Kalkan Episode VIII - The Pompies Awaken

[Pompeyalbie]

Sorry about lack of update yesterday, the IPad battery was flat so left it charging overnight. Monday we went over to Patara after a trip into town to get a new phone charger as mine decided to not work.Picked up one in the Vodaphone shop by the roundabout for a reasonable price. Had a good wander around Patara while Janet sat in the shade, found a couple of clay jug handles by the baths, a little bit of ancient history in my hands makes you wonder who they belonged to all those years ago.
After that we decided to go up to Islamlar for a nice grilled trout lunch. Took the route from D400 via Yesilkoy, some hairy roads & steep climbs. We ate at the same place as the first time we went up there Village Cafe, even sat in the same seats with a great view down the valley to Snake & Mouse Islands. Lovely food at ridiculous prices, I mean £2:50 for a grilled trout you'd pay much more at home. We were kept company by a couple of cats including a black one who looked like a devil cat. We took the scenic route home via Bezirgan so even more steep climbs, crazy bends and some fantastic views. Spent the afternoon in the pool and lazing on the sun beds, it has come out nice now the sun has deserted the UK & come back here.
Dinner was at Salonika, a new one for us, seems popular. We had a table on the terrace at the side, a big mistake as you are tucked out of the way, best seats are on the street where there are more people to talk to and watch the world go by. The food was very nice, I opted for a meat borek starter & the seafood casserole as a main, both were very tasty & plentiful, Janet had the sea bass fillet which she enjoyed very much. I would recommend it if you like fish.
Tuesday is market day, our usual routine, drive to Calis & get the water taxi over. I was on a mission to find some nice tan shoes to go with my blue suit for my son's wedding. I bought some blue & tan "Gucci" pimp shoes last year so I had an idea what I was after. Following a few fruitless looks I came across a pair I liked, time to call in my negotiator in who got 30TL knocked off for a nice pair of leather shoes. Next stop was the spices stalls were I picked up some saffron & a big bag of black tea for 10TL each. Janet was being very restrained having just bought a couple of hand made lace doilies for 20TL & a pair of sandals for £10. A couple of nice jumpers later & we were on our way back to the water taxi then home. Another dip in the pool then it was time to go in for dinner. However, our first stop was to collect our glasses from Goz, my old frames with new lens & Janet's new prescription sunglasses & old reading glasses with new lens. We'd not made plans on where to eat so it was pot luck, after a look at Paprika's menu we tried there for a first time. Have to say the view from the roof is one of the best we've had & it was a nice sunset,so blagging on to their wifi I did a quick panorama sweep video on Periscope App to show the world what a beautiful place Kalkan is. It was noticeable looking at other restaurants from on high that there are many holidaymakers in town at the moment as there were loads of empty tables all around. The food was nice and plentiful & the staff were very attentive, maybe because only 6 of us in there.
Tomorrow is our final full day so it looks like a shopping expedition, Janet is wavering about the dress but I think it looks nice so may have to voice an opinion instead of the usual" you are the one wearing it not me". Merkez is up & running but still no Fener although the chairs & tables are in place so maybe the weekend is the only target date for opening.

[Haybo]

Wow! That went fast! thank you for the wonderful reports.  Have a fantastic last day!  Great to hear Fener is looking like opening.  As you know I am an avid webcam watcher, and there is definitly a sense of things geting moving! Hope it improves.  I need my lenses changed in my specs, would you mind PM ing me a rough idea of the cost.  Just straight forward, not varifocal or anything.

[Chris_S]

Haybo: re cost of spectacles.

It WILL be cheaper than the UK.  By a healthy margin (approx 1/3 to 1/2).

The lens specification will be higher, and the choice of coatings will be greater.  UK retailers are so expensive, they tend to downgrade slightly to make them affordable.  This is especially true of reading glasses.  The more complex - the greater saving you'll find, in my experience.

Barbaros knows what he's doing, just ensure the frames are the quality you would expect - there's such a wide choice!

And it's quicker than here!  Just take your UK Prescription.

[Haybo]

Thanks Chris S.  We have had several pairs from Barbaros over the years including varifocals which have been excellent.  I had new glasses last yesr which i love but the old peepers are giving up on me.  I want to keep the frames.  I just cannot recall how much lenses were...seems the brain is on its way out too....there is no hope!

[Pompeyalbie]

Haybo, the postmans been.

[Pompeyalbie]

Right last update before I head off to bed, we've a long days travelling tomorrow, just hope I get home for the 7:45 kick off at Fratton Park for the first leg of the Play offs.
Final day so tidying up loose ends of shopping etc to get the lovely things we saw over the week. First stop was the pottery shop under Kalamaki, I must have every version of those little cats he sells, Janet had her eye on some bonbon dishes but I never realised how many, good job I paid for extra 5Kg of return luggage for her. Next it was down to Belma's to try on the dress, "that looks really nice & the colour really suits you" worked, we had a winner, while she was trying it on I did a deal with Belma's for a nice pashmina that will go nicely with it. Extra bonus we got a discount as well. Time for a drink so off to Merkez for a nice frozen lemonade & a bit of free wifi. Tea break over it was down to the Pandora shop which is now opposite Salt n Pepper, a charm for Janet,one for her friend plus one each for my 2 prospective daughter in laws birthdays. Still we hadn't finished, it was on to the glass shop by Doy Doy, to get a cheese board we'd seen earlier in the week. Finally it was time to escape back to Elmas in Kisla. My reward for being a "good little boy while shopping" was a bit of pampering so offI went to Atlantis for a Turkish bath, how relaxing is that?? It felt like he was stood on my back at one stage he was pressing so hard, but he did get rid of a couple of knots in my back & shoulder plus he pointed out a problem which the previous masseuse did the last time I had one. It still amazes me how they get that pillowcase full of bubbles. While I was down the town on my own I sneaked in to Ozay at Missilver to get Janet a bracelet she'd seen the previous Thursday & swore him to secrecy as it was going to be a surprising be anniversary present in July.
We said on Thursday that we'd go back to Alternatif on our last night as it seems to be our traditional last night venue, before hand though I had another treat a shave at Eddies opposite Sade, I mean 2 days growth and it looked like  bum fluff hardly stubble. A nice shave and the works to follow, I don't se a Turkish barber at home but if I had a shave I doubt I'd get the extras you get here all for less than £4.
Janet has gone off her Tonic & Gins as they are getting stronger so I talked her into a Tequila Sunrise instead, for starters she had Cheese boreks while I have Chicken Liver alacreme, after the complimentary garlic bread & dips, which as you remember is a no no for her. For her main Janet had a chicken dish which I can't remember the name of but was like a sherherds pie with chicken & cheese in, while I went for the Alternatif Feast and what a feast it was, a huge piece of calamari, sea bream, king prawn, mussels and a grouper steak plus vegetables & rice. It could feed a small country but was delicious, after that a dessert was a no go, I had a beer while Janet had a Rose & just like Thursday Mustfa sent over another beer & glass of wine, he is such a gent. We rounded off the evening with a Turkish coffee each and guess what a complimentary amaretto.
We made a final trip to see Ozay to say goodbye & I treated her to a watch she'd seen when he had posted on Facebook earlier in the year.
Time for bed as I have to be up early for a quick breakfast at Bob's before setting off to Dalaman. Thanks for reading this and if you are coming out enjoy yourselves.
PS it is very quiet here compared to previous years.

[Joeyloveskalkan]

Thanks for letting us share your holiday.  Really getting me in the mood for our trip in 8 days.

Here's hoping for the right result in the play-offs.

Jo
x

[kalkan4eva]

Yesterday my countdown app flashed up "One Month until Kalkan" which made my heart skip a beat. Today I've read your final report, Pompeyalbie and I'm even more in the mood than ever.
Thanks for sharing with us, I've loved reading about your days (and nights) - the Pimp shoes made me laugh out loud - cant believe how quickly your trip has gone (it probably went even quicker for you )
Hopefully you'll make the first leg of the play-offs - not a fan of the play-offs personally, third place should go up in my book

No pressure, Joeyloveskalkan, but you might be our only hope of holiday reports....

[Babs]

Thanks for sharing.......
I'm so impressed, not only did you encourage Janet's spending but you bought her a surprise too!

[Lizilu20]

Is that really it Albie? I can't believe that your week has passed by so quickly! Will you have a word with my OH please and tell him that it's ok to boost the Kalkan economy while keeping your nearest and dearest sweet!  Janet's a lucky lady. 

Thank you so much for bringing a little bit of Kalkan back into my life and K4E I got a ping too the other day but it's 3 months for us sadly.

Safe journey home.

[joycie]

Thankyou so much for your lovely report. It's nearly time to pay for our holiday and that always brings Kalkan a little closer. Looking forward to meeting up with Mandy and Jackie and husbands for our Pims soiree on the magnificent Sahaine balcony. Visiting them at the magnificent Nur apartments having a night away in Kekova and just generally breathing in the magnificence which is Kalkan.

[joycie]

So excited six of us have just enrolled in a cocktail master class in September at Black and Gold. Can't wait.

[kalkan4eva]

Burak seems to be excelling himself with the cocktail creations this year - judging by the social media photos!
Lizilu, when we come home you will have less than 2 months to go until your next visit, and then I'll be the jealous one

[Pompeyalbie]

Well that went quick, I suppose take out 2 days of travelling and it was really only 5 1/4 days in town. I managed to get to Fratton Park at 7:50 and missed the first goal. The trip wasn't without some events, first we were both subject to random checks at the boarding door, then at Gatwick Customs decided to have a rummage through my bag. Us OAPs must be the new potential smuggler profile. The couple I was sat next to on the plane also got pulled, the one similarity was that neither of us were carrying duty free bags and he asked me twice if I had any booze or fags. Are you expected to buy duty frees or are you thought to be dodgy if you don't. Shame he never looked in my hand luggage and found the plastic bag of black tea I bought at the market he'd would've had dogs sniffing it. Then the driver who was mean't to meet us wasn't there, phoned the company & they claimed he'd been there 45 mins looking for us. Well we never saw him at the arrivals gate, seems he had the wrong mobile number for me. Landed at 16:10 left the car park at nearly 18:00 I wasn't expecting to see much of the first half as he headed towards the M25 but he made good time as I opened the front door at 19:30, unlocked my case, grabbed a coat and "jogged" to the ground as fast as an unfit old codger could.
All the washing has been done & cases put up in the roof, photos uploaded( although I never took as many as usual). We both got on the bathroom scales this morning and have both lost a bit of weight despite eating lovely meals all week but no naughty snacks.
Looking forward to reading others adventures this year.

[Babs]

"Lost a bit of weight after a week in Kalkan" is something no one has ever heard me say! 

[Bob & Jayne]

Your holiday reports have been great and thank you for taking the time to post! Glad your both home safely and that you made the game on time  . Will be looking forward to the next holiday report now. Isn't it funny how us ladies love our count down apps! 69 days for us can't wait! Joycie your overnight stay at Kekova sounds lovely. Such a beautiful place  .

[keith]

Excellent reporting Pompeyalbie.......has definitely got us thinking about booking a trip to Kalkan for later in the year. We were going to take a rain check this year but reading your posts has made us have second thoughts. Good luck in the second leg tomorrow.

[Mrs M!]

So good to read We're off in September after a two year break and can't wait!

Thanks for your reports - from a fellow Hampshire'ite'!