The secret Kalkan diary of Lizilu20...And then there were 3!

[Bob & Jayne]

Laughing til the end of your blog Lizzie, you have certainly cheered up my dreary Monday back at work in the freezing cold weather we have again today! So many lovely restaurants to try again, Salonica to name but one! so glad that you have managed to track down Captain Jack as well! Lucky you be able to witness the boats going back in tomorrow, I bet it will be fantastic to watch, have your camera at the ready! I hope that Namuk at Botanik does well, we really love it there too as you know!!

Look forward to tomorrow's instalment.   

[kalkan4eva]

Wow!
Been under the radar for a few days and got to read four smashing posts in one sitting I really feel as though I'm there with you. Go and see my best friend the chemist he will sort you out with something for those bites...are they not just the world's most horrible insects?
Cant wait to try a few of the places you mentioned, fingers (and everything) crossed for the businesses this year - especially those who have paid out a king's ransom for the harbour units (only to find they need to sort out their own waste pipes..).
How lucky are you with the weather - how fab that you have had lots of sunshine as it can be changeable this early in the year. Make the most of it, its pretty cold back in blighty - still haven't ditched the black opaques. Botanik offers something different in Kalkan, so I hope things pick up for them...hopefully the new businesses and  more interest in this part of Kalkan will impact positively on their place.
I sense a Bridget Jones style report from the waters-edge tomorrow - be careful

[samson]

any noticeable lack of dogs by the roundabout ? 

[Haybo]

Oh that did make me chuckle...the mountain goat bit reminded me of Jayne climbing into the back of the jeep last year..i think i used a similar phrase!

[Babs]

Salonica sounds great, definitely on the list for later this year 
Please, please, please everyone visit Botanik while you are in Kalkan, we love this bar just as we did their first place on the roof top.......a very special chilled vibe......would hate to see it go 

[Kalkan regular]

The problem with Botanic Garden is that if you don't know it's there you can miss it. The top street was revitalised last year with the addition of Salonica and other restaurants added this year should help Botanic's business if he can hang on. I know I recommended it to lots of people staying in our development last year, some of whom come every year but they didn't know it was there. When they visited they all loved it and visited it lots.

[Holidaylover28]

Ooo how lovely, these reports are just fab! glad you liked Salonica, we ate there a couple of times last year and loved it. Have any of the other new restaurants opened down that lane yet?
Oh no please don't close Botanic we love it there and want to be using it in June! i wanted to try out some non-alcoholic cocktails as it will be a dry holiday for me this time 
keep up the fab work Lizilu

[Lizilu20]

Tuesday 19/04/16

Well yesterday was a doing day at last!

We picked up the car and headed off to the bank to use the card machine. Another first for us as we usually go inside, so it was with trepidation that we waved goodbye to our card as the machine greedily sucked it in (I've been reading my book again  ) but all was well and as if by magic we pressed a button, it spoke to us in English and dished out the readies! Yippee (we don't get out much do we!).

We then headed off to town for a good mooch and some breakfast. We parked up on cardiac hill - loads of spaces unlike summer where parking is a bit of a free for all, and had our stroll. We started out at the marina and had a chat with Mario then made our way along, passing by aubergine and trio etc, so far so good, it all looks the same and the greeters were greeting but very politely and no pressure. As we got by yakamoz we started to see the new builds and they are actually looking good and hopefully not too far off being finished. Seaport's sign is out and there is furniture and equipment inside all stacked up, ready for the grand opening. A little further along, behind the beach doesn't look too good. They've cordoned the area off (although you can still access the beach) and the top road by sunset (that was ) and kaptans was hanging precariously, it's bowels propped up by metalwork and concrete and still lots of work to be done. What struck me as the most sad was seeing fener abandoned, looking desolate. Fener was always a constant for us at Easter and We've really missed our breakfast/brunches there these past few days. 
Did I mention earlier that another constant Isn't open yet - no Ali Baba's soup kitchen!  although I have been reliably informed that it will be opening by the start of the season.

We headed on up to cafe Leon and had the most delicious breakfast. Full monty for OH and a Turkish for me. We both agreed that they were one of the best we've had. No breakfast down town for batgirl, unusually she wasn't cocooned in her room, she was studiously poring over her revision as she has exams when we get back. I don't know who she takes after as both OH and I are very easily led and given the choice would not be sat in the apartment with our work. I am very proud of her and we did take her plenty of goodies back.

We then headed off with full tummies, to stretch our legs and have a mooch around the harbour and the boats in dry dock. The smell of paint and varnish was in the air and most were looking shipshape and Bristol fashion. This is where we bumped into Abdi who told us about them being put back in the water today. I do hope we manage to see some of it.
We finished off where we started, in the marina and I had a very refreshing 'Muslim mojito' as described by mario! This was a delicious glass of homemade lemonade infused with herbs. There was another chap there waiting for his wife and mario attempted to introduce us, "meet my good friends Shaun and Sophie" , he said. I looked around for Sophie, then realised he meant me. "No mario, I'm Elizabeth", "ah yes, sorry, meet Sophie Elizabeth" 
We then heard a scuttle and a tortoise shot out from nowhere, it was like usain bolt. Honestly I've never in my life seen a tortoise move so quickly! "It is because he is angry" he said as the tortoise scuttled towards OH's tootsies, OH's face took on a worried look, Mario  then produced a head of lettuce leaves. The tortoise greedily munched away, "see he is angry" ahhh hungry!!!! Lost in translation!
I asked if the tortoise had a name, "George Colin Jaffa" he proclaimed. "Oooh that a posh name" I said, George Colin Jaffa wow! No said Mario, "George, he call him Jaffa" so that cleared that one up! Oh we did laugh!!!

I then spent the afternoon laid out on a sunbed and actually managed another dip in the pool while OH went for a shave. He tried a new barber and was a bit alarmed when the barber's hand reached out and caressed OH's tummy and whispered "honey" in his ear. OH quickly jumped up to make his excuses and leave when he realised that he had a bee/waspy thing stuck on his Tshirt! They then had a bit of a frenzied dance while the barber swatted the critter! I wished I had seen that!

Last evening, we dined at the Yelken bistro and it was really delicious. I had creamy garlic chicken, OH leg of lamb and our daughter plumped for tagliatelle. She was disappointed with hers as she thought (goodness knows why) that it would come in a tomato sauce, but it was creamy, so she picked and piked and the waiter spotted this and before we knew it, he replaced it with an identical dish but with tomato sauce instead of cream. How fantastic is that! They didn't even charge us for the first one. Typical Turkish hospitality.
My evening as a little eventful - my temporary filling fell out but no pain thank goodness. I just feel as though I've got a crater the size of a black hole in my tooth and I can't stop poking it with my tongue. I may have to pay a visit to Cenk the dentist but I'm hoping I can last out until we get home.

Today our friends are arriving from Fethiye. They are staying at the kalamar hotel for a night and we wine to to check this out yesterday. Wow it's fab. The restaurant looks directly out into the sea with floor to ceiling glass windows and the infinity pool and jacuzzi are a work of art! I can't wait to spend a bit of time there.
Our friends have never been to Kalkan so I can't wait to show off our beautiful little town.
See you all later... 

[Blue Lizard]

Excellent read for a way to start the morning off!   but I'm afraid if a Hairdresser rubbed my tum and said Honey, I'd have been out the door and up the road Bee thingy or not!

[tonye1960]

Hi,
Thanks for these reports , they are great. We are coming to Kalkan for the first time at the beginning of July, and staying close to where you are. We also have a daughter of similar age and habits as yours lol. Great to get an insight into the are around where we are staying , and information on restaurants. thank you again.

[kalkan4eva]

Another fab report, Lizilu. Lots of good chuckle points....! Glad you have taken a stroll down at the harbour and reported back on how it looks....I suppose its work in progress and time will tell if this work has improved what Kalkan has to offer. Loved the look of Kalamar Hotel, we are definitely going to call in there on one of our epic walks this year...wonder if its open for non-residents?
I remember one year when our girls were younger the eldest used to want to stay in when we went out exploring - as she had "Uni work" to do...turns out she was just on her smartphone downloading...oohh just about anything as we got a bill from O2 for £600 . Not saying Batgirl is as daft as our supposedly "clever one" and it was the days before anyone knew about data roaming...!!
Keep them coming, loving your holiday, vicariously...

[Charlie]

I wouldn't hold off getting the tooth filled.  Cenk is brilliant and he'll probably charge less than half of what you'll pay if you wait until you get home.  Loving the reports, thank you!

[Bob & Jayne]

Well today's blog is certainly a cracker Lizzie! I have just laughed all the way through it, fabulous! I've heard good reports about Cenk, and as you know if I am brave enough will be making an appointment for the summer for me to pay a visit! Dentists not being my favourite passtime! hope you get your tooth sorted and it doesn't give you any pain while on holiday. As for the Barber experience, well I would have loved to have been a fly (or bee) on the wall too and witnessed that!  . Sounds like you had a great day.  Look forward to reading tomorrow's episode, have a great time with your friends showing them around Kalkan today.  The Kalamar Hotel looks and sounds fantastic, imagine they will love it there. x

[suzyq1]

Hi Lizilu, Just had a mammoth catch up. Thanks so much for taking the time to report back to all us "Kalkan starved" members! Your blog always puts a smile on my face. Keep up the good work   

[Lizilu20]

Wednesday 20/04/16

And I'm nursing the hangover from hell 

We had a fab day yesterday but I don't remember much about it as it was all very hazy.

The sun was shining brilliantly, another glorious day. We've been so lucky with the weather this year. Just that one bad day in Fethiye. We brunched downstairs in the Yelken bistro before going to meet our friends.
OH had a big teacake/roll/barm/bap depending where you are from. In the part of Lancashire where we live its most definitely a teacake, and no it doesn't have currants in, that's a currant tea cake  any way I digress, his teacake was stuffed full with bacon and sausages and looked delicious. I wanted some menemen but it wasn't on the menu, no problem - they made me menemen and it was really delicious, one of the best ever.
Our daughter had pancakes and Nutella and oh they did look good. I had to have a taste and they were amazing. Thick, fluffy and sweet with a dusting of icing sugar. I asked for some butter for my toast and it seemed to take them a while. The waiter apologised for the delay, they had no bananas in the kitchen??? But they would get one here as soon as possible. I told him I had asked for butter not a banana, "no problem" he said, you can have butter and banana and we saw another member of the team pull up in his car with a bunch of bananas. People here in Kalkan are so kind and thoughtful and really go the extra mile to make you feel welcome and comfortable.

We then met our friends on migros car park. The journey down from Fethiye was uneventful and they made it in approx 1 hour.

We showed them to their hotel and they were taken aback with the amazing views kalamar bay has to offer and the gorgeous views from the hotel and its infinity pool and restaurant. 
OH ferried us down to the harbour and this is where it all starts to get a little hazy.

We had heard that Aubergine have cut their price of house wine to 25tl a bottle so we were definitely having some of that. Of course our idea of having a nice glass of wine while watching the boats being hoisted back in the water became 2 bottles of wine and as we were facing the street on the sofa, we didn't even see them going back in but we heard it all and a kind lady who was sitting up on the 'top table' told me she'd give me a shout when the next one went in!

We then showed our friends the old town as we dragged ourselves up through the streets to the taxi rank and back to our respective so homes for an hour around the pool before showering and out for the evening.

We were going to dine at Gironda, if their rooftop was open but didn't make a definite booking as they weren't sure if they were opening their rooftop or not. It's as well we didn't make a booking as by the time we had finished our drinks downstairs, the sun had already set so we decided to eat at Kaya instead as we thought their girls would enjoy kadir's Magic and we love it there. We had a delicious meal and fab magic tricks, we were all impressed.
Where to now? Black and gold of course. We had a fab fun night, OH behind the bar making cocktails with Burak's  supervision and us quaffing them and before we knew it, midnight had struck and my bed was calling me.

This morning I feel like hell on earth. Never again...

[Blue Lizard]

Another goodly read! makes me wish I was there.... still only 57 days to go! ...ever thought they might be getting things wrong because you are slurring?

[Babs]

Oh Lizilu! 

[Bob & Jayne]

Oh Lizzie, laughing again til the end, you are wasted!!! you should be writing books, fab blog.  Did you end up eating the banana, and "I feel like hell on earth. Never again", please don't keep to that in August will you!!!

Jayne xx

[BarbH]

Jane, Lizzie has already forgotten she wrote that!!!!!

[Lizilu20]

Thursday 21/04/16

And I feeeeeel good da da da da da da da!!! 

Yesterday, not only did I wake up feeling dreadful, as I opened the curtains, it looked like we had emerged from our slumber to a crime scene. 
The pool had been cordoned off with tape, a strategically placed umbrella at every corner with high risk tape wound all around - oh no! I staggered groggily down the steps, negotiating them with care and found Tommy Lee (AKA Halil ) with his hose pipe. Oh no, BIG problem with the pool - the pump is dead!! RIP!!! Just as the weather has gone tropical  with a hopeful look on my face I enquired when it would be back in action and I was met with a shrug, maybe 2 days  Oh well, I'll just resort to the hope pipe to cool me down if things get desperate as it really is pool weather in Kalkan right now.

Our friends were due to go home yesterday after their micro break from Fethiye and called on us on their way home, they had checked out and were going to spend a couple of hours with us before travelling home. Their girls were disappointed about the pool and they were all disappointed at going home as they had enjoyed Kalkan so much - They gave us a knowing look and said"what the hell" turned around and went straight back to the hotel for another night! They have already decided to come back for a longer time in the summer and so Kalkan has weaved its spell again  .

We spent the day with them at the kalamar hotel and it was fab. We had lunch first in the restaurant with the breathtakingly magnificent view - dirt cheap! A beautiful Caesar salad for 15tl well it was a take on a Caesar salad as the sauce was yoghurty and minty, but delicious all the same. There had to be a sting somewhere! And we found it on the drinks menu. Glass of wine - huge glass, tiny volume of wine for 20tl, Efes 15 TL for a small glass    so I managed to stick to my detox, well kind of! Just the one hair of the dog as I sat on a pristine sunbed taking in the fantastic view of the infinity pool and beyond, firnaz bay sparkling under the hazy late afternoon sunshine and mouse and snake standing proudly with the hint of a ferry, travelling further afield slowly making its way along the horizon. Bliss! What a lovely way to spend the afternoon and we had it all to ourselves!
The only thing that brought us down to earth was our waiter who was adorned in a t shirt which read "sorry boys this girl is taken" and when we were asked if we would like music around the pool, I suddenly shot out of my seat as is thought I was still in a crime scene as "PUT YOUR F*****G HANDS UP" suddenly and frighteningly blared out of the sound system and we were subjected to a rave in Ibiza soundtrack. 

So a lovely day in a beautiful hotel, but a few lessons to be learned before the families and more genteel folk arrive for the summer.

Last night we dined at the marina restaurant and it was as tasty as ever. They were also very busy which was good to see and we had to wait for a table. I was very careful and nursed my drinks, drank lots of water in between and was a paragon of virtue.

Let's se what today brings