Dalyan – 9th January

Bill and Jaxx were due to land back in Dalaman airport on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th January. They were coming in on the Manchester flight that my parents were going back on. The rain was heavy, I’d already packed and just had to put the remaining fridge contents in my rucksack. Lucy had taken to being able to open the downstairs door and was already coming upstairs to tell me she wanted a walk. I borrowed Jaxx’s wellies, popped a woolly hat on and took Lucy out. She was unusually giddy in the rain and didn’t half slosh about. Back home, I dried her with towels, she was quite muddy, then I left her in the house while I took Big Boy out. He also loved the rainy walk and was pretty sprightly. He had seen Lucy get a drying and so he wanted to get one too. They both had a biscuit and a lay down on a towel. I had to phone Fikri for a taxi back home as it was still pouring it down. I shoved my stuff in the apartment and would unpack later as my parents were on their way for our final goodbye. Ma brought me a bag of spare provisions that she’d not managed to use, which I would certainly not let go to waste. We had arranged to go for breakfast at Ela’s Kitchen as my parents had a long journey ahead but they weren’t getting picked up until 12.45pm.

At Ela’s we all went a bit mad by ordering different permutations of the Full English breakfasts. Nicola and Sev, the owners, are great and are so good at accommodating my fussy requirements, plus they do amazing food and a great cup of tea. Dad went for the large one, no mushrooms (I asked Nicola to put his mushrooms on mine). Mom went for the large one, no toast. I ordered the large but asked if Dad could have my eggs and tomato, in exchange for his mushrooms.
My parents had a cappuccino and a latte, I had 2 cups of tea. The food was fantastic and we all left some! Mom was a proper lightweight and should have gone for the small! Dad did a remarkable job of eating his, considering the amount of eggs and tomatoes he had! I had the luxury of being able to take my leftovers home.
Here’s the prices for those who like to know what we paid, bearing in mind pork and English products are obviously more expensive in Turkey because of being imported;

3 large Full English 1125
2 coffees 140
2 teas 120
Total spent 1385 lira (£36.45)

That worked out at £12.15 each and we were all so full! The FEB was 375 lira (£9.87) each but it is a massive portion!

We walked back towards mine, in the rain, after my parents got some sweets for the flight. We said our goodbyes, not quite knowing when exactly we’d see each other but probably in Sheffield in July, if not before. I tried not to cry as we hugged but I was a bit teary when I got back indoors. I went to hang my wet coat up and noticed my hair wasn’t the best, due to the moisture! I unpacked Ma’s shopping bag and unpacked all my stuff. In the afternoon I got settled in, made shopping lists, tidied up, had a naughty chocolate bar and a bit of fruit cake! I’d got weigh day tomorrow and it wasn’t looking good. My birthday was this week too and people had asked what the plan was this year. I decided I didn’t want to celebrate it on my actual birthday. I’d still not been paid so couldn’t afford to go out for a meal and drinks. Some sensible friends were doing Dry January too so I decided, instead, to set up an event for the 1st of next month, just to go out for some drinks.
For dinner (yes, I was eating yet again!) I made a prawn and veg stir fry with a peanut sauce and steamed rice. My weekly syn count was a bit of a joke at 334, not including at least 2 packs of Strepsils! I got a message from Jaxx to confirm all was good and we had a laugh when she told me that they don’t bother walking the dogs if it’s raining heavily!!! I didn’t mind as Big Boy and Lucy had loved it and I found it quite therapeutic.
To round off my day, I had a video call with Captain Caveman before he went to bed, then I sat on the sofa and watched a bit of Netflix. It was nice to be home, but I wasn’t going to get too comfy – I was off dog sitting again in 4 days!