Dalyan – 20th May

I’d not seen the family since Saturday so I’d arranged to introduce Gayle to a better class of cocktail on Wednesday 20th May. She’d tried some elsewhere but they didn’t seem strong enough and I’d asked if she fancied Luz after Fat Club. Neil was temporarily back in the UK for work so she had been left alone and I didn’t think my parents would want to come. Luz is quite pricey and is a little bit different compared to the usual haunts but their margaritas are ace. It is generally a place out of my budget but I did try it with Captain Caveman when he was here and we really enjoyed the strong cocktails and nibbles, which had some gluten free options. Hence why I’d suggested it for Gayle to experience it as a treat. I also asked Gayle if they all fancied coming round for a home cooked curry for dinner after Luz and she said she’d get back to me as I needed to know who likes chickpeas, courgettes and aubergines before I popped it in the slow cooker.
I took my measurements to find I’d put 1cm on my hips, 2cm on my waist but stayed the same on my bust. The home scales said I’d put on 0.45kg (1lb) but I hoped Carol’s scales would be more favourable.
I cracked on with work and then, just before lunch it rained unexpectedly, hopefully it would stop by 4.15pm.
Mom messaged to say they didn’t fancy coming for curry tonight but they would come to see what these fancy cocktails were all about. Instead, she suggested we go out for a family meal and that I save the curry for another night. At noon I had a tech session on automated email set ups on Mailerlite, despite not having Mailerlite.
I set off early for Fat Club as I was in charge,  Carol had her family here and couldn’t attend today. A few of us decided to have wine and I also had a water as I was thirsty. I paid 200 lira (£3.33) for both and found I had still put on 0.5kg (1lb) which wasn’t surprising at all. The scales were actually on the blink as one lady lost more than 50kg and she’s the smallest lady there. Luckily, we planned a whip round to get a new set as a surprise for Carol next week.
I popped home to drop bags off and then met the family for a walk to Luz. I wasn’t sure if Dad might be a bit out of sorts as he wasn’t too chatty and when we got to Luz it didn’t suit him at all – I think it was the price of an Efes Malt being 280 lira (£4.67) which caught him off guard! I explained it wasn’t really a place to drink beer and we should have a cocktail or wine. Dad looked like he was in pergatory, while Mom tried to coax him in to trying something nice to drink. Gayle and I ordered margaritas which were 660 lira (£11) each and were bloody lovely. Ma & Pa eventually settled on sangria at 430 lira (£7.17) each but Dad didn’t like that it had a tiny paper straw. I necked my glass of water so he could put his unwanted garnish and his straw in. This meant I no longer had a glass to partake in the free water and was likely to be drunk easier. I suggested food as they had cheese fondu and gluten free nachos but no one fancied that. Gayle and I thought our cocktails were excellent and ordered another, Dad still looked like we had dragged him to the gallows but Mom assured us the sangria was nice and ordered 2 more. Our bill for the 8 drinks and 2 jugs of water came to 4,360 lira (£72.67) which Gayle thought was reasonable. I appreciated the value despite it costing my usual weekly budget and I don’t think Ma & Pa were in a rush to return in the future. Gayle ended up paying the bill and we paid 200 lira (£3.33) each for the tip. We decided it would be a good idea for Dad to choose where we ate, considering his reaction to my choice of Luz. He decided Bistro Blue, an old family favourite of ours which we’d not been to since Annie left.

On the way, we decided to call in to Dalyan Lounge for a drink and to say hello to Captain Boris, whose boat trip we were on tomorrow. Once at Dalyan Lounge, Dad was back on good form and on the Efes Malt while the rest of us sampled various cocktails. We had 2 beers and 6 cocktails which came to a total of 2,600 lira (£43.33) and I paid that bill to even it up a bit.

At Bistro Blue we had a warm welcome and sat at a nice table near to the kitchen. I was a bit concerned about how much the meal might cost, but Gayle and Mom had said they wanted to pay for my meal – I think they felt guilty for turning down my offer of a delicious gluten free curry night. At Bistro Blue we got a good deal on the Angora wine, while Gayle had surf and turf, I had steak with pepper sauce, our parents had liver and onions. Dad had cheered right up and had picked well for the evening meal so we even splashed out on 2 baklava and ice-cream between the 3 of us, while Gayle had a brandy coffee. I was pleasantly surprised that the prices at Bistro Blue were reasonable and the food was excellent, we even got a discount for paying cash. Here’s what we had with the prices in lira so you can see for yourself:

Bistro Blue
1 litre water 110
Brandy Coffee 420
Liver & onions with mash 990
2 Baklava & ice-cream 1,000
Liver, onions, bacon with chips 1,090
Fillet steak 200g 1,250
Surf n Turf 1,850
2 bottles of Angora wine 2,000
Total 8,710 lira (£145.17)
Discount for cash – 910 lira (£15.17)
Tip 1,000 lira (£16.67)
Total paid 8,800 lira (£146.67)

Ma and Gayle paid 4,000 lira (£66.67) each and I paid just 800 lira (£13.33) towards the tip. We all really enjoyed the meal and ended up having another drink in the bar side before going home quite late. Today I had spent a total of £63.32 despite others paying for my meal and tomorrow we had another expensive day coming up.

Gratitude List

1. The rain not lasting long

2. Chaos being in charge at Fat Club

3. Time spent with the family.