I woke up to my 7am alarm on Sunday 22nd March with a banging headache and feeling quite out of sorts. I went downstairs to let Norman out and, unfortunately, he had already peed in the house – right next to the lamp and Dennis, the doorstop. I cleaned it all up and fed Norman before messaging Jamie to check they had arrived in the UK and that all was ok – it was! They were flying to Tenerife tomorrow. I checked my budget and updated my expenditure list. It wasn’t great as I’d spent £72.23 this week, just over the increased weekly budget and £29 over for the month so far. I needed to really be careful this next week and I planned to. It was cold, even with a thermal vest, t-shirt and hoodie on so I walked over to town to run some errands. I would be looking after Norman until the end of the month and Norman seemed happy with that. By the time I was walking back, via the chickens who wanted some bread from me, the sun was out and it was a tad warm. I had a rare bit of time where I wasn’t doing anything related to work or travel so I decided to do a puzzle – guess what? It was a travel related one! I took Norman for a short walk and he didn’t seem overly keen to walk on the road where my parents stay and he was super slow. On the way back he was quicker because he knew it was time for dinner. I met a friend in the evening at Joy Cafe where they had the spaghetti bolognese and I had a sandwich and some cheese rolls with Turkish tea. They also brought us a free dessert to celebrate Bayram, which was sweet. It’s a really lovely cafe in Gülpınar and there was just us there. I paid 320 lira (£5.42) and my friend dropped me back off. Norman hadn’t moved since I left but was happy to see me when he did wake up, so that he could have sofa cuddles – he loves those.
Gratitude List 1. Norman 2. The sun coming out 3. Joy cafe.
It was an interesting day on Sunday 15th March; I’d already turned down an invite to a boat trip with a friend so that I could get on with tasks that I needed to do. I had something exciting brewing with regards to my books but I couldn’t say anything yet, mainly as I didn’t have all the information. It was Mother’s Day in the UK but they don’t celebrate it in Turkey. I messaged Mom to see when I could call as I didn’t know if she might be doing something with my sister. I tootled off to meet Nanny Kay, Jamie, Drew and Norman in Luvi, a cafe I’d not really taken any notice of before. It’s next door to Mimi’s and near Ozzy’s Bar in the square next to Migros. It took a short while to order a hot chocolate on account of the staff making the others’ 3 drinks but it was worth the wait and cost 140 lira (£2.37), it wasn’t much more for wine and the wine by the bottle was reasonable, I noted. The cafe was nice and Norman got some attention. I decided to call to see if there was any chicken on offer on the way back, and I had run out of oats. I was in luck and here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I had a bit of a fiasco with trying to log in to my Amazon account, which was irritating because I needed access for the important meeting I had booked in for tomorrow. That was frustrating as I was sure I had the right details. In the afternoon I walked over to Vanessa’s, while eating a banana in place of breakfast or lunch, and had a cup of tea with her and Matt and picked up a bag of oranges. Vanessa and I decided to have a walk round town and called at the tea gardens, it was incredibly busy. We’d already seen Mark, Kate, Pamela and Glynn in Efe bar when Vanessa dropped a scarf off for someone who had left it. Next, we went to Public bar for a glass of wine. It’s one of the more expensive places at 180 lira (£3.05) for a white wine and we shared a soda. I was getting peckish and thought I might order food at Public but resisted and we called at the supermarket. Vanessa recommended some chicken pieces that were a bit like a KFC and I decided to buy those. A bag of them was only 189 lira (£3.20) so much cheaper than eating out and I had wraps at home already, so that was late lunch and early dinner sorted. In the evening I had a video call with my Mom to wish her Happy Mother’s Day.
Gratitude List 1. Cancelled plans 2. Catching up with Vanessa 3. Chicken wrap at home.
I arranged to meet a friend on Sunday 8th March, at Kaunos tea Gardens. I couldn’t take the whole day off so we decided to meet at 9.30am with the intention of having a bit of a walk too. As I walked past the River House I noticed they had sea bream and bass on special for £10. We ended up sitting inside as it was still quite chilly. I had 2 large Turkish teas and a cheese toastie for 195 lira (£3.30). We had a good catch up and then a walk along the river, stopping to speak to the owner of the new fish and chip place between the Zabıta office and China Town. It looked really good so my friend and I added it to our places to try out soon. I went back home with the intention of getting on with my next handy travel tips book, which I needed to start again as the document had disappeared. That didn’t happen as I had emails to reply to and I ended up working until gone 5pm. I had bacon and asparagus for dinner, with parmesan on. It was so good and rather extravagant. For afters I made strawberries with quark and mini meringues. I was going to bed when I got a message from Vanessa inviting me to Matt’s birthday at the new fish and chip place on Wednesday at 5pm.
Gratitude List 1. Fresh air and a walk 2. Catching up with a friend 3. Asparagus.
I had some overripe bananas that needed eating up on Monday 9th March so I made a flourless cake. Moshed bananas, oats, egg and blueberries in the air fryer (or oven) for 20 minutes – and Slimming World friendly too. I worked all day and was impatiently waiting for the pay day email to come through to show what I was getting paid. Usually we get a statement which shows the top line amount then less any fees and charges. It is broken down by customer name and I cross reference it with my spreadsheet. I was particularly looking forward to this pay day as it was my first one from Resort Experts in 2026, my last pay day had been in December. Because I have more bookings in for spring & summer it means my first pay was due now. I started The Signal, a course about writing, with Georgina Chapman at 10am and it took my mind off it for an hour. I had plenty of tea and wrote my content for the rest of the week. At 6.30pm I made myself a Slimming World style pizza and did some blog writing in the evening. It was a zero spend and a zero alcohol day.
Gratitude List 1. Something different for breakfast 2. The Signal, a free course I’d signed up for 3. Eating healthy.
Over my morning tea and toast on Sunday 1st March, I checked my blog stats. I had just 1% more views in February than January. Interestingly, I had viewers from a country which wasn’t previously on my viewers list, let alone at number 4: 1. UK 2. USA 3. Türkiye 4. Israel 5. Australia 6. Vietnam 7. Hong Kong 8. Ireland 9. Canada 10. Sweden
Because I had taken Friday and Saturday off to accommodate Captain Caveman being here and the postponed boat trip, today was spent in the spare room/office catching up and drinking tea which I made with my new kettle! I loved the new kettle but I did think I might need to be careful about increasing the amount of caffeine I consumed. I consciously made sure today was a zero spend and zero alcohol day but tomorrow I did need to go food shopping as I didn’t have much in, especially as I had missed the Saturday market yesterday. I decided to set my budget for the first week of the new month at just £50, although strictly speaking I could have put it at £140 – I chose not to so that £90 could go in to my emergency/travel fund. Captain Caveman got back fine and I had my first proper meal of the day at 8.20pm, just a pasta dish that I knocked up. I’d not even left the house today.
Gratitude List 1. Catching up on stuff after 2 days off 2. Having good blog stats 3. A zero spend day to get me back on track.
After tea, toast and a couple of hours of work on Monday 2nd March, I decided to pop to the shops to stock back up. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira:
I’ve been buying my milk in small cartons to reduce waste. If I buy a normal sized carton, there’s a chance I don’t use it all before it goes off and I don’t like to waste it. I had tried putting it in to ice cube trays but I’m not convinced it’s as good with my Yorkshire tea. There was also a shortage of meat on the shelves so I would have to try again later or tomorrow. While I was looking at my copy of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, which I’m using a lot, I noticed I’d already added Israel and Iran to countries I wouldn’t visit, before any war started. The planner was proving to be better than I thought for mult-trip planning. I had a check of flights to the UK to see Captain Caveman when he returned from Vietnam at Easter. I could get a one way without luggage for £30 and I almost booked it. It’s a good job I didn’t as Captain Caveman said not to bother as he was down to work on site over the Easter weekend. We toyed with the idea of me going back at the end of April/beginning of May but the flight prices were higher, my parents were arriving in Dalyan around then and I was looking forward to seeing them. I didn’t book anything and decided to see how things went. That evening I had been invited round to dinner with Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay so I called at the Yaman Büfe 2, off licence, and picked up a bottle of wine for 300 lira (£5.08). When I got there Jamie ordered me a phone case from Trendyol as he’s got an account and I gave him the 400 lira (£6.78) cash for it. I had no idea if this was a good deal but to me it felt like an absolute bargain to not have a broken phone if I should drop it. Norman was pleased to have visitors and he was keen to get a snaffle of something, as usual. We discussed requirements for his 15th birthday and Nanny Kay very kindly agreed to make a carrot cake for the occasion. We had a lovely homemade meal of shepherd’s pie and plenty of wine. It was pretty late when I got home having had a good day where I’d spent a total of £22.78, mainly as I had only done half a good shop.
Gratitude List 1. Allocating more budget in March 2. A walk and a shop for fresh air 3. Dinner & wine with friends
Our first day together on Sunday 22nd February was lovely. Captain Caveman and I had been due to go on a boat trip but, due to the water levels and it not being safe for getting on and off the boat, it had been postponed. This meant we had a free day and I needed to make sure that Captain Caveman didn’t regret not having arranged a Sunday Walk. We decided we would go for food at Kefal tea gardens then have our own short walk, and a leisurely Sunday. I took my new phone to try out the camera but I didn’t yet have a case for it so needed to be super careful. I took a selfie and the quality of the camera was good, you could see every wrinkle! Our first stop on the walk was to check out the river levels outside Tapa bar. This was the highest I’d seen it – Captain Caveman and I had to walk round the road way to the Kefal tea gardens as, even with wellies on, it was too deep. When we arrived at Kefal the sun was out and they had the windows open in the indoor area. Here’s what we had and the prices in lira;
The food was really nice but my Turkish breakfast was so big that Captain Caveman had to help me eat it.
After breakfast we had a meander, we called in to see Jamie and Norman and had quite a walk around Dalyan while the sun was out. As it was a Sunday, there was nowhere open to exchange currency so I paid £100 cash in to my Turkish bank and moved it across so we could draw out some cash to spend. By 3.30pm we were treating ourselves to an alcoholic beverage in the sun outside Public bar. Captain Caveman ordered an Efes for 190 lira (£3.22) and I went mad with a pint of shandy for 220 lira (£3.73). While Captain Caveman didn’t flinch at the costs, I thought it was a little more than I would usually pay for 2 beers but nevertheless, I enjoyed it – my first beer of 2026. It was the first time we had visited this bar and I liked the interior, there were quite a few Turkish visitors too which was good to see. Next we went to the Kaunos tea gardens where we met a friend for a bit of a chat. We paid the bill and here’s what we had with prices in lira:
Kaunos Tea Gardens 1 water 20.00 1 lemon soda 40.00 1 Tuborg beer 200.00 Total spent 260 lira (£4.41)
It was gone 6pm by the time we left the tea gardens and it was getting a little nippy so we decided to call in to Waterfall bar to say hello. We had a couple of drinks in there and had texted friends who we thought were calling in, but they didn’t arrive. The bill came to 600 lira (£10.17) for 2 wines and 2 beers then we walked towards home, shivering by this time as it had turned cold. We decided to eat dinner at Çağrı, an old favourite of ours. Here’s what we had with the prices in lira;
Çağrı 1 large water 50 1 Lahmacun 180 1 Mixed salad 200 1 Efes Malt 200 1 red wine 250 2 lentil soups 300 1 pide 320 Tıp 200 Total spent 1700 lira (£28.81)
The food was fantastic and the service super quick, the perfect end to a boozy and relaxing day together. We’d spent around £60 between the 2 of us in just one day and we did comment how good value that was compared to what we’d have spent in the UK on a Sunday, out and about.
Gratitude List 1. A day off with Captain Caveman in Dalyan 2. Having a super new phone that worked, even if I didn’t know how to use it yet 3. Great food and drinks.
It was my last full day and night on Friday 20th February before Captain Caveman’s arrival in Dalyan tomorrow. This meant that I had a to do list as long as my arm to try to get everything done today. I was aiming to take Sunday off so that I could spend the day with Captain Caveman and some friends on a boat trip. I finally finished for the day at gone 9pm and made myself some pesto pasta for a quick dinner. I didn’t leave the house so it was another zero spend day but tomorrow I would go to the market and get some shopping ready for Captain Caveman.
Gratitude List 1. Looking forward to seeing Captain Caveman 2. Working hard to get everything done 3. Pasta.
The day that Captain Caveman was flying to Dalyan was finally here on Saturday 21st February. This would be his first visit of the year and wasn’t quite the holiday we would’ve liked as he still needed to work as usual while he was here; Monday to Friday – 12 noon to 8pm, which was 9am to 5pm UK time. He’d stayed in the Tribe hotel at Manchester airport last night, so it meant he could have a good breakfast before his flight took off at 1.45pm. Before 9am I had spent an hour working, and could hear the builders at the apartment downstairs. The Aussies were replacing their balcony railings with metal ones and I was surprised to see them working in the rain.
I ventured over to see Jamie & Norman who were going to the market. Jamie gave me a lift there as it was raining again. I spent less than £3 this week as I had some fresh veg left at home. Here’s what I got with prices in lira;
After a quick mooch round the weekly market, Jamie dropped me off in town. I still had items on my shopping list that I’d not managed to get and I wanted to stock up, ready for Captain Caveman. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I put the shopping away, had a tidy up and cleaned the house before deciding to tot up my total spending for February, up to today! I’d started February with £91 left from January and it had been a self imposed challenge to see if I could live off that for the first 3 weeks of February. If you’re an avid reader you will know that because of a planned night out with friends for Valentine’s, I’d almost spent it after 2 weeks in. So, I did a cheeky cheat and isolated that weekend’s splurge and carried on to see if I could still spend up to £91 plus the £37 extravagant weekend. It wasn’t easy, especially as each time I went to the shops, there were a few items I couldn’t get hold of. This meant that when I went again, it was tempting to buy extra treats that weren’t essential. Anyway, here’s the results with the night out in; Week 1 spent £25.97 Week 2 spent £57.72 Week 3 spent £38.63 Total £122.32, which meant I overspent by £31.32! If I took the night out from week 2 where I spent £37.29 extra, my total was only £20.34. which would mean a total of £85.03 and being under by £5.97. Of course, I had cheated and didn’t achieve it but I know I would’ve given up and spent more had I not isolated that blip. I think it’s still impressive to have spent less than £41 per week for 3 weeks running. It also showed me that it was possible to live in Dalyan cheaply. Lucky for me, Captain Caveman was bringing cash with him and we were going to be less frugal for the last week of February. After doing a bit of work on an itinerary for Vietnam, I had a curry for dinner and then decided to open a bottle of red wine while I waited for Captain Caveman to arrive.
Captain Caveman’s flight was due to land at Dalaman airport at 9pm, however, it took off 39 minutes late. We’d already agreed for me not to save or cook Captain Caveman any dinner but we would have some drinks with cheese and biscuits instead. At 10pm I got a message from Sonuç, our airport pick up driver, to say they were just leaving Dalaman now. Captain Caveman had only an underseat bag so he was through quickly once they had landed. He arrived bearing gifts of a brand new Oppo phone for me, 2 boxes of solid coconut, 2 vacuum bags with the stuff I left in London and new electric toothbrush heads. I was so excited to have a new phone as my old one was playing up more and more – I had hoped to get one the next time I was back in Vietnam. I cried with happiness and was so overwhelmed as it was better than my existing model. He’d also treated himself to a nice bottle of Rakı for £26 at Duty Free. We had a glass of wine and then, as it was Saturday night about 11pm, we decided to head to Sofra bar. I was surprised to find it was empty apart from a couple of people who left not long after we got there. Captain Caveman had his first Efes Malt and I had a red wine, they went down so well that we had a second. Our bill came to 660 lira (£11.19) and Captain Caveman was very happy with that price. I knew I would find spending money so freely this week a bit of a change, after my attempts to live off less than £5 per day! Back home, I prepared a cheese board and we had some wine with it. Captain Caveman seemed to react to the wine here in Turkey and I think it’s because it’s got sulphites in. We finally called it a night at 2.20am so it’s a good job the planned boat trip for tomorrow had been postponed due to unsafe water levels.
Gratitude List 1. Shopping 2. A new phone 3. Captain Caveman arriving in Dalyan.
There was a bit of excitement on Sunday 15th February as the flights for Poland and Brussels were going to be booked today. Captain Caveman had already said he would book our two and our good friend, Louisa, was going to be booking hers as we had invited her to join our adventure. Captain Caveman was going to Poland for 5 days of Bridge so this meant Louisa and I could be off exploring without him during some of the trip and then in Belgium we planned to introduce her to the Brussels Beer Festival and our favourite kebab place. I was so excited that I went for a walk outside not realising how bad the floods had been, the Dalyan river was now starting to overflow. The worry among the Dalyan Dwellers, who like to drink in Tapa bar, was if they would still be able to get in the front door! I stopped to take some photos, my phone was still playing up and kept deleting stuff but today I managed to get quite a few that saved. I always say hello to the street dogs who I’ve called Bowie and Dexter, they are friendly and love a little stroke. I decided to go to the shops, despite already having almost blown the budget by spending £37 on food and drink out this weekend. So that I wouldn’t throw in the towel on Frugal February, I cheated a bit and isolated that particular expense to see if, without that, I would still be able to save money. Otherwise I knew I’d just admit I’d failed and not continue to be frugal. I took the day off while it had stopped raining and wanted to buy some things in readiness for Captain Caveman arriving next weekend. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I’d not heard back from Captain Caveman about the flights so I set up a Facebook group with him, Louisa and I so that he could post any instructions on which flights to book. I’d already let him know that I would be meeting a friend at 2pm at the tea gardens and wouldn’t have WiFi. I spent less than 50 lira (85p) on tea and we had a good chat. My friend had organised a boat trip for next Sunday which we were going on and she was looking forward to seeing Captain Caveman. It was 5.30pm when I left and walked home to see a load of activity in the Poland/Belgium group chat, plus a missed call from Louisa. Nevertheless, it was all booked! As I scrolled through the updates and screenshots I still wasn’t convinced we were all on the same flights but Captain Caveman and Louisa seemed to have it all under control. I was really looking forward to it, especially as this would be my first visit to Poland. While I chatted to Louisa I prepared a Sunday dinner, she was also excited and had been to Poland before but not the Beer Festival. We laughed as I think Captain Caveman had been a bit vague on his plans for me to be a Bridge Widow, although it had all worked out well now that I had a friend to keep me from moaning at him for playing too much Bridge! My Sunday dinner was lovely and after that, I spoke to Captain Caveman who was also excited to have got our trip booked. This time next week he would be here in Dalyan with me.
Gratitude List 1. A morning walk 2. Catching up with a friend at the tea gardens 3. Finalising the Poland/Belgium plans.
On Sunday 8th February Norman’s tummy was much better and he’d not had any mishaps, which I was grateful for. I did some work first then did breakfast and tea. I worked all day and just had a warmed up sweet and sour chicken with rice for a late lunch/early dinner. It was now less than 2 weeks untill Captain Caveman was arriving. Even though it was a Sunday, I still worked and and only popped out when I walked Norman. I forgot I’d opened the wine yesterday, so it ended up being a zero alcohol and zero spend day.
Gratitude List 1. Norman 2. Zero spend day 3. Nice food.
Monday 9th February was a busy day which started with me catching Norman chomping on cat shit which he’d dragged out of the gravel. I had my usual tea and toast then shoved some ingredients in the slow cooker to make a curry for lunch. I worked all morning and in the afternoon I spoke to a couple of customers and a colleague before having a late lunch. As it was the Tet holiday in Vietnam, and the year of the horse was about to begin, I found a photo of me on a horse so that I could wish all my Vietnamese friends ‘Chúc Mừng Năm Mới’, next week. The photo was taken by Murat from when I’d joined my sister, brother-in-law and 2 nieces on a horse riding trip, not far from Dalyan. Not only was it the year of the horse starting on the 17th of this month, but it was a Fire Horse. Here’s some info about what that mean if you believe in the zodiac signs; Key Themes & Predictions for 2026 The Fire Horse Energy: The rare combination of Fire and Horse signifies rapid progress, passion, and intense, sometimes volatile, energy that can feel like a “wildfire” if not managed. Career & Finance: A strong year for leadership, creativity, and ambitious, fast-moving, and risky career moves, particularly in tech or media. Relationships & Health: While a year of high excitement, it is also a “clash” year for Horses, which may lead to instability or break-ups in relationships. It is crucial for everyone to practice emotional steadiness, manage stress, and avoid overthinking. Advice: Focus on calculated risks, and “control the changes” by celebrating milestones like weddings or new babies to counter potential instability. Lucky Elements: Red is a favourable colour; incorporating “cool” elements (like travelling to colder, northern, or western regions) may help balance the fiery energy. I finished at 8.30pm and it had been a long day so I decided to eat cheese and biscuits for dinner with a couple of glasses of red wine to finish off the wine I’d bought on Saturday and forgotten to finish. I’d had another zero spend day which I was pleased about and was hoping for another one tomorrow too. Tonight was my last one with Norman as Jamie & Drew were back tomorrow afternoon.
Gratitude List 1. Good food 2. Another 5 Star review 3. Norman.
It was the first day of my Frugal February on Sunday 1st February and I’d also planned to take the day off. I had given myself a mission to spend less than £91 (5,369 lira) in 3 weeks. The exchange rate throughout February would get nearer to 60 lira to the pound – the highest I’d known it. I’d already pretty much cut out non-essential purchases from my lifestyle for most of the last year or more, but now I was really going to test myself (hopefully). Captain Caveman would arrive for the last week of February and we would spend normally then – and have a bit of a treat or two. I had another 10 days left with Norman and he was doing well despite the wettest winter I’d had in Dalyan. The forecast didn’t look much better for the next week and I could guarantee it would probably fine up, the day that Jamie returned! After tea and toast with Norman, who promptly fell asleep after his corner of toast, I checked my blog stats. January had 24% more views than December and the top 3 views were from the UK, Türkiye and the USA, then followed by The Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Germany, Sweden, Vietnam and Ireland. I was pleased to see Vietnam in the top 10 for the start of 2026. It stopped raining but the skies were grey and another downpour was imminent. I met a friend at the tea gardens and we had a catch up and a cup of tea – I splashed out and had 2 large teas for 40 lira (68p) and we were there for a while. We left just as it was starting to rain again but I managed to get back home in time to check on the leaks. Our pool on the complex had overflowed so it was a good job I had my wellies on. By the time I was walking past my parents’ and to Jamie’s, the sun was out and I hurried back to take Norman out for a walk. I found him laying on the kitchen rug, basking in the sunshine. On the walk, the skies got gloomier and by the end of it, little Norman had quite a spurt on to get home before he got wet. We got in just before another downpour and I had sausage casserole with veggies and potatoes for my dinner – it was delicious. I ended up doing a bit of work in the evening and decided to follow another one of those prompt sheets I often do but only get halfway through! Norman came for snuggles on the sofa while I got excited over a Facebook recognition badge (sad, I know) and a video call with Captain Caveman who was in London.
Gratitude List 1. Tea with a friend on my day off 2. Norman 3. A video call with Captain Caveman.
My first task on Sunday 25th January was to encourage Norman, who was very snoozy, to go outside. He was quite sleepy most of the day but he did have a corner or 2 of toast before napping. I got on with work and it was going to be a long day as I’d signed up for a free course which started late tonight. I had a lunch break at 3.30pm and decided to go to the shops to stock up for the rest of the week. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I made a chicken and leek pasta bake for dinner which was amazing and had a few portions left for fridge/freezer. Norman put in another complaint when he thought his dinner was late as we had been back from a walk for over 30 minutes. In the evening we watched some TV and I fell asleep on the sofa until my alarm went off for a Facebook Live session I’d agreed to join. Tomorrow was the start of a challenge called the Race to Recurring Revenue with business strategist Lisa Johnson, so I joined an 11pm welcome party on my laptop.
Gratitude List 1. Norman 2. Food shopping 3. A tasty dinner.
I landed at Dalaman airport at 12.30am on Sunday 18th January and waited quite a while for my suit case, in fact I was one of the last out of the airport. I hadn’t managed to drink the prosecco on the plane so I had some to bring home, I didn’t bother with anything at Duty Free as I was going to try to cut down on alcohol. Unfortunately, while going through the nothing to declare exit, I got stopped. The staff member there opened my suitcase and, because of the last minute cramming in of produce, it was in a bit of disarray with food all over the place. The man asked me what it was and pointed at the food. I replied it was food as I was cooking dinner for my family and friends tonight. He smiled, said ok and let me go! I was so relieved because I really hadn’t want it to be confiscated. My usual taxi man, Sonuç was on his way to the UK with his family so he had sent Engin. He took my case and we travelled back fairly quickly to Dalyan where he dropped me at the gate to the apartment complex and the fare was £30. The taxi rank at the airport is only £25 but I prefer to have a driver I know when arriving in the night/early hours and they don’t always drop you at your home when coming from Dalaman. I went in, put the electric back on and decided to unpack so that I could get the food in the fridge and freezer. Despite having to leave some back in the UK, I still had loads of lovely stuff which is either expensive or unavailable in Turkey. I went to bed and although it was quite cold in Dalyan, it was still a bit warmer than London. I didn’t set an alarm as I didn’t have to be anywhere until later in the day. I didn’t have the internet with it being a Sunday so it was a nice quiet day. I did manage a bit of a walk round the town and to the bank. I got an update from 2 of my customers who were on a sleeper train, heading to Dong Hoi and were going to be staying in Phong Nha, Vietnam. They seemed to be enjoying themselves so far and I was looking forward to finding out how they would like Phong Nha. At 5.30pm I popped my new Christmas and birthday clothes on and I met Jamie at Ela’s Kitchen for a Sunday dinner. I’d been a bit reluctant when he asked to book it in as I thought I’d have had enough English food but I decided to go for the Sunday dinner. It was a relatively new thing at Ela’s, with soup for starter, beef for main and cake for afters. They offer choice of chicken or nut roast at 850 lira (£15), beef at 950 lira (£17) or lamb at 1,100 lira (£19) which included the 3 courses. The food was really good and I was super stuffed, I also had a glass of red wine to wash it down with. When we went to get the bill, Jamie insisted on paying for it as a birthday treat, which was really lovely.
Gratitude List 1. Getting back to Dalyan with a suitcase full of treats 2. Having a good sleep 3. Sunday dinner birthday celebrations with Jamie.
It turns out it wasn’t the ‘snow’ that ruined my birthday on Sunday 11th January, it was me. My hangover was immense and I could barely function to open my birthday cards and presents. My present from Captain Caveman had been to pay for Marrakech as well as all the Christmas and birthday Shenanigans. My parents and sister gave me money which I was grateful for and promised I would buy something I needed with it. I also got a travel toiletry kit and a birthday cake from my sister and the family, which I didn’t realise how lovely it was until much later. On Facebook I had so many messages to say Happy Birthday and I couldn’t reply as my phone was playing up and my head was banging! Captain Caveman took himself back to bed, he was also in a state. We were meant to be getting the train to Pontecarlo around 3pm so Ma cooked us a lovely Sunday dinner. We had forgotten that the eggs had been eaten at breakfast so we sent Captain Caveman out to get some. When he returned he looked broken and had bumped in to Neil who was walking the dog to the Angel at Spinkhill to get the car. He reported back that their household were mainly in a state too. Captain Caveman was so bad that he didn’t even eat half of is Sunday dinner – and he left the crackling! After dinner, Captain Caveman went back to bed again and I still felt rough and resigned myself to staying in Mosborough another night. Captain Caveman decided we would leave Mosborough and we got the bus in to town, it was dark, cold and trying to snow. There were certainly no train tins on our journey back and we even got a taxi from Ponte station to Captain Caveman’s house where we got in and went straight to bed.
Gratitude List 1. Birthday cards, money and gifts 2. A pork Sunday dinner with Yorkshire puds 3. A very low key birthday!
One good thing about not celebrating a traditional Christmas Day was that Boxing Day, Friday 26th December, was not spent recovering from it. We didn’t have the hotel breakfast in Barking as Captain Caveman wasn’t bothered and we thought we would get back to Barnes. Instead, he took me to the pub hoping for a pub lunch. The Brown Dog was closed so we ended up in the Red Lion. Captain Caveman spent £45 on our lunch which consisted of 2 pints of beer, a beef and horseradish sandwich for Captain Caveman and a pint of tap water, a glass of white wine and a prawn and crayfish sandwich for me. It was lovely despite the very annoying family of 5 sat round a 2 person table next to us. We ended up moving to an adult only table across from the bar, which was a good move. Back home we watched TV; Undercover Boss, Gordon’s Kitchen Nightmares and Grand Designs – I’d missed UK TV. For dinner Captain Caveman prepared some sourdough, bought from Gail’s earlier for a small fortune, with a baked camembert and we finished off the port. It was a very nice, relaxing day and a chance for Captain Caveman to rest after his 12 hour shift yesterday.
Gratitude List 1. Pub grub 2. A relaxing boxing day 3. More cheese.
Captain Caveman’s parents were due back from Spain on Saturday 27th December so Captain Caveman had offered my culinary services to make a welcome back dinner that evening. I was pleased as it had been 5 days since I’d eaten anything I’d cooked myself – most unusual! We popped to the shops and I decided to have a look in the Sue Ryder charity shop. Even though I had new clothes for Christmas I still didn’t have more than 1 top and had been wearing Captain Caveman’s t-shirt yesterday. I also didn’t have anything that wasn’t casual (not that I was due to be going anywhere fancy). The charity shop always has some amazing items in there, mainly good brands which I can never afford. Today, Captain Caveman was there to treat me again and I found a lovely tunic dress for £12 – it was only a size 12 and I didn’t try it on in the shop but it did fit when I got back home. Next, we popped to one of my favourite shops to get the food for later, here’s what we got with the prices in pounds;
Marks & Spencers Chicken 7.15 Raspberries 3.90 Blueberries 3.63 Sage & onion stuffing 2.50 Orange Juice 2.50 Peppers 1.50 Carrots 1.25 Green beans 0.80 Parsnips 0.50 Total spent £23.71
We called at the Farmer’s Market on the way back but there were limited stalls out, with it being between Christmas and New Year. We did manage to pick up some sausages and black pudding for Captain Caveman to cook us a breakfast tomorrow. I made some Yorkshire pudding mixture but there was only self raising flour and it didn’t really work. In the afternoon, we decided to take a walk to see if the Brown Dog was open today and it was. We sat by the Christmas tree with a pint each (mine was cider) for a total of £13.60. Back home, Captain Caveman’s parents were back and it was lovely to see them. I cracked on with making the dinner and we had a drop of wine to go with the meal. Afterwards we went upstairs to watch TV and chill out – I even got in to watching Traitors.
Gratitude List 1. A new dress 2. A pint in the Brown Dog 3. A lovely family meal.
I had just 4 days left with Norman and 10 days left in Dalyan on Saturday 13th December. I hoped to be able to fit a few things in here, before the end of the year. The weather was good, Norman was snoozing and I got a notification to tell me that my author’s proof copy was arriving in Pontefract this morning! Even though I’d woken up with a sore arm from the flu vaccine, I thought that nothing could spoil my day! I didn’t bother with the Saturday market but had a walk in to town and met Penny & Phil, content in the knowledge that Captain Caveman had the weekend off and would soon be opening ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, getting the red pen out to correct any obvious mistakes. We had chatted about having a video call so that I could then update the book and get it ready for people to start buying before Christmas on Monday! At Jik’s, Penny had already ordered and was eating a breakfast, I decided to treat myself to a bacon and mushroom sandwich with an orange juice which was lovely. We got chatting and then decided to move tables to sit in the sun and I had a couple of red wines. We saw lots of passing Dalyan Dwellers who had already been to the Winter fair and decided we would have a wander over to the Mosque Square to look round the fair, too I paid my 700 lira (£12.50) bill and off we went. It was very busy with lots of stalls, Penny found it hard to walk round for too long so I left her and Phil at Corner Bar. I had a mulled wine and a chocolate brownie from the Ren Garden stall for 150 lira (£2.68) while saying a quick hello to Görkem. I bought some books for 800 lira (£14.29) at the book stall which had a ticket for each book. All the tickets went in to a draw to win a bag of goodies. This is where I met the stall holder, Ali, who was raising money for the dog shelter. The books I picked were all detective/thriller novels for Dad to read, as I know they only bring hand luggage out and books he hasn’t read are difficult to get. I popped to Kate’s stall where I managed to spend just a few quid on some new coasters. She was raising money for Arthur’s Legacy, a cat charity. It was so very crowded, the busiest fair in Dalyan I had seen and I went back home to drop stuff off then over to Jamie’s to check on Norman. While I was there, I checked if Captain Caveman had got my book and had he looked at it yet – he’d decided to go away for the weekend and so, disappointingly, the answer was no. He was due back tomorrow night and would look at it then, if it hadn’t been left out in the rain! I decided to walk Norman back in to town but he was not keen on going far. We got as far as Ren Garden, where Penny, Phil and Caramel now were so I joined them. Norman loved it in there and I even let him off the lead to see if he and Caramel would play together – they didn’t. Penny had bought a whole cooked chicken from the butchers to feed Caramel with so of course Norman wanted to eat it too. I was hesitant as I didn’t want it to affect his tum but he did share some and snaffled it down. I had 2 mulled wines and a piece of really good carrot and walnut cake. I paid a total of 500 lira (£8.93) and we stayed out until 9pm. Norman was very sprightly walking home and was so pleased with himself to have had extra chicken from Penny and Caramel.
Gratitude List 1. A good day with friends at the Winter fair 2. Norman 3. Mulled wine.
Sunday 14th December had any plans I might have had, cancelled. Poor little Norman had an accident at just gone 7am. He’d sneezed, coughed, farted and shit himself on the tiled floor of the dining room. The chicken he’d had last night had not done him any favours as I moved him away from a puddle of orange liquid that smelled foul! I felt awful for him and let Jamie know, seeing as I probably shouldn’t have let him eat the chicken. I’d only just finished cleaning it up when Nanny Kay popped round for a visit and Norman was pleased to see her. We had a good chat and a laugh then arranged to have a pre Christmas drink on Friday as well as seeing each other next Sunday before I left for the UK. Norman managed a short walk but he wasn’t his usual sprightly self so we chilled on the sofa in the evening. I had a homemade chickpea and spinach curry with couscous for dinner, which was nice. I waited for Captain Caveman to call or message to say he’d got my planner but I never heard anything! This meant that ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ would not be going on sale tomorrow. I was yet again disappointed and mad with myself for not planning it better.
Gratitude List 1. Seeing Nanny Kay 2. Norman 3. Healthy curry for dinner.
Friday 5th December was one of those stay at home days and keep out of the rain. I got a bit wet in the morning going to feed my friends cat and then I sat at my desk and watched the bad weather while I ploughed through my to do list. At 11am I had beans on toast and a Yorkshire tea for brunch. Not long after, my Turkish phone received a text to warn of heavy rains and flood risks across our province. In the afternoon I helped out a fellow Travel Agent from another company who wanted some info about Dalyan. The rains came and didn’t stop for the rest of the day so I had to venture out in it to feed the, who didn’t show up. I warmed up a Thai green curry for dinner with couscous and then found my wool socks and sheepskin slippers to warm my feet. They were cold after getting wet, walking through the water of our overflowing swimming pool. The mulled wine evening at Ren Garden even got postponed due to the weather so Jamie and I decided we would not be venturing out.
Gratitude List 1. Beans on toast 2. Thai Green curry 3. Warm feet.
The rain didn’t stop on Saturday 6th December so I got absolutely soaked on my last cat feeding mission. Even the white dogs did not come out or look up from their shelters this morning! I decided to call in to the Fataç shop to see if they had any wellies. I’d only got pumps which, although had a chunky sole, were totally inadequate for walking through the puddles. As luck would have it, the owner was there and let me try on a lovely pair of industrial wellies which he fitted with some super comfy spongy insoles. They did set me back 1700 lira (£30.36) which was not budgeted for but they made me feel like I would never have wet or uncomfortable feet again. Mr Fataç insisted I kept them on and gave me a plastic bag for my soggy sneakers. On my way home, I sploshed about like a child who’d been told not to go in puddles and it was amazing! I knew that my friend was on her way back from her trip, the cat was fed and looked after and I was looking forward to no animal caring for the next 2 days. I messaged Captain Caveman to let him know I’d spent a load of money on wellies and he thought that was a bargain for dry comfy feet! I obviously didn’t venture to the weekly market and decided I could make do with what I had. I made halloumi and roasted vegetable pasta for lunch which was fantastic. I spent the rest of my day avoiding rain and checking on our roof leaks – the bathroom needed a container to catch the drips from the leaking window.
Gratitude List 1. New wellies!!! 2. Puddle sploshing 3. Good food.
I tried my best to have a lay in on Sunday 7th December, however, my body clock must’ve got used to being awake between 6 & 7am as I was in the Wide Awake Club. I even joined Jamie on a dog walk with Norman as they had felt cabined up and wanted to get out now that the rain had gone. I was keen to splash about in my new wellies so agreed to meet Jamie. As we were walking we decided that we would partake in the postponed mulled wine night at Ren Garden later. Jamie had a birthday lunch to do in the afternoon but said he would make it between 7 and 8pm. In the meantime, I spent my day faffing about with suitcases trying to find my clothes that needed to go to charity. It turned out I must’ve already donated them as I only had what was in one box and one wardrobe! I made a simple but tasty chicken and veg pasta for lunch and finally was able to get a couple of loads of washing out to dry. I arrived at Ren Garden around 7pm and was chatting to some friends who were already there. By 9pm I decided I had already drunk sufficient mulled wine, which I really enjoyed, and that I would go to Migros for some shopping. I paid my 600 lira (£10.71) bill and said farwell to the people of Ren Garden. Jamie messaged to say he was still out at the birthday celebrations and was sorry to not make it after all. I was quite tipsy so I decided to get myself a ready made pizza for dinner. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Pasta 21.71 Milk 59.90 Dark chocolate 59.95 1 pepperoni pizza 179.95 Socks 388.95 Total spent 700.43 lira (£12.51)
I went home, cooked and ate the pizza and was glad of being in bed before midnight.
Gratitude List 1. Norman 2. Wellies 3. Mulled wine.
joloyolo 