Dalyan – 15th February

There was a bit of excitement on Sunday 15th February as the flights for Poland and Brussels were going to be booked today. Captain Caveman had already said he would book our two and our good friend, Louisa, was going to be booking hers as we had invited her to join our adventure. Captain Caveman was going to Poland for 5 days of Bridge so this meant Louisa and I could be off exploring without him during some of the trip and then in Belgium we planned to introduce her to the Brussels Beer Festival and our favourite kebab place. I was so excited that I went for a walk outside not realising how bad the floods had been, the Dalyan river was now starting to overflow. The worry among the Dalyan Dwellers, who like to drink in Tapa bar, was if they would still be able to get in the front door! I stopped to take some photos, my phone was still playing up and kept deleting stuff but today I managed to get quite a few that saved. I always say hello to the street dogs who I’ve called Bowie and Dexter, they are friendly and love a little stroke.
I decided to go to the shops, despite already having almost blown the budget by spending £37 on food and drink out this weekend. So that I wouldn’t throw in the towel on Frugal February, I cheated a bit and isolated that particular expense to see if, without that, I would still be able to save money. Otherwise I knew I’d just admit I’d failed and not continue to be frugal.
I took the day off while it had stopped raining and wanted to buy some things in readiness for Captain Caveman arriving next weekend. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Onions 6.33
Bleach 45.95
6 Eggs 59.95
Olives 61.50
Wholemeal bread 99.50
1.5kg whole chicken 124.24
3 Quark 167.85
Mouthwash & shower gel pack 259.95
Total spent 825.27 lira (£13.99)

Parlak Bakery
Bread & Simit 30 lira (51p)

I’d not heard back from Captain Caveman about the flights so I set up a Facebook group with him, Louisa and I so that he could post any instructions on which flights to book. I’d already let him know that I would be meeting a friend at 2pm at the tea gardens and wouldn’t have WiFi. I spent less than 50 lira (85p) on tea and we had a good chat. My friend had organised a boat trip for next Sunday which we were going on and she was looking forward to seeing Captain Caveman.
It was 5.30pm when I left and walked home to see a load of activity in the Poland/Belgium group chat, plus a missed call from Louisa. Nevertheless, it was all booked! As I scrolled through the updates and screenshots I still wasn’t convinced we were all on the same flights but Captain Caveman and Louisa seemed to have it all under control. I was really looking forward to it, especially as this would be my first visit to Poland.
While I chatted to Louisa I prepared a Sunday dinner, she was also excited and had been to Poland before but not the Beer Festival. We laughed as I think Captain Caveman had been a bit vague on his plans for me to be a Bridge Widow, although it had all worked out well now that I had a friend to keep me from moaning at him for playing too much Bridge! My Sunday dinner was lovely and after that, I spoke to Captain Caveman who was also excited to have got our trip booked. This time next week he would be here in Dalyan with me.

Gratitude List
1. A morning walk
2. Catching up with a friend at the tea gardens
3. Finalising the Poland/Belgium plans.