On Friday 15th December it was raining really hard outside so I decided on making a veggie Dahl in the slow cooker. Captain Caveman went to Bridge Club and while he was gone I made chicken and vegetable curry pasties with wraps, ready for our lunch. Unfortunately, our chosen restaurant cancelled our anniversary meal booking because of the heavy rain storms and we decided that we would go out with Jamie for a night out instead. Captain Caveman had already arranged it with Jamie for us to go to Sofra bar which was back open at weekends. I also had an invite from Janet, who’s birthday it was, to join her at 8pm in Cafe Ivy for birthday drinks, but we were already booked up – it’s all or nothing here! Debbie from Fat Club popped round with a something for me. At the Fat Club party she’d asked me if I’d like her spare airfryer liners and an old stick blender (as she had got a new one) and wanted to give it to me for free. I was so excited and appreciated it a lot, especially as I now couldn’t justify buying one. She’d even brought it over in the rain so that I could use it as soon as possible. She was a mind-reader as I’d intended on getting the potato masher on the Dahl I was making. It was such a kind thing to do that it made me a bit emotional. After lunch, Captain Caveman and I went to the shops to stock up for the weekend and for next week when we had guests arriving from England. We were both getting excited that Josh was returning for a week at Christmas and, this time, he was bringing his girlfriend. Here’s what we bought with the prices in lira, which was now 37 lira to the pound;
Migros Supermarket Cherry juice 38.00 3 tupperware tubs 49.90 Toblerone 69.90 4 tins of tomatoes 89.68 Total 247.48 lira (£6.69)
Yaman Büfe 2 3 Bottles of wine 388.50 lira (£10.50)
I’d decided that I was going to buy the same ceramic pots for Mom so that she could also do amazing Yorkshire puddings in her airfryer. Mom does a great pudding mixture and doesn’t have an oven in Dalyan so this would be great for her to have with her slow cooker stews. We had french onion soup for dinner which was very nice but I gave most of my bread to Captain Caveman as it goes soggy in the soup.
We met Jamie in Lukka bar for a couple, he was wearing his ‘A Gay in a Manger’ Christmas jumper and was looking to get on it for the evening. Lukka bar beers were 90 lira (£2.43) each and a glass of wine was 120 lira (£3.24), I had 2 wines and Captain Caveman had 3 beers. We had a great night in a quiet Sofra bar, as everyone seemed to be at Cafe Ivy. Jamie left as John, Andrea, Mark, Kate and Daisy arrived as he needed to get back. Captain Caveman and I didn’t get home until 2am.
Norman, Edna and I had quite a lazy day on Sunday 10th December; I was on my second cup of tea and the dogs were still in their bed when Captain Caveman set off for his Sunday walk. He’d woken me up at 7.45am when he noisily emptied the dishwasher, so I’d been awake early but was still lounging about. I had my overnight oats made with quark and persimmon for breakfast then had a banana and egg Slimming World style pancake as a second breakfast. It was cold and misty out so I just did a short walk with the dogs before coming back for snuggles on the sofa. Lunch was lentil soup with bread and cheese once Captain Caveman returned from his walk. Jamie was due back about 7pm so we left after feeding the dogs. For our dinner we had pasta with sucuk (Turkish sausage) and veg which Captain Caveman cooked at home.
Monday 11th December was the start of my last week at work for 2023 and I had decided to split my hours between today through to Wednesday. Captain Caveman went to the dog shelter while I cracked on after my cup of Yorkshire tea, a banana and a tangerine. I finished work at 1.15pm and heated up more lentil soup for lunch, by which time Captain Caveman had returned home. We had a chocolate bar and a tangerine then had a leisurely afternoon. For dinner I heated up the lasagne and we had it with green beans. Later, we started watching 1899 on Netflix and had homemade popcorn as a snack.
On Tuesday 12th December I had a cup of tea, a banana and a tangerine for breakfast then got on with work until 1.15pm. Captain Caveman was at Bridge Club but we reconvened for lunch. I reheated some chicken and vegetable curry and we had it with the remaining bread which needed eating up. In the afternoon we went shopping, here’s what we bought with the amount spent in lira;
Migros Supermarket 1 tin tomatoes 29.90 15 eggs 60.00 622g Chicken thighs 62.14 Frozen fruit 79.90 2 IPA beers 111.00 Total spent 342.94 lira (£9.42)
Millennium shop 1 laundry powder scoop 3 Yorkshire pudding bowls 1 metal tongues Total spent 125 lira (£3.43)
Captain Caveman treated us to 0.5kg of brisket which was 200 lira (£5.49) from the local butchers. I was looking forward to seeing if the ceramic pots we had bought would be good for airfryer Yorkshire puddings. For dinner I decided to try something new from one of the Slimming World books, chicken and cauliflower bake. It was a great success and even Captain Caveman had seconds despite not being a fan of cauliflower. My weekly syns total ended on 306 which, from past experience, would mean I would have put weight on at Fat Club tomorrow.
I chopped and deseeded the rest of the persimmon on Friday 8th December, so that I could use them for my overnight oats. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge Club and would meet me at Jamie’s villa. Jamie was off to Istanbul with friends for a birthday weekend, while we looked after Norman and Edna. For lunch I did us a jacket potato with cheese for a nice change then we walked the dogs. It started raining while we were out so we had to take shelter. Edna loves to nip in to Waterfall, her local pub, so we went there for a drink. Mehmet gave Norman and Edna some sausage which they enjoyed but Edna was disappointed as her boyfriend, Skippy, doesn’t frequent the bar on a Friday. Back home we had some chicken curry with steamed rice for dinner and some tangerines for after.
Saturday 9th December was quite a lively one but started off lazy. I was still in my pyjamas on the sofa with Norman and Edna at 10am. I had Tetley’s tea and my overnight oats for breakfast before eventually getting ready to walk the dogs prior to our weekly jaunt to the market. Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;
Stall 1 Potatoes & onions 29
Stall 2 Red & Green peppers 25
Stall 3 Persimmons & bananas 53
Stall 4 Tangerines 30
Stall 5 2 spinach gözleme 100
Total market spend 237 lira (£6.51)
The lira had dropped to 36.4 to the pound yesterday but it was still set to increase again. Captain Caveman chose a different stall for tangerines this week and she charged us 3 times more than the guy last week.
Back at Jamie’s, I fell asleep on the sofa and my parents went for a walk ending up in a visit to Tez bar. Mom was looking for the new location of Emrah the hairdresser so I told her where it was, next to the Şarküteri shop along from the butchers. We were waiting for Norman to wake up so that we could go to Sofra bar for a drink and meet Ma & Pa. Edna insisted that we go to see Skippy in Waterfall as she, quite rightly, pointed out that football would be on at Sofra meaning talking would be frowned upon. We got there about 5.15pm and let my parents know so they could join us, they were very merry when they arrived. By 7pm Mom was murdering Bonnie Tyler’s ‘It’s a heartache’ to a bewildered Norman and Edna. I have a video but Ma will not allow it to be published, so I took a screenshot of the dogs watching and listening. We took the dogs home and gave them a late tea, Norman grumbled something about it being a good job they get treats in the Waterfall if dinner is going to be this late! We left the dogs, snuggled up in their bed, to go back out for dinner with my tipsy parents.
We decided on Mahir’s Kebabs which have fantastic fish and chips and cheap wine – yes my diet was going well! On the way I showed Ma where the hairdresser was now located and she looked in through the window to check it out. At Mahir’s, Dad had chicken shish, Mom ordered an Adana kebab, Captain Caveman İskender kebab and I (obviously) had the fish and chips. The food was so good and service from Mahir is always excellent. A beer or a wine was just 80 lira (£2.20), Captain Caveman’s meal was 230 lira (£6.32) and mine was 280 lira (£7.70) which we thought was reasonable for the portion size. Mahir gave us free chocolate treats at the end of the meal too. We went straight home after dinner as I don’t like to leave the dogs too late, plus my parents probably wouldn’t remember getting home as it was.
I stayed in bed until after 10am on Wednesday 6th December as it was raining heavily. I had the usual tea and a banana for breakfast. It was weigh day so I did get on the home scales to find I’d lost 0.25kg (0.5lb) which was surprising after all the cheese and wine last night. My measurements were also quite promising; 1cm on my bust, hips remained the same but I’d lost 1cm from my waist. At lunch time I tried cooking the sweet potatoes to find they weren’t as I expected them to be. They took ages in the air fryer to cook, and I’d have been better off doing our lunch in the oven. Captain Caveman popped to the shops when the rain stopped and bought 2 jars of passata as it was on offer at 39.80 lira in total (£1.09) – a bargain. At Fat Club, Carol’s scales were not so forgiving and I had put on 0.1kg (0.2lb) so I really did need to be more disciplined this coming week. Having said that, we were invited out this evening again. I popped to the shop on my way home, here’s what I bought;
Migros Supermarket Bicarbonate of soda 6.50 Lentils 20.00 Milk 22.50 1 tin of tomatoes 29.90 4 Dido chocolate bars 42.00 Total spent 121.80 lira (£3.34)
That evening we got the bus out to Bill & Jaxx’s villa, not far from the Günlüklu restaurant. On the way we saw an outside toilet and a dinosaur which were great landmarks for us to get off at the right bus stop next time. Bill picked us up and I should have took more notice of the route, but that was Captain Caveman’s department! We had agreed to house and dog sit for them later in the month so we were going over to discuss further and for Captain Caveman to meet their dogs. We had a lovely evening, with lots of wine, garlic bread, chicken pasta, a cheese board and port. It was so indulgent and delicious and we had such a good laugh. The dogs were great and we knew we would enjoy looking after Big Boy and Lucy while their owners were away. It was gone midnight when we left, a little bit merry!
On Thursday 7th December Captain Caveman went Bumming, I had my obligatory Yorkshire tea in bed then got up for my overnight oats which I’d added frozen raspberries and persimmon to. For lunch we had chicken wraps with fat free yoghurt, carrot and red cabbage which were lovely. For dinner we were happy at being invited over to my parents’ place for dinner and wine. We had a great time and a tasty chicken casserole too. I went off my diet yet again when I was tempted to eat the crisps and some chocolate. It was only Thursday and I’d already consumed 162 syns so far this week. I was going to have to try my best to curb it a bit more this weekend but it would be tricky as we had some nice plans.
Sunday 3rd December was a wonderful day spent with Captain Caveman and seeing my my parents. Captain Caveman had arranged another easy Sunday walk which all of us went on. Surprisingly, we weren’t hungover but the fresh air certainly did us good and I really enjoyed the walk. I’d started to get to know a few other Dalyan Dwellers that I wouldn’t necessarily see in the bars and was enjoying that. The walk was really nice despite me, Ma and Debbie taking a wrong turn (too busy chatting) and getting a bit lost. It was only 7.4km but my body could certainly tell I’d done it. Back home for lunch I did us each a portion of lasagne (the one with lentils and cabbage in) in the airfryer, it looked rather well done but tasted great. We spent the afternoon relaxing in front of the TV and it was the first day I’d actually started to feel it was getting a bit nippy. For dinner I did us a roast chicken dinner and, not being content with my airfryer Yorkshire pudding process, I tried making one giant pud directly in the basket. This tasted good but didn’t rise as well as I expected, I needed to find some heavier ‘tins’ to fit in the airfryer. The meal was lovely and we had spare leftover for another dinner, we didn’t have any alcohol as I was already on 270 syns for the week and had work tomorrow.
There was not much going on, but work, on Monday 4th December. Captain Caveman went to help at the Dog shelter to keep out of my way. I had cheese spread on bread and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. I stopped work for a quick lunch with Captain Caveman, he made a veggie pasta which was nice. I drank green tea in the afternoon and had a couple of tangerines when I finished work. I’d made a slow cooker chicken curry for dinner. More fruit was had for snacks and I had no alcohol.
Captain Caveman went to Bridge club on the morning of Tuesday 5th December, but not before bringing me a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed. For breakfast I was back on to having overnight oats to be healthy. I had some work to finish off so I did that until noon, when I was then done for the week. Next week would be my last week to work before Christmas. When I finished work I popped to the shops to stock up on a few bits, here’s what I bought and the cost in lira;
For lunch we had beans on wholemeal toast, they were Tom’s homemade baked beans which were really good, they tasted just like Heinz. Captain Caveman had his with a fried egg on top. Around 3.30pm Captain Caveman and I went for a little walk and popped in to the off licence, Yaman Büfe 2, to top up our wine shelf. Rituel wine had now gone up to 125 lira (£3.42) per bottle and it was pretty good. We got plenty in as we spent 867.50 (£23.77) in total on wine and snacks. We had a cheeky drink at Tez bar as the sun was shining and Captain Caveman made us a Slimming World style sweet and sour chicken with steamed rice for dinner. It was delicious and I’d definitely have it again. That evening we were invited over for a cheese and wine night with Jamie, Drew, Nanny Kay and Ann. We had a great evening with lots of wine, cheese and laughs. I stupidly left my phone at home and Captain Caveman did take a couple of photos but he preferred to be snaffling down the buffet! My week’s syn total completely tipped over the edge to 338, so I would have to accept the inevitable tomorrow at Fat Club.
I didn’t know it on Friday 1st December but it would turn out to be an interesting yet challenging month. I started the day with Captain Caveman bringing me a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed. When he went to Bridge club I had my overnight oats with raspberries, orange and pear for breakfast. Carol from Fat Club popped by for me to hand back the scales and her books as I’d been holding the fort for her while she was away for 3 weeks. When I got peckish around noon, I had lentil soup and made the remaining chicken casserole in to pasties made from wraps. I had one and saved 2 for Captain Caveman, which he loved. I’d been trying to get hold of my parents to see if they wanted to pick up the books for Dad, they both had a cold and weren’t feeling well so they had gone for a walk and some fresh air. At 1.30pm my mom messaged from Okyanus to say they had stopped off for some lunch but they might pop to ours for the books in a while. At 3.30pm they were at Tapa with some of the pool gang and wondered if we fancied joining. We had already gone to Waterfall to meet Jamie, Drew, Norman and Edna for a beer. My parents had moved on to Tez bar so when we got back Captain Caveman dropped the books there. I got on with reheating the chicken and leek pasta bake for dinner. At 7.30pm we went for a walk down the river and saw my parents were in River House. We called in to check they were ok and found them both wolfing down Singapore noodles, they were pretty merry having managed quite an afternoon pub crawl. We didn’t join them and went home as we were saving ourselves for tomorrow’s shenanigans.
Originally the Dalyan Winter Fayre had been scheduled for last week but had been postponed to today, Saturday 2nd December, due to the rain. Captain Caveman brought me my usual cup of Yorkshire tea in bed and we decided not to have any breakfast at home as we would have a Turkish pancake (gözleme) at the market. By 10.30am we were ready for the day but not before we had been to the market, obviously! Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;
Stall 1 Garlic & (lots of) shallots 25
Stall 2 Potatoes & onions 55
Stall 3 Cauliflower, red cabbage, carrots, & sweet potatoes 150
This was one of the bigger spends at the market in a while but I was really trying to be healthy and cook everything from scratch so it would definitely last us. We rarely buy ready made meals to cook at home as frozen food here can be expensive and the choice is limited.
My parents came to call for us and, after dropping off some DVDs for a friend’s stall, our first stop had to be the mulled wine stall. None of us are shoppers so we mainly spent money on food and drink – ‘Quelle surprise’! Here’s what we bought and prices in lira 1 jar homemade tahini 90 1 Dalyan Spor mug 100 Spice Garden Indian food 200 1 Dalyan Spor football shirt 500 Total spent 890 lira (£24.38)
We did need a mug as we only owned the one so I was fine with that but the other items seemed a bit frivolous. Having a low income was definitely making me tight with the money I did have!
After a few beers and wines in Bistro Blue and Cafe Ivy we decided we would go to Duble for a meal with my parents and then come back later. We had a fantastic meal but I over-faced myself by ordering a beef casserole which I struggled to finish and had to take half away with me. We also shared potato croquettes and liver & onions which were so good, washed down with more wine. Our bill came to 2,370 lira (£64.93) which was very good. It had been a good day, we left Jamie and Drew in Cafe Ivy at a fairly reasonable hour after me buying 3 pots of homemade baked beans from Natalie and Tom for 60 lira (£1.64).
Jamie was due back later on Monday 28th November so we had a tidy up and packed our stuff ready to return home. I’d had a simit for breakfast and we had a roast chicken for dinner back at home. It was good to be home and have everything we needed to hand. Tomorrow it was weigh day and Fat Club again, I really needed to get back on it before the end of the year if I wanted to reach my target, as I’d definitely gone off plan a bit.
I felt like I was rich on Wednesday 29th November, as I’d been paid. Even a weight gain at Fat Club would not put me in a bad mood today! I got weighed at home and did my measurements. I had lost just 0.1kg (0.2lb) according to the home scales, 1cm off my bust, stayed the same on my waist but I’d put 1cm on my hips. I had a green tea and popped a chicken casserole in to the slow cooker while I cracked on with some work. I had a linden tea then a rose tea and stopped work for lentil soup at lunch time and again to go to Fat Club. To my surprise, I had lost 0.3kg (0.7lb) so I was pleased with that. I only needed to lose another 2.1kg (4.6lb) to reach my target. I called at the supermarket on my way home, to pick up some essentials, and here’s what I got, with prices in lira;
There were a few extravagant purchases and chocolate as a treat, with it being pay day. The exchange rate was now 36.5 lira to the pound too. I went back home to finish off my work for the week, which was lucky as the internet went off at 6pm. We decided to go to Tez bar just for one drink and spent 250 lira (£6.85) on 2 beers and a wine! Back at home, we had a chicken and leek bake for dinner and saved the chicken casserole for tomorrow.
Captain Caveman wasn’t Bumming on Thursday 30th November, due to bad weather. He brought me a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed and I didn’t bother with any breakfast as I had a cheeky lay in. Captain Caveman decided to go shopping as we needed some bulky items as well as the regular food stuff. Here’s what he bought with the prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket New Migros card 4.00 2 bags pasta 17.80 2 Quark 31.90 Peanut butter 62.00 Toilet roll 69.90 3 cartons cherry juice 114.00 Washing powder 219.73 Total spent 519.33 lira (£14.23)
We had leftover lentil soup for lunch and I accidentally ate some crisps. I looked through the Migros leaflet to find there were a couple of bargains to be had. Around 3pm Captain Caveman went back to the shop to pick up the extra items, here’s the info;
Migros Supermarket (2nd visit) Soda water 17.45 Cheese 49.00 Coffee 133.52 Fairy Liquid 139.90 1.8kg whole chicken 96.53 Total spent 436.40 (£11.96)
Captain Caveman also called in to the barbers and to put the internet on until the end of September. Our next appointment was to meet Adele and Vanessa at the Kaunos tea gardens. It was raining quite hard and Adele didn’t make it. It was pretty cold and wet but the Sheffield lot carried on regardless; Vanessa and I had a cup of tea each, still only 10 lira (27p), Captain Caveman had 2 beers and a cheese & onion toastie. Vanessa and I finished off with a wine each. The total bill was only 425 lira (£11.64) between the 3 of us. Back home, Captain Caveman and I had a rum to warm us up, chicken casserole for dinner and some roasted chestnuts. I did the chestnuts in the airfryer and followed mom’s instructions but ours weren’t cooked as well as her’s. Tomorrow was the start of Captain Caveman’s last month in Dalyan, time was going too fast!
After a cuppa and the dog walk on Friday 24th November, I tidied up and got myself ready to meet our Aussie/Viet friends for the last time. They were off this afternoon, on their journey to Istanbul, via some remaining archeological places. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge so I met Veronika at Pier Gusto for a hot beverage. Bich and the kids joined us shortly after and we all had drinks while I listened to the tale of the missing hotel master key. I opened my purse to pay and found that I had picked up the white plastic card (the key) at the tea gardens yesterday, not realising what or who’s it was. They were delighted and it saved them paying for a new one. We decided on a spot of lunch at Çağrı where we had a selection of food both off the menu and from the chiller cabinet. Bich had a beef stew but found it a bit salty, Veronika enjoyed her soup, I had chicken casserole with rice, Micheal and Howie had chicken wings. Captain Caveman joined us later and snuck in a Lamuchan and the kids leftovers. I couldn’t manage all of mine and took the rest home for the freezer. Ben didn’t join for food but swung by in the car to collect everyone. It was a lovely last lunch and I was definitely sad to see our friends leave. I was already looking forward to seeing them again in Phong Nha. I was meant to meet Vanessa in the afternoon but she had already been to Kefal tea gardens while I had arranged to meet Adele at the Kaunos tea gardens. It is walking distance but Vanessa had a bad foot and she thought it may rain. We saw Adele and then went back to Jamie’s for more cute dog cuddles and to eat some lasagne (with cabbage in it!) for dinner. By 9.30pm everyone, but me, was having a bit of a snooze.
Saturday 25th should have been the Dalyan Winter Fayre but it was postponed to next week, due to the bad weather. I was slightly relieved as, I wouldn’t be getting paid until next week and I didn’t have any spare cash. We stayed in with the dogs and watched TV as more storms were predicted.
For the next 2 days I didn’t do much, aside from looking after dogs. On Sunday 26th November Captain Caveman did the Sunday walk. The rain had temporarily stopped so he and the one other walker were lucky with the weather but everyone else had been put off. Captain Caveman got some great photos and I wish I’d gone for the exercise, he said it would have been too difficult for me.
Because we were house and dog sitting for just the weekend, I moved my working day on Monday 27th, to later in the week. It would be easier back home to save bringing my laptop over and when Captain Caveman is out. The storm at not done any further damage aside from knocking a few outdoor plants over, and moving the patio furniture, which was lucky. We got Jamie a shepherd’s pie out of the freezer to defrost for him tomorrow and Norman and Edna snuggled up with Captain Caveman.
After the usual morning walk on Thursday 23rd November, Captain Caveman had gone Dogging. I had some lentil soup for brunch which I watered down quite a bit. I went to meet the Le Mitchell family, my parents and Captain Caveman at Kefal tea gardens later. They all had food and drink, I just had a water and a bite of Captain Caveman’s toastie as I was trying to be good. Hilarity ensued as the kids, Howie and Michael, were messing about on the grass and managed to get covered in cat shit. Much toing and froing went on as they attempted to clean themselves up. Bich then had to clean the bathroom as it was covered in cat shit too.
Off they went to explore Dalyan while my parents, Captain Caveman and I went back to Jamie’s to see the pooches. Norman surprised us by bringing his ball and asking to play football, even though he’s not as sprightly as he was – he literally gave the ball a good kick. We had a little snifter on the patio with my parents and I finished making a beef, lentil and veggie lasagne using that cabbage I still had left. My mom didn’t seem convinced that cabbage went in a lasagne but it didn’t half bulk it out more, making 8 sufficient servings.
We wouldn’t get to eat it though as that evening we all met up for dinner at River House, one of my favourites. The meal and service did not disappoint and we all enjoyed our food. Here’s what we had;
Bread and dips (free) Börek 100 Garlic mushrooms 100 3 bottles of water 150 Pide with salami 210 Pide with egg 210 Margarita pizza 240 Mushroom chicken 290 İskender kebab 345 King prawns 450 Onion steak 530 2 Singapore noodles 740 2 carafes white wine 1060
Total bill 4,425 lira (£124.65)
Based on the exchange rate at the time, this averaged at £13.50 per person which was great value. I was happy that our friends had all been impressed with their meals, especially Bich with the prawns and Howie with his Singapore noodles as they were both really missing Vietnamese food. Captain Caveman and I were home just after 10pm and little Norman was sound asleep already.
Wednesday 22nd November turned out to be quite a good day, despite the rain. As I wasn’t at home, I couldn’t have a cheeky weigh so I just did my measurements; no change to my bust and 1cm off both waist and hips. I’d had 265 syns this week so it was a bit of a 50/50 chance as to whether that would show a loss on Carol’s scales at Fat Club. Most of the day was spent with Norman, Edna and Captain Caveman (who was playing Bridge on his phone). The selfie taking with the dogs was proving a challenge as Norman didn’t want to but Edna was taking it too far now. I made lentil soup in the slow cooker using Carol’s trusty recipe but without the chilli. It turned out quite thick but using Jamie’s stick blender was great. I definitely needed to get myself one as it makes such a difference to the soups. Fat Club went well with a loss of 0.4kg (0.9lb) so I was pleased about that.
In the evening we went to meet our next lot of Australians, who had come from Vietnam to visit Turkey during the winter season. Veronika, Ben, Bich and the 2 boys were in Dalyan for a short stay and had been in Capadoccia. Caroline had made it there but they unfortunately didn’t get to meet as, on day one, Caroline had a knee injury and had to fly back to Vietnam. The Le Mitchell family, who we know from Phong Nha Farmstay and Victory Road Villas back in Phong Nha, were checked in to the Smyrna hotel and met us at the restaurant opposite, M-Eyhane, for dinner at 7pm. My parents also joined us as they hadn’t seen our friends for quite some time. We all ordered a mixture of starters and mains and, as is usual with a group of 9, Dad ordered the wrong thing and didn’t enjoy his main course. It didn’t help that there was a power cut and we had to eat by our phone torches but Dad has trouble seeing his food anyway. The white wine was very good and went down well as it was only 100 lira (£2.82) for a decent measure! It was great to see everyone and hear about how much they had been enjoying Turkey so far. After saying goodnight, my parents, Captain Caveman and I had a quick drink in Cafe Ivy. We had to get back for the dogs so I wasn’t up for a late one, however, my parents got talking to an English couple and didn’t leave until way past midnight. It had been 5 weeks since we had all arrived back in Dalyan and it was good to see my parents making the most of their holiday.
On Monday 20th November I had no work, because I’d worked 16 hours instead of 8 when my hours were first reduced. It wasn’t ideal but was better than not getting paid for what I had worked. It was nice to have the week off work but with hardly any spare cash to spend it was a bit limited. I was very conscious that what money I did have I would need to ration. I had bread with cheese spread, a cup of Tetley’s tea and a couple of tangerines for breakfast. Captain Caveman had gone Dogging today and my parents popped round to see me and the dogs for a cup of tea and a biscuit. For lunch I had mushroom pasta and I made a chicken curry for dinner, which we had with a bottle of red wine – on a Monday!
On Tuesday 21st November Captain Caveman went to Bridge club, I had one of my favourite breakfasts; vegetable and egg fried rice. Of course, I was still using that bloody cabbage which Caroline had suggested I buy. For lunch we had a feta cheese salad and then we went shopping to top up our provisions while we were at Jamie’s for another week. Here’s what we bought with prices in lira;
It was the most we had spent on a single shop in quite a while as we decided to buy cheese and beef. Both are expensive but I fancied making a lasagne later in the week as a bit of a treat. We also bought 2 more bottles of Rituel red wine while it was on offer and a lightbulb for our kitchen. Things weren’t so bad that I’d had to give up booze, just yet!
For dinner Captain Caveman made spaghetti carbonara and I refrained from having any alcohol as it was weigh day tomorrow and I wanted to keep the syns below 300 for the week. Edna provided the evening’s entertainment when she brought her teddy to play fetch with Captain Caveman. She was reluctant to bring it back at first but she soon got in to it and we all played for ages, while Norman refereed from the comfort of the sofa.
I cycled over to Mark and Kate’s place on the morning of Thursday 16th November to feed the cats. There were usually 6 but last night only 4 had come for food. Today there were still only 4, one of the babies and Kylie were missing. I put the food out, gave them some attention and then took some photos of the scenery as it was still flooded but looked beautiful. Captain Caveman had gone Bumming when I returned home, so I had my breakfast of cheese spread on wholemeal toast and a cup of Yorkshire tea. For lunch I just had fruit as I was doing my best to have a low syn day today. Captain Caveman was doing dinner so I went a bit early to feed the cats, this time only 3 were there when I arrived; Bubble, Squeak and Kylie were missing. I left enough food out for when they returned which was handy as Squeak showed up as I was leaving. She was over at the other side of the flooded road but I coaxed her over and off she ran to get her dinner. We had a really nice chilled evening with sucuk (Turkish cured sausage) and vegetable pasta for dinner and an early night.
On Friday 17th November Jamie was off to England for 12 days so Captain Caveman and I were moving in to his villa to look after Norman and Edna. Before that, I had a bit of cat drama; Kate and her birthday entourage were heading back from Jiva Beach this afternoon so it was my last time of feeding her cats. When I arrived there was a bit of a surprise as the box that all the wet and dry food had been stored in, was on the garden. The cats had obviously worked together to feed themselves when I’d been 45 minutes late and had ransacked the stash. I took photos to send to Kate, who later replied to say it wouldn’t have been her cats who did it and maybe a stray dog did! One of the babies had a scratched nose and Casha was trying to tell me who was to blame! For breakfast I was a bit naughty and had wholemeal toast with kaymak and honey on which wasted 8 syns. I went over to Jamie’s where Norman and Edna were pleased to see me and were looking neatly groomed. The sun was shining so I was sat outside on the patio when Captain Caveman arrived from his Bridge club. I’d browned some sausages (Heck ones from the UK) so we had one in a wrap with onions, ketchup and mustard, more syns! Edna had bought me a couple of bottles of wine with the condition that she got a little bit of it so we had a drink before popping to the shops. Here’s what we bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Fat free yoghurt 22.50 Cherry juice 29.00 Hummus 40.75 15 eggs 41.75 Total spent 133.50 lira (£3.76)
Yaman Büfe 2 bottles of wine 270 lira (£7.61)
The exchange rate had increased yet again and was now 35.5 Turkish lira to 1 English pound. Fine for people with English money but a nightmare for Turks. For dinner I’d made a sausage casserole which we had with the rest of the wine and we stayed in watching TV until gone midnight, cuddling the dogs.
Caroline left Dalyan on the morning of Monday 13th November, with plans to return after seeing Gazientep and Capadoccia. She took all of her stuff, just in case there wasn’t enough time for her to fit that in. Captain Caveman and I said our goodbyes to our friend and, despite her no-plans go with the flow lifestyle, we would miss her. It had certainly been a lively 2 weeks but we were quietly looking forward to getting back to normal. I worked from 10am until 3.30pm while Captain Caveman went Dogging. When he got home he made us a chicken and vegetable pasta for lunch. That evening I made a samphire dish, a new first for me, and it turned out not too bad. I cooked it with garlic and peppers but I didn’t realise I had to take out all of the stalks, including the finer ones. It took some getting through but we ate it and it was quite good. Next time I’d have it more of a side dish and less at a time as its incredibly salty. Tomorrow we should have been joining a 3 day breakaway for Kate’s birthday but, due to work and a delayed pay day, we weren’t able to go. Lots of our friends and my parents were going on the 3 night all inclusive stay at Jiva Beach in Fethiye and it looked amazing. When my hours got cut we had thought we’d just go for 1 or 2 nights but I just couldn’t justify it. I had let Kate know we couldn’t make it and that we were gutted about it. She was quite happy as it now meant she had extra cover to feed her 6 cats.
It was finally pay day on Tuesday 14th November but it was all spoken for already. I’d done my working hours for this week by 2pm and had the rest of the week off. Even though we were missing out on the birthday celebrations for Kate I was determined not to dwell on it. It was a perfect opportunity for Captain Caveman and I to spend time together and eat some healthy meals at home. We went shopping for a few bits for dinner which Captain Caveman was making. Here’s what we bought and the prices;
Şok Supermarket Lavaş wraps 31.50 lira (93p)
Migros Supermarket 2 packs of Jasmine rice 63.00 1 pack of turkey 125.90 Total spent 188.90 lira (£5.56)
On the way back we picked oranges from our tree and had them as a snack in the afternoon. They were so sweet and juicy – of course they were free so tasted even better! Captain Caveman had to be reminded to stop playing bridge on his phone to do the dinner. He made turkey fajitas which were gorgeous. Before 10pm he was snoring away as we tried to watch something on Netflix. No alcohol was consumed, which was probably a good job as it was Fat Club and weigh day tomorrow. I’d not even counted my syns this week so it was not looking good.
On Wednesday 15th November I woke to news that Hoi An, where Caroline lives in Vietnam, was flooded. I took my weekly measurements and they were promising; Bust – no change, Waist -1cm, Hips -2cm. I was pleased with that and decided to pop a new recipe in the slow cooker for cabbage rolls. Caroline had never got round to cooking the cabbage, or sharing her recipe, so I had loads of it to use up. I just had fruit to eat for lunch so that I was syn free until weigh-in at 3pm. Carol’s scales showed that I had lost 0.4kg (0.9lb) which wasn’t bad considering the week I’d had. After Fat Club, Captain Caveman and I met Jamie in Waterfall and I had a couple of beers. It was getting a bit colder of an evening so Jamie offered to take me to Kate’s to feed her cats. Just before we got to the house the road had been flooded with water and it was a good job I had a lift or I would have got very wet feet and ankles. Jamie was coming to our place for dinner, he went back home so he could collect his dogs, Norman & Edna. To go with the cabbage rolls I made a chicken and leek bake, more in case the first dish wasn’t very good. Fortunately, both dishes were really tasty and we had a lovely evening. It turned in to a wine fuelled late night and it was about 1.30am when Jamie and the pooches left for home.
When I woke up on Sunday 12th November it was to the sound of the heavy rain and I stayed in bed a bit longer than I should have. Caroline, being the spontaneous unplanning type, decided to book flights from Dalaman to Şanlıurfa, via Istanbul, for tomorrow morning! Oh bugger, we had already agreed to go over to Ben & Hilary’s and my parents this afternoon but Caroline was perhaps going to need us around. Surely, another last supper or celebratory drinking session would have to be be on the cards too. Caroline packed all her stuff, gave me two lovely winter scarfs, gave Captain Caveman a pair of socks from Sweden then went to meet Kaan in a quiet coffee shop.
The day continued to be full of surprises when we got a message from Ma saying the curry she was about to make us had chillies in. She’d decided to do us a beef stew instead which was very much appreciated. We haven’t been buying beef much recently as it is so much more expensive so I was looking forward to it. We even bought some wine to take with us and had a really lovely meal and evening.
While we were out, we had a message from Caroline to say to meet her at Tez bar, to have a drink before her flight tomorrow. It was raining still so Tez was closed, as were most places so Caroline said she was already at Tapa and to come there. All 4 of us got our coats on and headed down to Tapa bar. The night took a random turn where we ended up playing games, doing tequila shots, singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ (more than once), razzing around on a kid’s scooter and playing pool. Dad and I beat Mom and Ali, the owner, and we didn’t leave until gone 1.30am.
On Thursday 9th November Captain Caveman brought me a Yorkshire tea in bed and I had a rare lay in. He was off Bumming with the Riverbums until lunch time so I had a leisurely start to the day. As Caroline had stayed in a hotel last night and was leaving today, I stripped her bed, cleaned her room and bathroom. She had more or less packed her stuff so her departure looked imminent. I cleaned the rest of the house too, when Captain Caveman returned I was a hot sweaty mess, tired from cleaning, he pointed out that I had missed a bit. He then moaned that he had to clean the shower drain in the ensuite bathroom which I hadn’t done properly! In the afternoon, Caroline sent a message to see if Captain Caveman and I would like to meet her for a beer and join them for dinner tonight. We had a beer at the Yağmur hotel, which is really lovely and has great river views, while Caroline told us of her plans! She would be staying one more night at the hotel and then tomorrow she would leave for a road trip. She planned to send the barely used motorbike back and the company in Marmaris said they would come to collect it. She’d been here 10 days already and her idea to take in Turkey and all it’s famous sights kept getting delayed further. Caroline decided to mark the occasion of her decision making with a drink and asked us where we should go. I suggested we try Luz, a nearby Mexican place which we’d not been to yet. I’m so glad we went to Luz, it was fantastic. More expensive than other Dalyan places but classy. Caroline was paying but I tried not to take advantage too much; I ordered a hibiscus margarita which was so good and 290 lira (£8.53), Captain Caveman had a Bloody Maria at 270 lira (£7.94). They were easily the best drinks we had tasted in Dalyan and when Caroline insisted on another round we found it impossible to decline. She ordered a cheese fondu and some nachos as nibbles which were amazing. Of course, I ended up accidentally eating some chillies and felt unwell. The toilets at Luz are really nicely decorated and had nice toiletries.
In the evening, Caroline invited us to join them at Balıkçım, which was Caroline’s favourite place where her and Captain Caveman had eaten on the first night of her visit. I don’t tend to eat there as I don’t like fish but Captain Caveman loves it. Everyone shared octopus and fish, I had a bit of the shared mezes (the ones without fish or chillies) and plenty of bread. We had half a litre of rakı between us too, which went down rather well. Here’s the prices of what we had at Balıkçım; 5 meze dishes 450 Octopus 400 Fish with chips & salad 510 50cl rakı 800 2 bottles of water 60 Total cost 2220 lira (£65.29)
The evening wasn’t cheap and I did well on my diet, more because of not being able to eat most of the dishes than good choices. It had been a very pleasant afternoon and evening.
Friday 10th November started off with some bad news; I was meant to be getting paid today but my boss had let me know that, due to some banking changes, it would be delayed by 4 days. Not one to let having very little money worry me, I soldiered on! Caroline was up for afternoon drinking and I was quite glad of the distraction of her company. Captain Caveman was back from Bridge and the 3 of us cracked open the rosé wine from the fridge. The highlight of the afternoon was Caroline’s bang-on pouring out of the bottle between the 3 of us. I said I’d cook for Caroline, Kaan, Captain Caveman and I and made an enchiladas type of dinner from various left overs and some lavaş wraps. It was a good night and we were merry by 8pm.
Captain Caveman had took himself off on a bicycle ride to Gökbel on the morning of Saturday 11th November. He was keen to see how well the bike could do as he fancied doing more cycling while in Dalyan. Caroline was sorting the motorbike collection and was liaising with Tez for the guys from Marmaris to come to collect it. She was also talking of leaving after the weekend. I had the pleasure of doing the weekly shopping at the market and supermarket. With not getting paid on time it was going to be a bit tight but I would be as frugal as I could be. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira.
The cabbage I bought at the market was huge but Caroline had said she had a great cabbage recipe that she would do for us. I thought I’d done really well in Migros and even got a 50 lira (£1.47) cash discount on my Migros card. I decided not to buy any meat unless it was on offer and we did have some in the freezer so I could wait until after pay day for the more expensive items. I bumped in to my parents in Migros who were also trying to stock up before the predicted rain came that afternoon. It looked like another couple of days/nights of staying home. While I’d be gone, Caroline had texted to see if she could join me at the market to help carry things, I’d not got WiFi so I didn’t see her message until I walked near Jik’s. I said I’d see her back home for some lunch with Captain Caveman. When I got back, she’d gone out for lunch at Çağrı so I put the shopping away and tidied up.
Captain Caveman returned and seemed in a good mood, he was concerned the weather was going to be too bad to go out and that I didn’t get everything on the shopping list. He’d also spotted some bargains that we needed to get while they had offers on. We went back to the shops and bought the following;
A101 Supermarket Mandarins 5.20 Wholemeal bread 14.00 Pears 14.65 Apples 32.00 Clotted cream 47.50 Cheese 55.50 Kitchen roll 149.90 Total spent 318.75 lira (£9.38)
Migros Supermarket 1kg red lentils 22.50 4 X 500g bags of dried pasta 30.00 1 jar peanut butter 45.90 Total spent 98.40 (£2.89)
We really didn’t need the kaymak (Turkish clotted cream) but Captain Caveman loves it. The kitchen roll had a sign on saying it was on offer but it wasn’t and it turned out to be scented. Still, it was only £4.40 for quite a few rolls so wasn’t too bad. Everything on our second Migros visit was on offer so I was happy with that. I messaged Caroline to say we were off to Kefal tea gardens, by the river, to meet our friend Adele and that she was welcome to join us. She didn’t respond or come to join us so she must’ve been busy. At the tea gardens we chatted with Adele and had food and drink. As it’s a council run cafe, the prices are really good, here’s what we paid; 1 Turkish tea 10.00 2 cheese toasties 90.00 2 Efes Malt beers 150.00 1 white wine 100.00 Total spent 350.00 lira (£10.29)
It was a cheap and cheerful lunch which we all enjoyed, especially as we saw a turtle in the river as we sat and chatted. It was too quick for me to get any photos though. By the time we got home the rain was here, Caroline’s plans for a Saturday night out were scuppered as I told her we were staying in tonight. Captain Caveman made pasta which is one of his go-to meals – simple but tasty.
joloyolo 