I woke up on Wednesday 16th November excited for Kate’s birthday party this afternoon. I was also looking forward to finding out if my frugal lifestyle and 3 days of no alcohol had paid off when I got to Fat Club later. So far this week I’d only spent 888 lira (£40.36) so an average of £10 per day and I’d only been in a bar once. The weather was lovely so I went to meet my parents before Fat Club at the Kaunos tea gardens where I resisted the urge to eat anything or drink beer. When I got to Fat Club I was pleased I had lost almost 1kg so my efforts this week had been rewarded and I just had to keep it up. I walked to Mark and Kate’s feeling happy and ate a Bounty on the way as my lunch/dinner. Jacket Potatoes were being cooked on a fire by Mark but I’d already decided that today’s calories were going on wine. I took a bottle of Tılsım, which I’d took a splash out of to put in a slow cooker meal and that would be enough. My parents had taken a bottle of white and a bottle of red but I wondered if that would be enough for Dad.
On entering the party, which I was late to, due to going to Fat Club, there were lots of familiar friendly faces and the sun was shining. Mark had made a punch which Kate insisted I try and it had my 2 least favourite ingredients in; Melon and Bacardi. It actually didn’t taste too bad but I was ready for the red wine. Despite Kate having to have a party at home due to recovering from her op, it was a successful move. She looked well and she was able to drink prosecco and have a little lay down if she needed it.
Around sunset Kate, Debbie and I walked down to the jetty to admire the view with a glass of vino in hand. It was a pity Captain Caveman, Vanessa and Matt had to miss the do as it was really fun and such gorgeous weather. When I got back to the house, Dad had ran out of wine so had poured a glass of mine and I asked Mark if it was ok to ‘borrow’ some of his for my Dad. At 7pm there were still jacket potatoes in the fire, surely they were cooked by now!?
Mark managed to get Kate a birthday cake without her noticing, we sang Happy Birthday then slices were passed around. I even resisted the cake and the jacket potatoes. It was a brill party and, as you can imagine, we were there later than expected, and probably the last ones to leave, with Gorgeous Gay Gaz from Gateshead with the Glass eye and the Giant Gonads. We got Fikri’s taxi to my parents and they invited me in for a beverage.
Mom pulled out all the stops as she dished up some curry while Dad got the gin and bitter lemon (with mint) out. I’d not brought a coat or a cardi so I left my parents place with ma’s hoody on. I was glad of it as it was so cold on my bare legs and this was the coldest I’d been for a while. I was pleased to have only had 1 glass of punch, (slightly less than) 1 bottle of red wine and a couple of gins in about 7 hours. I’d only spent 111 lira (£5) and come home pretty sloshed having had a great time.
We were off to Köyceğiz on Monday 7th November! I’d organised a boat trip with Rob in mind but he had to work and couldn’t come along. Not to be deterred, the rest of us still went on another of Kaan’s boat trips, this time to take us to Köyceğiz market. On board today were; Captain Caveman, me, Mom & Dad, Linda, Vanessa, Tracey, Diana, Jackie & Chris, Wolfie, Tay & Angelique. At one point we were doubting if the weather would be good enough to go as, up to an hour before, it wasn’t looking good. Once we had set sail, I suggested to Kaan that he write the price of each drink on the sheet at the top of the page – that way everyone knows what they were paying beforehand. He told me the prices and I wrote them on for him while we set sail to Köyceğiz, across the gorgeous lake. While I was behind the bar, helping people get the drink they wanted and writing it down on the bar tab for Kaan, I noticed a hat. I was sure it was Viv’s so I messaged her and it was, so I popped it in my bag to give her.
Most of us had already had a drink before we arrived in Köyceğiz and I still had half of my beer left, which I gave to Captain Caveman. My parents, Captain Caveman, Linda and I headed to the clothing part of the market where my Dad decided to buy some trainers. My parents needed a new toaster so Captain Caveman went off to locate the electrical shop, but it was no longer there. The ones we did find didn’t sell toasters so we were just about to make our way back out. Unfortunately, a rather large Turkish woman in somewhat of a rush bumped right in to Dad making him almost lose is balance. When Captain Caveman rejoined us, she had almost done the same to him. It was time to get out of there and reconvene with the group at Tuana restaurant. Linda and I went to the public toilets, they are a short walk from the waterfront and it costs 4 lira (less than 20p). Because Kaan was charging 80 lira (£3.72) for a glass of wine and didn’t have any red, Linda went to buy a bottle in Migros. My parents went straight to Tuana but Captain Caveman and I wanted to find the fruit, veg and cheese market stalls. We found some lovely strawberries, then tried out and bought a few delicious cheeses.
At Tuana a few people were already eating and, although a glass of wine here was 85 lira (£3.95) a beer was only 50 lira (£2.33). The food was good and a few people recommended the quesadillas so Captain Caveman had that. It had chilli in so I ordered a plain chicken sandwich but when it came they had sprinkled chilli flakes on the chicken. I dusted them off and ate it as I was hungry but it was a bit warm. As we were leaving there was a bit of an unfortunate incident. I’d gone to the loo in the restaurant just before Tracey but didn’t realise that she was stuck in there. The dodgy lock meant she was trapped inside and had to phone Diana who alerted the staff. Tracey was rescued by them breaking the door so she didn’t get left behind!
Loaded up with fresh produce from Köyceğiz market, we got back on the boat just before 3pm. The bad weather looked like it might finally be catching up with us but we were heading away from the big black clouds. More drinks were had on the boat and I helped Kaan behind the bar a bit, to make sure everything was recorded properly. Our plan had been to anchor up somewhere on the lake, pop on some music and chill out a little but the rain did look like it might come. Kaan doesn’t have any side awnings on his boat but I momentarily couldn’t think what they were called to ask about them in English or Turkish. We had a laugh telling Kaan he needed to get some ‘side flaps’ for when it was wet! I made the decision to go back to Dalyan without anchoring up, just in case the weather turned, as we had been very lucky so far. This meant we were back by 4.30pm instead of the 5pm we planned so we didn’t cut it short too much.
A few of us decided to stop at Tez bar for a drink, Captain Caveman took our shopping home and went to check if Rob had finished work and wanted to join us. He was still in a meeting so he left a note to say to come to us and we had a couple at Tez’s. A guy sat there had just ordered a toaster which had been delivered to Tez so I took a photo of it for my mom to see if she wanted to order one. There was a German woman sat alone so she came to join us and, when Rob arrived, it turned out he spoke the most German out of any of us.
For dinner we decided to go to Çağrı, Rob had booked Fikri to take him to the airport so we were tight for time. Joining Captain Caveman, Rob, my parents and I were Jackie, Chris and Diana. We all ordered and a few people shared various mezes from the chiller too, there was more booze involved and we all had a lovely meal. Unfortunately Rob had to leave while we were still at Çağrı and we were all sad to see him go. He’d been a perfect guest and everyone had got on well with him, he is so easy going too. Captain Caveman gave him an open invite to come back any time. That really should have been the end of the night but, foolishly, after saying bye to Diana, Jackie and Chris the 4 of us had a table booked at the new Heybe’s Monday Entertainments quiz. When we got there it had just started and we got told off for being late. This quiz is an entertainments one which is based mainly on TV, film and musicals. Obviously Captain Caveman and I find that difficult as we were living in Vietnam for quite a while without any TV at all. We were in luck though as the specialist round was from years back, Only Fools and Horses, something we all used to watch. Jamie, Drew and Debbie were on the next table but we had no time for chatting to anyone as the quiz was on. Obviously we didn’t win and we weren’t sure this kind of quiz was our thing really. It’s ideal if you do like a lot of TV and film though. Earlier in the year I’d had a firestick but I rarely watched anything but Formula 1 or the news, so we were definitely at a disadvantage. Next week’s specialist round would be on the 1968 musical, Oliver! That was definitely more up Drew’s street as he’s good on musicals, none of us 4 have a clue. We were all drunk, we’d had an amazing weekend and now I needed to get back on track with my diet!
By 7.25am on Friday 4th November all cats at Mark and Kate’s were fed. I was tempted to go back to bed but didn’t and I spent some time on my Turkish. I cycled back to see Captain Caveman who was looking forward to Rob’s arrival this afternoon. He made the spare bed and had a tidy round a bit, while I cooked lunch he went to the supermarket. He bought 3 cartons of cherry juice (for his gout), a carton of orange juice and a toastie loaf for a total of 88 lira (£4.20). He also bought a lightbulb for the cooker hood for 13 lira, a shower head for 35 lira and some coffee for 65 lira, just over £5 for those 3 items. We ate Slimming World friendly potatoes with peppers and onion, then I added tiny bits of sucuk (Turkish salami) and cheese. It wasn’t bad but not amazing though that didn’t matter as I had organised a night out later. I went back to Mark and Kate’s to check on the kitties then feed them.
Captain Caveman met Rob for a drink at Lukka bar then I walked in to town to meet them at Aşkın’s for a pre-dinner drink. Jamie and Drew were already there with Captain Caveman and Rob, I joined Jamie in a Mr G to remember his late husband Graeme. The Mr G drink is named after Graeme and is very moreish, it was also Aşkın’s last weekend of opening as they would be closing for the winter. The evenings were getting a little cooler now so I had a fleece on as we walked through town to meet everyone at Bistro Blue. It was also their last night so l had reserved a table for 10 of us; Ma & Pa, Jamie & Drew, Viv & Paul, Nanny Kay, Rob, Captain Caveman and me. We sat down but Captain Caveman decided he would take Dad’s seat so Dad had to go back to sitting opposite Mom so that Captain Caveman could sit opposite Rob. I sat between Paul and Drew, opposite Nanny Kay. I’d already decided I was having a steak before I’d even looked at the menu, Captain Caveman and I decided to treat ourselves to the large one for a little extra. Drew had a mixed grill and it was massive, I really enjoyed my steak and it took me ages to eat it. After a gorgeous meal most of us wandered over to Sofra bar where there was a band on so we caught the second half. Luckily a few from Fat Club were there so I joined them on the dance floor. I loved Psycho Killer and it was the singer’s birthday so it was a great way to end the night. We met up with our neighbours and some friends and had a great night with more wine – the diet was going really well! When it was time to go home, I needed a taxi back to Mark and Kate’s but I didn’t have their address to hand. I went to the taxi rank and asked for a ‘taxi to Mark and Kate’s house please’ and the driver said he knew the way. It was pretty late and I’m not sure why I didn’t call Fikri but I got back ok and went to bed having had a lovely time.
We were woken with a bit of a jolt on Tuesday 18th October as Captain Caveman’s side of the bed collapsed. Captain Caveman got his tools out and got on with fixing it while I was supposed to be at Turkish class but the class had been cancelled. I made halloumi salad for lunch and then gave Captain Caveman a hand turning the sofa upside down so he could fix that too. At 2pm I went to singing group where Kate and my mom also joined. We sang most of the favourites from last week but we added a couple that we really liked; ‘Bad Moon Rising’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival and ‘Top of the World’ by The Carpenters. Mark & Kate had arranged to meet Matt & Vanessa, who had arrived in Dalyan late last night, at Tez bar so Kate invited us 4 along too. Sheila also joined us and a random couple got stuck with our group when there were no more seats. After one drink and a quick change, Captain Caveman and I had to leave as we were off to Katrina & Mehmet’s wedding reception at Hotel Dalyance.
The wedding party was really lovely and we were honoured to be invited as they had kept it just to close friends and family. Louize had made the cake which looked amazing, all the wedding party looked great especially Katrina, who was looking so beautiful and happy in her gorgeous wedding dress. I was rather too busy mingling and reminding Captain Caveman of names of people he might have forgotten, after being away for 3 years, to take as many photos as I should have. There was a free bar which we were conscious not to abuse the generosity of and we chatted to some lovely people. We got home after midnight having had a fab time.
Captain Caveman was awake early on Saturday 15th October, checking the updates on the miners rescue mission. It was fortunate that Captain Caveman wouldn’t need to join the rescue efforts so we went to meet my parents for breakfast. It was our last feast at Datça Vineyard and, this morning, it was even better because we were the only guests. The lady had already set us up two tables, one per couple, overlooking the vineyards. Each table had a feast of all the breakfast items except for cereals and eggs. I helped myself to cereal, the lady brought the rest of the family their choice of eggs and some çay. We filled up our water bottles then went back to the room to pack before the noon checkout. We were sad to be leaving but there were a couple of things to help soften the blow; while we had been gone we had arranged for cleaners to clean our apartments and we were about to treat ourselves to some takeaway wine from the vineyard.
Captain Caveman had the idea that we might want to stop off at the massive Migros supermarket in Marmaris before heading to Dalyan. The weather had turned a bit and updates from Dalyan told us it was raining there. While we had the car it would be helpful to my parents to stock up on anything hard to carry so we did just that. Captain Caveman and I also got a trolley full and we ended up filling the car up between us with lots of essentials. By late afternoon it was rainy so we only just made it back in time to unload the car and get it back for 5pm.
Here’s what Captain Caveman and I bought at Migros and the prices in lira:
Apples 7.21 Envelopes 7.90 Mouthwash 7.95 Bin liners 10.74 Red peppers 12.97 Schweppes bitter lemon 16.00 Schweppes tonic 16.00 Tomatoes 18.32 Turkish salami 21.90 Gherkins 22.05 Spinach 22.92 2 x salt & vinegar crisps 24.50 Blu-tac 24.50 Yoghurt 26.50 3 x pasta 28.50 Washing up sponges 30.45 3 x passata 39.60 Corn on the cob 44.92 Cheese balls 47.95 2 x Cherry & apple juice 48.00 2 x orange juice 52.00
Total spent 562.78 lira (£26.80)
We decided to brave the rain and reconvene in Lukka bar for a beer, seeing as that was where the car was being collected from. We contemplated eating there but, instead, we booked a table at Duble, a nearby Turkish restaurant which had been getting good reviews recently. It was only in the old market square so if it carried on raining we all weren’t too far from home. Mom had a glass of white wine which was only 50 lira (£2.38) but the rest of us shared a bottle of red. The bottle was 250 lira (£11.90) but, as it happened, would have been cheaper by the glass. For starters Dad and I had chicken soup which could be the best I’ve had in Dalyan. Mom and Captain Caveman had liver plus we had about 3 lots of warm bread. Dad and I both had the beef casserole for mains, Mom had lamb chops and Captain Caveman ordered something none of us knew what it was. It was a shepherd’s casserole and we all loved our food, I couldn’t finish all of mine, as usual, so Captain Caveman popped home to get my tupperware. The whole bill came to 1,180 lira (£56) which wasn’t bad for what we had. As the rain started to get heavier there were a couple of blips in the power so it was home time. We got back to a lovely, clean apartment just as a storm started.
I got up to watch the sunrise at 7am, on Friday 14th October, which was very pretty. Unusually, I was out of bed before Captain Caveman so he missed what I saw. Today was my parents’ Golden wedding anniversary, I went down to the car to collect a gift for my parents; a snazzy bottle of champagne in a gold bottle. Captain Caveman had managed to locate this in Dalyan, which was fortunate as it’s not easy to get decent champagne here. I took a few photos of Datça Vineyard and it really is very beautiful, I loved the tunnel from reception to the rooms.
Once I could tell my parents were up, we went next door to their room to wish them a happy anniversary and give them their card and present. There’s also less choice on greetings cards in Dalyan so I had bought a handmade card from a lady called Faye, who lives in Dalyan. She sells her cards in Maisie Moo and Books & Cookies and they are very nicely made. I chose one with owls on as I know they like owls and my mom once rescued one in Dalyan. The 4 of us went downstairs for breakfast in the lovely dining area with views over the vineyard. A Turkish lady serving the eggs was very friendly and the choice of food was excellent. I really enjoyed my breakfast and there was so much of it, too.
After breakfast, I went to reception where we booked a wine tasting in for 12.30pm. We had a bit of a rest but by 11.30am Dad was in their whirlpool telling mom it was ‘fine once you’re in’ and to get her swimmers on! It took Mom 15 minutes to investigate and then get in the whirlpool where I took some photos of them. Captain Caveman and I came to the conclusion that the water was freezing so we didn’t go in.
We got ready for wine tasting and went down to the main garden, it seemed chilly because of the wind so we sat at a table with a perspex windshield – a real sun trap. We sampled a white, a blush and 2 reds in the warm sun, Ma and I were getting quite hot. I wasn’t expecting the wine to be up to much as the prices were not expensive so we were all quite impressed. We went inside when the wind got up and I thought we might order some nibbles but no one was hungry after so much breakfast. Instead, we decided to wait until dinner and take a walk through the vineyard.
Back up the stairs, it was very sunny outside of our rooms and we were hot after our walk. By 2pm Captain Caveman had his swimmers on and was testing our whirlpool out, Ma & Pa were in their’s shortly after. I joined Captain Caveman and it was freezing so I didn’t stay in long. I got us all a gin and tonic (bitter lemon for me as I don’t like tonic) and we chilled out before dinner. Captain Caveman and I shared the remaining pizza from yesterday’s lunch and we got the remaining nibbles out of the fridge.
I thought I’d make an effort that evening, with it being a special celebration, so I wore a black dress with my gorgeous silk scarf. Chung and Uy, in Vietnam, had bought me the scarf as a gift and I was wanting somewhere nice to wear it to. We were the only ones in the dining room and ordered a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine with a cheese and meat platter to share for starter. For mains we ordered a selection and shared between each couple; pizzas, pasta, salad, and steak. We had a lovely meal, Datça Vineyard is very simple and has a small menu to go with the wine but we all found something we liked. After dinner, we retired to the bar to taste more wine and we were chilled out when we got a message from our friend, Julio. There had been an explosion in a northern Turkish mine where quite a few miners were dead and lots more were trapped underground. Captain Caveman and Julio’s help and expertise may be called upon, as part of the rescue volunteers, so they took some time to get the necessary people on standby. I, selfishly, was concerned this may put a bit of a dampener on the celebrations but there was further concerning news. The bar was closing at 9.30pm – crikey! Back in our room, Captain Caveman went in to the bedroom to liaise with Julio and other potential volunteers so that details could be prepared for if they were needed. Once that was sorted my Mom insisted we open their champagne and share it. I’d tried to object, to say they should keep it for themselves to drink. It turned in to quite a boozy day and night and, as we were safely tucked up in bed that night, 300 miners had started to be rescued.
joloyolo 