Dalyan – 19th September

I usually try to avoid going to the bank on Monday mornings due to it being busy. Monday 19th September was seriously busy and there were no seats left unless anyone wanted to try moving the İş Bank cat. I was in there ages, while Captain Caveman got packed for our day out. It was Mark’s 58th birthday and although he and Kate could appreciate a lot of English people in Dalyan would want to watch the Queen’s funeral on TV, it was no way to celebrate a birthday. Captain Caveman and I also had no wish to watch a funeral on a big screen in a bar, like it was some sort of sporting event. Kate had took the sensible idea of organising a day at the beach from 2pm, that way anyone who wanted to come, could do so. It also meant that we didn’t have to go to a bar where the regurgitated funeral footage would probably be on, well in to the evening.

Amanda, Greg, Captain Caveman and I got the 1.30pm bus from Dalyan to Iztuzu Beach. John and Andrea got on just after us then Mark, Kate and Daisy got on a bit further along the way. A few more reprobates joined us at the beach and we had all taken some drinks. We had red wine and paper cups, we bought chicken sandwiches at the beach cafe for our lunch.
As a birthday gift for Mark we had got him a bottle of port, some cheese, a Vietnamese t-shirt and a cap. He seemed happy with that and put the Phuc Dat cap on straight away.
The sea was lovely and calm, warm enough to swim in too. There was quite a few of us as more people joined; Marion and her husband, Adam, Kath, Wolfie, Irena, Kevin, Janet, Little Corduroy, Gary, Debbie (Darling) and Roy.
Gary (aka Gorgeous Gay Gaz from Gateshead with the Glass eye) excelled himself by turning up with a bottle of vodka and a rogue testicle. I noticed that I could see more than I should have up his shorts and quietly asked Captain Caveman if he thought I should tell Gaz this. He said to leave it to him and then shouted out to Gay Gaz that I had pointed out that the boys were not in the barracks! Everyone laughed, Daisy woke up and got a good eyeful not fully knowing if she was looking at Alan Sugar or half a scrotum. Now 5G became 7G as we renamed Gary as Gorgeous Gay Gaz from Gateshead with the Glass eye and Gigantic Gonads!

Aside from that, it was a great day with lots of laughs. We didn’t leave the beach until the last bus back at 6pm. On the bus, Kate invited us all back to their’s for more birthday party shenanigans which, of course, we agreed to. There was naturally more birthday celebration drinking. Fruit cake and cheese was out for those who wanted to upset Mark by eating it! There was also a touch of sunburn for those people who hadn’t been wearing the high factor suncream, which I rather smugly had!
We got home, by taxi, at gone midnight then Captain Caveman insisted on a Mount Gay Rum for a nightcap.

Dalyan – 18th September

I had in my diary to meet Amanda & Greg, our Aussie friends downstairs, for breakfast at 10am on Sunday 18th September. That didn’t happen on account of us still being in bed. While they went off to investigate where their favourite Turkish breakfast was, Captain Caveman took one for the team and braved a Sunday supermarket shop at Migros.
It had been a while since he had been in a Turkish supermarket for a big shop but he did well, here’s what he bought and the prices in lira:

Plastic bag 0.75
Onions 4.36
Potatoes 5.47
Apples 6.33
Lemon juice 7.75
Garlic 8.55
Carrots 10.50
Cherry tomatoes 11.90
Tonic water 13.50
Rice 14.00
Big tomatoes 15.21
Red peppers 17.11
2 cans of Grapefruit juice 19.90
Orange juice 26.00
Bananas 26.95
Toastie Bread 27.95
Eggs 42.50
Minced beef 48.50
Turkish salami 49.90
Butter (Turkish) 53.95
Beetroot 59.90
Chicken 61.58

Total spent 532.56 lira (£25.77)

Prices had gone up several times recently in Dalyan so it was quite a pricey shop but we needed essentials. We probably could have done without the beetroot but it would easily make a big jar of pickled, that would last a while.
I was rather surprised that he’d not bought any alcohol, especially as we had been invited round to a friend’s house in the afternoon for drinks.

We met a couple at Lukka bar so that Captain Caveman could buy a phone from them, then we ended up having a beer, as you do. At 2.30pm we met up with Brian at Lukka who needed a DVD player so we had a good chat with him then a quick drink at Tez bar because Lukka bar was full, for Sunday lunches.
At 3.30pm we popped to Selçuk Market which is our corner shop and Captain Caveman chose a bottle of wine which he liked the name of. We bought some strange looking soda water which turned out to be diet lemonade. We arrived at Adam & Kath’s house where everyone else was already there; Mark, Kate, Daisy, John, Andrea, Dawn & Steve.
They have a snooker table so we all played pool after a few drinks and they put on a rather nice buffet. We definitely drank more wine than we took with us, though, but we didn’t have too late a night as tomorrow we had a celebration to attend. On the way home we passed a bench with a life-sized doll on it, which grabbed Captain Caveman’s attention.

Fethiye to Dalyan – 17th September

Our first day back in Dalyan on Saturday 17th September was certainly interesting. This was also the day I had noted in my diary that our Aussie friends would arrive. Amanda & Greg had not been able to leave Australia during the pandemic so they were also glad to be coming back to Dalyan after almost 3 years away.
We checked out of the lovely Downtown Fethiye Suites and went to the Mulberry Tree for breakfast. Captain Caveman went off to check the Fethiye to Ortaca bus timetable while I had a toasted teacake and a cup of tea. When he returned he also had a teacake then off we went on our journey back to Dalyan. The bus was busy, hot and not too comfortable but we made it in one piece.

By 5pm we were in Backyard No.9 taking advantage of the Happy Hour before 6pm and ordering a pizza each. Efes beers were 45 lira (£2.14) so we had a couple while they were on offer. While we were there a few of our friends came over from Rehab bar to say hello and we got to see Mark & Kate on an invalid carriage!
Our Aussie friends and neighbours, Amanda & Greg, had arrived so Captain Caveman and I went to welcome them back and have a drink at Lukka bar. The 3 of them ate at Lukka but I wasn’t hungry after my mushroom pizza so I just had a large draft Efes. We had a wander to see Amanda and Greg’s new apartment, The Reading Room, which is lovely and we celebrated it with a gin!

When we got home we were about ready for bed when I noticed our Dutch friend, Angelique, had put on Facebook that she had arrived in Dalyan but had tested positive for Corona. We decided to go back out and Captain Caveman took some medication for her while I joined Mark, Ged and Tommy for a drink. The Favipiravir medication had an expiry date in October so it needed to be used and had been provided by Oxalis for if Captain Caveman had got Corona. At Rehab bar everyone was pretty drunk so we didn’t stay long and Captain Caveman was keen to get home to get some sleep.

On our way home we noticed Daisy and Andy at Rumours so we went over to say hello. Obviously we got chatting, as you do, even though I don’t usually frequent Rumours bar. Andy bought Captain Caveman and I a beer while Daisy introduced us to her friends. Needless to say it was a messy night with us leaving just after Andy, at around 3.15am!
On our way home we passed Sofra bar where people were still drinking and tried to sit down for one more beer. Şükrü, the owner, said no and to go home as he was trying to get the other punters to do.
It was a sign we were back in Dalyan!

Photo credit – some taken by Captain Caveman

Rhodes to Fethiye & Çalış – 16th September

We were up and packed super early on Friday 16th September as we were off back to Turkey. We were booked on the 9am ferry from Rhodes to Fethiye with Sky Marine ferries. They run only during the holiday season, until the end of October, and when we arrived at the port it was busy. The walk from our hotel to the port wasn’t too far but it started to get a bit warm carrying the rucksack, on the way we saw a massive cruise ship too. At the port, I had a sit down and some water after carrying my bag which was about 10kg, Captain Caveman’s was heavier as he was carrying the booze. We noticed the ferry queue for Marmaris was quite long but the one to Fethiye was very short, we were at the front and we didn’t have to wait long to pick up our tickets. The crossing takes a couple of hours and cost around €50, Captain Caveman had the good idea to get me a sea sickness pill. When I took it the ginger and size of it made it difficult, but I got it down.
The ferry was empty so we sat at the front where we could stretch our legs out. Strangely, the next passengers to get on sat right behind us, despite having the whole ferry to choose from. I fell asleep almost immediately and we think it was the seasickness tablet as I’ve experienced that before.

We had planned to spend a bit of time in Fethiye when we arrived and had even asked Mark, Kate and Daisy if they fancied a trip to Çalış but they were already busy. Captain Caveman decided we would stay an extra night in Fethiye and booked us in at the Downtown Fethiye Suites. With it being a weekend we had trouble finding a place to stay so we got lucky with this little apartment. We arrived early expecting to drop bags but we were allowed to check-in. After unpacking our stuff and putting the cheese in the fridge we decided to go to The Mulberry Tree for brunch. Its a popular little cafe with great food, I had a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea while Captain Caveman had pide and coffee. We even bought some crumpets to take away with us for the freezer.

We decided to get the 5.30pm water taxi from Fethiye to Çalış so that Captain Caveman could experience the delights of Charcoal Palace. The ride takes about 20 minutes and costs 40 lira each way and on the way there it was a full boat. When we got to Charcoal Palace it was quiet so we sat outside and ordered a pint of Beck’s draft beer each. It was 35 lira (£1.68) which is a lot cheaper than what we had been used to. I noticed that the menu had gluten free batter for the fish so I decided I would try it, for research purposes more than anything. We both had fish and chips which come with tartare sauce and mushy peas. I don’t eat either so I gave mine to Captain Caveman. If you didn’t know the gluten free was served, you wouldn’t have been able to tell as it was very good. The colour was slightly different and the price was the same as the regular one.

After dinner we walked to the seafront to see the sunset and had an Efes at Summer Breeze bar, they were out of Beck’s draft.
We were ready to go back to Fethiye for an early night when we got a message from Julio. He was at Terras bar in Fethiye with friends and invited us to join them. We had a great night, a few more drinks and a good laugh before we walked back to our apartment and the others carried on their night.

Rhodes – 15th September

We stayed in bed late on the morning of Thursday 15th September, which was nice. Our room at Lefka Hotel had a shutter on the outside of the patio doors which made it dark and quiet.
By 1pm we were eating leftovers for our lunch and decided to open the bottle of Cair red wine, which was great. In the afternoon we went to the supermarket to stock up on cheese, salami, crisps and deodorant before getting ready for our last night in Rhodes.

Michelle and Steve had kindly booked us our ferry back to Turkey tomorrow morning so we made the most of our last Greek evening. Captain Caveman changed some more dollars and we had a walk around the old town, including a mooch about the Gate of St Anthony. We watched sunset at the beach and had a cold beer at the Malt House, which was lovely.

Captain Caveman had booked us in for an eleven course tasting menu at Piatakia for dinner and it was great. The food was excellent and I was brave to try everything except for the tuna and mussels.
On the way home we had one more drink to break up the walk back to our hotel, at a bar I forgot the name of.

Photo credit – some taken by Captain Caveman

Rhodes – 14th September

Captain Caveman and I had originally planned to be back in Dalyan by Wednesday 14th September, however things had changed. Unfortunately, we would miss Sausage Dick’s departure without having seen him this time and there was still no sign of the missing sausages. One of the reasons we decided to stay longer in Rhodes was that Captain Caveman can only stay in Turkey for 90 days which means that he has to spend a month elsewhere this winter.
At 6.20am I was waking up Captain Caveman to look at the stunning sunrise from our hotel balcony. We went back to bed after taking photos and I had an extra snooze before we got ready to check out. We were moving again and we were disappointed not to be staying for longer in Vlycha as it was really lovely.

Our next stop was back to Rhodes Town where Captain Caveman had booked for us to stay at Lefka Hotel & Apartments for 2 nights. We got the bus from Vlycha, outside the TUI Blue hotel, to Rhodes Town. We got off in town and then had to walk, via one of Captain Caveman’s shortcuts, which I was convinced was longer. When we arrived at the hotel there was no one in reception and we were too early to check-in. We left our bags and walked back in to town for some lunch. We went to a restaurant, called Nimmos, which was friendly and fairly busy. We both ordered beer, Captain Caveman had fried cheese and I had chicken kebab. The food was tasty, not the best in the world, but we had been rather spoiled recently. On the way back to the hotel to check in we called in to the supermarket to buy water. I happened to spot the same Cair Cabernet Sauvignon wine from Vlycha for €10 so we bought a bottle.

Lefka Hotel was very nice, we liked our room and the small, clean bathroom. We got ready and went back out for sunset in Rhodes Town. Captain Caveman insisted we try Piccolo Pizza which was a small stall in the old town that had the best pizza and had been recommended by Google. We found a gorgeous little wine bar, called Obscura, where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of very good red wine.

It was after 8pm when we set off walking back towards our hotel for a delicious meal at 4 Rhodies, which was on the way. We over ordered on the food which was outstanding and we had to take a doggy bag back to he hotel. Captain Caveman had liver and I had a huge cheese salad but we kind of shared, there was lots of bread. We had a carafe of the cheap wine which was actually very good for the price. The mains were an egg and potato dish for Captain Caveman and a pork dish for me, both excellent. We walked home stuffed and ready for bed, tomorrow would be our last day in Rhodes.

Rhodes – 13th September

Tuesday 13th September was another wonderful day with a few surprises thrown in. We were up and about fairly early so we decided to check out and get an early bus to Lindos. We’d enjoyed staying at Summer Memories, although the WiFi wasn’t up to much, and would consider staying there again. The bus got very busy but by 10.30am we were in the super touristy town of Lindos. By complete coincidence an old school friend and her husband were going to be in Lindos today too so we arranged to meet up. Captain Caveman found us a nice little cafe called Eklekton and we went right up to the roof top terrace. I wasn’t feeling 100% so I just had an apple juice but Captain Caveman had something eggy on toast. Miraculously, Sam managed to find us easily and we caught up over a drink after almost 34 years. It was really lovely and of course there was lots to talk about – I bet Captain Caveman and Gerald, Sam’s husband, were in danger of having their ears start to bleed! Sam and Gerald didn’t have long to explore Lindos and we had to get to our next destination so we said our goodbyes and promised to meet up when I finally got back to Sheffield.

Captain Caveman and I had a short wander around the winding streets of Lindos with our backpacks on, and in midday sun, before stopping for a beverage. I had a grape smoothie (that’s not code for wine) and Captain Caveman had a Mythos beer at Pal’s.

We got a taxi from Lindos to Vlycha and ended up on the beach with our bags as the taxi driver didn’t know where our hotel was. Captain Caveman had very little cash on him so we didn’t get lunch at the beach bar, just a nice cold beer each. I’d spotted a turn off to our accommodation, Vlycha Beach studios and apartments, so we headed towards it. We checked in with the lady owner who was lovely, if not a little extraordinary. I had a dance with her on the balcony when she showed us our room and then she told Captain Caveman he had to walk to the top of a very steep hill for the nearest cash machine.

While Captain Caveman hiked in full sun, I relaxed at the hotel which was really lovely and one of my favourites of the trip so far.
When Captain Caveman returned we went for a wander to the small supermarket below then drank wine on the balcony until it got dark.
That evening, we walked a short distance to a new eatery called Gaea Beachfront restaurant and bar, part of the Lindos Aqua Terra resort, which looked fantastic. On the way we passed a working ATM machine which meant Captain Caveman needn’t have walked up the hill to the one further away. We ordered a bottle of the Cair Cabernet Sauvignon which was really good and decided to have a few dishes to share. The food was absolutely amazing and at a reasonable price, we even shared a dessert.

Rhodes – 11th & 12th September

I was feeling rather under the weather on Sunday 11th September and I couldn’t get out of bed. We’d left the party shortly after eating some birthday cake as I’d started to feel sick. I put it down to the gluten and dairy in the cake, at first, but as the morning went on I got worse. I got a message from Julio reminding me that I had drank a half bottle of white wine, 2 Proseccos and 2 large wine and sodas between 7pm and 1.30am. This was not that excessive for me, to be this ill, so I thought it was something else.
We were invited to a BBQ and pool afternoon for Steve’s birthday at a villa in the hills but I couldn’t go. Instead, I sent Captain Caveman off to party on with his newly acquired friends and I slept as much as I could. I had a high temperature, cramps and an excessive need to urinate. I kept going from hot to cold and didn’t like the light.
Captain Caveman came back in the evening to check on me and he had been having a great time. We sussed out that I was probably having an allergic reaction to something I’d eaten and we thought it could be whatever was in the sauce of the prawn dish that I shared. It was a similar reaction I had suffered on 2 separate occasions; one was caused by scallops, the other by clams in a lobster bisque.
Captain Caveman went back to the party and they had a lovely time, I went back to sleep hoping to be better tomorrow.

I woke up feeling weak but much better on Monday 12th September, we desperately needed to get some laundry done so we decided we would do that. Summer Memories hotel, where we were staying in Pefkos, didn’t offer a laundry service so we got a bus to nearby Lardos. After walking in the hot sun to the launderette and back, we met Michelle and Steve for lunch. I just had chips, Captain Caveman had a toastie, Michelle and Steve shared Gyros and a spring roll. The food was nice and not too expensive with a nice view of Lardos square. For dessert Captain Caveman and I went to the local bakery and ice-cream shop where I can’t recall seeing a happier Captain Caveman. He had 2 scoops of pistachio ice-cream in a cone, I had an apple sorbet.
We got the bus back and chilled at the hotel with a couple of glasses of our Lidl wine. It was actually really good for €3.50 but meant we didn’t have time to get in the swimming pool.

We went back in to town by bus, only €1.80 for both of us each way. We decided to eat at Valantina’s in Lardos which looked really nice. I got a table and ordered water and wine while Captain Caveman walked to get the laundry (€10 for a big bag full). I was surprised to see that there was a girl with a bikini top on and a guy without a shirt eating dinner behind me – it wasn’t that warm! I had a steak and Captain Caveman had a lamb shank which were both lovely and the pomegranate flavoured ouzo went down well.
Captain Caveman even had another pistachio flavoured ice-cream from the same bakery to finish off the night while I had an amaretto sour at Memories bar. The bar man let Captain Caveman bring his ice-cream in but then he had a beer to finish the night off. We got a taxi back, although it was tricky to flag one down, we were in bed before 11pm as we had a busy day tomorrow!

Rhodes – 10th September

We landed at Rhodes airport a bit later than scheduled so it was only minutes in to Saturday 10th September that we were in a pre-booked taxi. Our friends, Michelle and Steve, had recommended a nice little boutique hotel in Rhodes Town so we had booked in to there. We arrived at the old town taxi rank, by the port, at 12.30am and walked up the hill and winding cobbled streets to Evdokia where we had booked a double room. It seemed a tad frivolous to have spent €95 on a double room with breakfast but we had heard that Rhodes Town was expensive.
The room was upstairs and had the key in the door and a note with our names on because there wasn’t 24 hour reception. Our room was quite small and my first impression of Rhodes Town was that it was pretty but not great for disabled people. We had no running water so were unable to take a shower after a long journey and there was nowhere to get any drinking water. We put the AC on and went to bed around 1am, after getting messages from the owner to apologise about the water.
We were of the first up for breakfast at 8.30am and we met the lovely owner, Savvas. His omelettes are well known so Captain Caveman ordered one while I just had bread and jams, there were lots of different jams on offer. We checked out about 10.30am and went off to meet Michelle and Steve as planned, at the fountain down the road.

Steve & Michelle are the couple I met at Deep Blue Bar in Fethiye on a trip with my parents, Julio, Vanessa & Matt, Mark & Kate and have since been members of the Deep Blue Leg-ends (DBL) after Steve broke his ankle that night, on the dance floor. Captain Caveman was about to meet them for the first time as we had been invited for a meal tonight in Pefkos for Steve’s 40th birthday.
While Michelle waited for Julio at the port, Steve came to meet us at the fountain and it was great to see he was walking without crutches, albeit with a limp and still a bit of pain. It was great to meet up again and introduce him to my other half, he walked us through the cobbled streets and down to the ferry port. Here, we met up with Michelle and I was pleased to see Captain Caveman getting on with my friends straight away. We waited a while for Julio, the Turkish looking Italian Welshman from Fethiye, who was in the queue to be let in to Greece. He arrived a little disgruntled at the lengthy wait but happy to see everyone again and to meet Captain Caveman. We all walked to Michelle’s car where she had very kindly offered to give us a lift to Pefkos, we were even given a bottle of water which was needed after standing in the hot sun.
Our first stop was an absolute treat; Rhodes has a Lidl where our friends needed to call in to. It’s no understatement of how excited Julio, Captain Caveman and I were to see the prices of wine in there and we bought as much as we could carry. The most expensive bottle of Merlot was under €6 and the others spotted warm sausage rolls, which they ate by the car. Captain Caveman even went back in to price up and check on the cuts of pork, thinking we would take some back to Turkey.
Michelle dropped us off at our hotel, Summer Memories, which was basic but very nice while Julio carried on with them. We were a bit knackered and wanted to unpack and get ready for tonight as we knew it might be a late one! The birthday meal was booked for 7pm so we decided we had better scrub up and look lively. Michelle, Steve & Julio came to pick us back up at 6.30pm and we drove a short way to meet the rest of the party.

Philosophia Beach Restaurant in Pefkos was a gorgeous place for a birthday meal. We arrived in time to watch the sunset and meet the rest of the party over a refreshing drink. I ordered a bottle of white wine and some soda water while Captain Caveman had a beer. We took some photos but it didn’t do it justice, really. For dinner Captain Caveman had pâté, I had garlic mushrooms and we both had the pork for main. The food was lovely and I even did a little sharing with a guest to my right who had a prawn dish.
After the meal we had a champagne toast, of which I had two because Julio gave me his.

Our next venue was a lovely pub, near to where we were staying, called Pal’s. Here we had a wonderful birthday celebration with drinking, dancing and singing to the live act, who were absolutely brilliant. Most of us joined in with the frivolities, including Steve getting on the dance floor. It was a very merry night and we had a right old laugh – I even had some birthday cake which was so good and we were still there after midnight.

Holland to Greece – 9th September

We were up early on Friday 9th September and it was a bitter sweet morning; Captain Caveman was pouring away rum (crikey) because we couldn’t take it on our flight at 4.40pm! It was a Friday so I did my measurements only to find I’d increased between 0.5cm (calves) and 4cm (hips) everywhere, except for reducing my bust by 1cm. That wasn’t great news but still we went down for our included breakfast at the Ibis hotel. Captain Caveman was feeling rough after drinking too much IPA last night and we were meeting Ingrid for brunch in Rotterdam so I made a sandwich and took a gluten free cracker for my hotel breakfast takeaway. Captain Caveman hardly ate anything and I just had a piece of ginger cake with butter and some fruit juice. As we were leaving the dining area, me with a sandwich in a serviette in my grasp, the receptionist told us the manager wanted to have a chat with us. I thought I was going to get told off for stealing sandwiches! The manager came out and told us there had been a mistake when we checked in and that the breakfast wasn’t included at all. If we had known that, we wouldn’t have bothered paying for it but Captain Caveman seemed not to be functioning well at all and agreed to pay the €36 extra when we checked out.

Captain Caveman was still rather unwell when we arrived at Bake & Moore to meet Ingrid, who was already waiting for us.
Ingrid and I ordered an English scone (with jam and cream) and a croissant each, on account of Queen Elizabeth II dying yesterday. It was the appropriate thing to do given that we heard the news while we were living it up in FoodHallen, in Rotterdam.
If Captain Caveman could have called in dead he probably would have and, as my friend and I chatted away, we kept seeing that he looked extremely peaky.
Ingrid kindly gave us a lift to Rotterdam station where we had booked the Flixbus, because today there was a train strike. We said goodbyes while holding back tears and hoped it wouldn’t be as long until we met up again.

After being dropped off at Rotterdam station by Ingrid, we sheltered inside as the rain was coming a bit heavy and it was quite cold. Only Captain Caveman had brought a long sleeved top and coat, I hadn’t but had lent the blue top which was of course too big for me. As we waited for the Flixbus I needed the toilet and decided to try to find one, at the same time as another customer. We were both helped by a member of the Flixbus team who said it was her bus to Schiphol airport, in Amsterdam, and she would wait for us while popped in to Subway, the sandwich shop. As we left Rotterdam, Amsterdam airport bound, the rain poured and it was a little bit sad that this part of our trip had come to an end.

When we got to the airport it was a bit weird. As warned by our friends, the airport was overcrowded and understaffed. Walkways had been constructed to push the queues of people back out of the building then back in via a serpentine route. There were signs up to tell us how long it would be to the front and so I got my sandwiches out. It was organised chaos, I will give them that, and I’ve certainly been in worse airports but we noted we may try an alternative next time. We only just had enough time for Captain Caveman to visit Duty Free and for me to eat my remaining croissant with jam and cream.
When we got to the gate our flight to Athens was delayed but we didn’t really know what was going on. As we were boarding it was also chaos and we had to stand on the air-bridge for too long. Our transit time in Athens was only 1.5 hours and that was how delayed we were. We were a bit disappointed that we would not land in time to board our next flight to Rhodes but, as Captain Caveman pointed out, the airline would have to sort out some overnight accommodation for us.
I decided to relax and let our hotel know we were delayed once we arrived in Athens. We had red wine and a gluten free sandwich for our inflight meal with Aegean Airlines, then Captain Caveman had a snooze.
We were now due to land in Athens at 22.05 and our next flight should take off at 22.20.
There were 4 of us to get on that flight to Rhodes so they held it for us. One passenger feigned illness to get off the first flight before everyone else but we still got on the same bus to the main building, where she was absolutely fine.
We got on the flight, I messaged our hotel to say we were on our way but 1.5 hours late.

Holland – 8th September

Our day in Holland on Thursday 8th September was such a great one however it started with comedy gold from Dalyan!
I’d slept very well in my single bed at the Ibis and woke up to updates on the group chat with Kate and Sausage Dick. I won’t bore you with the finer details but needless to say, an early morning sausage exchange for Kate proved harder than she had imagined. She came away from meeting Sausage Dick at his hotel with more sausage than she had requested, but less than she had paid for, as well as the pair of them managing to lose 2 lots of sausage in the process. Both Kate and Sausage Dick were apologetic and stressed about the situation while Captain Caveman and I could only laugh about the debacle.
After our (included) breakfast at the Ibis hotel, we took a bus and a train in to The Hague for a bit of shopping and a nice walk about. The ticket was €4 each for both bus and train and lasts for 2 hours. Captain Caveman needed Toothy Tabs from Lush, they are great for when he’s in the cave or for travelling without liquids. I’d also bought a couple of shampoo bars for the same reason but had got them on offer at the local ‘Superdrug’ style shop (€15 for 2). We walked through the lovely streets of The Hague to meet a friend for lunch at Mama Mia restaurant. We found it easily and had arrived early so we ordered a glass of wine.

We know Quang (and his Dad) from Vietnam so it was great to see him again in Holland, where he is studying. We chatted a lot and even surprised Quang’s dad with a video call from us all. The pizzas were absolutely amazing and I really loved Mama Mia’s. Quang wasn’t drinking as he had work to do that afternoon but we had a limoncello as a toast. The whole bill came to €87 for 3 pizzas, 6 glasses of pinot grigio and a Coke Zero, the limoncello was free.
We said our goodbyes outside a museum, where we were about to go inside. It would turn out to be a bit of a revelation for me!

We had thought we might visit the Escher museum while we were in The Hague. Quang also said it was good to visit so we bought our tickets at 3pm for just €9.50. Our hotel had given us a discount, it is normally €11 each. We only had 2 hours as it closed at 5pm and, strangely, you have to put all bags in a locker but can have your phone to take photos. The place is amazing and if you get the chance to go it is very well presented and informative. I had a bit of an eye opener when I realised that all the early work of Esher had been plagiarised by me as a child. In our art class I had thought that our teacher had invented Tessellation, the specific fish and bird ones by Escher. I felt that my childhood had been ruined as I walked through the museum saying I’d done that at school. Captain Caveman thought this was amusing but I was feeling slightly cheated, I even sent a message to a friend to ask the name of the teacher but neither of us could remember.

At around 5pm we bought another ov-chipkaart for the public transport. This time we got the €9 ticket which enabled us to use multiple times on train, tram and bus for the rest of the day. We travelled from The Hague, which I loved, in to Rotterdam where we had arranged to meet Ingrid & Angelique at FoodHallen. Ingrid is my great friend who I have know for about 38 years, Angelique is a more recent friend who I met in Dalyan about a year ago – both ladies live and work in Rotterdam but had never met each other. Ingrid arrived first and, after some confusion over parking and how to get in to FoodHallen, we were reunited. It was great to see Ingrid and she looked really well. I’d already had 2 cherry beers, Captain Caveman was on the draft IPA but I switched to Heineken. Ingrid was driving so we went to have a look around the different food outlets. The place was very much like Wolf in Belgium but it turns out there is a similar one in the area because Angelique and Ingrid had both thought I meant the other place. I ordered Bau buns and edamame beans, Ingrid had a salmon poke bowl and Captain Caveman ordered meatballs. The food was very good, Angelique arrived from work but wasn’t eating and also was driving. We all got chatting and laughing quite a lot – we were out late for a school night. Captain Caveman used our public transport tickets to get back to the hotel, even though Ingrid kindly offered to drive us there. It had been such an amazing day so Captain Caveman and I had some rum and cokes back in the hotel room to celebrate. We also needed to try to finish the rum because tonight was, sadly, our last night in Holland.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman

Belgium to Holland – 7th September

There were previous plans made for the 7th September which we had to move or cancel. We were meant to be meeting a Dutch Dalyan friend, on our way from Belgium to Holland, for lunch but we couldn’t get the bus until the afternoon. We were meant to be seeing Ingrid but she had a funeral to attend and we moved our meeting to tomorrow. Meanwhile, Sausage Dick was going to be arriving in Dalyan later with some sausages (obviously) and Malt Loaf. He would be staying in a hotel so I’d arranged for Kate to meet with Sausage Dick to collect his delivery, give him his tobacco and sort the money out.
As we had a free morning before we had to leave Belgium we decided to take a train to Knokke, a posh seaside town. We were a bit woolly headed after last night’s shenanigans so we bought croissants at the shop on our way to the train. Captain Caveman fell asleep on the way to Knokke but by 10.15am we were walking past the Castle Huts. By 10.30am we were walking down the busy high street, then just 6 minutes later we were at the sea front eating our breakfast looking out to sea. We decided to walk the length of the promenade and it was quite a distance.

The beach was very quiet and had lots of fancy beach clubs along the way. We saw a good sign that would be useful in Dalyan, fining people for wearing swimmers when not on the beach. It took us just over an hour to walk it to the end then we came back, all the benches were wet so we couldn’t have a sit down until we got back to where we started. It was the longest I’d walked for, since before my injury and my legs ached.

Captain Caveman had got the idea that he would like to try the lobster rolls in Knokke so, after stopping for a dance with a bear then a beer in a sea front bar, we arrived at Lobster ‘n’ Rolls at 1pm. We debated ordering the Summer Lunch menu which looked great but settled on beers and a lobster roll each, truffle crisps and chips to share. Because I hate mayonnaise and can’t eat chillies, I had to ask for mine without sauce which was lovely but after only eating half we realised the time. We had to get back to the train station to catch the 2pm train. It was lucky we didn’t have the set lunch as I had to take half of my roll with me and I didn’t finish my beer. We couldn’t miss this train because we would only just have time to collect our bags from the hotel and get the bus, which we were booked on, to Rotterdam in Holland.

We had to hurry back to Knokke train station and we only just made the 2pm train, the last one to get us back to Bruges in time to collect our bags and get to the bus station.
By 3.40pm we were sat waiting for the Flixbus from Bruges to Rotterdam, this time we had reserved the front seats for the 3 hour journey. Captain Caveman kindly snaffled my remaining lobster roll so that I didn’t have a bad stomach for the journey.
When we arrived we went straight to Punjabi Food Stadhuisplein for a dinner which was really tasty, if not a bit on the spicy side for Holland. I had the butter chicken which came with loads of rice and a nan bread, Captain Caveman had a mixture of food on his tray. The homemade lemonade was good and the food was very tasty, I’d definitely recommend the place.
Our next mission was to get to our hotel, we got a €4 ov-chipkaart which can be used on public transport for up to 2 hours. We got a train to the nearest station and then had to wait 30 minutes for a bus. It was cold so Captain Caveman had to get me an extra top out. We had booked a double room at the Ibis Rotterdam The Hague airport hotel but when we arrived at almost 10.30pm they had no record of our booking. The girl on the reception eventually found it but, unfortunately, only had 1 room available which had single beds. She told us that we could have the beds moved together, that the booking included breakfast and we got the lift to our room on the 4th floor.
When we walked in to the room the single bed lay out was not for moving so we had to sleep in separate beds.

Bruges – 6th September

Tuesday 6th September was a rather eventful day. We woke up to disturbing news from a neighbour in Dalyan that our apartment block had a leaking roof. I was asked if I knew of anyone who could come and quote for the work because 2 contractors had not shown up. I got in touch with Leanne at King Emlak and asked her to send someone round. I also checked what the weather was like back in Dalyan because it seemed odd that it would be raining so much to make a roof leak in summer.
The next thing to cause concern was that there was a train strike due for this coming Friday. We were due to travel from Belgium to Holland by train to see my friend, Ingrid, so we immediately booked a bus instead when she let us know about the strike.
Captain Caveman went to the shops and came back with a pain au chocolat for me which was delicious, still not as good as Charli’s but better than at Maro.
After a busy morning we went for a walk in to town and Captain Caveman promised me a bit of a pub crawl. I could actually feel the proverbial carrot being dangled in front of me as he filled me with hope that the next stop would be for a snack or a beverage. Our pub crawl did not start well and, when questioned, Captain Caveman had to admit that he had thought the church coffee morning would turn out to be a bar, not an opportunity to sit down and chat about life’s problems.

I was getting a bit crotchety after over an hour of walking but then we happened upon a pub. We sat outside De Belleman, which was busy with diners and we had a nice Tongerlo beer each. We did some more walking along the canals and beside windmills until the next pub. At De Windmolen pub we had Hoegaarden Rosé and Bruges Zot beers with some cheese. There was no need for the cheese to have celery salt on but we managed to eat it anyway. We sat out in the sun and we really enjoyed this pub.
By 5pm we were in our 3rd pub, In De Reisduif, so the crawl was going pretty well. In this pub the Hoegaarden was only €2.80 (£2.44) so we had a couple in there while admiring the eclectic decor of this old man style boozer. Our last stop was more of an upmarket bar, the T’Molenhuis, not far from where we had arranged to meet friends for dinner. We sat on the pavement on high stools drinking Bruges Zot, the cheapest 33cl beer they had at €5!

At 6.30pm we had arranged to meet friends, Jo & Ben, at Du Phare, a restaurant recommended by Jo. We knew her from meeting in Phong Nha several years ago and had met up with her the last time we were in Bruges at Ribs ‘n’ Beer. Knowing that I would be eating less pork in Turkey I went for the pork ribs again, along with Ben, Jo had fish and Captain Caveman had the Beef stew. The food was absolutely amazing, we loved the view of the canal and the company was excellent. As the night was drawing to a close it started to rain so we moved under cover where Jo and I ate a fantastic chocolate dessert. As the rain poured there was only one thing to do, order several rounds of limoncello.
It was still raining when Jo and Ben had to cycle home, we were meant to be walking but decided to call a taxi. We waited in the bar with more drinks and got chatting to a nice bar man. He even made me promise to bring my mom to visit!
The taxi back to our hotel was only €18 and well worth it in the rain and cold (for us). Tonight was our last night in Bruges as tomorrow we had more exciting things planned.

Bruges – 5th September

Monday 5th September found me checking my emails as soon as I woke up. The Ibis hotel had good WiFi and a small desk behind the bathroom sink. Of course, our first priority was getting breakfast so we went to Maro, in Bruges. I had pain au chocolat with tea and Captain Caveman had a croissant with an espresso. They were good but not quite as perfect as Charli’s in Brussels. We did get a morsel of carrot cake to try though and that was pretty good. A table next to us was having the champagne brunch which looked good.

Our next stop was the Launderette as we were running short on clean clothes, I’d not quite accounted for it being so much cooler and had mainly shorts and dresses with me. Captain Caveman changed some more money, bought a conditioning bar, for my hair, and an adapter plug for our friends who were coming to Dalyan in September.

We had a lunch time stop off at De Halve Maan (The Half Moon) where I had 2 beers, Captain Caveman had 3 beers and we shared a cheese plate and an assorted charcuterie plate. The total came to €44.50 (£40 approx) which seemed reasonable.
We walked back to the hotel, it was cloudy but fairly warm. The cleaners had been and done a full clean even though it didn’t really need it.

That night we were booked in to Ribs ‘n’ Beer, where we ate at the last time we were in Bruges. It rained so we both got wet walking there and this was the first time I felt cold. Captain Caveman and I both had the all you can eat ribs and it was fantastic. The ribs were €23 each which was great value and our total bill, including 5 beers came to €68 (£60 approx). Walking the 20 minutes home was chilly but the rain had eased off and we were so full from so much food.

Brussels to Bruges – 4th September

We’d had a good sleep and a nice lay in on Sunday 4th September. The weather was a lot cooler than we were used to but the sun was shining. After breakfast with Captain Caveman’s family, we went to a place called Wolvendael where there was an event on. Lots of school children, and their parents, from the area had set up stalls in the park. It was a bit like a huge jumble sale but nicer. We strolled around the park and we even got to push Felix in the pram. After spending some time at the playground, we sauntered back home for our last family lunch. The visit to see Simon, Anna, and the 3 children went so quickly but we had loved every minute of it. After saying our goodbyes, Simon walked with Captain Caveman and I to the train station.

Our next stay was in Bruges, the train was just €14.70 each and didn’t take very long. We sat upstairs on the train and when we arrived at Bruges station our hotel was very close. Captain Caveman had chosen to stay at the Ibis hotel, right next to the train station on account of us needing somewhere convenient for exploring and not too expensive.
When we arrived my first impressions were good, the hotel was basic but had everything we needed. We didn’t even unpack before we were walking to a place for dinner and beers.

It was about a 30 minute walk to Pizzeria Aguila, but it was worth it. We drank 2 Hoegaarden beers and 1 Jupiler beer each, shared a caprese salad and ordered a pizza each. Captain Caveman had read that it was the 7th best pizza restaurant in Bruges so I had to wonder how good the others could possibly be. The bill came to €73.30 which was just less than £65 so I didn’t think it was too bad for Bruges. I got a bit of a surprise in the toilet with a strange doll staring at me and we took half of my pizza back to the hotel.
In the hotel room we decided to open the bottle of Havana Club rum we had bought at duty free, we had it with a coke and the rest of the pizza.
The room was surprisingly comfy and cosy, which was lucky as we would be here for 3 nights.