London & Gatwick – 17th January

My flight from Gatwick to Dalaman was scheduled for 5.15pm on Saturday 17th January. It was my last day in Barnes and we had great plans for my last morning. My friend, Claire and her daughter were on the way over to join us for breakfast. Even though I’d been in England for 18 days (plus 8 in Morocco), it had been quite tricky to meet up with friends. I appreciated most had family or Christmas and New Year commitments so it had only been possible in the last week, but I’d already planned to be back at work and celebrating birthdays with my sister. I really understood that not all friends could put themselves out for me being back in town but I really appreciated the ones who did. Claire drove from Kent to Barnes where Captain Caveman had cooked a superb breakfast for us all – even popping to Barnes Farmer’s Market for fresh produce.
Of course, I had decided to repack my case in the garden room and was mid pack when my friend arrived. They helped me try to get my massive case with all the food in, to under 15kg. Gill brought down the scales and we weighed them several times until we were sure they were under the weight limit.
After catching up and planning to see each other more in 2026, it was time to get to the airport. Captain Caveman isn’t one for airport farewells so I knew he was hoping I’d leave him in Barnes so he could get on with playing some Bridge. I decided he should come with us so at least if my suitcase weighed heavy he could take some stuff back home. Being the practical sort, he agreed and brought my empty rucksack which we had already decided wouldn’t fit in my case.

We had a nice drive to Gatwick airport from Barnes and I was grateful to spend a bit more time with Claire who had very kindly offered to take me to the airport. It costs £10 now to drop someone off at Gatwick which was a bit extreme and Claire ended up paying that. We said our farewells and we had a plan to get together in the summer which I was very excited about.
Captain Caveman came in to the airport and to the bag drop where things didn’t go to plan. My case weighed 17.8kg on the easyJet scales and I had to remove items. Captain Caveman was on it and took out some of my clothes, the frozen crumpets, tomato paste and curry pastes which I had multiple of. He took out some other products and when we weighed at just over 15kg the member of staff said that was ok. As they got distracted with another member of staff asking about my hand luggage, Captain Caveman slipped a few items back in to the case. Those scales were very biased so we were a bit annoyed and I was glad Captain Caveman was there. The goodbye wasn’t too bad as Captain Caveman had already planned to come out to see me in 5 week’s time, but I still got upset. We had spent almost a month together and I had felt very lucky at all the treats and experiences I’d had with him – even spending Christmas Day in Barking had been fun.

Once through security at Gatwick airport, where I didn’t need to take anything out of my bag and more than 100ml liquids were allowed, I decided I would have a look for some new headphones. The ones I had been borrowing from Captain Caveman had fell apart so I had left them with him. I decided I would use the rest of my birthday money to get myself a good pair, they did cost £49.99 but were noise cancelling, which I wanted. At the gate, my hand luggage underseat bag got checked and the man behind me had to pay extra for being a few centimetres over as easyJet were being really strict – he tried to argue as he works for easyJet but they were having none of it and charged him £34. On the flight, I was sat in 14D which was an aisle seat behind the exit row and had a couple sat next to me and 2 young women in the seats across the aisle from me. When the flight attendant came round she asked if the 3 of us in our row were together, I said not and she asked me and the 2 women across the aisle to move forward a seat, to the exit row. The man on my row wasn’t too happy about that as he wanted to move but the staff member said no to him, without a reason. Ironically, my underseat case which now had the wheels off to fit the specification, had to go in the overhead locker and I could put the wheels back on.

During the flight, I decided to celebrate the end of my fabulous 26 day holiday with the 2 for 1 prosecco and a chicken teriyaki with jasmine rice. It cost me £23.95 which was expensive but I really enjoyed it. I watched something on Netflix and filled in more of my copy of The Handy Travel Planner with all the new travel plans I had for 2026; Madrid, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Brussels, more Turkey and a couple of unknowns yet. I ended up spending another £12.50 on more Prosecco and I opened the midget gems which I’d stuffed in my coat pocket. I fell asleep before midnight and was due to land by 12.30am.

Gratitude List
1. A delicious Barnes breakfast with everyone
2. Getting to see Claire and her daughter
3. Having had such a great 26 days away that I was sad to be leaving.

Pontecarlo to London – 16th January

Friday 16th January was a busy day as Captain Caveman and I started work early in our respective working from home offices. We had train tickets booked to London later so had planned for a 4pm finish. I had a video sent from Dagne in Majorca who had taken time to have a proper look at her new copy of The Handy Travel Planner and she loved it. I was pleased as she was the first non-UK person to get her hands on a copy. It was great feedback that the planner also worked in other countries and for foreigners who spoke English.

By 4pm Captain Caveman and I had logged off and were ready to leave Pontecarlo. For me, it would be the last time I’d be in this house as Captain Caveman was moving out in March. He’d decided to move to Sheffield and I was pleased he would be moving to somewhere he would probably be happier and have more of a social life.
The taxi came and we got to the train station to see a few trains were delayed. Ours came and it was full, with kids sitting in our seats. Captain Caveman turfed them out and we sat down, cracked open a train tin and started to relax. I went to the cafe carriage to get us more light refreshments (gin & tonic for him, wine for me), plus a snack and the journey seemed to go very quickly. The train journey price was £19.80 each from Ponte to London King’s Cross, then £4.20 each to Barnes which I thought was quite reasonable.

When we arrived in Barnes, at Captain Caveman’s parents’ home, it was gone 8.30pm. As we said our hellos I could smell a roast dinner cooking (nothing gets past me). Captain Caveman had failed to mention that his parents were doing a full on roast pork dinner for my last dinner in the UK – I almost cried. In the living room with a glass of wine, more excitement came as I opened a delayed Christmas gift from a friend – a thoughtful bottle of Argentinian Malbec and some caramel cheesecake macarons. We decided to have these with dinner and for afters we ate cheese and biscuits then the macarons. It was such a lovely last evening in the UK and I knew that this time I was going to miss it more than usual.

Gratitude List
1. Dagne’s video with The Handy Travel Planner
2. A belated Christmas gift
3. A lovely family meal in Barnes.

If being better prepared for your future holidays is something you would like to happen, you can get my planner here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Pontecarlo – 15th January

On Thursday 15th January both Captain Caveman and I worked from his home in Pontecarlo – he in his upstairs office and me in the living/dining room. There was much excitement as my colleague and friend in Majorca received The Handy Travel Planner – the first one to get to Spain and it had took 3 weeks! Dagne was so pleased and she sent me photos from Majorca and would send me a video tomorrow as she was on her way to work now.

I finished work at 12 to go meet Louisa, who had very kindly driven from Sheffield to come to meet me at The Carleton pub for lunch. As we’d picked a dog friendly pub, she had brought Bodhi too. We had a good catch up and decided to order some starters to share as our main meal so that we would have room for their fab jam roly poly and custard. I was glad I’d got to see Louisa and have cuddles with Bodhi, who was very well behaved in the pub, as I’d not had enough time to catch up with her when I was in Sheffield. It was also good to chat about potential holiday plans together for later this year. Louisa very kindly treated me to my lovely lunch for my birthday and unfortunately I had to get back to my desk.

After a few more hours on some admin and quotes, I finished for the day. As tonight was my last in Pontecarlo, Captain Caveman decided he wanted to take me out for a last birthday celebration and we could choose between Indian or Thai. We had a walk to the Grocer’s Arms pub. The music was great and they served proper beers and ciders at reasonable prices. The man serving was friendly and the punters all seemed interesting – a local walking group was in when we were there.

Next, we went to Mumbai of Pontefract where we ordered the shared starter with fish, samosa, pakora, chicken tikka and onion bhaji. We ordered the non-alcoholic wine which the waiter said was £4 for a bottle but was actually £4 a glass. It tasted better than I thought it would be and they didn’t sell alcohol in there. For main, Captain Caveman had a spicy dish and I had a chicken tikka (no sauce), we shared all the accompaniments and the food was ok. It was not the best Indian we had been to and just 5 minutes after finishing eating I was in the toilet with a really bad stomach! It cost just under £50 which Captain Caveman paid for and we were both a bit disappointed that I was ill. The reason we had chosen the Indian was I didn’t want to be unwell for the train down to London tomorrow, too – so maybe we should have gone for Thai.
We walked home, with me feeling rubbish and only just made it home to the bathroom. I had to go straight to bed to rest too.

Gratitude List
1. Seeing Louisa and Bodhi for birthday celebrations at lunch
2. A visit to the Grocer’s Arms
3. Spending the evening with Captain Caveman for more birthday celebrations.

If you’d like to be better planned for any travelling you want to do, here’s the link to where you can buy my planner: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Sheffield to Pontecarlo – 14th January

After a lovely night’s sleep, with no snoring from Captain Caveman, I woke up quite early on Wednesday 14th January. Ordinarily, I would have done my measurements and got weighed, but I didn’t today. I didn’t have my tape measure with me, although I’m sure I could have borrowed one from Ma. I also knew the scales at my parents’ were different and I could wait. I was due back in Dalyan in 4 days time and needed to get back on the wagon then. It was a very busy morning at work, where I crammed in helping customers who were thinking of, or who were already booked for, Vietnam. I spent time on 3 key areas; money exchange (as the laws were being tightened), destination advice and the weather in different months per region. I also checked my analytics on my various pages as I was trying to get over 500 followers so that I can earn money from Facebook. So far, my Jo Lo – Resort Experts had over 17,000 views in the last 28 days but only 358 followers – it was a constant grind to get this figure up as once you’ve invited a Facebook friend, you can’t re invite them. I had gained 10 new followers in a month so, at this rate, it would take me until June 2027 to reach that target! I checked my Jo Lo – The Author and joloyolo.com pages too, but they had less followers. The frustrating thing was that I had 1,800 followers on my Facebook page so if I could get even half of them to follow me it would be ideal – I would continue to keep trying! If you’re not following, please do! https://www.facebook.com/share/1KS5eFfqPm/

At lunch time I managed to get some fresh air when I joined a friend on her dog walk. We walked around Mosborough and, although a little slippy on the farm tracks, the weather wasn’t too bad at all and it was good to catch up.
In the afternoon, my parents and I went up to my sister’s to say farewell and take her birthday card and presents. The whole family were there so we managed to get to say bye and Gayle gave me a lift to the station, which was good. I said bye to my parents not knowing when I’d see them again, which is always tough, but hopefully it would be in the next 3-4 months in Dalyan. I got the 4.40pm train from Sheffield to Pontecarlo via Wakefield.
We were meant to be going to Aldi to get more stuff for me to take back to Dalyan but we didn’t bother, as Captain Caveman was driving back from Scotland. Instead, I made it just in time for fish and chips from the amazing Carleton Fisheries where the staff are friendly and their fish & chips are just so good.
That evening we sat upstairs in Captain Caveman’s office/den where he now has a giant bean bag and a futon. It was chilly so we had to whack up the heating while we shared some Green and Black’s chocolate, a Christmas gift from Captain Caveman’s work.

Gratitude List
1. A dog walk with a friend
2. Getting to see my parents, Gayle, Neil, Morgan, April, Harley and Sumo (the dog) one last time.
3. Fish & Chips in Pontecarlo.

Photo credit – Carleton Fisheries photos used (as it was dark when I went).

Pontecarlo to Sheffield – 13th January

I was at Pontefract Tanshelf train station in the dark on the morning of Tuesday 13th January, waiting for my train back to Sheffield. A return ticket was £12.30 which I had to collect at the station using a code for the machine on the opposite platform. Captain Caveman was driving up to Scotland for work and an interview tomorrow. I’d decided to spend my birthday money and arranged to meet Vanessa for a spot of shopping in Marks & Sparks, before going back to my parents for the evening.
I met Vanessa at 9.30am and we went straight to the M&S cafe for Yorkshire tea and bacon rolls. Vanessa treated me for a late birthday gift, which was lovely and we caught up on everything. She’d arrived limping and in need of paracetamol as she had a broken toe. I was surprised she had still turned up as she was in pain despite it being strapped up. I bought a really nice jumper for £20, using some of my birthday money and I picked up part of a present for my sister. I had decided that we would buy her Hotel Chocolat products but, after a chat with the shop assistant who said they couldn’t guarantee any of the chocolate was safe for coeliacs, we left empty handed. Next, we walked down to Primark where I picked up 2 thermal tops for £11 (using my birthday money). We popped in to Superdrug and Holland & Barrett where I stocked up on 4 boxes of Gin Gins for a bargain £10.20.
We decided to have a quick look in the Korean shop and then we both needed the toilet so we nipped in to see what was on at the cinema and go there. I was tempted by the pick n mix stalk but resisted. Our next stop was to get tea and cake at Massarella cafe on the ground floor of Atkinson’s. It was full of pensioners and I could see why, their jam and cream scones were excellent and the pots of tea ideal for at least 2 cups each. Oddly, each item was priced £3.50 whether it be a pot of tea or a sweet treat. This gave Vanessa time to rest before catching her bus and I went back to M&S to pick up some bits for tonight’s dinner. I’d offered to cook but Mom had said we could have burgers and chips if I didn’t want to spend money unnecessarily. I did fancy something a bit healthier for dinner but the M&S food section had looked like it had been hit by a plague of locusts. There was not much left and what they did have didn’t appeal so I just bought some breaded mushrooms and onion rings to go with the burgers, plus some ibuprofen and a plastic bag, spending a total of £9.20. I managed to get the 3.30pm bus, costing £2.60 for the 20 minute journey to Mosborough.
When I got to my parents’ it was getting late but I managed to log on and deal with some emails before food. The dinner was a bit too much and Dad couldn’t eat his, I soldiered on and Mom did ok but we had to leave room for birthday cake. It did make me laugh that Dad, who was complaining he couldn’t eat a burger, managed more than one small piece of chocolate cake – but it was amazing. By 9.30pm crisps were out and the salt and vinegar ones from Aldi were so good! Tomorrow was weigh day and I knew I had put on lots of weight because all my clothes were tight, especially around the waist!

Gratitude List

Meeting up with Vanessa for more birthday celebrations
So much food
Birthday cake with my parents.

Pontecarlo – 12th January

It was our first day back ‘in the office’ on Monday 12th January and I had lots to catch up on. Resort Experts had a new system being launched which would make our jobs easier and included automation and task, enquiry and holiday management. It looked very good and I was keen to have a go at using it.
Today was also the day I got to open my actual real copies of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, both hardback and paperback. They looked and felt great, even if I do say so myself, and I was pleased with them. Now I just needed to sell them. My aim was to sell at least 1 per day, which doesn’t sound a lot but it was a target to start off. Ideally to be able to make a minimum wage type of income, I needed to sell in excessive of 10 per day – which I think is a bit of a stretch. What I should’ve done is ask people to buy a copy for themselves or someone else as a birthday gift to me – but I was too busy being hungover!

If you are reading this and haven’t bought a copy yet, I’d really appreciate it if you would – the paperback is just under £15 and the reviews and feedback so far have been extremely positive. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/
You can see it as buying me my belated birthday drink but with so many more benefits for you too. Thank you! 🤪
It’s also available in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. If you’re in Turkey, it’s better to ask me to bring you a copy back from the UK next time I go.

Both Captain Caveman and I worked all day with barely a break, except for a quick sandwich at lunch. By 7pm we had gone for a rather chilly walk to Asda but got sidetracked and ended up in the Robin Hood pub because it was so cold out. I ordered a pint of tap water and a cherry beer, Captain Caveman had a toffee stout which nearly tipped me over the edge, after drinking stout on the birthday night out. We just had the one drink then went shopping, here’s what we bought with prices in pounds;

Asda Supermarket

1 bag for life 0.40*
6 packs of crisps 1.00*
Coriander 1 05*
Paprika 1.05*
2 Tomato Puree 1.36*
Spinach 1.60
2 Chinese sauces 1.66*
Lazy Ginger 2.00*
2 Moroccan Seasoning 2.20*
4 Slow Cooker sachets 2.50*
Curry Meal kit 3.00*
2 packs cheese slices 5.08
Options hot chocolate 5.64*
3 packs of Cheese 7.95*
Total spent £39.49

*were items for me to take back to Turkey.

During the shopping, I needed the loo and discovered that Asda didn’t have a toilet so I had to call back in to the pub, but didn’t get another drink. It was really cold so we hurried home to have a pasta bolognese, cooked by Captain Caveman. We opened the Christmas Belgian beer to drink in mugs and I only managed a little bit – it was very nice but the alcohol was not going down well with me.
It had been a decent day but we were still both tired after the wild weekend, with a very early start due tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. The Handy Travel Planner – all my hard work had paid off
2. Getting caught up with work stuff
3. A lovely evening with Captain Caveman.

Sheffield to Pontecarlo – 11th January

It turns out it wasn’t the ‘snow’ that ruined my birthday on Sunday 11th January, it was me. My hangover was immense and I could barely function to open my birthday cards and presents. My present from Captain Caveman had been to pay for Marrakech as well as all the Christmas and birthday Shenanigans. My parents and sister gave me money which I was grateful for and promised I would buy something I needed with it. I also got a travel toiletry kit and a birthday cake from my sister and the family, which I didn’t realise how lovely it was until much later. On Facebook I had so many messages to say Happy Birthday and I couldn’t reply as my phone was playing up and my head was banging!
Captain Caveman took himself back to bed, he was also in a state. We were meant to be getting the train to Pontecarlo around 3pm so Ma cooked us a lovely Sunday dinner. We had forgotten that the eggs had been eaten at breakfast so we sent Captain Caveman out to get some. When he returned he looked broken and had bumped in to Neil who was walking the dog to the Angel at Spinkhill to get the car. He reported back that their household were mainly in a state too. Captain Caveman was so bad that he didn’t even eat half of is Sunday dinner – and he left the crackling! After dinner, Captain Caveman went back to bed again and I still felt rough and resigned myself to staying in Mosborough another night.
Captain Caveman decided we would leave Mosborough and we got the bus in to town, it was dark, cold and trying to snow. There were certainly no train tins on our journey back and we even got a taxi from Ponte station to Captain Caveman’s house where we got in and went straight to bed.

Gratitude List
1. Birthday cards, money and gifts
2. A pork Sunday dinner with Yorkshire puds
3. A very low key birthday!

Sheffield – 10th January

Ma cooked us a full English breakfast on the morning of Saturday 10th January and it was so good – I do miss a good sausage! It was pretty cold in Sheffield. The snow that had come down recently was just icy now and all the roads were fine in Mosborough. I caught up on some Resort Experts admin in the morning and saw a post from Claire Clarke, the business book publisher. She had posted on Facebook a photo of her with a pile of books which included mine – which was nice.
In the afternoon Captain Caveman and I decided to chance an icy walk to the Co-op for some essentials. Here’s what we bought, prices in pounds;

Co-op Supermarket
Garlic 0.80
Onions 1.10
Potatoes 1.35
Stilton 1.40
Peppers 1.95
Feta Cheese 2.45
1 bottle Pinto Grigio 5.80
1 bottle Rioja 7.75
Total spent £22.60

I got a dodgy stomach while we were in the shop, so I headed to the Alma pub for a loo stop and a pint of water, while Captain Caveman did the shopping. He then met up with me at the pub and we had a couple of pints. A friend came to join us and we had a really good catch up, drinking probably a little too much cider for me. This meant we were running a little late to get ready for tonight’s celebrations.

All 8 of us (Ma, Pa, Gayle, Neil, Morgan, April, Captain Caveman and me) were booked in for a joint birthday celebration at the Angel in Spinkhill. Because the weather was unpredictable, Neil drove in 2 trips and we would get taxis back. The place was very nice and had quite a cosy dining area, next to the bar – which was very handy. I overdosed on cheese for my meal choices; Captain Caveman and I shared baked camembert for starter, we both had the duck for main and we shared a cheese board for afters! The food was very good and I managed at least a couple of glasses of red wine too. My sister had the gluten free choices, as she’s coeliac, and it was excellent – all served on back plates so that they weren’t mixed up with the white plates, containing gluten. I was impressed with what I had and our share of the bill was paid by Captain Caveman with it being for my birthday. Our waitress happened to be the daughter of an old school friend of Gayle’s and a neighbour from when we lived in Frecheville – she was so like her mother and had a lot of patience with our group.

There was a bit of a rush to get the taxis back as the restaurant closed at 9.30pm but we took our wine with us and decided we would call for a last drink at the Craftworks in Mosborough. It was hilarious and the drinks were flowing – it was certainly not a good idea for me to drink a pint of stout as my final drink, or get a selfie with the barman who had lovely hair! It was great to spend time with the family and our combined birthday celebrations were a winner, without snow ruining it. Back at Ma & Pa’s we ended up drinking more wine! I had a feeling my actual birthday, tomorrow, was not going to be hangover free and we had to get the train back to Pontecarlo!!

Gratitude List
1. An English breakfast cooked by Mom
2. Cheeky afternoon drinks in the pub with a friend who needed a beer
3. A fantastic family meal to celebrate our birthdays in bad weather.

Marrakech to Sheffield – 9th January

Our flight back to Manchester from Marrakech on Friday 9th January was at 4.05pm. Unfortunately, news from Manchester and Sheffield said that all trains had been cancelled which meant we would not be able to get from Manchester airport to Sheffield, as planned. It was a bit annoying and I got a little upset as we were going back to Sheffield to celebrate my sister’s 50th and my birthday, with my family. It had all been planned and booked in and I was disappointed the trains were cancelled due to snow, especially when the snow had not yet appeared.
My sister cheered me up by saying she was sure the celebrations would still go ahead, in fact she had booked 3 different places just in case. She also sent me a photo of page 25 of my planner, ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, as I had a panic that I’d not spotted and changed a mistake – it was fine though. Captain Caveman and I both had our last breakfast at the riad rooftop and I was definitely going to miss the mint tea in Marrakech.

We went back to the room and packed our hand luggage, before leaving our bags at reception. We paid our bill which included the bottles of water we had got and our city tax. The government takes a small payment for accommodation in Marrakech and it has to be paid directly to the hotel on check out. The amount depends on the type of accommodation but ours was £4 per night. We also decided to book the airport transfer which cost just over £18 and well worth the money if it meant Captain Caveman and I didn’t have to have a fall out over walking to the airport! Incidentally, he did suggest we had time to walk it as check out was 12 noon and we didn’t need to be at the airport until 2pm!
We decided to grab a quick treat for lunch at a local crepe stall. I was sure I’d end up with a bad stomach as, the stall lady wore gloves but touched money, the crepes and a man’s hand while wearing them. However, I was pleased to find they were very tasty for just over £2 for the both and all was well!

We grabbed our bags and walked to our pick up car with the hotel receptionist, who made sure we were safely in the vehicle – it was rather fancy, not a taxi. We got to the airport without incident and had quite a wait once through to the gate. I went for a wander and saw lots of choice of places to get food (no alcohol) and came back to give Captain Caveman the low down. He went next and came back with 2 baguettes and water from Paul’s. They weren’t overly pricey for an airport and were very good sandwiches.
We went to get in the queue to board, our plane was late and I got stopped for a full bag and body search. Captain Caveman made a fuss about being ushered in to queuing when he liked to be the last on the plane. I got peeved when he started arguing with the staff member as I was sure he was trying to get us in to trouble. It turned out, the airport staff wanted us out so they could update the data to say we had left the building. We then stood outside for ages, waiting for everyone to board.

The flight was good and I watched some Netflix instead of typing up my blog!
When we arrived at Manchester airport we rushed to get to Manchester Piccadilly. The machines let us buy tickets to Sheffield and mine cost me £27.80 – there had better be a train!!!

All the boards showed trains were cancelled but Captain Caveman found a train and we got on it, it was empty but it was going to Sheffield. In all the faffing we were quite stressed and I was really looking forward to seeing how deep the snow was. We had a train tin and chilled out, the train was cold and we did see a tiny sprinkling of snow at Edale. I didn’t moan too much about the train situation as I didn’t want Captain Caveman to have to send the train company a strongly worded email. They were definitely in the wrong to have cancelled the trains. There was no snow in Sheffield and we got a taxi to my parents, who were waiting up for us. We had wine and my mom cooked us a pizza as we were hungry. I was just so glad to have got to Mosborough as I’m not sure what we would’ve done if Captain Caveman hadn’t spotted that train.

Gratitude List
1. Having had an amazing holiday in Marrakech
2. Getting safely back to Mosborough
3. That rogue train!

Marrakech – 8th January

It was another breakfast for one on Thursday 8th January, as Captain Caveman stayed in bed. It was very nice and the chocolate cake was on again. In the morning I did a bit of work as I had a couple of customer queries to look at for forthcoming trips. I was also pleased to get notified by Facebook that they were going to be showing my content to more people due to them recognising my quality content! I still didn’t have 500 followers on my business page yet and I was aiming to grow it. If you’re not already following, please do!
https://www.facebook.com/share/17yF5UwTN2/

For lunch we decided to go back to Chinguitti so that we could take advantage of being in the sun on their upstairs terrace while we ate lunch. Captain Caveman was in a bit of a strange mood but he said he wasn’t – we were meant to be trying the briouette and sharing them but he forgot and I had to ask for one before he’d snaffled them all. I had the harira (soup) which was fine but not a patch on the soup we had at Andalucia. We drank water, coffee and mint tea and our bill for the both of us came to £14 – given the views, it’s a bargain.

We had a walk around the Medina and souks so that we could explore more of Marrakech on our last day. We had almost spent our budget so we decided not to do any paid tourist things today. Instead, we had seen a riad for sale for £80,000 and went on a research mission of what it would take to be able to move to Morocco.
We decided to have one last visit to the Balcon Du Café Glacier where we sipped mint teas and paid over the odds for our pees! The tap water was off so the toilet attendant was using a bottle of water to pour on to our hands to wash them. I had a bit of a chat with him and we laughed when the water came back on after he had poured water on to both mine and Captain Caveman’s hands. We sat at the edge of the roof top terrace and spent hours watching the comings and goings of the Jemaa el-Fnaa square. The monkey men looked the dodgiest so we were glad we had avoided them but we are sure we witnessed some drug deals going down between a ‘disabled’ man and a tuk tuk driver. The sunglasses sellers were also doing some strange formation stances which looked to be synchronised with other vendors. We also saw a bit of a skirmish between what looked like a legit stall holder and a dodgy one. It was definitely the best place for people watching, despite us spending almost £12 on hot drinks and toilet visits!

Captain Caveman and I had quite a few recommended eateries left on our list to try so Captain Caveman chose L’Mida. It had a great rooftop area and was quite busy – we were told they needed the table back in 2 hours, which was fine by us. We both had lemon water and a main course which came to a total of £30. My Makhani beef tagine was a bit heavy on the carrots and peas (which should’ve been green beans) so it wasn’t my favourite meal in Marrakech but was still very nice. Captain Caveman had a shredded lamb dish which looked fantastic. Back in the riad, we forced down the last of our spiced rum and totted up that we had enough cash to be able to get a cheap lunch tomorrow before our flight home.

Gratitude List
1. Facebook informing me they will share my quality content!
2. People watching above Jemaa el-Fnaa
3. More good Moroccan food on our last full day.

Photo Credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Marrakech – 7th January

We had just 2 more full days and nights left in Marrakech on Wednesday 7th January. Ordinarily, today would be weigh day but I didn’t have any scales. Although I had taken my tape measure away with me, I didn’t get it out to take the measurements – I would wait until I was back next week!
Neither of us had the breakfast at our riad this morning and decided to have a wander to a cafe which Captain Caveman had picked out. We sat upstairs at Mandalay Society and ordered a brunch sharing board, water, coffee and tea. It was one of those fancy places where the menu had their values written on it but I was more interested in 7 men and 2 ladders outside. It looked like repair works to a sign were being done so there was much chatter and watching while it got started.
Our food was good and we got more bread when we ate it all up but we spent £33 when we could have had the included breakfast back at the accommodation. It was a lovely change, though, and Captain Caveman preferred it over the sweet breakfasts.

Our sightseeing mission today took us to Bahia Palace which was fantastic. We walked round it together for the most part but, at one stage, Captain Caveman went ahead of me and I got lost. It reminded me of the time I got stuck in the maze at Longleat Safari Park and I got a bit panicky. I kept following the signs for the tour, which mapped the route, then followed the signs for the Exit but I don’t really know what happened as I just couldn’t find the exit door. I had no WiFi, I’d been in there a good while and I decided to retrace my steps by checking my phone camera and following the route of the photos I’d taken. It took me ages so I definitely got my money’s worth on the £8.33 ticket! When I finally got back to the door that I came in to the palace through, I was so relieved that I cried! Captain Caveman was outside on a bench and thought it amusing but did admit he found it a bit concerning when I didn’t appear after a while. He then pointed to the exit door, which was in the same room as the entrance door and explained why the tour and exit signs just kept going round! I felt a bit foolish but wiped my tears and Captain Caveman suggested we walked to Kabana for a glass of wine.

Back at one of our favourite roof top bars, we really pushed the boat out after my traumatic morning getting lost in a Bahia Palace. We had soda water, 3 red wines, 3 pints of lager with a portion of parmesan and truffle french fries for a whopping £59! But we really enjoyed the afternoon and the french fries were fantastic. We had a laugh at my terrible sense of direction and how I must’ve kept missing the exit door and going back round the palace again. I can definitely vouch for it being a very beautiful tourist attraction – and there’s evidently no time limit!

Along the same road as Kabana was a trendy shop (one with prices on things) so we went in for a look around. If we didn’t have just underseat hand luggage and liked to buy stuff, this would’ve been a great shopping opportunity. They had some fab clothes and shoes as well as some really lovely decorated plates and cups. Captain Caveman tried on a couple of jackets which really suited him.

For dinner, Captain Caveman had took the liberty of pre booking us a table at Cafe Arabe just before sunset. We really liked Café Arabe and not just because the wine is half the price of that in Kabana. It turned in to quite a boozy evening and we got chatting to Dan and Mary who were very entertaining. We spent £49 on 3 red wines, 3 rosé wines, 1 white wine, 1 pizza and 1 portion of briouette which was quite the bargain. Dan and Mary ordered the tagines which looked amazing but were massive portions.

On the way home, Captain Caveman had a crepe at the same stall that Hugo had eaten one from, earlier in the week. I had a little bit and it was delicious. I was quite squiffy when we got back to the riad and I was definitely ready for bed after a great penultimate day out.

Gratitude List
1. Bahia Palace
2. Great food
3. Having a boozy Wednesday.

Photo Credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Marrakech – 6th January

Tuesday 6th January was a lovely day where Captain Caveman and I would have a Moroccan breakfast, an Italian lunch and a Lebanese dinner. Marrakech was proving to be quite cosmopolitan with lots of food choices. We ate breakfast on the rooftop of our riad, earlier than usual as we wanted to make the most of the sunshine which was due. We’d missed out on seeing Jardin Majorelle as it was already booked up. Because of the predicted rain and less people going on other trips, this famous attraction had got full fast. Instead, we had decided to see if we could turn up at the Secret Garden and pay on the door. We got slightly lost at first as there is a cafe called the Secret Garden which is down a dead end alley way but it was quite interesting to see inside some of the open doors to local homes.

The Secret Garden had a big queue when we arrived and I already suspected it would take too long to get to the front. We waited and noticed that we were very close to Café Arabe, another recommended eatery which served alcohol so we earmarked it for lunch. The queue went down quickly, we paid just over £23 for the 2 of us for the normal ticket plus the guided tower tour and I really enjoyed the Secret Garden. It’s one of the biggest riads in Marrakech and I even found the film about the irrigation process interesting. Although he was feeling better, I saw that Captain Caveman had nodded off during that bit.

The tower turned out to be the highlight of the day as rain had stopped, the sky was atmospheric and the views were great. We also had a French couple on the tower tour who were hilarious and were either not listening or deaf. Every time the guide mentioned the 16th century, seconds later they asked when it was dated from (several times). The doors in the tower were beautiful and, as we were leaving, a rainbow appeared across the floor.

We decided to chance the cafe which was next to the tower and had lovely views over the garden. We just had a drink, which on the menu it said came with free water but we never received that. Instead we paid £5 for the tea and coffee but didn’t leave a tip.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful spot so we left there and went to Cafe Arabe. We sat in the area which has views over the rooftops and towards the atlas mountains. We decided to share a pizza and had a glass of wine each. The pizza had smoked turkey ‘ham’ on which was really good. Café Arabe was very nice, lovely views and deceptively big. We got chatting to a couple, Colin and Jess – he was a bit of a one, but she was lovely (an American who had just moved to London to be with Colin). We ended up having another wine each and our total bill came to £27 for 1 pizza, 2 glasses of rosé and 2 glasses of red wine, which I thought was excellent value.

We had a mooch back through the streets of Marrakech and decided to use our free ticket to the Music Museum. As a music lover, I found it very interesting and even had a quick go on some bongos (as you do). I thought it was a well laid out museum and complemented the Photography museum – plus the bonus of the combined ticket made it cheap.

In the evening we went a little off piste and chose to try Naranj for our meal. There was a bit of a kerfuffle as we hadn’t booked but we managed to get what looked like the last indoor table on the ground floor. I went upstairs to the toilet and noticed the balcony dining area looked lovely but it had started to rain again and was a bit blowy for those diners. As we ordered, it was getting closer to 7pm and we were so glad to have come early as people were queuing to get a decent indoor table. We chose a mixture of meze style dishes, a chicken with feta dish and the usual soda water, coffee and mint tea. This Lebanese restaurant didn’t sell alcohol and our total meal came to £30 which I thought was good as the food had been amazing. As we left, it was raining a little harder so we hurried back to the riad for a spiced rum nightcap and some much needed sleep.

Gratitude List
1. The Secret Garden being a good substitute for Jardin Majorelle
2. The Music museum
3. Amazing food and drink.

Photo Credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Marrakech – 5th January

Captain Caveman still felt unwell on Monday 5th January, his belly was swelled up like a football and he was in a bit of pain. I went to breakfast on the rooftop by myself and the breakfast was slightly different again and very nice.
Back in the room, Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone and rested while I logged on to the laptop and did a bit of checking on Resort Experts things. Most people I knew would be back at work today after the Christmas holidays so I was grateful to be able to work flexible hours.
Around 2pm we decided to leave the room to see if Captain Caveman could manage some food, I suggested trying the harira (soup) may be a good idea. We chose Andalucia, a cafe not far from our riad which had the soup on the menu. We ended up ordering quite a bit of food; 2 harira, chicken skewers and briouette (savoury pastries like samosa) and it came with bread. Of course we had soda water to share and I had a mint tea. We paid cash for the lunch which was very reasonable and I’d say probably cheaper than when I eat out in Turkey. The harira was fantastic and it was just what we needed.

Our next stop was to the Photography Museum – Captain Caveman is the better photographer out of the 2 of us. I’m more the point and press type, whereas he actually takes time to get the right shot. We’d not booked to do anything today with him being under the weather so this fairly small museum was ideal for a couple of hours or so. It cost just £6.67 each for a ticket and as we were leaving, the staff member told us to keep our ticket and it would give us free access to the Music Museum which sounded right up my alley! We were going to be too late getting there to do it justice today so the man said the ticket could be used tomorrow – we were impressed by that. When we came out, I tried to go to the loo but the attendant told me it was closed and to go outside. Luckily we were walking distance to our riad and I could wait. We had a loll on the bed as it had started to rain heavily and we checked out some of the ‘must do’ attractions for tomorrow. The weather forecast didn’t look great and we put off buying tickets to the famous Jardin Majorelle so that we weren’t wasting money if we couldn’t go.

In the evening we went to Anasia which had an upstairs restaurant with lots of cats. It had started raining hard and the place was busy. We shared more briouette, burrata and tortilla but Captain Caveman enjoyed the food more than I did. There was sauce on which I wasn’t keen on and I thought the tortilla egg was a bit runny. The staff seemed like they’d not worked there before and it smelled of cat pee which was a shame. The food wasn’t that cheap and we had to pay cash then it took ages to get our change. It’s the only place we thought we’d not return to and had only gone there as it was close and raining. Back at the riad, Captain Caveman was still a little delicate and didn’t drink but I had a spiced rum to finish off the evening.

Gratitude List
1. Harira (Moroccan soup) being delicious
2. Museum of Photography
3. Captain Caveman not being too ill to eat.

Marrakech – 4th January

On Sunday 4th January I’d taken to using my work phone (which was on silent) to take the photos. I managed to get photos of the breakfast, the roof terrace and a grumpy cat who had sat in my seat. Today’s breakfast didn’t have yoghurt, which neither of us like, but it did have fruit salad and a different type of bread product which reminded me of pikelets crossed with pancakes, these were called baghrir. There was also chocolate cake which Captain Caveman didn’t have and I had only half of my piece despite it being very good.

Today we decided we would have a walk around and venture a little further. We aren’t ones for shopping (we only had underseat luggage anyway) but we did wander through the souks. We found walking with purpose (Captain Caveman is not a dawdler) and not touching any items, meant we had zero hassle from anyone. We did see tourists touching items which then lead to the stall owner thinking they were interested in buying. Nothing has prices on so haggling and bargaining are expected. Marrakech is a traditional Muslim city where most of the local women cover their hair, tourists don’t need to but it’s still a good idea to dress appropriately. I did see a woman in very fitting yoga pants almost give a stall holder a hard on!
It had rained quite heavily during the night so I was definitely glad of sensible footwear today as the streets were a bit grubby. Our lunch stop today was Café Des Éspices which, by the time we left, was very busy so we were glad to have gone early. Service was quick, it had the tiniest (but clean) toilet I’d ever been in – and I’ve spent a lot of time in small toilets! We just ordered a falafel wrap for me and a köfte sandwich for Captain Caveman with hot drinks and a bottle of soda water for just shy of £20. The dishes were great but I had food envy for the harira (traditional soup) which all 3 people on the next table ordered.

We visited Dar El Bacha, the Museum of Confluences, which barely had a queue and cost under £10 for the 2 of us. I was really taken with the patterns and just how much work went in to the buildings. Every wall, floor and ceiling was amazing but we avoided the coffee shop as it was extortionate! As we were leaving, the staff member told us to keep our ticket and it would give us free access to the Music museum which sounded right up my alley! We were going to be too late getting there to do it justice so the man said the ticket could be used tomorrow – we were impressed by that.

Our wandering had taken us outside of the Medina walls and we found a rooftop bar that had been recommended, Kabana. We did have to look carefully as it was a small doorway which led up to a massive rooftop bar. We had 2 glasses of red wine & 2 pints of lager for £35 so it wasn’t cheap but the Moroccan wine was palatable and they had excellent toilet facilities – this was also the second place we’d been where men and women use the same toilets so there are no male and female signs to look out for – very modern!

Our next stop was another bar on the roof top of Riad Monceau. It was very nice and we just caught the Happy Hour. We sat at the bar where Captain Caveman had a pint of lager and I went mad and ordered a Pina Colada. The bar man was friendly, made a great cocktail but they certainly knew how to charge in the Jungle Bar – £21 for our 2 drinks at Happy Hour.

We hurried back as we needed to be back at Jemaa El-Fnaa to meet Suzanna and Hugo. They were keen to watch the football but I could already tell from the crowds of supporters in the streets that it was going to be busy wherever we went. As we got to the Grand Balcon Du Café Glacier, I could see it was rammed and there were staff on the doors. I get claustrophobic and am a little over the top on health and safety so I told Captain Caveman to go in without me. I sat downstairs on the outside terrace and ordered a mint tea. I also observed more and more people squishing in to the downstairs space where the football was on the TV. I envisaged getting trapped in there and didn’t want to be part of a Swiss New Year’s Eve scenario so refused to go inside. Captain Caveman came back when he realised Suzanna and Hugo weren’t there anyway and he joined me for a mint tea.
We met just as the match was finishing at a place called Address, the prices there were high (no alcohol) and the staff not as welcoming so we didn’t stay after the match finished.
For dinner that night, we chose a lovely little restaurant which was almost full (always a good sign). La Cantine Des Gazelles was very pink in décor and we all ordered Moroccan food. My chicken tagine was amazing and we had lots of the soda water we were now partial to. When we ordered extra bread, we didn’t get charged for it and our total bill for 4 of us came to just £32.50.
I was stuffed and could not have managed a dessert but Hugo fancied a crêpe from the street seller. There was quite a queue but it went down quickly and we then said our goodbyes. It had been good to finally meet them both and we wished them well for the rest of their trip.
We wove our way back to the riad but didn’t have any rum tonight as Captain Caveman had started to feel a little unwell.

Gratitude List
1. Great food
2. Meeting up with Suzanna & Hugo
3. Rooftop bars.

Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Marrakech – 3rd January

Breakfast was included at our riad and was served on the rooftop terrace each morning between 8 and 10am. Our first breakfast on Saturday 3rd January consisted of several bread based items, yoghurt with a sauce in, a piece of cake, juice and a choice of coffee or mint tea. I tried to take a photo of the spread and the photo was there, but later disappeared from my phone. This was to be the start of my phone deciding it was going to delete photos just minutes after taking them, with no warning! Captain Caveman had his coffee which he said was alright but didn’t eat the cake or the yoghurt. I tried a bit of everything but it was very sweet for a breakfast. We both liked the dosa type bread which we later learned was called Msemmen. I ordered the mint tea and it became my drink of choice throughout the week. At first I thought it was simply a healthy mint tea but it’s actually made with gunpowder green tea and plenty of fresh mint and sugar!!! The Moroccans pour the tea from the pot at a height to aerate it and it looks a bit like dirty water or whisky.
Captain Caveman had only exchanged £50 at the airport, ironically so that we had cash for the taxi! We decided to walk around the Medina and get our bearings a bit. Captain Caveman had marked a route and the way to an ATM on his offline maps. Neither of us used WiFi or a SIM once out of our accommodation as it can be expensive, plus we didn’t really need it.

We called for some lunch on the rooftop dining area of Chinguitti restaurant in the square where the spices are. The sun was shining and I actually had to take my hat and hoody off. They didn’t sell alcohol so I ordered a mint tea, Captain Caveman a coffee and both of us chose tagines for our meal – a minced meat and egg for Captain Caveman and a chicken for me. The waiter was friendly and spoke french, we can get by in french too (although I’m a little rusty, food is my forte). The menu was in French and English so it was easy to order. A selection of olives with a basket of warm bread was given for free and we ordered a bottle of water as it was getting quite hot on the upstairs terrace.
The food was excellent and I really enjoyed my mint tea, this time with no sugar! Our tagines were around £8 each and were filling. The most expensive drinks on the nenu were about £2.50 for a juice. Our next stop was at the ATM, which you can choose English as the language before you start your transaction. This time we got 12 Dirhams to the pound so was a better rate than the airport, of course. The queue was long and the likelihood of people trying to push in happened but we stood our ground. A french lady told us that this ATM didn’t give the best rate and that we should walk to the post office to get money, we were fine to use this ATM as I was there now. Captain Caveman had transferred £500 to me, which we had allotted for a 7 night holiday and then, because I had Wise, we would use it all from my account.

We had more of a wander round the Medina and then I needed the loo! Everywhere I go where I eat out, I often end up with a dodgy tum but it didn’t last long and I was ok after a cafe visit. I ran off to the top floor of Argana in the famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, shouting back to Captain Caveman to just order me anything to drink.
When I came back down, Captain Caveman was drinking an Espresso and had ordered me a freshly squeezed orange juice – probably not the best choice in my predicament and I didn’t have any imodium on me. The drinks were reasonable and the cafe nice (good toilets that were free for customers) – we paid £2 for coffee and £2.33 for the juice, which Captain Caveman had to finish off.
Our next stop was to meet Captain Caveman’s sister-in-law and nephew at a rooftop cafe. Le Grand Balcon Du Café Glacier was the perfect spot to watch the goings on in the square below and meant we could avoid watching any potential animal cruelty. A small amount of snake charming and monkeys for photos is still going on but my theory is to not give it any attention, so that it will eventually die out as an attraction. It was my first time in 14 years of knowing Captain Caveman that I had met Suzanne and Hugo, so it was great to spend some time with them. We sipped soft drinks or mint tea (they don’t have alcoholic drinks) on the roof terrace and caught up. The excursions they had booked already had cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions Morocco was experiencing this week and were staying in Marrakech for one more night before taking the train to Casablanca. Le Grand Balcon Du Café Glacier had an interesting toilet arrangement that I thought worthy of note. There is a toilet attendant who pretends he doesn’t have change so you can end up paying more than you should – like I did, twice! Captain Caveman went in for a free one and said I’d already paid for him just to even the score up a bit.
We walked past a snack place called Adam but we didn’t choose there to eat. Instead we went to a place near to it, that I forget the name of. Suzanna wasn’t hungry so just had soda water – which is excellent in Marrakech and cheap for a large bottle. Hugo had a local sausage dish and an Orangina, Captain Caveman ordered lamb, roasted veg and couscous tagine and I chose chicken shish and chips to be kind to my stomach. The food was good and cheap, it started raining as we were leaving and the restaurant we were at filled up quickly. We walked back to our respective riads with arrangements to meet up tomorrow to watch Morocco play football. We got back to our room before the rain got heavy and had a spiced rum for a night cap! Our first day in Marrakech had been surprisingly lovely and very relaxed.

Gratitude List
1. Riad Lalla Khadija was very comfy and in a good location
2. Having some really nice food and drinks
3. Meeting up with family in Marrakech.