the trip... to Paris!!

This quick 24 hours was not apart of the original plan, but I knew it was my sister's dream to go. I took a shot and called #DeltaAirlines to see what could be done. They were able to move our return flights to give us a 24 hour layover in Paris. We arrived early in the morning, booked a cheap hotel. Jamie was beaming the entire day! We started our adventure at the Arc de Triomphe, and then walked down the Champs Elysees. We stopped at La Crêperie des Champs Elysées Les Ecuries on a whim. I see that it has low reviews, but for being so close to so many tourist attractions, I thought the prices were reasonable, the ambiance was excellent and the crepes were incredible! Loved it!

We walked down to the Louvre, to Notre Dame Cathedral, and then the long walk down the Seine River to the Eiffel Tower. It's been years since I was in Paris, so I didn't know they had the Eiffel Tower blocked with a clear wall and that you needed a ticket to even walk under it now! The line was quite long, and we were pretty exhausted, so we simply marveled it from a distance! Then ended our day with some French Onion Soup and finished off with Creme Brulee' at Bistrot Le Poincaré. The service and the food was the perfect end to a perfect day.