Barnes – 26th & 27th December

One good thing about not celebrating a traditional Christmas Day was that Boxing Day, Friday 26th December, was not spent recovering from it.
We didn’t have the hotel breakfast in Barking as Captain Caveman wasn’t bothered and we thought we would get back to Barnes.
Instead, he took me to the pub hoping for a pub lunch. The Brown Dog was closed so we ended up in the Red Lion. Captain Caveman spent £45 on our lunch which consisted of 2 pints of beer, a beef and horseradish sandwich for Captain Caveman and a pint of tap water, a glass of white wine and a prawn and crayfish sandwich for me. It was lovely despite the very annoying family of 5 sat round a 2 person table next to us. We ended up moving to an adult only table across from the bar, which was a good move.
Back home we watched TV; Undercover Boss, Gordon’s Kitchen Nightmares and Grand Designs – I’d missed UK TV.
For dinner Captain Caveman prepared some sourdough, bought from Gail’s earlier for a small fortune, with a baked camembert and we finished off the port. It was a very nice, relaxing day and a chance for Captain Caveman to rest after his 12 hour shift yesterday.

Gratitude List
1. Pub grub
2. A relaxing boxing day
3. More cheese.

Captain Caveman’s parents were due back from Spain on Saturday 27th December so Captain Caveman had offered my culinary services to make a welcome back dinner that evening. I was pleased as it had been 5 days since I’d eaten anything I’d cooked myself – most unusual! We popped to the shops and I decided to have a look in the Sue Ryder charity shop. Even though I had new clothes for Christmas I still didn’t have more than 1 top and had been wearing Captain Caveman’s t-shirt yesterday. I also didn’t have anything that wasn’t casual (not that I was due to be going anywhere fancy). The charity shop always has some amazing items in there, mainly good brands which I can never afford. Today, Captain Caveman was there to treat me again and I found a lovely tunic dress for £12 – it was only a size 12 and I didn’t try it on in the shop but it did fit when I got back home.
Next, we popped to one of my favourite shops to get the food for later, here’s what we got with the prices in pounds;

Marks & Spencers
Chicken 7.15
Raspberries 3.90
Blueberries 3.63
Sage & onion stuffing 2.50
Orange Juice 2.50
Peppers 1.50
Carrots 1.25
Green beans 0.80
Parsnips 0.50
Total spent £23.71

We called at the Farmer’s Market on the way back but there were limited stalls out, with it being between Christmas and New Year. We did manage to pick up some sausages and black pudding for Captain Caveman to cook us a breakfast tomorrow. I made some Yorkshire pudding mixture but there was only self raising flour and it didn’t really work.
In the afternoon, we decided to take a walk to see if the Brown Dog was open today and it was. We sat by the Christmas tree with a pint each (mine was cider) for a total of £13.60.
Back home, Captain Caveman’s parents were back and it was lovely to see them. I cracked on with making the dinner and we had a drop of wine to go with the meal.
Afterwards we went upstairs to watch TV and chill out – I even got in to watching Traitors.

Gratitude List
1. A new dress
2. A pint in the Brown Dog
3. A lovely family meal.

Barking – 25th December

Captain Caveman’s alarm went off at 7am on Thursday 25th December, or Christmas Day, in the Barking Ibis hotel. The bed was super comfy, particularly great pillows and black out curtains so I didn’t get up when Captain Caveman did. He went for breakfast with his work team mates and I lolled about in bed.
Captain Caveman came back to the room and said the breakfast was ‘alright’ for £12.95 and said he’d be back for 8.30pm tonight. He took samosas, tomatoes and mozzarella for his lunch, leaving me with 2 of my favourite salads and a pack of sausage rolls. In the corner of the room was a bag full of cheese, some charcuterie meats, chutney, crackers, a bottle of port some wine and a box of mince pies. These were for later when Captain Caveman got back.
I had plenty to keep me busy for the day and just needed to get the WiFi password so that I could use the internet. I had GiffGaff credit but the signal didn’t seem to be very good.
I had a shower with all the nice products in the bathroom and then went to breakfast. Even though it was Christmas Day, all was continuing as a normal day; breakfast was from 6.30 to 10am and, for the price, was pretty good value. I troughed down a full English, pastries, meats, cheeses, orange and apple juices then lots of tea. The hotel was fairly busy too which I was surprised at and there wasn’t a Christmas jumper in sight.

Back in the room there was no luck with getting any WiFi so I decided to have a chill out day. I opened my proof copies of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ and checked the amendments I’d done were showing – they were. I was really pleased with the look of the book and I just needed to get it seen by more people. Amazingly, I had got the font size right, making it easy for anyone to read and use.

Video of me opening my proof copy of The Handy Travel Planner

The Handy Travel Planner Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

For the rest of my Christmas Day I relaxed on the bed and watched a Miss Marple on TV. Although I have a TV in Turkey, I no longer pay to have any channels on it so tend not to watch any UK TV at all. This was fantastic and I really enjoyed doing nothing, eating my favourite salad followed by a mince pie and a cup of tea.

Photo Credit – Christmas ones from a London Facebook page

Captain Caveman called at 8pm to say he, Richard and Tom were on their way back and I should be ready for a cheese night!
I asked the receptionist if we would be allowed to bring our own cheese and port in to the restaurant and the hotel obliged. It turned out to be a really good night; Captain Caveman’s colleagues were really nice and were grateful for the cheese. Captain Caveman had gone above and beyond, even bringing a cheese knife and chopping board. We stayed in the reception until 11pm when I decided I couldn’t eat any more cheese nor drink any more wine! I left Captain Caveman and Richard discussing caving rope techniques – I’d had enough excitement for one day so left them to that conversation!
Back in the room, my phone connected to the WiFi but, interestingly, I’d not missed any messages at all! How did your Christmas Day go? Did you celebrate?

Gratitude List
1. A lovely hotel breakfast
2. A very relaxed, restful and easy going day
3. Cheese with Tom, Richard & Captain Caveman.

London – 24th December

Wednesday 24th December, or Christmas Eve, started with me having a face on that I had no clothes to wear. Captain Caveman had forgotten to bring my bag down from Pontefract – it was a good job I’d managed to bring knickers and bras with me! So today’s exciting activities would include clothes shopping – which I don’t enjoy. Captain Caveman already had it all planned out in his head but I wasn’t as confident that I would be able to find clothes which either fitted or suited me.
First thing was to get weighed and take my measurements. It seemed a bit futile, knowing that I was going to put weight on while in the UK, but at least I’d know my starting weight. The scales in Barnes said I had lost 0.3kg (0.7lb) which was a good start. My measurements were really good;
Bust no change, Waist -8cm, Hips -2cm.
Thankfully, the stomach issue had gone and my swollen belly had gone back down. I was still 5cm over my waist target, though, even after losing 8cm in a week.
I nipped to the shop as I had forgotten to bring my toothbrush and contraceptive pills. It was so cold out but Barnes Pond was beautiful. I spent £1.75 on a toothbrush in Sainsbury’s and £21 on a 3 month pack of pills.
I’d had deliveries of my book but I decided I would open them later, I did open a free book that Claire Clarke had sent me instead. That would definitely come in handy on my next publication too. Captain Caveman made us bacon sandwiches with brown sauce for breakfast and then we headed off to Wandsworth.

Captain Caveman was convinced I’d be able to get totally kitted out in TK Maxx, a shop I usually avoid on account of the confusing way the clothes are laid out and the resemblance of a jumble sale. I was a bit miffed and convinced I wouldn’t find anything. After an hour of looking, moaning and trying on items I would never had ordinarily chosen, Captain Caveman had forked out more than a hundred quid to sort me out. Here’s what we got with the prices in pounds.

TK Maxx
Black trousers 7.99
Thermal footless tights 8.00
Yoga leggings (with pockets) 19.99
Black hooded top 24.99
Black Dockers 69.99
Total spent £130.96

I wasn’t going to allow Captain Caveman to spend £70 on boots but he convinced me. I loved the docker style with leopard print tongues. They were sturdy, stylish yet practical and even had laces and zip opening. They were a make called Cavalli which I wasn’t familiar with so Captain Caveman Googled them to find that they were originally £330. While I thought they were an expense we could do without, these boots would turn out to be one of the best things Captain Caveman could’ve spent money on this Christmas. I was very pleased with my emergency clothing ‘Christmas presents’, which we don’t normally buy, and the treats continued.

Captain Caveman took us for brunch at Megan’s in Wandsworth. It wasn’t busy and, although on the pricey side compared to what I’m used to, it was a really lovely treat.
Here’s what we had and what Captain Caveman paid for, in pounds.

Megan’s
Sweet potato fries 5.90
Pigs in blankets 8.50
1 Rose wine 175ml 8.50
1 Bloody Mary 9.90
Shakshuka 12.90
Service charge 5.71
Total spent £51.41

We walked to the nearest convenience M&S petrol station and bought some items for tomorrow’s lunch; 2 salads, samosas, sausage rolls, tomatoes & mozzarella cheese for a total of £13.88. We had a quick pint in The Alma as I needed the loo and we needed to get the train back to Barnes. It was 4pm when I started packing for our 2 night trip away. Captain Caveman had agreed to work a 12 hour shift on Christmas Day so I was going to join him in Barking. I opened a lovely Christmas card from a friend and it felt quite nostalgic – we’ve not done Christmas cards for years now.
It was 8pm before we checked in to the Ibis hotel in Barking. Captain Caveman was already in the bar with his work mates when I came down from the room, dressed in some of my new items. We had a drink and Captain Caveman introduced me to the lads; there were 9 of them in total, all working today, tonight or tomorrow on some railway engineering job. They all seemed really fun and friendly but I was surprised that none of them had brought their other halves, as Captain Caveman had said a couple of them might do. When I asked, they said their wives had not fancied spending Christmas Day in an Ibis hotel while their partner worked – just me then!?
Captain Caveman left the fellas to it and we went to the dining area to eat, he had pie and I was tempted but decided to have lasagne with chips and garlic bread. To say we were only in an Ibis, I was impressed with the food and the red wine was pretty good too – I had 2! It wasn’t a very late night as Captain Caveman needed to be up and out early tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. New clothes and boots from Captain Caveman
2. Brunch at Megan’s
3. A different but interesting Christmas Eve with Captain Caveman and his work colleagues.

Dalyan to London – 23rd December

Tuesday 23rd December was jam-packed as I was about to leave Dalyan for 26 days!!!! I was really looking forward to going back and we had so many different things planned! My flight was at 4.10pm to Gatwick so I had time to cram in just 4kg of my own stuff in to the 15kg hold luggage. This wasn’t an issue, though, as I had all my work stuff in my underseat bag and when I got to the UK, a bag of my stuff would be waiting for me. Captain Caveman had promised to bring my bag which had a few sets of clothes, pyjamas and a pair of boots!
With plenty of time before I left, I popped round to Jamie & Drew’s to say bye to Norman, with me being away for so long! He seemed in fine spirits and I promised him I’d be back to look after him in January.
Next, I went to Ela’s Kitchen for a breakfast with Karen and Andy who were on the same flight as me and were very kindly giving me a lift to the airport. We all had an English breakfast, which was a bit ironic, given where we were off to. It was delicious as always. Karen also ordered sandwiches to take with them but I decided I’d be ok without, after eating a breakfast. I spent 960 lira (£17.14) for my breakfast, a Yorkshire tea and my lift’s takeaway sandwich. Karen and I popped to the shop next door for some travel sweets and snacks – I got them as it was only 114.25 lira (£2.04) and they were giving me the lift which saved me the taxi fare.

At the airport it was a bit of a farce as I had to go back through security check twice when my boarding pass wouldn’t scan. This also meant I had to faff about with taking my laptop out on both occasions as well as shoes off! It was badly organised and no seating or repacking area. It would not have been ideal for anyone who struggled with this process.
Once at the gate, I bumped in to Dave, one of the regular boat trip blokes from Dalaman. We had a chat and a good laugh as he’s got a really good sense of humour. We took a photo to send to our mutual friends.
The plane left on time, I did a little blogging and watched some Netflix on my phone. When the drinks trolley came round I decided to have some water, a red wine and a cheese and crackers snack box for a total of 822.45 lira (£14.69). I was due to land at 5.40pm and had nodded off before that.

Once landed at Gatwick around 5.40pm, I retrieved my 15kg suitcase and said bye to Karen & Andy. I wrapped up in my hat, scarf and winter coat and headed to the train station. It wasn’t as cold as I expected but it was definitely chilly in England. I got the train to Barnes via Clapham Junction and Captain Caveman was there to meet me from the train. We then hurried to his parents’ house to drop off my luggage and then go back out.
I’d arranged to meet Stacey and Tracey, from Anex Tour Uk, in Hammersmith. Captain Caveman and I got the bus and arrived at The Swan pub first. Captain Caveman ordered himself a pint of ale and I had a pint of cider – he paid on card so no receipt but I don’t think there was much change from £20!
Stacey and Tracey arrived shortly after and we had a really good night, they are such a good laugh and Captain Caveman got on well with them too. After a few drinks we decided to order some food and I wolfed down the fantastic baked camembert with truffle fries like it was my death row meal – it was so good! I must’ve been quite tiddly when we said our farewells in Hammersmith train station as the group photo didn’t come out as I’d hoped at just before 11pm!!

Captain Caveman and I got back to Barnes by 11.35pm and I was knackered as my head thought it was Turkish time, 3 hours ahead. As I got in to bed, I saw a picture from a friend who had received her copy of The Handy Travel Planner and I was so pleased! She loves a holiday as much as I do so I knew it would be perfect for her to plan all of her adventures.

Gratitude List
1. A nice last morning in Dalyan
2. Seeing Captain Caveman again
3. Meeting up with 2 of the Anex ladies for pre Christmas celebrations.

Dalyan – 22nd December

There’d been 2 events that I’d contemplated doing on Monday 22nd December, my last full day and night in Dalyan this year. It was a friend’s birthday party at 4pm and I’d thought of a trip to Köyceğiz on the yellow boat had I been in a position to take the day off. However, it was the launch of The Handy Travel Planner and I was too anxious to sit and wait to see how it went.
Because I would be travelling tomorrow and that I would be taking some time off to see Captain Caveman, I wanted to get my scheduled social media content done for the next week or so. I spoke to Captain Caveman on video call who was already in London where I would join him at his parents’ home. We were both looking forward to seeing each other, even though it had only been 3 weeks since we’d last seen each other. Today was our 14 year anniversary too but we had already celebrated it while we’d been together in Dalyan last month.
I forgot to eat all day but by 4.30pm I was hungry and decided to warm up yesterday’s Christmas dinner. I spent the evening working and packing – I was really looking forward to my trip!

Gratitude List
1. The Handy Travel Planner was launched and ready to buy in paperback and hardback on Amazon
2. Seeing Captain Caveman was looking forward to seeing me again
3. Leftover Christmas dinner!

The Handy Travel Planner Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Dalyan – 21st December

I was up and working before 7am on Sunday 21st December so that I could catch up from being slack and time away from my desk on Friday and Saturday and knowing I had to be somewhere this afternoon. I had more cruise training to do and I thought the Arctic cruises were particularly interesting. I did more prep for The Handy Travel Planner which was officially launching tomorrow and I still hadn’t seen a hard copy, myself! I also checked in for my flight on Tuesday afternoon and then got ready for some celebrations.
I had been invited to join friends for a Christmas meal at Ela’s Kitchen. At our table there were Jamie & Drew, Ann & Stuart with their family, Charlotte & Kenny plus Nanny Kay and me. My stomach was still iffy from yesterday so I decided to drink soda water and I had took my tupperware so that I didn’t waste my food.
I had the prawn cocktail for starter and it was very good. The Christmas dinner was impressive and I did have some left overs because I needed to save room for the a Christmas pudding. I did manage a glass of red wine but I didn’t feel 100% despite the meal being delicious. We had a good laugh, especially as I was sat between Stuart and Nanny Kay who are both hilarious. Nanny Kay rounded the meal off with an After Eight chocolate sliding down her face, playing that game where you have to get the chocolate from your forehead in to your mouth without using your hands.
At 7.30pm I paid my bill of 2500 lira (£44.64) including the tip and hurried off to meet more friends. I wanted to catch up with Janet & Ian before I went back to the UK so we met in Ren Garden and I had a couple of glasses of red wine at 140 lira (£2.50) each – I would miss these prices when I got back to London!
It was lovely to finish off the weekend with more friends and farewells too.

Gratitude List
1. Being prepared for my book launch tomorrow
2. Christmas lunch at Ela’s Kitchen with friends
3. Farewell drinks with Janet & Ian.

Photo Credit – Ann, Stuart & Jamie for some of the photos

Dalyan – 20th December

My weekend continued to be eventful and Saturday 20th December was another busy one. I had quotes to do for work, last minute Christmas markets were looking popular this year and luckily, even though I don’t particularly celebrate Christmas, I had been to a few of the European Christmas markets in the past.
It was cold, grey and wintery with rain forecast over the next couple of days in Dalyan. Nanny Kay had kindly given me a couple of black tops, one of which was a jumper and would come in handy for my trip to England. She had also been throwing out her plate collection so I had inherited lots of spare plates. I had to put the weekly market on hold a while because I had been invited for a tea and mince pie with Debbie & Mike. Debbie had also invited Ghislaine and had very kindly baked for us. I had 3 cups of tea while we chatted and caught up on what had been happening. I still needed to go to the market so Ghislaine offered to drop me on her way home.
I didn’t end up buying anything at the market as I started to feel unwell. I called in to the Şevikoğlu Supermarket and bought more Turkish Delight for Captain Caveman’s mom and my mom as they are both partial to it. They serve it fresh at the counter and I just spent the equivalent of a few pounds on 2 different flavours, to complement what I’d already bought yesterday in the fancy shop. On the way home, I walked past the white dogs and said hello to them, they were very pleased to see me and one got belly rubs.
My next friend meet up was with Penny & Phil (I had to pop home to pick up the Forerro Rocher first) and I was still feeling a little unwell. When I got to Ren Garden it was busy with other friends as well and we decided hot drinks and cake would be a good idea. I had a delicious brownie and a hot chocolate for 400 lira (£7.14) and we chatted to the waitress who is very nice.
I had to leave after that to go meet another friend at the Kaunos tea gardens where I had 2 large Turkish teas for 30 lira (54p). I spent most of our 2 hours there going back and forth to the toilet. It just shows that when I decide to break the Slimming World plan, my stomach does not react well to it. Back home I got messages from family and friends who had been on my mailing list to get ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ first. Their copies had arrived and they were delighted. I’d obviously not seen the actual book yet so I was really happy to get photos – they looked good! My first actual sales has started and I really hoped it would do well as I’d put a lot of thought in to how to help people have better holidays by planning.
I just had soup for dinner and went to bed early as I had another busy day coming up tomorrow!

Gratitude List
1. New tops and plates from Nanny Kay
2. Catching up with friends before I flew to England.
3. The first book sales of my new planner.

Dalyan & Ortaca – 19th December

Friday 19th December was a great day, in fact my last weekend in Dalyan this year was about to be rather eventful. I made a decision to take some time back to spend it with friends! After a walk to the bank to get cash out, I had a phone call with one of my UK friends. It was good to talk about general stuff as usual but this time it was a chance to arrange to meet up while I was in Sheffield.
My next excitement came in the form of a long awaited hairdresser appointment which Captain Caveman was treating me to. I’d arranged to go with Debbie (Darling) who I hadn’t seen for ages and we joked it was our work Christmas party. She met me at 1pm after having to rescue a cat out of her pool and we went to get the bus to Ortaca. We share the same hairdresser, Emrah, and we’d decided to make an afternoon of it. Luckily that we did, as Captain Caveman had asked if I could get Christmas gifts for his brother and his family of 5 while I was there.
Debbie (Darling) and I chatted so much and had a really fun shopping trip. We bought gifts for people and I managed to get woolly hats for all the Spillane family plus plenty of Turkish Delight.

At the hairdresser’s we had Emra to ourselves and we opened up the chilled prosecco (which we’d had in the fridge) while we waited for our dye to take. I loved it and we both ended up with a change of colour. It cost me a total of 2,500 lira (£44.64) and I felt so much better for having it done.
As I’d bought the fizz, Debbie paid for a taxi back to Dalyan and we popped in to Ren Garden for a quick wine to round off our wonderful afternoon.

I took my shopping home and picked up a coat as it had got chilly once it was going dark. I grabbed a bite to eat at home and then went back out. I met Nanny Kay in Ren Garden too and we had a nice little mulled wine and a good chat.
I’d really enjoyed switching off and relaxing as it’s not often I do, fully.

Gratitude List

Spending valuable time with friends
A trip out to Ortaca with Debbie (Darling)
Getting my hair done, drinking fizz and buying the Christmas Gifts for less than £120.

Dalyan – 17th December

Just as I was starting to get a bit stressed on Wednesday 17th December, things started to take a turn for the better. I had less than a week before I flew back to the UK and I just had so much to do. I was still concerned about having less money than I had hoped for, so when friends and family were inviting me to do things in the UK with them, I knew I didn’t have the budget. I got my 2026 diary out and started to plan a bit better. I got weighed at home and took my measurements and of course it wasn’t going well. Being back at anywhere near my target weight by Christmas was not going to happen. I had put on 0.35kg (0.8lb) this week and still had to face Carol’s scales this afternoon.
My measurements were;
Bust +1cm
Waist +7cm
Hips +1cm
Yes, 7 centimetres on my waist – unusual and I think I’d eaten something that didn’t agree with me.
I also had the curtain man turn up to fix our curtains and he was the same guy who had fitted them years ago, before we lived there. I had a call from Jamie who had a Resort Experts related query that we worked on together so I didn’t check the curtain man’s work before he left.
I didn’t have time to eat any breakfast or lunch, because I then got a message from Amazon to say they had approved my updated internal pages for ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ and I was ecstatic!!!
This meant I could now start my marketing plan and all the self promoting that I needed to do on social media to get my book sold. Amazon do take quite a cut and, ideally, I needed to sell 3 per day but I wanted to aim for 1 copy per day for now. I’d planned badly and most people had probably done their Christmas shopping by now, which could have had an advantage for me. It also wasn’t just about me making loads of money on book sales (although that would be amazing), I knew the planner could really help people have better holidays. It was also designed to provide opportunities for me to book holidays for more people in 2026 and beyond. I used Canva and some templates from the course I had done with Claire Clarke to produce some promo posts. I’m not good with Canva and it took me a long time, in between holiday related queries and nipping to Fat Club. Carol’s scales were saying similar so I hadn’t been lucky there.
My next Zoom meeting was with Claire Clarke and the Create Publish Grow group – I was excited to report that my planner was finally ready.
At 6.15pm I nipped to the shop, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Popcorn 13.50
Mentos 22.50
Peanuts 29.75
Crisps 47.90
Pizza toasties 109.80
Pizza 209.00
432.45 lira (£7.72)

I cooked a ready made pizza for dinner, which was probably not a good idea, really, given how massive my stomach had been. I then finished my first promo poster on Canva and it was almost midnight – I thought it looked good, but I would see how my followers (and you) viewed it.
I had a link at the ready for people to buy it once it went live (it is now): https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Gratitude List
1. My new planner ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was ready and I could start to let people know it was coming soon.
2. Getting the Canva promo stuff done without giving up or crying
3. Managing to go outside and to the shop.

Dalyan – 1st December

For Captain Caveman’s last day in Dalyan on Monday 1st December, I decided we should go on the Yellow Boat to Köyceğiz. I’d booked the 2 of us on at 400 lira (£7.27) each, leaving at 10.30am and returning by 5pm. I was mainly looking forward to buying some fruit and vegetables at the market as we hadn’t been to the Dalyan one.
My first job was to feed my friend’s cat, get cash out of the bank and then grab us a couple of croissants from the bakery for breakfast. It cost 180 lira (£3.21) for 2 and they were really good and fresh. I checked the stats for my JOLOYOLO.COM blog and was pleased to see I had 6% more views in November than October. The top 3 nationalities were listed as the UK, Turkey, then the USA. Unfortunately, Vietnam was down in 15th place – beaten easily by Australia, Thailand and the Netherlands!
It was quite chilly out but dry, so we were optimistic for the boat trip today. When we got on, there was just us, Brigette and her hubby, Jim, plus a Turkish lady who was the mother of a walking friend of Captain Caveman’s. Usually there are about 16 onboard so this felt like our own private trip!!
We sipped our hot drinks and nibbles on simit, as we sailed along the river and towards Köyceğiz Lake. The water and scenery was so beautiful and my phone camera didn’t even do it justice.

When we arrived it was around midday so Captain Caveman and I headed to the market. Here’s what we bought with prices in lira;

Potatoes, onions & garlic 45
Peppers & courgettes 45
Black Olives 50
2 pairs of Slippers 100
Total spent 240 lira (£4.29)

For lunch we decided to try Kebapçı Antepden 1999 where I had a lentil soup and Captain Caveman ordered a chicken wrap. The waiter also brought us some free starters, lots of bread and it was all very nice for 480 lira (£8.57). Our next stop was to call for a drink by the lake at one of our favourite places, Avantgart, where we spent 700 lira (£12.50) on a glass of red wine and a rakı.

Back on the boat we had some fruit and snacks then I had a wine and Captain Caveman had a beer. We all watched a bird eat a snake, which was a little grim, but interesting! It was a really good boat trip and we even tried dried persimmon with pecan nuts with the Turkish lady – they were delicious.

After dropping the shopping back in Dalyan, I went to feed my friend’s cat and we had sausage casserole for dinner again. This time Captain Caveman had the leftover lamb added to his. Later, we headed to Ozzy’s bar to meet my parents for a farewell drink. Here’s what we had with prices in lira;

2 Efes Malt 300
2 red wines 320
Total 620 lira with 60 lira discount
Total spent 560 lira (£10)

My parents and Captain Caveman were on the same flight back to Manchester tomorrow, as well as Julie & Gareth, so they were all going to the airport together. As I wouldn’t get to to say bye to Ma & Pa tomorrow, I said my goodbyes that night.

Gratitude List
1. A great day out in Köyceğiz on the Yellow Boat
2. Tasty food
3. Leaving drinks with my parents and Captain Caveman.

Dalyan – 30th November

It was still raining when my alarm went off at 6am on Sunday 30th November. I didn’t go to feed Baby C until it stopped raining around 7.30am. On the way home I checked on the 2 white dogs who were fine but one of them had a half wet blanket.

Back home, I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and decided I would go with Captain Caveman on his Sunday Walk. As usual he’d had lots of people saying they might come but no definites and it’s always hard to know who’s coming when it looks like rain. My parents and several Dalyan Dwellers were going to the Çaliş fair so it looked to be a quiet Dalyan. I was hoping to sit and drink tea but when we got to the Kaunos tea garden meeting point there was only us. We decided to have a walk around the edges of Dalyan, just as it started to rain again. Opposite the tombs is a ridiculous wooden frame with plastic flowers draped over it, which were coming loose and blowing in to the river. I picked up several plastic flowers and put them in a bin. After about an hour and 15 minutes of walking we reached the Kefal tea gardens and ordered something to warm us up. Here’s what we had with the prices in lira;

Kefal tea gardens
1 Sage tea 15
1 Large Turkish tea 20
2 cheese & onion toasties 220
Total spent 255 lira (£4.64)

That was breakfast sorted and we decided to continue along the river walk towards the Denizkızı ferry. We bumped in to Ghislaine and her dogs so had a chat and I found it tricky to walk through the puddles with tons of stray cats round my feet, who may have thought we had come to feed them.

We got home before 1pm as we needed to shower and get ready for a lunch arrangement. Sezgin and Nur wanted us to join them for lunch at a place they love to go to eat lamb. Joining us were Debbie and Mike who we hadn’t had chance to catch up with yet either, so that worked well. I don’t eat lamb but I know that Captain Caveman loves it so I was happy to oblige. Sezgin recommended we all try the Tandır Lamb dish which is roasted lamb in the oven, slow cooked for a few hours. It came with plenty of bread, salad and pickled vegetables so I managed to eat just a little of the lamb. Mike ordered kofta (meatballs) instead but I wanted to try the dish Sezgin and Nur really liked. It was good, and cooked really well. Captain Caveman loved it and we even took some home to have for tomorrow. Here’s what we paid for our share of the meal with water to drink;

Köprübaşı restaurant
1,850 lira (£33.64)

After, we drove back to Kefal tea gardens for a second visit and had a drink and a chat. I paid for the drinks and here’s what we had with prices in lira;

Kefal tea gardens
1 soda water 25
2 Large Turkish tea 40
1 Espresso 65
2 Black coffee 80
Total 210 lira (£3.82)

It was almost 4pm by the time we got in, so on the evening cat feed I took Captain Caveman with me so we could go for another walk after. We were surprised to see people we knew in Sofra bar who were already back from Çaliş, including Jamie. We decided to join them for one and ended up having 3 drinks. Here’s what we had with prices in lira;

Sofra bar
3 Efes Malt 450
3 Red wine 540
Total spent 990 lira (£18)

We didn’t stay out late as it had turned quite cold and we needed to get some rest before Captain Caveman’s last day tomorrow. We walked past a new cafe which Ozzy was opening and would cater for people arriving late from the airport. Before bed, I checked where my finances were on my income & expenditure spreadsheet as it was the last day of the month. I had just about managed to get back to breaking even; I’d spent £780 against a budget of £1,000 so I was pleased with that. I’d also got a surplus of £392 to take in to the last month of the year. My credit card was paid off (as always) and all the bills were paid.

Gratitude List
1. A Sunday Walk for just the 2 of us made a nice change for me
2. Traditional Turkish Lunch out with friends
3. Being within budget.

Dalyan – 28th & 29th November

On Friday 28th November I was up and about very early on animal duty. Captain Caveman was off to Bridge again in the morning so I worked and caught up on some blogging and content posts. Captain Caveman suggested I take the afternoon off but I’d enrolled in another Travelpack cruise training session at 5pm. Instead, we had a bit of a walk at lunch and called to the off licence where we bought 2 bottles of wine for 665 lira (£12.09) to stock up for the weekend.
I’d also decided to arrange a night out at Ren Garden with friends. I’d invited my parents too but they were already booked up to go out with their friends. After feeding the cat and Captain Caveman making us a halloumi pasta for dinner, we got ready to meet Jamie, Vanessa, Leanne & Sonuç. As it was bad weather a few others had cancelled but we had already got a warm private room at the back, near the pool. It was really nice and we did have a laugh. Ren Garden’s mulled wine goes down so quickly and the new cheese plate addition was very nice. Some other friends were in the other room and came to say hello and another couple of fellas came to join us.
Our bill for the evening came to 1,890 lira (£34.36) which included 13 alcoholic drinks and a cheese plate! Not bad for a Friday night out for 2, really!

Gratitude List
1. Good food
2. A night out with friends
3. Mulled wine.

It was a wet one on Saturday 29th November. I went to feed the cat and got a little bit wet and the rain really came down before lunch time. Even our front balcony got too much water on it at once and it started to overflow. I had planned to go say bye to Vanessa and Matt but it was raining so heavily that we decided not to. The Saturday market was not an option for us as we decided it was a day on the sofa.
In the afternoon I baked a camembert in the oven and we had it with some crusty bread. It was so good! For dinner we had a home made sausage casserole with airfryer Yorkshire puddings which we cooked together and was also amazing!
In the evening Captain Caveman and I started to look at holiday plans for 2026, including ideas of me spending the whole of July with Captain Caveman, which would be lovely. Baby C didn’t show up when I’d gone to feed her that evening, in the rain, so I suspected she had someone else feeding her and keeping her dry, elsewhere.
Captain Caveman had organised another Sunday Walk for tomorrow, which clashed with the Çaliş fair and rain forecast so we weren’t expecting many people. I set the alarm so that I could be up ready for Baby C before going to the tea gardens.

Gratitude List
1. Baked Camembert
2. Sausage Casserole
3. Planning some time together for 2026.

Photo Credit – some by Ren Garden & Jamie

Dalyan – 27th November

As our anniversary is the Thursday before Christmas but we wouldn’t be in the same country, Captain Caveman had moved our anniversary forward to today, Thursday 27th November. When we woke up it was raining quite hard so I fed the cat later than usual. On the way back, I was delighted to see that someone had bought the 2 white dogs a kennel each and they were keeping dry. I called at the bakery and made it home before more rain. Unfortunately Captain Caveman’s plan to join the Riverbums, clearing the river of litter, had been cancelled this morning due to the rain. I had a Resort Experts team meeting at 2pm and then Captain Caveman and I decided to go out to celebrate our 14 years together. We walked as far as Luz, which does Latin food and cocktails, and we said hello to their very nice dog. Captain Caveman treated us to a cocktail and some nibbles. Here’s what we had with the prices in lira;

1 Argentina Tortilla 360
1 Cheese Fondue 420
1 Bloody Maria 530
1 Hibiscus Margarita 530
Total spent 1,840 lira (£33.45)

It’s not the cheapest place in town but the quality is worth it and it’s definitely not for the Dalyan Cheap Chasers who moan about the price of a beer. We really enjoyed it and I do love the hibiscus margarita there. Our next stop, after a bit of a stroll and a call to feed the cat again, was to the supermarket. Here’s what we bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Spring onions 32.95
Milk 36.90
6 eggs 72.95
Wholemeal bread 84.95
Halloumi cheese 96.50
Cherry juice 105.00
Fairy Liquid 149.95
Total spent 579.20 lira (£10.53)

Captain Caveman dropped the shopping back off home and we met back up for dinner at Ayaz where I had a chicken shish with a pomegranate juice and Captain Caveman had a lamb shish with ayran. The food was lovely and it came to just 800 lira (£14.55) in total. Back home we had a White Russian and watched a film on TV.

Gratitude List
1. Seeing the white dogs had new shelters
2. Lunch and cocktails at Luz
3. Dinner at Ayaz to celebrate 14 years with Captain Caveman.

Dalyan – 25th & 26th November

I decided not to bother taking the day off work on Tuesday 25th November as I correctly assumed Captain Caveman would be doing something without me. I fed the cat and had a stroll back via the bakery where I picked up some croissants for breakfast. I hadn’t thought about Fat Club weigh in tomorrow so I’d probably accidentally had a Sabotage Tuesday (again). We ate breakfast then Captain Caveman went to play Bridge. I logged on and did some work. When he got back I made us a cougette pasta for lunch. I carried on working while Captain Caveman lolled on the sofa with his phone until 5pm then he went to the grocers for veg and more eggs.
I fed the cat in the evening, then came back to make a chickpea and spinach curry which we didn’t eat until gone 9.30pm but it was rather tasty.

Gratitude List
1. Croissants for breakfast
2. Spending the evening with Captain Caveman
3. Great Slimming World friendly food.

Wednesday 26th November was a bit of an odd day really. I was feeding my friend’s cat before 7.15am, saw the sunrise and then went back to bed with a cup of tea as it was cold out. After breakfast of toast for me and homemade şakşuka for Captain Caveman I remembered to get weighed and measured. My home scales showed I had lost 0.8kg (1.8lb) this week, which was very surprising given that I had consumed far more syns than I should have! My measurements showed I’d put 1cm on my bust and hips but lost 3cm from my waist – impressive really! Captain Caveman and I decided to have a bit of a walk around and I introduced him to the white dogs, before he went off to the barbers and I went to Fat Club. Captain Caveman’s haircut and shave cost him 400 lira (£7.27) which he was happy with and they did a good job.
Disappointingly, but realistically, Carol’s scales said I had remained the same as last week and not lost any weight at all! I would need to try harder in December to get back to target before the end of the year. I had just under 5kg (11lb) to lose so it was not looking likely that I would reach target again this year.
At 6pm I had arranged to meet up with my parents, Jamie and Vanessa at Ren Garden for a drink. I was surprised to see Ma on the beer and Pa on the water but he’d got a bit of a cold and dodgy tum so was taking it easy after their Jiva Beach trip. While Ma took it steady with a few beers, Pa had a latte but he wasn’t feeling too great. I nipped off to feed the cat and she wanted some attention so I stayed for a little while to give her some strokes with her pâté.
When I returned, Vanessa and Matt had arrived after the pool afternoon with Mark, Kate and Sarah. We weirdly ended up playing games and taking over the front room of Ren Garden’s bar area – and we were loud! Here’s what ours and my parents’ bills came to that night.

Ren Garden – us
4 Red wines 520
5 Efes Malta 600
Total spent 1,120 lira (£20.36)

Ren Garden – Ma & Pa
2 waters 40
1 latte 130
3 Efes Malt 360
Total 530 lira (£9.64)

I’d obviously gone mad on the wine (again) on a Wednesday and was easily swayed when a suggestion to go for food came up. Dad and Captain Caveman decided to walk on ahead to Çağrı to go there but they turned back when they saw it had been open but was closing. We decided Pizza 48 would be a good place, despite it being outdoor seating. I don’t recall us being cold and we all had our own pizza and a drink. Captain Caveman ordered a meat pizza and an Efes Malt, I had a mushroom pizza with a red wine which came to 1,080 lira (£19.64). I was planning on taking some home but it was pretty good and I ate it all.

Gratitude List
1. Weighing less on my home scales
2. A night out at Ren Garden
3. Spending time with friends and family.

Dalyan – 24th November

On Monday 24th November, I had fed and watered the cat, well before 7.15am and was on my walk back home when I met 2 of the dogs I usually see by the river. They walked all the way through town, along the river and almost home, with me.
Captain Caveman and one of my friends had planned a hard walk up a mountain which I was neither capable of nor invited on so he had made a packed lunch and she was picking him up at 10am.
I spent the morning doing some ad-hoc work tasks and looking at flights for 2026. I had leftover chicken for lunch and then just pottered about on my non-day off.
By 3.30pm, Captain Caveman was back and had thoroughly enjoyed his Monday walk. He got changed in to an outfit which could only say that he was unlikely to be intending on leaving the house. I left him at home while I went to pick up my coat which I’d finally got round to having the zip fixed on, at Dalyan Tailors. They are based in the square next to Migros and it cost 100 lira (£1.82) which I was happy with. I went to feed the cat and we had some cuddles, she even got on her box for more attention.
Captain Caveman had put ‘normal’ clothes on for the evening and we decided to go to Ozzy’s for a drink. We had tickets for a comedy night at 8pm so we had to look sharp. We should’ve got food at Ozzy’s but Captain Caveman was keen to eat Turkish so we paid our bill and sped off to get food. Here’s what we paid in lira;

Ozzy’s Bar
2 red wines
2 beers
690 lira (£12.55)

We thought Çağrı would be a good bet and it was on our way to the comedy night venue. Unfortunately, it was closed as they had decided to close on Mondays during the winter. We both joked that we needed to just ‘get anything but not China Town’ as neither of us fancied an expensive Chinese and we only had 40 minutes before the start of the show.
Lots of places close on Mondays now, or places that Captain Caveman had thought of were now closed for a break/winter. We ended up having to go to China Town which is a bit outside of my usual budget. It’s not my favourite place but we got served straight away, the food was piping hot and we were paying and leaving at 3 minutes past the start of the 8pm show. Here’s what we had with the prices in lira;

China Town
1 red wine 140
1 Efes Malt 150
1 plain rice 150
1 Won Ton soup 190
1 Chicken & Sweetcorn soup 190
1 Singapore noodles 430
1 Chicken in black bean sauce 450
Total Spent 1,700 lira (£30.91)

The soups were good, my chicken dish not particularly authentic and the noodles very good. We were also very close to our next venue, who had messaged to check if I was on my way – very attentive.
We got seated in Books & Cookies where we had 2 tickets for the comedy show with Ege Öztokat for 800 lira (£14.55). We ordered drinks of 1 beer + 1 wine totalling 340 lira (£6.18) and got sat in our seats. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd too and it turned out to be a very funny and interesting evening. I really enjoyed being able to watch comedy in Dalyan as, along with good live music, it’s something I miss going to, on a regular basis.

Gratitude List
1. Working on a day off while checking plans for my own trips in 2026
2. Saving money by not going to Köyceğiz as I’d hoped
3. Comedy night at Books & Cookies.