So Much Fun

Well our three weeks in the sun are over and we had a lovely time. Matt had lots of windy days so he was very happy. It was very hot but the breeze made it easier and we had lots of relaxing mornings on our terrace or swimming. Afternoons and early evenings were almost all on the windsurfing beach at Gebekum - fine by me they have good sunbeds and facilities. We had some evenings at home relaxing on the balcony watching the sun go down over the Med. Our cats were around much of the time - Beyaz, Aphrodite, Spot and Bruiser. Sadly my favourite, Bella wasn't and I think she was the one I spotted dead in the road :( she was a lovely friendly puss and this was her third summer with us. Cats there don't last long.
We had some very good meals although I lost my appetite and often had lentil soup for dinner. We didn't manage breakfast out as it would have been too much food and all I wanted was yoghurt but will catch up on that during the girl's week with Hil soon. I didn't go to the market either, just couldn't face it in the heat. I'll go in September.
We caught up with some very lovely friends and had a few boozy nights in the Sunrise bar laughing and chatting. We met a few new ones and I have Hil set up with a date for next August - that's if she's not married by then! We found a man of a similar age to her who loves going to night clubs. Could be a match made in heaven and such a shame he'll be gone when she returns soon.
There are some changes in Datca, it has grown considerably especially in the last two or three years. Some of the changes are good and there are some smart new shops. Many of the roads have been resurfaced and some pavements improved. The very ugly Ogretmen Evi has been pulled down and next year there may be a park in its place (hope so). There are a lot more honey shops and also bread shops and little cafes. The terraces by the harbour now have tables and chairs and there is a new cafe serving drinks. It looks lovely.
Metro cars came up trumps and gave us a brand new car so we looked very smart in it - he says I'm not just his best customer but his very best customer. I'm just glad we didn't prang it.
Only three weeks between visits this time so I didn't mind leaving and the cooler weather at home is rather nice.
Here are some photos of our holiday.

Fabulous flowers

Really lovely visitors

Smashing friends with such interesting lives.

The view from our garden.

Fun at the water park.

Pide - yummy!

Pide

Such a fabulous guest.

Go away I'm reading!

Our new car.

This year our palm tree has flowers.

A full moon - dolunay.

Spot, the new girl in the garden.

Aphrodite

The Ogretmen Evi was here!

Matt wanted this - Easyscoot?

Sunrise bar - our favourite.

Fresh orange juice.

More smashing friends and my favourite pooch.

Princess Beyaz of Ozbel doing what she enjoys most.

Perfect Little Visitors

The water park was a big hit.

One of the reasons we enjoy our time in Turkey is we never quite know what is going to happen next. Our experiences over the years have been funny, puzzling, crazy, infuriating but sometimes just special.We had a special one this week. My Turkish friend from a town a couple of hours away called me. We have been good friends for a few years and I really like her. She is a teacher and I have visited a couple of her schools. Teachers here seem to move to a new one much more often than we do in UK. When a group of us did the Pebble Project to commemorate a friend who had died it was one of her schools in the mountains that received some books in Pebble's memory. My friend hasn't had an easy life but a few years ago she took a step that some thought could be unwise for her. She adopted a girl who had spent much of her life in an orphanage. She says it has made her life complete and it is a joy to see them so happy together. There is another lovely girl in this story who is a little older. She comes from a family of ten and so of course providing university education is impossible for her parents. She is a clever girl and so my friend is sponsoring her through university and she spends a lot of her holidays in their home. Now I have only ever spent an hour or so with these girls, usually on my way to the airport so when my friend said please could she send them to me for a couple of days while she prepared to move house - I was rather scared. She felt it would be nice for them to be near the sea and the cooler breezy atmosphere. It is really hot where they live - it is 38C here! I was worried because they speak almost no English and I worried about them being unhappy. Well I shouldn't have worried, we had a wonderful two days together and now I wish I had said they could stay longer, maybe next year. They were the perfect guests, so tidy and polite and happy to join in with us. It made me speak Turkish, which I can a bit when I have to. Even Matt had a go. One evening they were studying a phrase book and they stood before us with big grins and said 'We like it here very much' Awww, I almost cried. We went to the water park which was a big hit, we had pide out, cooked together at home, taught them to play naughts and crosses, went to some beaches and generally had a good time. The house seems a bit empty now they have gone and my kitchen is  nowhere near as clean and tidy.



Learning to play naughts and crosses in English