First off, I got some sleep last night. Not bad considering I went home at the crack on dawn both on Saturday and Monday mornings after partying all night. The key when partying in Ibiza is taking a break every other night (if you can do so) and relaxing in various beaches, having siestas and long lunches and dinners.

I ran into a top San Francisco DJ at my hotel lobby on Sunday morning and got on the VIP list at Pacha that night. I guess logging on and checking emails occasionally and glancing at the door as to who comes through actually had its rewards. Andy Calwell played Om Records (that awesome label based out of San Francisco of course!) sounds including the ones he produced as well as Migs, Papp and also a classic Lisa Shaw vocal house anthem. The resident DJ at Pacha´s Funky Room is awesome, Graham from the UK. The most coveted party in Ibiza that boasts the most local attendance was going on in the main room that night, Flower Power. Totally trippy music, incense filed and air (which just about choked me) and hippie chics and men paraded their threads with gusto. I donned a flower in my hair to keep with the spirit but mostly stayed in the Funky Room where house music reigns.

Ses Salinas beach was muy caliente yesterday. Dined at Malibu and checked out the hippyish shack at Sa Trincha as well. Headed to Cafe Mambo for the sunset cocktails in San Antonio. Walked over next door to Cafe del Mar. An elegant dinner followed at Rias Baixas. It´s totally a hidden gem away from the touristy areas.

Barcelona was amazing! I was there from Monday night to Friday morning. Wide avenues, great Basque tapas at Taktika Berri, awesome seafood tapas at Cal Pep, gastronomic treats at Moo and dining under the starswith Duran Duran in the next table at Arola is pretty unbeatable! The´Wild Boys´still look hot!

More to come mañana...

I'm back in Istanbul now after a work/pleasure trip in the Bodrum peninsula. It all started out with pure pleasure. Turkbuku where I was staying was uber hot as usual with new beach clubs outfitted for the summer season to outdo one another. The Supper Club/Ev Beach club used to be Tampa. Havana is now Bianca with entertainment to rival SC in the next bay. Mio is a new beach club on Turkbuku bay. The others are still there: Divan Palmira, Mavi Suite, Fidele, Nana and of course, Maca Kizi which by the way charges YTL80 for the day. This cover charge per person goes toward drinks and food to be consumed on the premise. It is high, I think plus their menu is not extensive and the quality of the food is just OK but that's just my taste and opinion.

For nightlife, Turkbuku is unbeatable in the Bodrum peninsula I think if you are the sort who likes to dance and be in cool surroundings with your friends sipping Belverdere martini sec in a real martini glass. Ibiza clubbing was ok but was too commercial compared to the ambiance at Turkbuku when it comes to nightlife. Mavi (which also has Tike restaurant) now has its own young and talented DJ Mesut who spins on weekends and brings in the crowd who cares less to deal with the mob at Ship Ahoy which is of course packed every single night. The clubbing starts at around midnight and heats up at around 1 am. It all slows down at around 3:40 am. DJ Metin at Ship Ahoy still reigns. I gave him the CD I got in Ibiza and he played the tracks my friend and I love and he made them part of his nightly set. How cool is that? He was sunbathing next to us at Suite yesterday afternoon.

Also saw a top pop singer Kenan Dogulu at Mavi on Sunday night at his concert there. I was not a fan before but now I am! I like his slow but sad song called 'Ara Beni Lutfen' (Call Me Please)

One morning, we went to a local breakfast place by the beach for their special 'crepe' and of course I forgot the Turkish name for it. It was awesome but huge. I washed it down with copious amounts of weak tea. During the day, our favorite beach club is Suite which used to be Granga. I have been going to Granga since 2003. They have two djs that spin in the afternoons. One spins house music and the other, the Euro hits plus Kenan and Ajda hits that are cok guzel. There is of course the beach club popular among the teens, Maki and Nana. They have these late afternoon beach parties and the same is happening in Bianca.

The local market outdoors are on Mondays but I missed it. I have to wait next year to get my bergamot jam then. There are more shops and boutiques now in Turkbuku and they offer an array of summer styles so you can step off in style from head to toe even if you forget your string bikini, bejeweled sandals and bijoux. I don't think they have La Perla or Eres though but there is a store that makes beautiful handmade sandals with shells, embellished leather, ribbons, golden strings and hoops, etc. My friend and I designed my own flat sandals with shells, a bronze colored leather base, golden rings, and tri-colored silk ribbons. They came out really stunning. Too lovely to wear and risk gettng dirty really...

I went to Turgetreis for the first time on Tuesday to set up the booth at the yacht show with my colleagues. The marina is pretty big and the new yachts at the show certainly gleamed in the spotlights and the moonlight lent its shine as well. We also checked out Yalikavak marina one evening. I was there two years ago. Wow! It has changed and the whole embankment is lined with palm trees and there is a shopping center now and new restaurants right in front of the marina with posh shops. And some of the yachts..ohh ohh ohh ahh!

I didn't go to Bodrum proper at all this time around.

keep at it, party hard!

Seems like the old Bodrum peninsular I knew and loved has gone. Time to go and find some where that hasnt been ruined.

Ha ha ha! Thanks Paul.

Certain towns in the Bodrum peninsula have been the 'pefect place' for many Turks, nature-lovng people and foreign visitors for many years. Many of them have built second homes in areas of their choice for their families to enjoy the surrounds, the stunning coastline and what each town offers. I have a neighbor in the US who bought a villa in Yalikavak after just one brief visit. They go there every summer and don't even stay in Istanbul.

Turkibuku is mainly polulated by affluent Turks and therefore it gets the 'snobby' label. The number of yachts on the bay seem to go up everytime I go there but they will never build a proper marina. It would be a real shame if they do but the bay is too small to accommodate a proper marina. Ayway, I think it is precisely because of these summer residents' and some expats' yearly pilgrimage that high standards are kept. Unfortunately, the prices also remain high.

Turkbuku to me is petite 'San Tropez' in Turkey.

Cesme is another place I love but it is being built upas well...

I remember how Tukbuku was in 1997. They had barely started to build some villa/summer houses in the hillside, the rest was a very laid back place.
Last summer it took me awhile until I recognised where the old Turkbuku was. First ting I managed to do was to walk into (shoulder hit shoulder) the wife of mr Tatlises. Afterwards my turkish friend explaine to me who I had bumped into.
First time ever to Turkey we ended up in one of the few resorts in Torba. Back then it was more locals then tourists there. Not so anymore.

I remember Bodrum when it didnt have traffic lights or supermarkets apart from a very small tansas opposite the PTT which was then run by Izmir belediye. There was no asphalt roads into Gumbet and the drive between bitez and turgutreis was desolate without a single house. How times have changed.

[quote user="starman" post="61544"]Seems like the old Bodrum peninsular I knew and loved has gone. Time to go and find some where that hasnt been ruined.[/quote]

try the bozburun peninsula......... the turks still holiday here..get here quickly though "times are a changing"

while sailing around down there u get to the "koy" which are still pretty untouched. Or try motorbiking the small dirt roads...

I know...staying close to Turkbuku bay where nightlife hits its high note in the summer months from midnight until 4 am can be hazardous if you like to sleep between those hours. Might as well stay up and party...except we were tired on two evenings and needed some sleep. I just closed all the windows (thank goodness the homeowners had them double-paned to muffle the noise), cranked up and a/c and put on my Shure noise-canceling earplugs. The other side of the bay toward Iber Hotel is much quieter and there's a nice looking, quaint local beach with brown sand. The road leading there is now dotted with more villa developments too. Driving along with our car stereo (not even in full blast) one evening, we were told to lower the volume when we stopped to ask for directions when we were going to a house party. I guess they are tired of putting up with the noise at Bianca's nightly gigs that the residents nearby try to make citizen-noise arrests.

Actually last Friday night at Ship Ahoy, the police came and stopped the DJ from playing for an hour to check everybody's IDs. For the first time in Turkey, we were carded! The party resumed in full blast but I saw quite a number of teens sneaking off to one side to evade the checkers. I think the random check is a good thing to discourage underage drinkers. There were also police roadblocks last weekend. Another good thing. I'm not sure of this butI don't think that it is a criminal offense in Turkey to drive under the influence as it is in the US, if proven guilty that is. I was told that DUI offence only involves paying a fine and not even jail time.