Hubby and I recently celebrated a big anniversary.

 

We've been married for twenty years!

 

I really cannot believe it has been that long. Time does really fly when you're having fun~ or having lots of children.

Every year for our anniversay, the children go to Gramma and Grampa's house while Hubby and I go do something special. It's something different every year, often involving Thai food, but always at home. We have never gone on any kind of trip alone since we got married. We decided that our 20th anniversary was the year to do something about that.

So Hubby planned a trip for us!

The children went to Gramma and Grampa's house. We were to be gone for two nights.

On Friday evening, Hubby whisked me away on our gypsy-like get-away. We spent Friday night and  most of the day Saturday in three different cities, did some sight-seeing, walked around in two different state parks, and went to a music festival. It really was relaxing and refreshing to just spend time together with no real agenda. It's so important to spend time nourishing your marriage. As the wife of an associate pastor, it can often feel like those moments do not happen often enough, so when they come I really try to treasure them!

 

 

But the highlight of the trip began on Saturday evening when we got to Bloomington, Indiana. We checked into our hotel, and then Hubby took me to a lovely restaurant for a late supper. You see, just after college I spent the summer in Turkey, so now whenever we travel Hubby looks for a Turkish restaurant to visit. This trip was no different. He took me to a lovely little Turkish restaurant called Turkuaz Cafe!

 

 

It's a small, intimate restaurant. The front half is filled with Turkish carpets, cushions, and low tables where you sit on the floor. Of course, this is where Hubby and I chose to sit. I was in paradise!

 

 

We left our shoes and stepped up onto the platform to choose our table. We chose a table in the corner and agonized over which yummy sounding food to order. We finally settled on the lamb kebab and the chicken kebab– and we would share. That's the romantic thing to do on an anniversary trip, right?

 

 

We sat close together on our cushions in the corner until our soup and salad arrived. At that point, the rest of the night became filled with "Mmmm" sounds! We finished the meal off with some yummy, fresh baklava. (Yes, I said baklava!)

 

When we went to the front to pay our bill, a man that had been sitting on the opposite side of the room approached Hubby and asked if he is Turkish. So, of course, this led to a conversation. It turns out the man is from Turkey and is studying there in Bloomington. When he misses home, he goes to Turkuaz Cafe. Hubby told him there was another Turkish restaurant in town that we were thinking of visiting. He told Hubby that Turkuaz Cafe has the best Turkish food– just like home.

Meanwhile, I was having a conversation with the owner of the restaurant. He is very friendly and sweet! I was surprised to learn that he is not from Turkey! But he certainly knows how to cook up some amazingly delicious Turkish food. He told me that we should come back the next day and he would make us a good fish pide.

Then Hubby pulled me into the conversation with the man from Turkey. It was so fun to talk with a Turk about Turkey again! Hubby and I must have spoken with these wonderful men at the door for half an hour or more. We were having a blast!

We spent the rest of the night walking around the Bead (Arts) District downtown. I really want to go back during the day. There were several art galleries and a yarn shop that we didn't know about before that we want to go back to visit.

 

 

The next day we went to the art museum at Indiana University. Before we left for home we were going to go eat Turkish food again. We didn't have to think too hard about which restaurant to go to. We headed once again to Turkuaz Cafe!

 

 

 

 

We hesitated only for a moment when deciding whether to sit at a regular table or at the low tables.

 

 

Then we faced the tough decision about what to order for lunch. Too many yummy choices! Then our sweet waitress came over and told us that the owner had already started a fish pide for us! I don't know how he even saw us come in the door!

 

We settled on corba and cacik for our soups. So good! Our salads were amazing– but I forgot to take a picture. We were too busy gobbling them down!

 

This was the first time that I had had a fish pide. I just could not imagine how it would taste. Frankly, I was a bit skeptical. Let me tell you, the garlic, fish, tomato, and cheese. . . delectable! I am definitely eating this one again when we go back!

 

For our meal~ I know, we'd already had soooo much food~ we shared Adana kebab and lamb kebab. The yogurt sauce was so good on the lamb kebab! Okay, my mouth is watering just thinking about the food!

 

 

But, really, how could you not start craving lamb kebab after looking at the yumminess in this little crock?

 

The owner graciously let me snap his picture for my blog post. He couldn't beieve that I really wanted to write about his restaurant on my blog, let alone include his picture. He was just a bit shy, so he asked our waitress to be in the photo with him. They are both so sweet! (If you ever make it to Bloomington, Indiana, you really must go eat at Turkuaz Cafe! Tell him I sent you. :D)

 

Hubby and I left with very full bellies and very happy hearts. We had a fun weekend together filled with a little adventure and a lot of good food. The international flair was perfect for us. The time spent talking with people from another culture was refreshing for us– yes, we are those people. Anthropologists.

 

Most of all, it was beautiful to reconnect with my husband without anyone else being able to snag him away for a while.

 

 

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What has been your favorite Anniversary Celebration?

 

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