Home again

Bella

I had a lovely week away with my sis in law Hil. We both have a bit of a tan and the week was filled with giggles. She can be so very naughty, I have to go with her to make sure she behaves.
Here are a selection of photos from our holiday

Brugsmania tree in my garden

The view from Cafe Inn, one of our favourite watering holes.

Such a clever idea

Hil and Sylvia

They have started building the new marina - I am not sure about it.

The sun was shining and the sea was blue

Maradona's restaurant on a sunny day

More yummy food

Wild flowers at Beyaz Amca

Yummy borek

She has that naughty look about her!

It was so nice to see Aysel and her family again

On the way home - a view of Marmaris

Aysel's friend prepared a delicious meal for us

Princess Beyaz of Ozbel

I will be back soon

Mr and Mrs Turquoise Diaries

Yesterday it rained a bit and yes we know we don't come to Turkey for rain! This may be the last rain now for 6 months so we will let them off. I quite like seeing the sea when it is a bit stormy. It wasn't really cold so we grabbed our brollies and went to pay some bills. I always laugh when people go on about the cheap council tax in Turkey. You don't actually get a lot for it and they give you extra bills for just about everything. So anyway today I paid 1100 lira for a new road past my house and a couple of years council tax. Last year we had a similar amount for new drains and new water meters. I believe the EU has given Turkey lots of money to improve drains - so I have paid twice! I hear others in Akbuk are also to get big bills for new drains. Still we are pleased with the road. After that we called in at the furniture shop and bought some posh new red chairs for the terrace. The others were almost 8 years old and past their best, not even worth getting them recovered.  So cats please note - you are not allowed to sleep on them.

The view from my terrace - the sky was unusal the night before the rain.

Yummy afternoon tea

Then we went to visit friends just outside Datca. They have a lovely beach house and Asegul is so creative. The furnishings are like something from 'Homes and Gardens'. They have a Beagle called Hera and a pussy called Hestia and their interesting blog about their life in Turkey is called Turquiose Diaries. We had afternoon tea and a nice chat so the rain didn't spoil our day.


Lovely artistic corners all over the house.



Hera their lovely Beagle

Such a beautiful home

Market Day

We rose early today and collected our glamorous friend Sylvia for breakfast at the Cafe Inn in town. What a fabulous treat that was. Easily the best breakfast ever. Sibel the very nice lady there served a beautifully presented feast of fresh breads and toast, preserves, borek, boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumber, a variety of cheeses, fresh strawberries, pastries and as much tea as we could drink. All for 15 lira. She has recently reopened the Cafe Inn and the furnishings are tasteful, stylish and comfortable with lovely views over the bay. We will be back often.

Then we sauntered round to the harbour where there is a new shop - in fact there are quite a few new and interesting shops in Datca this year and the place seems to be a little more up market than it used to be. The new shop is called Oda Sanat (the art room) and is filled with lovely artistic, handmade things. Those of you who are coming to my birthday party soon will be pleased to hear I bought a few items here for pizes for the party games!!
Later we went to the market which was busy- just bought a few strawberries for breakfast tomorrow.

Back to Datca

As mentioned before Datca is my favourite place for topping up the vitamin D levels so Hil and I have ventured back for our first trip of 2013. We travelled on a cheapy Easyjet flight from  Bristol costing around 100 pounds return. We ended up sitting by a man and his adult son and during the flight they consumed 5 bottles of champagne. The son told us his Dad had just got out of prison - not sure if he was joking!
I drove over the mountains from Dalaman avoiding the donkeys and hedgehogs but there wasn't much traffic after midnight.  Ercan has rented us a nice new Fiat Soleo, he says I am not just his best customer but his very best customer! So I usually get his newest cars - I did try to tell him it might be better to give me a battered older one.
On arrival at 2.15 am, we had a lovely surprise. Bella one of our favourite pussies came rushing over to meet us, purring and miaowing loudly. She hasn't seen us for 7 months but she followed us into the house and made a big fuss of us. This morning Beyaz turned up and Squeaky,  followed by a new one called Aphrodite. No sign of Bruiser or Sultana - I wonder if they made it through the winter? These four are looking glossy, fat and healthy so someone has been looking after them. I think our gardener has a soft spot for cats.
The garden is looking good and the trumpet flower tree is full of lovely yellow flowers. Last year I grew tomatoes in tubs and there are new baby plants coming up where some have seeded.
April weather can be rather changeable but today it was sunny, blue skies and 24C in the shade - smashing. After a late breakfast we wandered down to the harbour for coffee and then a delicious tuna salad lunch. Quite a few folk were swimming in the sea so Hil and I may give it a go in the  next couple of days. We have settled in now and did the grocery shopping and had a look round to see what had changed. Sadly they have started on the new marina and that area looks a mess, there is a new hotel by the harbour. The new harbour which was almost finished last year is now complete and the plants and trees have settled in well. Our little local mini market has closed down which is such a shame. The vet has also closed. We bumped into a few friends and had all the hand shaking, kissing and welcome routines.

One of our reasons for coming was to see the Spring flowers and they are gorgeous - papatya (big daisies) and poppies everywhere. We will venture along the peninsula on Sunday to see the wild areas.