4 go on an adventure!

[RosiB]

Well, here goes.......

We haven't actually left yet - that's tomorrow morning - but I don't think I'll have time to start writing before we leave. I say we leave tomorrow morning, but disaster has already struck so who knows? Yesterday, Bill decided he'd better check with our taxi firm that they remembered that they were to pick us up, and thank goodness he did! We made the booking last month and had been assured that everything was ok; no reaon to doubt this, as they've always been reliable in the past. The conversation went something like this:

Bill: Just checking everything's ok for Monday, R.
R: Monday? What's happening Monday?
Bill: LOL! The airport run!
R: Sorry, Bill. Don't know what you're talking about.
Bill: You're kidding, right?
R: No, mate, there's nothing booked for you and nothing available, either.

A mad ring round of local firms followed and we THINK we're sorted! At Easter, we were going to France for a few days, but just as Bill was loading the car, I fell downstairs and managed to break my leg, so hopefully this car fiasco is the one thing to go wrong!

The cases are packed (well, apart from the 101 things I'll remember in the middle of the night!) and now I've only got to empty bins and tidy up once everyone else has gone to bed. Mia is even more overexcited than usual this year as we're bringing her younger sister with us for the first time - Mia ( who's actually our granddaughter) lives with us but Layla doesn't, so it's a real treat for them to be going away together. A treat for me, too, truth be told!

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=13439.0

[joycie]

What a fabulous place for your granddaughters to holiday together. Have a wonderful time look forward to your holiday report.36 days till we get there can't wait.

[Lizilu20]

Fingers crossed all goes smoothly Ros and so glad you have decided to blog again.

Safe journey tomorrow. X

 

[Kalkan regular]

Well Ros a treat for you but doubt it will be a rest! Enjoy your precious time with them both ....and Bill of course.

[Bob & Jayne]

Aww lovely pre holiday report how exciting. Hope to meet up when your here. Have a safe journey. X

[RosiB]

We'll look out for you, Jayne! x

[kalkan4eva]

Looking forward to hearing all about your stay, RosiB.

[Babs]

Look forward to hearing all about your holiday RosieB!

[RosiB]

Well, we're here!

Like many others, I took a long time deciding whether or not to travel this year, and was VERY nervous at the airport, but all was fine. We had a good flight and landed only four minutes behind schedule. We cleared passport control, baggage reclaim and collected the car and were on our way within half an hour, arriving in Kalkan by 11:30 on Monday night. The girls were pretty tired so their request to go straight into the pool wasn't really serious and they were in bed and asleep before long - and we weren't far behind them!
I must have been pretty tired after travelling, as I didn't wake up until almost 7 yesterday morning, and that's when (and why!) holiday disaster no. 1 happened; I'm one of those who can't get started without a serious dose of coffee in the morning, so I made myself a lovely big mugful and picked it up to take on to the balcony. However, I have weak joints because of RA, and - wouldn't you know it - my wrist gave up on me and the coffee slopped over my hand, so I'm now sporting a lovely crop of blisters on my right hand! I stuck my hand into the freezer quite quickly, so hopefully they'll go down soon.
Shock over, fresh cup made and devoured, and I was ready to go, but no one else was awake yet, so I did my usual thing of getting everything back to the way I like it and making a shopping list. The others eventually woke up at about 9:30, and we went down to the Bistro for breakfast, after which we went food shopping. The rest of the day was spent in the pool - much to the girls' delight! We must be getting old, because by 5:00 pm we were seriously knackered again, so much so that we decided not to go out to eat! We ended up just putting a salad together, then playing Mia's new favourite game of "Catchphrase" for a couple of hours. I had to be the host because she says I'm too good at guessing, and if you'd heard some of Bill's guesses, you'd probably agree! I mean, seriously, since when was "poo train" a legitimate catchphrase?!! The girls almost wet themselves! By 9 everyone was ready for bed and by 10 we were all asleep, so when the doorbell rang at 10:45, it was a bit of a rude awakening! A delivery from Hunkar?!! Ye Gods!!!

Oh well, a new day has begun - without a coffee shower! - so let's see what it brings!

[Bob & Jayne]

Aww glad you've arrived safely Rosieb. Fab report and sorry to hear about your hand. Hope it gets better soon. Looks like it's going to be another scorcher!

Jx

[Lizilu20]

Oh no, hope your hand gets better soon Ros and let's hope this is the one and only disaster - well apart from your rude awakening!

Looking forward to hearing what your day brings today. 

[kalkan4eva]

Who ordered the Hunkar takeaway..?
Hope your hand heals fast - blisters are pretty horrible and not what you need in the sun 
Looking forward to hearing more about your stay

[RosiB]

K4E - Don't know, but it wasn't any of us!!!!

[RosiB]

Unlike Shirl, who doesn't seem to have an off switch, our holiday has been VERY slow and uneventful! The girls are perfectly happy to stay around the pool all day, every day so that's mainly what we've done!

On Wednesday we interrupted pool time and went up to Islamlar, to eat at Bodamya Tepe; we had a delicious meze selection to start and then all four of us had grilled trout. They've had a new bread oven built so that they can bake their own bread and pide, etc and the bread was delicious! Hassan knows how much I love to cook, so I got a chance to have a really good look at it; they'd just made a chicken casserole in it for the staff lunch, and I was invited to try it - it should be on the menu!

Last night we ate at Alternatif. Bill and Mia had pepper steak, Layla had chicken sis and I had sea bass stuffed with spinach and herbs - all very good. We had a wander around town and it is much quieter than usual. Mustafa told us that he only had six customers the night before; I really hope that Kalkan and Turkey as a whole can weather this storm and that the tourists start to come back soon.

Yesterday was spent at Patara. The sea was quite rough and neither of the girls needed to be told twice to stay near the edge, but fun was had nonetheless. Today, we're going to the Kaya mountain BBQ, which will be fun _ tell you all about it next time!

[Bob & Jayne]

Another fab report RosiB, sounds like you are having a lovely holiday, we haven't ventured to Patara just yet, love it there but it can get rough can't it. We hope too that business picks up here, although on Thursday evening the town was quite busy at 11.30pm. I like the sound of the bread oven at Bodamye Tepe, it's on our list, we love it up there.

Look forward to hearing about the Kaya BBQ, enjoy 

We are off to Kas today.

Jayne

[Lizilu20]

There's nothing wrong with long lazy days spent by the pool. I'm guessing that we will be doing much of the same pretty soon.   

I bet the girls are having a fab time together.

We love bodamya tepe too and are hoping to venture up there again this year. You can't beat the simplicity of freshly cooked fish, salad, bread and in our case a few chips on the side. I really love that thin floppy bread that you get there and his courgette fritters are amazing! Happy days. 

[RosiB]

I haven't written lately as we haven't done much to write about!

The Kaya BBQ day was great! If you haven't done this yet, I'd highly recommend it. We left Kalkan just after 10:00, (after holiday disaster no.2, which I'll tell you about later!); there were only 18 people, so just one minibus. The trip took longer than usual as there were lots of roadworks on the way. There was the usual stop at Bezirgan, where Kadir almost convinced our girls that the storage huts were people's houses, then it was onwards and upwards. By the time we arrived, the pool was the most welcoming sight, even though it was freezing cold, and it didn't take long before most people were at least dipping their toes in. The food on offer at lunch was amazing - every bit as good as you'd get in any restaurant. How they do it in such a restricted environment astonishes me every time. After lunch, most people went back into the pool or just lazed about - I was one of the lazy ones! However, that gave me the opportunity to meet a young Turkish couple who were on the trip with us and we spent a great hour or so chatting about all sorts of things; they were both teachers and, as an ex teacher, we had lots in common. Turns out, the moans and complaints are pretty universal! We left at about 5:00 to drive back to Kalkan; luckily, the driver knew an alternative route, so we didn't have the roadworks to face on the return journey.
Once back, the girls were straight into the pool and we had an opportunity to sort out disaster no.2; when we were getting ready to go in the morning, Bill had mislaid his glasses and, yes, you've guessed it, found them by standing on them! Even I, Mrs Fix it, couldn't do anything about them, so off he had to go to the optician in town for a new pair; luckily, he hadn't broken the lenses, and he found a frame that they fitted perfectly, so at least I don't have to face the prospect of driving!!!

We've spent our evenings either at the apartment with me cooking or with friends cooking, so I can't tell you about wonderful meals we've had in restaurants - but we've still got two weeks left, so who knows?!!

[Bob & Jayne]

Another fab report RosiB. Sorry to hear about the glasses. The Kaya Bbq sounds lovely, something we haven't done but we may well try it.  Your holiday sounds so relaxing, we have cooked in quite a bit too, Bob loves to cook, especially with all the fab produce you can get here. 

J

[Haybo]

Sounds lime you are having a lovely time with the odd mishap thrown in for good measure! I keep saying that we plan to eat in a bit more this year, but it seems wrong when there are so many nice places to go!   Keep up with the reports!

[Babs]

The BBQ sounds great and the lovely thing about reading other people's reports is that you realise there are so many things that you haven't done in Kalkan.......so lots of excuses to keep coming back......and to think people ask me if I get bored going back to the same place!!
I'm ashamed to say that despite mostly self catering we have never eaten in....my excuse being that OH doesn't cook and I'm on holiday! In the last few years we've even been out every day for breakfast, tea/coffee/drinks on a roof terrace are about all we manage!