Marrakech – 5th January

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

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

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

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

Marrakech – 4th January

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Manchester to Marrakech – 2nd January

I woke up having had a good night’s sleep at The Tribe hotel, Manchester airport, on Friday 2nd January. Our flight to Morocco wasn’t until 3.25pm and check out at noon so we had plenty of time. When we went down for breakfast it was very busy and lots more guests than average who didn’t know how the toaster worked. It turned out that there were about 500 people in the area who’s plane had been cancelled so had ended up in hotels for the night. The hotel was very cold but the breakfast was pretty good. I stayed in the restaurant while Captain Caveman went back to the room for his morning meeting. I caught up on some blogging and checked my social media posts for Resort Experts.
We checked out and walked from The Tribe hotel to the airport (it’s very close) and, as we only had hand luggage we were through security fairly quickly. By 1.15pm we had bought some Duty Free, paying £17.29 for a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Black Spiced rum. We knew Marrakech was likely to be expensive for alcohol so we could have a drink in our hotel room if we liked. Interestingly, Facebook sent me 3 posts to recognise improvements in my conversations and posts on social media – at least someone appreciated me chatting on in my unique way!
The airport was busy and we decided to get a drink in one of the bar/restaurants upstairs. The service was slow so Captain Caveman went to the bar and bought us a couple of pints for about £18.
Next we took it in turns to have a wander round and decided to go to the gin bar downstairs. It was quieter but the gin was pricey. Captain Caveman had a pint and I had a glass of red wine (less than £20 for the both). We got chatting to a couple who were going to Poland and had another round. Neither of us has been to Poland so it got added to our list of places to visit.
The Happier January chart that I was following said ‘Make time today to do something kind for yourself’ so a wine at the airport and a trip to Marrakech seemed a good start!
Our flight was delayed a little and on the way to the gate, Captain Caveman bought 2 meal deals at Boots for £13. Once on the plane, Captain Caveman put his headphones on and that was him done for the journey.
When we landed, it was gone 10pm, the main doors to the airport exit were cordoned off due to a problem with the facade of the building. We were redirected to the nearby domestic terminal and there were no taxis there, just a large carpark. I noticed that there were taxis still parked up where we should’ve exited but Captain Caveman was having none of it and we started walking. The temperature was quite mild but it was very windy as we walked down a dual carriageway. I’d had 3 wees on the plane but, as we walked, I started to think I might need another one. Captain Caveman had maps on his phone and was confident we could get a bus. I noticed that even when there were bus stops the buses were in different lanes, in the middle of the dual carriageway and weren’t able to stop. Of course, Captain Caveman wasn’t listening, I ran out of water, he had to carry my bag after an hour of walking and I really needed the loo. By the time we got to where a hospital was it was after 11pm and I started to worry our accommodation would assume we weren’t turning up. In the end I got upset because, as usual, Captain Caveman was determined for us to walk all the way and I was not up to it. My (previously broken just 4 months ago) foot hurt, I was desperate for a pee and I was frustrated at the speed Captain Caveman was walking. This happens pretty often and I never learn – I saw cars and taxis and insisted we get in a taxi. When we got dropped off after a journey of less than 10 minutes, which the driver still tried to charge us £20 for, Captain Caveman was miffed that we were almost there and the taxi was unnecessary. We managed to find the riad, which was in the medina, and a young boy was trying to con tip money out of us for showing us the way, even though we had maps. Captain Caveman was having none of it and told him to bugger off. I had to wait until we’d checked in and given our passports for a photocopy before being shown to our ground floor room. The bathroom was small, traditional and clean – the room smelled nice.
Finally we had arrived and we were in bed before midnight. I logged on to the WiFi to check the map and saw that it said our riad was 1 hour and 40 minutes’ walk from the airport! At least it was flat but I was pretty annoyed at Captain Caveman because he would’ve known how long it would take to walk it – he had the map! I couldn’t, and would never, understand why this always happens and he knows it always ends in tears, but does it anyway. The taxi would have only been £20 for the whole journey and was less than 20 minutes’ drive.

Gratitude List
1. A lovely breakfast at the Tribe hotel
2. Drinks and food at the airport
3. Finally, making it to our accommodation.

Pontefract, Hull & Manchester – 1st January

$Pontefract, Hull & Manchester – 1st January$

Captain Caveman and I were up and about early on Thursday 1st January, New Year’s Day, as we had somewhere to be. As Captain Caveman was in the shower I checked December’s income v expenditure and found, because Captain Caveman had been paying for everything since I arrived, I still had £41 left to carry forward in to 2026! Without him, that would have been depressing and I had questioned the rationale of still going on holiday but it was for my birthday and Captain Caveman needed a holiday. Because he’d been paid well for working over Christmas, Captain Caveman insisted ‘we’ could afford it. I needed to earn more money this year, though, as I didn’t like being poor or having to rely on Captain Caveman so much. I was so good at being frugal now that it concerned me when we did spend money. Yesterday marked 11 years since I’d left my well paid ‘proper’ job at Aviva and, although I didn’t miss it, I did miss getting paid a regular salary each month.
While we waited at Pontecarlo train station I started noting down 3 things to look forward to this year;
1. Marrakech with Captain Caveman
2. Selling (& publishing) more books
3. Trips to Madrid, Bulgaria & Brussels for festivals which we already had booked for July and September.

But first, we were off to Hull today as we had been invited to a free sporting event. I’m not a football fan but Captain Caveman is and he was chuffed to bits to be my plus one at the Hull v Stoke football match in the executive box at Hull. I was more looking forward to seeing Amanda from Anex Tour UK, our host, for a good catch up, a few drinks and an incredible 5 course meal!
We took the train via Leeds where it was so cold that I could hardly feel my legs. Captain Caveman had to get a coffee at McDonald’s, which I was surprised to see was heaving with customers. He also got us a ham and cheese sandwich for us to eat on the train.

We were carrying our bags (hand luggage only) as we were straight off to the airport later. The walk from Hull train station to the football ground was fairly long but flat and we arrived early, placing our luggage behind reception. We took the stairs up to the executive box where we were the first to arrive. Next to arrive was Paul, a travel agent from the local area, and his 2 guests. I liked Paul straight away and he had a good sense of humour – they usually do in Yorkshire. We were joined by a semi professional golfer and his partner who were actually here to support Stoke. I went to the loo having ordered a pint of tap water as I had a big thirst on, when I returned there was a large glass of red wine too and Captain Caveman had ordered a pint of Guinness. There was lots of pre match chat until Amanda and her guest arrived. I’d met Amanda on the Antalya fam trip so it was great to see her again, this time she wasn’t drinking as she had to drive and was technically working. The drinks flowed, the meal was delicious and then the football started. We had our own seated area outside but it was really cold. I was glad to get back in for halftime snacks and more drinks.

The second half went in to extra time, of 17 minutes, which may have been a record. I stayed inside in the warm and we nibbled on an amazing cheeseboard.
After much laughter, chatting and stuffing our faces, it was time to say farewell and leave. Captain Caveman and I had a train to catch to Manchester Airport. On the way, I was glad that despite the cold it didn’t rain. Unfortunately, I’d upset Captain Caveman who said I had talked too much and that he’d found me annoying at today’s event. That cheesed me off as I had thought the day had gone really well. We didn’t speak on the train – well, I’d already had my quota of chatting, so that Captain Caveman could enjoy the silence and play Bridge on his phone. I had a theory that Captain Caveman was suffering withdrawal symptoms from being apart from his phone and had decided to cause an argument so that he could get some peace and back to his Bridge.

We checked in at The Tribe hotel where we would spend the night before our flight to Morocco tomorrow. Captain Caveman then spent the rest of the night playing Bridge. We didn’t go to the hotel bar, we didn’t speak and we didn’t watch TV. The Tribe hotel cost us £98 for the 2 of us, was super comfy and included breakfast.

Gratitude List
1. Making it through a tricky 2025 on a tight budget but having no debt
2. An amazing day out at Hull FC courtesy of Anex Tour UK
3. The Tribe hotel.

Photo Credit – some photos by Amanda at Anex

Sheffield to Pontefract – 30th & 31st December

$Sheffield to Pontefract – 30th & 31st December$

After a good night’s sleep, Captain Caveman and I got up early to start work on Tuesday 30th December. It was that weird week between Christmas and New Year where everyone else I interacted with seemed not to know what day it was. We had a new system with Resort Experts which meant we could see tasks, enquiries, bookings and payment due dates all in the same place. The aim was to enter all our existing clients in to ‘The Zone’ to test that it worked. It was meant to be my last day at tomorrow so I got cracking.
At lunch time Captain Caveman treated the 4 of us to fish and chips from Tony’s Chip Shop. It cost £45 for 4 fish, too many chips, 1 mushy peas and a bottle of chip shop vinegar but what a treat it was. I really enjoyed it and was keen to have it while I was back in Mosborough. I’d heard that people were struggling to eat out more in the UK due to the increased prices but, in the week I’d been in England, I hadn’t seen any evidence of that yet. Everywhere I went, places seemed very busy – even in Tony’s I was 10th in the queue with lots of people buying cod or haddock (on a Tuesday)!
Back at the laptop, I checked us in for our forthcoming holiday to Morocco on Friday, and downloaded the Atol certificate. As I sell Jet2 Holidays, I’d decided to take advantage of the discount which Resort Experts gives me. Captain Caveman had booked our first package holiday and I hoped he’d enjoy it.
That evening, Ma & Pa excelled themselves by throwing and impromptu early new year celebration for us 4, plus Gayle, Neil and Morgan (April was working). Dad was on drinks duty and Mom had done a massive buffet which went down very well – as did the drinks. We decided to play party games where we had to guess ‘Who am I?’ but the post-it notes kept peeling off. It was hilarious and Dad was not impressed with this game.

Gratitude List
1. The Zone – a new CRM system for Resort Experts
2. Fish & Chips
3. A family party with lots of laughter.

Wednesday 31st December, or New Year’s Eve, was a very quiet one for us. Mom made us a breakfast and both Captain Caveman and I worked in the morning. I was meant to be taking my measurements and getting weighed but I decided not to bother depressing myself. I could tell I had already put weight on this week. I’d not eaten and drunk this much for quite a while.
We would have stayed at my parents longer but we needed to get back to Captain Caveman’s and pack for our holiday, plus my parents were off out. My sister had got excited and arranged for the family to start the new year celebrations with a pub crawl from 11.45am. Captain Caveman was baffled as he thought he’d misheard and that they were being picked up at 11.45pm, in time to see in new year. Gayle had arranged for them to go to a new(ish) place in Mosborough called Grandpa Joe’s Potting Shed. Before we left, Mom made sure we’d eaten more – including a mince pie and a cup of tea before we headed off to Captain Caveman’s house in Pontefract, or Pontecarlo as I like to call it. We each left some clothes for when we got back from Morocco as we were coming back for some more celebrations.
In Pontecarlo we popped the central heating on and got the house warm then worked for the rest of the day. Captain Caveman heated up the pasta ready meal for dinner and we both struggled to stay awake until midnight. I think we both nodded off but then woke up at 11.55pm, watched some fireworks from out of the bedroom window before going to bed. We had exciting, and somewhat unusual, plans for tomorrow which I had arranged for the both of us.
2025 had been a very tough year financially for me and we had also spent too much time apart. Next year we had plans to improve things significantly; I was determined to have more income and more trips away with either Captain Caveman and/or friends. I don’t really make New Year’s Resolutions but I was determined to be successful. How about you? Did you make any plans for 2026?

Gratitude List
1. Spending time with my family and Captain Caveman
2. Being back in Pontecarlo
3. Planning for 2026 to be a better year.

Barnes to Sheffield – 28th & 29th December

Captain Caveman was fit for nothing on Sunday 28th December as he was tired. I’d thought he might’ve been cooking a breakfast for everyone but he stayed laying on the bed until gone 11am. His parents were already up and about long before that and I’d logged on to my laptop to do a bit of work. Today was going to be another family day as Captain Caveman’s brother, sister-in-law and 3 nephews were coming to stay for a few days. Originally we had planned to go to Sheffield on this day but had decided to stay to see The Sprouts (called that because they live in Brussels).
It was just before noon when Captain Caveman got in the kitchen to cook us a brunch. Mine was sausages, bacon and mushrooms on a pancake (using the self raising flour batter mixture from yesterday). It was very nice and tasty and of course not Slimming World friendly at all!!!
I worked for the rest of the afternoon, then at 4.30pm I encouraged Captain Caveman to come to the shop with me. We spent about £10 on some chocolates and a gift for a friend. It was so cold out and I was assuming the North tomorrow would be colder.
When we got back in the house I noticed that the table was set much like a Christmas Day – there were crackers! To my surprise, I was actually joining in a belated Christmas celebration as well as us all celebrating Anna’s birthday.
The Sprouts arrived and it was great to see them again, wine was poured and there was even gift exchanges. The hats, earmuffs and Turkish Delight were well received, Captain Caveman was pleased with his boozy gifts and I loved my fancy lip balms (much needed in this winter weather too)!
The dinner was delicious and I felt so grateful to be enjoying it with the family. The ‘icing on the cake’, though, was the home made (by Captain Caveman’s Ma) Christmas cake – the best thing I had all Christmas!!!

Gratitude List
1. An extra day in Barnes with Captain Caveman and his family
2. Laughing
3. Cake.

Monday 29th December was a working day for Captain Caveman and I, so we got up at stupid o’clock to get to Chesterfield before Captain Caveman’s first meeting at 9am. We had a McDonald’s breakfast – my first in years and, for the price, I won’t be in a rush to have another. My sausage (no egg) muffin tasted very salty and the hash brown oozed grease. My cup of tea was decent though. Captain Caveman left me editing some content while he went off to his meeting.
We reconvened, then drove to call in on a friend, who was in recovery from a major operation. I had got my flu jab in Turkey, had brought masks and was trying to minimise passing on any germs by prioritising seeing her before I did the rounds up North!
I was very surprised to see how well my friend and her hubby were doing considering their situation and I almost cried when I saw them. It was just so good to be able to visit and hear all about the very slow and tricky recovery period.
Since I’d last seen them, a new addition to the family had arrived in the form of the cutest little dog. Unfortunately, she was on high alert and in protective mode so we didn’t get any cuddles – maybe next time. She still managed to snaffle some treats from Captain Caveman though, she’s not daft!
We didn’t stay long on account of my friend needing rest and us having to get back to work once we reached our next ‘home’.
My parents had kindly offered to put us up for a couple of days. We both managed the work schedules very laissez-faire in the afternoon and decided to finish at 5pm. I got a photo from my sister who had been bought my new planner for Christmas and she was over the moon with it. She was in Scotland with the dog and was about to start filling it in.
Captain Caveman and I nipped to the shop as we hadn’t had chance to get any wine for dinner. Here’s what we bought with prices in pounds;

Co-op Supermarket
Radox shower gel 1.05
Pasta bolognese ready meal 3.80
2 curry paste packs 4.00
1 bottle of Pinot Grigio 7.65
1 bottle of Prosecco 9.00
Total spent £25.50

Captain Caveman, my parents and I decided a walk to the local pub, The Alma, a good idea for pints of beer or cider before dinner.
We just had a couple with it being a school night and then Mom cooked us a lovely dinner, which we had wine with! It was cold but didn’t seem any colder than London.

Gratitude List
1. Visiting friends in Chesterfield
2. A post Christmas catch up with Ma & Pa
3. More lovely food and drink in Mosborough.

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.

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 – 18th December

I had to have a bit of a word with myself on Thursday 18th December. I was not getting enough rest, I wasn’t making and eating healthy meals and I wasn’t making time to see friends. So, I agreed to meet a friend at Ren Garden at 4.30pm so that no matter how my day went, I had to put down my laptop and go out. I had a friend in the UK who was having surgery today and I was thinking about how that would go, feeling sorry I wouldn’t be nearby to see them.
On going to open the fixed curtains it turned out one of them wasn’t fixed. I let the fixer know and I got told how to move the string to sort it out myself. It stil cost 1500 (£27), which I thought was amusing but what I was told to do, did work and they looked good.
I spent most of the day really trying to get my head around Canva and produce enough promo content for the next few days, ready for my new book launch day on Monday. It was hard, I didn’t like it, I wanted to quit but I kept going.
I made myself do a walk round the block and call at the bank for the curtain cash, before lunch. I was missing walking Norman and needed to stretch a bit. I called at the shop and bought the following, prices in lira:

BIM Supermarket
Wholemeal loaf 31.50
6 eggs 65.00
125g blueberries 85.00
Total spent 181.50 lira (£3.24)

I had a cheese sandwich for lunch and carried on with the promo designs. My eyes were tired and I was getting a bit tetchy with it, so at 3pm I went to the bank to buy my travel insurance for the UK and Morocco. It cost 1,001.67 lira (£17.89) for my 3 week trip, in 3 separate policies, which wasn’t bad. On the way back home I popped to the off licence and bought a couple of bottles of fizz for something I had arranged for tomorrow. It was 565 lira (£10) per bottle and was one I’d had before. Prosecco is really hard to get decent stuff in Dalyan.
At 4.15pm, as promised, I hurried over to Ren Garden with some of the chocolate for my friend. She had chosen the Forerro Rocher and I obliged, after all I was meant to be on a diet! When I arrived, she wasn’t there so I messaged her to see if she was on her way and I ordered a hot chocolate. They had no idea we had arranged to meet and apologised. I didn’t mind as it meant that I could get back to my Canva and I ended up eating some of the chocolate I was going to give her. It was almost midnight when I finished but it meant I was up to date with my marketing schedule and I could take some time off this weekend.

Gratitude List
1. Getting out and running errands
2. Being on track with my marketing schedule
3. Mastering Canva enough to get some marketing material done.

Link to my new planner here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

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 – 11th & 12th December

I was up at 6am on Thursday 11th December, half expecting to come down to Norman having had an accident. He was fast asleep still and only woke up once I’d got comfy under the Christmas blanket on the sofa.
Outside, Norman was still not out of the woods so I made him some egg to mix in with his breakfast. The weather was fine and looked to be good all weekend. It was just 2 weeks until Christmas Day and only 12 days until I saw Captain Caveman again.
I worked all day from the dining room table, including a Resort Experts team meeting.
Norman let me know at lunch time that he needed to be sat in the chair nearest to me. He could see what was going on but then was snoring super loudly within minutes.
I didn’t eat much during the day as I was busy so, at 5.30pm, I downed tools for the dog walk before dinner. I warmed up a chicken dinner and saved Norman a little bit of chicken, which he loved. It had been another zero spend and no alcohol day so I was pleased with that.
I sat down on the sofa to watch something on Netflix but started to fall asleep. I managed about one episode of Drive to Survive, about Formula 1, before I drifted off.

Gratitude List
1. No accidents from Norman
2. Less than 12 days until I arrived in London
3. Chicken dinner.

By 7.15am on Friday 12th December, Norman and I had been out and we were having some sofa snuggles. Usually when Edna had been with us, she had taken the priority spot for morning strokes but now Norman quietly put himself against my leg and instantly fell asleep. After working in the morning, I decided to pop to the pharmacy to see if they had any Covid and Flu jabs. I hoped to visit people in the UK over Christmas who had compromised immune systems so I wanted to try to prevent spreading anything.
Interestingly, there were no Covid vaccines available but the flu jab was out of the packet and in the back of my left arm before I could say anything else. After, I asked the reason for the lack of Covid jabs and they said they no longer stock them. I asked if I could go to the nearest hospital to get one and they said not and that Turkey didn’t have them.
This was my first flu jab so I wasn’t sure what to expect, I was surprised at the price as I had no idea what they cost;

Balcı Pharmacy
Flu jab 568.99 lira (£10.16)

Next, I went to the bank to ask about insurance for my forthcoming trip to Morocco but by the time I got upstairs I felt faint. I learned that the bank couldn’t do travel insurance until next week, as it needed to be nearer the date of travel. I had a quick trip to the supermarket which resulted in me buying some new drinking glasses to have water in, prices in lira for what I bought;

Migros Supermarket
Onions 7.16
Chocolate bar 19.95
Biscuits 37.75
Chickpea rice 37.76
Marshmallow 39.95
Dark chocolate 49.95
Cereal bars 60.90
2 drinking glasses 84.94
Dates 89.95
Total 428.31 lira (£7.65)

I called at the bakery to get a simit but also ended up with a cheese börek (pastry) for a total of 45 lira (80p) I had to walk all the way back to Jamie’s without passing out as I had started to feel weak so ate the börek outside with Norman. Unexpectedly, Norman had a bit of an incident where he was looking at me eating, he fell backwards down 2 steps then toddled towards the pool, almost falling in!
A proof copy of my new book ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was meant to be being delivered today to Captain Caveman so that he could proof read and check it for me, but it didn’t arrive.
I went for a walk with Norman after work and, as it was Friday, we went to the pub for a drink. I had a couple of rosé wines and soda at Ren Garden and Norman behaved really well. The total cost for 2 wines and 1 soda was 330 lira (£5.89) but I rounded it up to include a tip so spent 400 lira (£7.14) in total – not bad for a Friday treat.
Back home, I made a pasta dish for my dinner and we saw that Jamie had indeed made his way on to the Maldives flight – he was not going to have to slum it in Benidorm, after all. I let Norman know but he was more concerned as to if he was getting egg in his dinner or not. After dinner, I had loaded the dishwasher and put the tablet in, Norman was inquisitive and wanted to see what it was all about. I explained to him that dishwasher tablets are not snacks, despite Jamie storing them in the fridge!

Gratitude List
1. Being able to get a flu jab
2. Norman
3. Knowing a proof copy of my book was due to arrive in Pontefract, probably tomorrow.

Dalyan – 8th to 10th December

I was so busy on Monday 8th December, mainly with admin, content writing, faffing about with corrections to the page lay out of my book and packing ready for tomorrow.
I had tea and toast for breakfast, skipped lunch and just had a sandwich for dinner. I did quite a few quotes hoping to sell some last minute holidays. My pay for December was lower than I wanted (or needed) it to be and the payments from my books only get paid 2 months after any online sale. Being self employed can be amazing but frustrating at times and Christmas was going to be tight. Luckily, we don’t celebrate or do presents so that would help. Captain Caveman sent me some money so that I could still get my hair done, which was lovely of him.

Gratitude List
1. Having the chance to earn passive income from my books
2. Captain Caveman helping me out
3. Knowing my cash flow would be improving in 2026.

On Tuesday 9th December I woke up feeling a bit more positive and decided to follow some budget gurus on Facebook. I was definitely going to do more zero spend days too. My aim was to get to a more stable point in the next 6 to 12 months. Luckily, I had the support of Captain Caveman who had agreed to work Christmas for extra money.
Norman was very pleased to see me while Jamie nipped off for a break of either the Maldives or Spain (yet to be confirmed). Norman slept most of the afternoon and then we had a little walk, past my parents’ house and around the block.
For dinner I had a bit of a strange noodle soup which looked odd but tasted fantastic; chicken, mushroom, green pepper, onion, vegetable stock, garlic and rice noodles. After dinner, Norman and I had a bit of sofa time and I had to put a blanket over me as I was cold, despite the AC being on high.
At bedtime, it was so cold that I ended up sleeping in a few layers and my woolly hat.

Gratitude List
1. Taking action around my income v expenditure
2. Norman, the dog
3. Spending zero money for the 2nd day in a row.

I set my alarm for 6.30am on Wednesday 10th December so that I could check on Norman, the dog. It was cold upstairs but downstairs was warmer and Norman was still snoring away. I got on the sofa and had a doze until 7.15am when Norman woke for a wee. I had tea and toast after feeding Norman and got on with work while he snored away. As it was Wednesday it was weigh day so I took my measurements and checked my home scales. My measurements were;
Bust -1cm, Waist no change, Hips +1cm and I had put 0.65kg (1.4lb) on! When I got back to Jamie’s, Norman had been a bit unwell so I had to clean it up. I didn’t tell him off or make a fuss and he seemed ok but it’s not like Norman to do that in the house. He also had to have a good wipe down with the wet wipes, which he didn’t appreciate.
I almost didn’t go to Fat Club but I waited until he was settled in his new bed, then went. I saved myself 50 lira (89p) as I had missed the water when I arrived late.
I was almost on a third day of zero spend when I bought bread from the bakery for 35 lira (63p) but knew it was a good move. I’d not had lunch yet so I had an early dinner of the same soup as yesterday, with some bread this time.
In the evening, Captain Caveman and I booked a Manchester Airport hotel room for the night before our trip to Morocco. The Tribe cost Captain Caveman £93.80 for the 2 of us including a breakfast each and was cheaper with Resort Experts than Booking .com, which was nice.
At 10.20pm, the AC was on 30°C but the actual temperature was still only 21°C so I went to bed to try to keep warm.

Gratitude List
1. Norman recovering from a runny bum accident
2. Captain Caveman booking us an airport hotel
3. A very low spend day.

Dalyan – 2nd to 4th December

There was a lack of photos and blog type updates on Tuesday 2nd December as it was a bit of a sad day. I’d fed my friend’s cat, seen the white dogs and watched Captain Caveman pack before midday. At noon I said farewell to Captain Caveman. He was joining Ma, Pa, Julie and Gareth plus a few other Dalyan Dwellers on the flight back to the UK. I was going to miss him – I was looking forward to seeing him later this month and for our trip to Morocco for the first week of January, to celebrate my birthday.
At 1pm I attended more training with Anex Tours and found out that from July 2026 they would be doing flights to Antalya from Teeside airport.
I popped over to Jamie’s to let Norman out and then went to a funeral. It was my first funeral in Dalyan and I was there to support a friend, who’s lovely mother had died unexpectedly. It was upsetting, of course, although it was good to see so many people attend the send off.
I was in two minds as to whether to go to the wake afterwards, but decided to pay my respects. It was actually really nice to share some memories of such a lovely woman, even though we weren’t close I’d been to a few social events and a couple of boat trips here and there. I went home feeling sad for my friend and her family.
I didn’t eat dinner that night and had an early night, going to bed being so much more grateful than I usually am.

Gratitude List
1. Having enjoyed 11 days with Captain Caveman
2. Having a holiday booked
3. Knowing my parents had enjoyed their 3 months in Dalyan.

After feeding my friend’s cat on Wednesday 3rd December I said hello to the white dogs and popped to the chemist. I bought 2 months’ worth of pills for 660 lira (£11.79). Back home, as it was weigh day, I got on the scales to find I was the same weight as last week. I got a phone call and forgot to take my measurements though.
I got busy in the office until lunch time when I had beans on toast and a green tea.
At 3pm I walked along the river to Fat Club, where I had lost just 0.1kg (0.2lb). I swapped my existing magazine for another to inspire me with some recipes and walked home via the shop. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Nut Dido chocolate bar 30.00
Halloumi 96.50
2 Quark 99.90
Meatballs 199.95
Mini Magnums 250.00
Total spent 675.36 lira (£12.06)

I fed the cat and then, for dinner, I made a chickpea and spinach stew which I had with couscous. It was quite tasty and healthy, until I followed it with a mini Magnum.

Gratitude List
1. Animals
2. Not putting weight on
3. Good food.

Thursday 4th December was hardly worthy of a blog post, aside from my interaction with the white dogs on the way from cat feeding. Massive storms with heavy rain were forecast any time from 5pm tonight. I had beans on toast for brunch. I worked, I did the evening cat feed early and warmed up the chickpea stew with couscous for dinner.

Gratitude List
1. Knowing rain was coming but I was prepared
2. The white dogs
3. Good healthy food.

joloyolo

The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure

Tag: resortexperts