Dalyan – 13th & 14th August

By 9.30am on Tuesday 13th August I was in the supermarket getting some essentials, having been to the bank to deposit more cash. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
3 onions 4.48
Fresh bread 10.00
Pasta 10.75
Milk 28.25
Chickpeas/beans 31.90
Tinned Tomatoes 40.95
Carrots 49.67
Cheese spread 54.00
400g Mushrooms 59.95
Total spent 289.95 lira (£6.77)

Having read some Facebook posts about how expensive everything was in Turkey now, I was pleasantly surprised to have got a bag of shopping for less than £7 and was definitely not seeing a massive increase, yet. For breakfast I had some fresh bread with cheese spread and a cup of Yorkshire tea and then for lunch I had a cheese sandwich without butter. I was going to put a wash on as I realised Ma & Pa had a washing basket of stuff that could do with putting in the machine and I had quite a bit to do too. I popped to the A101 shop and bought 1.5kg of washing powder which was on offer at 62.75 lira (£1.47) which was pretty cheap. I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and washing, then I popped round to Jamie’s to pick up my cases. I met the nephews who were very polite young men as well as having a quick catch up with Jamie and Drew. Of course, I got to have some love with the dogs, Norman and Edna, who seemed happy to see me and Edna wanted to know if I’d got any wine!
Back home I made a simple mushroom and tomato pasta, using a bit of pasta water and a cheese spread triangle for the sauce. It was Fat Club weigh in tomorrow, after several weeks in England, and I knew it was going to be bad so I ate some cheese and crackers before bed. My total syns for the week were 393 so I really needed to get back to the Slimming World plan in an effort to shift some of the weight I had so clearly put back on.

At 8.30am on Wednesday 14th August I was at the bank putting in the rest of the lira required in my Turkish bank account to maintain my residency. It had taken a bit of effort but I’d managed and had a little bit at the ready for next month. By 9am I was in the supermarket again getting more shopping now that I’d had time to plan a bit, for what I would need. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Potatoes 5.58
Red cabbage 27.53
2 tomato puree 31.90
1 tin chopped tomatoes 40.95
Sweet potatoes 41.86
2 Quark 59.90
Chicken thighs 121.97
Chicken breasts 148.54
Spray olive oil 149.90
Total spent 628.13 lira (£14.68)

There was a definite increase in the price of meat and Quark since I’d last been here but it was still very cheap in comparison to the UK. I called round to see Sonuç, of Dalyan Airport Transfers, to pay him for my taxi which was £30 but I gave him 1300 lira.
Back home, I did my measurements to find I had lost 3cm from my bust, my waist had stayed the same and I had put 2cm on my hips. I had Yorkshire tea and some chocolate for breakfast, which wasn’t ideal, then cracked on with some work. Today marked 2 months of working for this employer which meant it would be pay day tomorrow. It would be given to Captain Caveman, so I still didn’t physically have it and I had to be ultra-careful with money until he arrived in October.
At 3pm, I was at Fat Club to face Carol’s new scales and a funky new app that tells you lots of information about your body. I had put on 1.6kg (3.5lbs) in the last week but 4kg (9lbs) since I was last at Fat Club 6 weeks ago. I had a small water which now cost 25 lira (58p) and a good natter with the girls who were all looking fabulous and had lost more weight while I had been in England.
After Fat Club, and feeling motivated to get back on the wagon, at least until the weekend, I called in to the supermarket again for some fruit. Here’s what I got, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Plums 20.55
Nectarines 32.07
Curry powder 39.95
Oats 47.95
Frozen berries 99.95
Total spent 240.47 lira (£5.62)

For my very late lunch I had more mushroom pasta followed by nectarines with Quark then got back to work, but not before throwing a few ingredients in to the slow cooker for a chicken casserole.
After work, I ate some crackers and cheese spread while I waited for the casserole to be finished for dinner. Captain Caveman called, he was on holiday from the caves and had a trip to Cambodia planned. Instead of a glass of wine, I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, unpacked my Clinique moisturiser and had an early night.