Monday, April 19, 2010

QUATORZE JUILLET IN TURKEY

BODRUM - JULY 2009

It was an amazing experience to fest the Fourteenth of July in Turkey. But what else could be expected from a Club Med?


"REPLICA - Early morning an Eiffel Tower made its appearance at the entrance to the main restaurant"


"DECORATION - And the pool, the theatre, the bar and the beach bar were already decorated «tricolore» style..."


"SNORKELERS - Anyhow, the regular activities were running and the group of snorkelers was prepared to depart"


"SPECIAL - The donkey race was the exception to the usual programme..."


"PIC NIC CHIC - On the beach"


"STAGE SETTING - For the sunset party aboard the Catamaran""


"DRESS CODE: WHITE"


"BEFORE THE PARTY"


"BEFORE SUNSET"


"HAUT LES MAINS..."


"SUNSET PARTY - Start, run and over..."


"GALA - Dinner, theatre and fireworks..."

52 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! Today I’ve another post to all of you, but specifically dedicated to the French visitors to Blogtrotter Two!! It’s a bit weird to have a French party in Turkey, but it happens, even outside the French Embassy... ;) Hope you enjoy and have a great week ahead. Cheers! Santé!!

Olivier said...

Magnifique et surprenante cette tour eiffel ;)

Anonymous said...

Great photography Trotter and the party looks like a lot of fun. We have been on three Club Med trips and loved them all but our best adventures were when we departed the complex. Almost got in trouble a couple of times. LOL...

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! Brilliant pictures, as always! I so love those blue shots of the wonderful sea!

Besides, the party and the fireworks are awesome too! And for the "treat" - mouthwatering ;)

Thérèse said...

Grandiose!
What a treat!

P.N. Subramanian said...

Really a treat indeed. In the donkey race, not many of them to be seen.

A Lady's Life said...

Wow! what a party of friendly people!
The food looks scrumptious!
And fireworks always give a nice touch. Well any fire does even candle light.and the view is beautiful:)

SusuPetal said...

That must have been a fun party!

alicesg said...

Looks like so much fun and merry making. The food looked so yummy too. Am sure both you and your wife had a great time there.

Unknown said...

Wow!such a great atmosphere! Bet the night could just go on and on!

Gattina said...

You certainly had a lot of fun ! In Belgium we are not so much for the Club Med, too french, lol !

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Well, yes, strange to have le quatorze juillet in Turkey - but your photographs of the day are absolutely beautiful! Looks like you had a good holiday.

diane b said...

They sure know how to party. Looks like you had loads of fun. Why was everyone dressed in white?

magiceye said...

wonderful images! thank you for the lovely virtual trip!

Mariposa said...

how lavish! =D

Cergie said...

Hi Gil !
Je me souviens d'un 14 juillet à l'étranger, c'était au Maroc l'année de la naissance de notre fille et j'étais enceinte jusqu'au cou. Nous pensions qu'elle serait née pour le 14 juillet cela n'a pas été le cas, puis pour la fête nationale belge le 21 juillet. Rien. Elle a fini par arriver le 1er aout fête nationale suisse. Nous avons pris toutes les deux l'avion pour rentrer à Marseille puis nice le 10 aout.
Le 14 juillet nous étions à l'ambassade de France de Rabat car tous les ressortissants français sont invités (je ne sais ce qu'il en est en Turquie).

hpy said...

Et tout le monde était de blanc vêtu.

[G@ttoGiallo] said...

Yay ! quelle effervéscence !
Nous adoptons souvent des dress-codes pour nos fêtes dans l'immeuble et des feux d'artifice aussi, un peu domestiqués, quand-même.

BLOGitse said...

wow, what a party!
Did you wake up at all the next day?! :)

Greetings from sunny Casa!

BLOGitse

Dick said...

That must have been a great party, nice shots.

Anonymous said...

everyone looks that they're certainly having fun.

paz

Anonymous said...

p.s. i love the travel quotes in the sidebar.

paz

Ivy and Haley said...

Wow, this is so not helping my wanderlust!

Urmi said...

Turkey seems to be a wonderful place with lots of fun and entertainment all around. The food looks exotic and delicious decorated very beautifully. Gorgeous pictures.

MedaM said...

Another wonderful post and great photos! You all really enjoyed and had some fun. Thanks for sharing part of it with us.

Ron said...

Very nice post. I am loving the blue sky. Why is everybody wearing white to that party?

Unknown said...

This is an amazing post Gil :) Who wouldn't love the sea and its been a long time since I've been to one. Happy weekend Gil.

Cloudia said...

Go Donkeys!




Aloha from Waikiki


Comfort Spiral

yyam said...

How interesting! These people looked like they had a great time! Fun! :)

Pietro Brosio said...

Hello Gil! Great fun in that party! I'd like to be there now!! Beautiful landscapes too!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

It was so interesting to see all that delicios food, and fun to see all the guests dressed in white.

Club Med sounds like a wonderful adventure!

RNSANE said...

I try so hard not to be envious, Trotter, but I am failing miserably. I look at this great vacations and it is impossible. I've never gotten to experience a Club Med.

Rajesh said...

Wonderful shots. Looks like you had real good time.

eye in the sky said...

What a beautiful Eiffel. ;-> Brings back Parisian memories and hiking down the Eiffel coz the lift acted up.

Love that photo where everyone's in white. Looks so grand.

lv2scpbk said...

Wonderful photos and looks like lots of fun.

Lori said...

Wow, what a way to celebrate Bastille Day! I wish I could have taken part in that feast. That looked wonderful. You sure know how to have a good time!

rochambeau said...

Hi Gil and Mrs Trotter,
Especially like seeing everybody celebrating in their "whites"!!
and The theater looks great. Like their costumes very much.
Hope you are BOTH well.
Happy Travels ~ even within your own town. Have a
Happy Weekend ~
xox
Constance

Regina said...

Wonderful and so much fun Trotter.
Cheers. Happy weekend.

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Qui osera dire encore que la Turquie n'est pas un peu européenne ?

Anonymous said...

very beautiful my friend. well done

Marja said...

Love the eiffeltower and wow what a luxery party. We had a different party in Turkey. Our captain organised a BBQ on the beach for our 8 passengers. We had turkish people coming playing some turkish music. Our cook from his staff played the flute and another one taught us turkish dancing.

My Unfinished Life said...

wow!!...im just totally wanting to be at this party, but its already done!!
u look quite good in white and ur wife luks very chic!!!
love the pics!!

Venksh said...

Hello Gil,
Looking great in White. seems like u ha awesome time at the party..
nice picx..

juka14 said...

What a great party! That donkey race must be really funny, hope to see it some day.

S-V-H said...

It felt like I was there too :) Great shots and I like the most that "we" had to wear all white! I think you and your wife had big fun!

Thanks for sharing.

Trotter said...

Hi Folks! The replies are coming at a slow rate, but that’s the best I can do nowadays... ;) Anyhow, thanks for your continued support, either from those who come here spontaneously or from those who only come when notified... ;))
We’ll get now to some Greek ruins, so the visitors on the archaeological side will be at their paradise... ;) But the posts will, hopefully, be a pleasure for everybody!! Enjoy and thanks for dropping by and leaving a line...

Olivier,
Il y a des Tour Eiffel partout, il semble, même à Tokyo… ;))

Lynn,
So you are a «GM américaine»… ;)! Three clubs? Which one did you like best? I was never in any of the Med in the Americas, but I think one of these days, when there will be some time free for me, we’ll take the Club Med II ship and we’ll sail the either the Caribbean or the Mediterranean Sea…

Rakesh,
Come on, some moderation on those comments; the pictures are far from brilliant… ;)). The site ok, is perfect, and all the rest – the party, the food, the sports, the entertainment – is outstanding, but the pictures... lol!!

Thérèse,
Yeah! That’s how you grow fat... ;))

P.N.Subramanian,
There were very few willing to ride the donkeys, but there are plenty of donkeys in Turkey... ;))

Lady,
There is always a great atmosphere in most Med Clubs! Of course, it all depends on its Director, but usually they are (or at least were...) well prepared to keep almost everybody happy!! I can’t forget the experience of the Club Med Pointe aux Cannoniers, in the Mauritius Island, when the «chef du village» was the legendary (in Club Med terms...) Momo Belkaziz!! The views are usually wonderful, as Le Club used to buy the best spots when nobody else was yet thinking of tourism and holidays... ;)

Susu,
It was only you missing...
xoxo

Alice SG,
It’s always a time of great fun, a stay at the Med, wherever you go all around the world. And you have Cherating Bay quite close to you in Malaysia, not to mention Bali... ;)

Keats,
If you want to keep it going on, the disco is always open until the last guest leaves the room... ;)

Gattina,
Oh, those stories of French and Belgium... ;)) But I tell you, you’re missing a great time and nowadays Med is losing some of its typical French way... From my point of view that’s a sad thing, but with the opening in the Americas and in Japan, there are much more guests from outside Europe than in previous times. That is surely interesting, but sometimes the typical touch is gone... ;)

Janice,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment here! Weird happens... and the quatorze juillet in Turkey is included in the category... ;). It was a fun break, trying to survive a year’s terribly busy time... ;))

Diane,
It’s always fun at the Med!! As for the white, there is a dress code for the evenings at the Club... You just take it or not, nobody cares, but it helps to build up a certain atmosphere, as well as it helps to increase the business of the shop, selling shirts and slacks... ;)). That night the dress code was white, sometimes is black, other nights is T-Shirt 45 (a Club brand...) or what they call «elegant» night... That night, as it was the quatorze juillet, almost everyone followed the rule; but nobody would even notice if you don’t follow the code... ;))

Magic,
You’re always welcome to the virtual trips, in Turkey or anywhere else Blogtrotter Two is taking you... ;))

Mariposa,
Only you were missing there for everything in that quatorze juillet party to be absolutely lavish... ;)

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

I just read an article in a travel magazine about Bodrum and I am yearning to go there and to rest of Turkey.

Trotter said...

Replies Part Two!

Lucie,
On ne sait jamais quand est-ce qu’elles vont naître, les petites filles… ;) C’est drôle l’histoire de ta fille au tour des fêtes nationales… ;)) La nôtre n’étais attendue que pour le vingt et un juin, jour d’été et nuit merveilleuse, mais, après la fête nationale du Portugal – le 10 juin – elle a décidé d’anticiper l’arrivée et est venue le onze… ;)). Je crois que le jour des fêtes nationales est égal partout, du moins pour les pays européens : les ressortissants du pays sont invités pour la fête à leurs ambassades à l’étranger… Du moins c’est ce qu’il se passe aux ambassades du Portugal… ;))

Hélène,
Ça a une belle raison, que j’ai essayé d’expliquer dans la réponse à Diane… Et on n’était pas à un mariage… ;)

G@tto,
Effervescence partout, quand on est au Med !! Sauf si le Chef du Village est un «paysan»… Il y en a quelques-uns… ;)). Fête à l’immeuble avec des feux d’artifice ? oh la la… ;))

BLOGitse,
Alors, comment va ton français? Puisque que je suis dans le coup… ;))
It was hard to wake up next day, but that’s the great advantage of not having tight schedules when you’re in the Med nowadays…Food is always available and you always do what you wish when you wish... ;))

Dick,
It surely was!!

Paz,
Fun, that’s something you’ll don’t miss when staying at a Med Club. These answers seem a bit of an advertisement, but be sure they are not sponsoring me... I always travel incognito and pay for my bills... ;))
PS: Me too! That’s why I’ve included them in the sidebar, but not many visitors notice the quotes... ;))

Ivy and Haley,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment to Blogtrotter Two!!
Hope your «lust» keeps growing... here or anywhere else... ;)

Babli,
It depends: Turkey is too big to get a single qualification as a wonderful place... ;)); I would say that there are some wonderful places in Turkey... And the entertainment, the food and the fun you find around on this post comes straight from the Club Med, not from the country itself... ;)

Medam,
We had a great time indeed! My pleasure to share the pictures with you and all other visitors to Blogtrotter!!

Ron,
As I mentioned on the reply to Diane, « there is a dress code for the evenings at the Club... You just take it or not, nobody cares, but it helps to build up a certain atmosphere, as well as it helps to increase the business of the shop, selling shirts and slacks... ;)). That night the dress code was white...»!

M.Kate,
But, as far as I can understand, the sea isn’t that far from where you live... ;) Anyhow, Lisbon is quite by the junction of the River Tagus and the Atlantic Ocean and sometimes I spend a whole week without seeing the water... Incredible... ;))

Cloudia,
Aloha! You may shout, but it seems they won’t hear you... They were definitely lazy those donkeys... ;))

Yvonne,
Why shouldn’t they have a great time? They were on vacation and there was a party... ;))

Pietro,
Better than that only José, The Special One (Mourinho), defeating the best team in the World playing only with ten men at Camp Nou against Barcelona for the European Soccer Champions League!! And now they will face Bayern München in the final match... It was a great achievement to «Mou» and to Inter Milan, who had not been in a European Cup Final for some thirty eight years... ;))

Pat,
The food is a bit of a nightmare, as you easily grow fat in a Club Med... ;). Not the best place to start your diet, I assure you... ;)).
Club Med is a great adventure, but the typical culture (too French, some would say... ;)) might not be suitable for everyone, in particular for non-Europeans... ;))

Carmen,
Don’t worry, be happy... ;) What do you need envy for? ;))
Sometimes, depending on the director of the club (Chef du village), it may be even better than a cruise... ;))

Rajesh,
Everybody had a good time, I assume!! ;)

Trotter said...

Part Three:

Eye,
The Eiffel Tower is a fake one, like the tower the Japanese planted in Tokyo with a few meters more just to say that theirs is taller... ;)). Walking down the Tower is much more interesting than walking it up... ;))
White dresses make perfect sunset pictures...

Barb,
Lots of fun, indeed!!

Lori,
Welcome back!! And you’re always welcome to join the party... Maybe we can make it one of these days in New York... ;))

Constance,
Welcome back too!! The whites came out quite well; the theatre was playing some of Romeo and Juliet and for the time being we are stuck... ;)
As for the trips, I’m not in Xavier de Maistre (1794) mood to make a «Voyage autour de ma chambre»... ;))
xoxo

Regina,
Great that you enjoyed!!

Daniel,
On est quand même au Club Med... ;)

Vaggelis,
Glad that you liked; parties are always welcome!!

Marja,
I believe that real luxury is that private charter boat with only eight passengers inside and a captain preparing BBQ on the beach. That’s a real treat!! Not to mention the belly dance... ;))

Star,
OK, just pack for the next time... ;)

Kven,
Great to read you back here!! White was just a dress code... ;)

Juka,
You only need to book Bodrum for the next July 14th... ;)

Sue,
Great to have you along!! Next time hope you’ll be closer anyhow... ;)
xoxo

Trotter said...

Jen,
Turkey is a large country; not that easy to see Bodrum and the rest in a single trip, unless you have plenty of time to stay there... ;)

Emery Roth said...

I hope the feast tasted as good as it looked. I won't ask who the winning donkey was.

Trotter said...

Ted,
It could have tasted better, but the champagne finished quite early... Fortunately we were in the first group to arrive... ;))

I think a donkey won... ;))