Dear Turkey.
Please accept my humblest of apologies!
I got it wrong and I'm man enough to own up to my misgivings.
I returned to Kusadasi last week onboard a beautiful Princess cruises ship and this time I was determined to leave no stone untouched/unturned (I can't remember what the correct way of saying that phrase is!!)
I was determined to explore everything...
And oh my goodness did it deliver in full!! Today's adventure featured Matt (who took the photos) and Kelso (who was our travel guide/sat nav - despite having no knowledge of the area and being prone to making panicked decisions when giving directions)
Ephesus - good for cats and architecture
Simply put, one of the most visually spectacular places I've ever been in my life! Ephesus blew my mind. From the mid 20s sunshine in November to the multitude of cute cats all set amidst the backdrop of one of the most stunning archaeological wonders of the world I cannot begin to wax lyrical enough about how amazing this place is.
As you can see it is visually spectacular and looks like you've stepped back thousands of years in time to the glory days of empires and the birth of religion. However it is vitally important I note at this time that the best thing about Ephesus is the cats. There is myriad cats. A multitude of cats. Cats galore. Cats are far as the eye can see. So juxtaposed with these ancient and historic ruins are a bunch of cute and fluffy little guys who care not for the wonder and spectacle around them and instead are wholly concerned with take little naps in the sun. A bunch of cute little guys with cute little furry feet. Prepare yourself for a bunch of cats photos. If you don't wanna see cats and wanna hear all the practical details scroll to the bottom where I describe what was needed to go to Ephesus. 
A handsome boi posing up a storm on some old bits of stone.
A couple of cool cats. Or a metaphor for me and my hairline. I.e. I'm clinging onto it for dear life and its desperately trying to escape me at all costs.
Me imagining I just did a show for Julius Caesar and he gave it two thumbs up
Couple of lads showing off their legs with coquettish poses
We were taking a photo and these random guests decided to join us
Next onto Sirince
After we left Ephesus we drove straight up the mountain for a hidden gym called Sirince and boy was it worth it. Again we intrepidly abandoned the sat nav and just yolo'd our way up the hill following signs and roads we thought "looked right"
A particular highlight was when I (the driver) asked for directions at a T junction and was told "oh just go straight"....
At a T junction. Straight being the only option not available to me
Anyway Sirince is a tiny town way up in the mountains that is full of wine and fruit and food and views and yet more sleep cats and dogs and oh my goodness I cannot begin to recommend it enough. Wow what a spot.
Far from the pushy and aggressive markets of Kusadasi is this absolute gem with it's breathtaking vistas (who knows if I used that phrase right) and it's friendly locals who have little to no English but definitely want to give you wine and food for next to nothing cost wise
I had the greatest juice of my life in these mountains - freshly squeezed mandarins and pomegranate all mixed up into one for about a dollar! Unreal stuff altogether
Little store front with an important window item 
The old market in Sirince
More cats :)
A handsome little shop owner
The old covered bazaar in Sirince (photo slightly ruined by the Pringles)
A nice door
Cat on a hot tin roof (literature reference)
All in all one of the most lovely places and one of the most lovely days I've had in all my travels. Definitely can recommend so strongly a day out to Ephesus and Sirince.
Even the drive up the mountain was sensational and the views on the way down were incredible.
And definitely so easy to do as a solo traveler or as a wee group if you hire a car! I've put all the details below of what we did in case it's helpful
Practical Things
Right the practical bit - I rented a car from the local SIXT centre which is literally 4 minutes walk from where the ship docks.
My old mate Seahattin will sort you out if you want a car. Obviously it's turkey so haggle.
But I paid 600 lira to rent a big old car for the day (about 30 quid) and it was brand new, shiny, clean and brought to the office in 20 minutes from when I arrived.
You can drop him a message on +905365652423 and tell him Big Steve sent you. He was a top lad
There's the two of us having a great time!
Simply head straight up the coast and it's easy enough to find Ephesus - it's quite well signed etc. We didn't get a sat nav and just went for it like brave intrepid explorers I'm like a modern day Magellan. A sexy Shackleton. And we managed to get to Ephesus and Sirince fairly handy just by winging it so it's easily done.
Entry to Ephesus was about 10 quid and parking in Sirince was 25 Lira (cheap as chips).
All in all for seeing one of the wonders of the world and about 16,000 cats a cheap day out.
My strongest recommendation of all time was to wander through sirince until you come to the old market and then get as much of the fresh fruit, food and freshly squeeze juices that you can.
We did all this in November and Ephesus was still busy enough so I can only imagine its fairly chocka in the high season. But sirince was a real hidden gem and was super quiet and just wandering around the higgledy-piggledy streets was a beautiful experience.
My Top Tip
Bring cat and dog treats. There were so many lovely doggos and cats just napping in the Turkish sun. Each one a gooder boy than the last
Hope you had a good week and its raining and miserable wherever you are so I can feel extra smug about having spent the day in the beautiful Turkish sunshine
Keep her lit
Stephen
p.s. bonus cat
