We were able to sleep in New York until 6:30a which put us back on a nearly normal schedule. Breakfast was included with the room, so we had a relaxing morning with burritos and coffee (in our room still because of Covid).
The Hilton provided a free shuttle back to the airport at 9:00a and we quickly went through the security checkpoint (although the TSA processes seem a little silly after traveling abroad all summer). The airport was very empty, which is bizarre to see at JFK but nice for keeping our social distance.
The plane was on time and we boarded toward the end of the groups, which worked great since the plane was only ~40% full, giving us plenty of room for luggage. Although the flight was nearly six hours, it felt shorter because we were almost home. Tammy was able lay down most of the flight which she liked.
Grace met us at SeaTac to pick us up (so nice) and we spent the quick drive home telling her about the trip. At home, we quickly unpacked to give Grace her souvenir from Turkey (a tea cup from the pottery studio in Avanos) and to check our dish from Avanos that was dropped out of the taxi in Dubrovnik - to our relief it was all intact.
We took Grace to lunch for picking us, getting Chinese takeout and eating in a nearby park.
In reflecting about the last two months, it went by so fast and there were so many unique experiences that we found it hard to answer questions about "our favorite" or "the best" place/experience from our travels. We agreed that Turkey provided us the most new cultural exposure and was also the most surprising to us when we reached the Mediterranean coast. The people of Turkey were also so welcoming and eager to help with anything we needed.
While the beaches in Croatia were beautiful, it was more similar to our experiences in Europe (Italy specifically) so was less different for us. Also the food of Croatia was predominately centered around their harvests from the ocean, which is not our favorite cuisine and made the menu selections more limited for us. We also felt that anyone who wanted to have an Italian-type experience for a much lower cost should really consider Croatia as an alternative destination for the scenery, the cuisine and the historical ruins.
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