Dalyan – 31st May

I had a lovely day on Sunday 31st May and, because last Sunday I had wasted it being miserable, I decided to take myself off for brunch today. One of my favourite places is Mornings in Mavi where I enjoyed a white flower and strawberry tea with a granola bowl in the cute cafe. The owner’s wife turned up with a tray of freshly made cookies which I could not resist buying one for later. The food is so fresh and tasty there, so I always enjoy it for a treat. I paid a total of 600 lira (£10) including a small tip and I was off back to see Norman.
I called round to see friends for a sage tea and a good catch up as we hadn’t seen each other in a while. It was nice to hear about their holidays and also planned trips.
Jamie called from the British Virgin Islands and was enjoying his trip so much that he mentioned he was considering telling Norman he had to move house again. Norman wasn’t up for that and seemed a bit sad after hearing from Jamie, so we had to make sofa cuddles a priority.
As I was dog sitting, I had not gone on one of the boat trips today, but Nanny Kay had popped round when she got back to say hello to me and little Norman. The boat trip had been good and I was sad to have missed it. We had another video call from Jamie while Nanny Kay and I were together. I had a veggie curry and a glass of wine for dinner while watching TV with Norman.
It was the end of Bayram and I only had 2 days to get my monthly amount in to my bank account so I stayed up until after midnight to do it as soon as possible in the new month.
I had finished the last few days within a frugal budget level and had recouped some of the overspend. I’d been a bit too optimistic to think I could spend just £550 in May (less than £20 per day) but had actually spent £700.
Despite spending a whopping £700 in May, I had a really great month, especially spending time with family on fabulous boat trips and meals out. I worked out I had still only spent just less than 30% more than Turkey’s minimum wage and had been a tourist for at least a week of this month.
My budget for June was a hard one to set because I was going back to the UK for 10 days, I had a girls trip to Spain planned, then the River cruise Fam Trip and an extra stay in Vienna, plus some flights still to change or book. I decided to limit my June budget to £25 per day and see if I could finish June under £750. Was I being realistic, though? It was going to be a test to stick to any sort of budget but I was going to try.
My weight loss for this month had not gone as hoped but I was at least 1kg (2lb) lighter at the end of the month than at the beginning – I could do better though.
It was unfortunate that there had been a family fall out where it was perceived that I was causing the issue but staying away would hopefully resolve that.
I was also preparing to be visiting the UK again for some summer adventures with Captain Caveman.


Gratitude List
1. Breakfast at Mornings in Mavi
2. Seeing friends
3. Getting through to the end of May over budget but still being quite frugal.