Month: March 2016

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This is just a selection of the desserts each night….

Later, there was a group on, so more dancing the night away!

Thought for the Day – “A good life is when you smile often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are for what you have.”

Mal’s birthday! Happy Birthday Mal, I don’t think we will be doing anything too adventurous today. His birthday, 2 minutes into it and he was decorating the bathroom, as he said he won’t have to worry that he ate too much yesterday, he lost most of it! I think it may have been Efes, cocktails and whisky chasers! You think at 68 he would know better.  He swears it was “something they put in the cocktails”!! Mmmm! No comment.

We were still down to breakfast at 7.30 with plenty of coffee and water.

Then he decided a brisk walk was in order! We went in the opposite direction than we did before and even more shops have been built. We found a lovely shop, shame we hadn’t room to transport one of his carpets back.Some are made out of old Persian rugs that have been cut up as he said they cost far too much to be repaired.

 

 

Lunch and then we sat by the pool, a bit windy but very sunny.

By the time we came back to the room Mal had another duck on his bed, a bottle of wine(just what he needed!!), a plate of fresh fruit and a Birthday note. Nice touch.

We had a nice meal and then chose one of the quieter bars to enjoy the rest of the evening.
Thought for the Day – “A twenty-three-year-long study in Ohio determined that people who saw growing older as something positive lived a whopping seven and a half years longer than those who didn’t.” ~ Victoria Moran

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Mal and I are real fresh air fanatics so when we went to bed last night we left our patio door wide open. No one warned us that we are very close to a newly built mosque where of course they call to prayer at 5am! Once I am awake that is it, so I sat reading but didn’t miss the incredibly beautiful early morning sky.

We were one of the first down to breakfast, scrambled egg, salad and fresh fruit for breakfast, really good.
The sun was out so we had a walk to the hotels beach. The forecast said it was going to rain and so we had a walk across the road to the shops. It didn’t take us long to want to return to the hotel as each shopkeeper was trying to drag us in their store. We did buy a couple of things but not at their inflated euro prices.

We sat outside the Lobby bar then until lunchtime. It was really hot with the sun out.

Now this is what you call a pool……

and the hotel has three pools!

We took our shopping back to the room and look what the chambermaid had done…

Mal said he was going to complain to reception that his bed had been messed up…ha ha.

We went into lunch and Eyup, the waiter we had yesterday looked after us again. “It is my job to ensure you have a very good holiday.” We sat outside and he closed the door as he said it would be nicer for us to dine alone!! He is funny. Again he brought us a whole bottle of wine, We only wanted a glass each.

This is a minute sample of lunchtime offerings, the food is so good!

The evening was very lively. A lot of singing and dancing and I don’t think Mal is going to remember a lot of it……………….!! Pre birthday celebrations!

Thought for the Day – “Remember this, that very little is needed to make a happy life.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

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We woke up to thunder, lightning and the rain lashing down. Well, I suppose we have been lucky with the weather so far and they did forecast this today and tomorrow. As long as it is not all next week when we are really “on holiday” in Antalya.

We drove to the airport. Half way there David phoned us and said Sergay (the house below us) wants to know if he can rent our villa with a view to buying it! It took Mal all of a second to say no. When we first put it up for sale he said he was interested in buying it….he isn’t and would we really stop our chance of the holidays we have already booked (a very different deal if someone was waiting with the money to buy it.) He would also have it the most favourable time to sell a property and we would have to pay tax on the income. I think he mistook us for someone who is desperate! AND who is to say he won’t run up the electricity and water bills and not pay them…no way. Besides our next visit back we will be decorating.

The plane to Antalya takes 40 minutes, even with the horrendous wind we had today and it was very bumpy. Our taxi was waiting at Antalya airport and took us to The Concorde. We have stayed here before but not for about eight years. Reception were charming and suggested that we went straight to lunch and they would look after our cases (we are all inclusive). With this hotel, there seriously is food and drink 24 hours. We ate lunch and then went to our room and the bell boy brought our cases up. We have every extra you can imagine in the bathroom, a free mini bar, Concorde slippers and bath robes. Also a welcoming note and a plate of fruit. The waiters in the restaurant were great too and kept filling our glasses up with wine!  Our room also has a sea view. So far it seems even batter than we remember it!

We explored all the hotel and grounds in the afternooon, missed (on purpose) the hour for cakes in the afternoon and waited until dinner. The waiters have a serious habit of topping up your wine glass when you are not looking!

We then went into the lounge bar for a cocktail and then into the main bar where there was a DJ and lots of dancing. The entertainment team made sure everyone was dancing! Lots to join in with.

Thought for the Day – “No matter how educated, talented, rich or cool you believe you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all.” ~ Paulo Coelho

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The first thing I had to do was make an order at Marks & Spencer !! Today only there is 20% off. There are a few things that I have had my eye on and so I have ordered them all at 20% off and I can collect them on my return. We receive the bargains in advance, so I am always ready! Well, I have to make sure they work!

Next over to David and Kenny’s for a farewell coffee. We do miss them as neighbours.

Then the big house clean before we leave! I found this praying mantis in our hedge, possibly the biggest I have seen. It was over 4 inches long. he didn’t like me taking his photo though!

Breakfast and lunch was outside, the sunny side of the house. We move around the terraces as the sun moves during the year.

We haven’t been to Sevener’s Restaurant for a few years and now it has been refurbished and looks very smart. So we decided to go for dinner. Sad to say the service and food didn’t match up to their new look. In fact the waiters could barely be bothered to serve us. We certainly won’t be going there again!

Thought for the Day – “I am old but I am forever young at heart. We are always the same age inside. Know that you are the perfect age. Each year is special and precious, you can only live it once. Do not regret growing older, it’s a privilege denied to many.” ~ Richard Gere

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We were out gardening all morning. I was trying to tidy the pampas grass again and ended up covered in cuts. We did work hard and so decided we would go to Green Heights for lunch, as I have said before it is so tranquil there, classical music in the back ground………………………..we arrived and  the sign on the gate is exactly the same, “closed for maintenance work” but the date has now been changed from last Monday to 17th!  Mal then had the brilliant idea that we have done all this before so how about if we try Bellapais todayas we missed out last Sunday , Mother’s Day when the traffic made me turn back. Even though it was Saturday there wasn’t too much traffic.

Today we made it! In fact we were lucky because as we walked into Kybele restaurant, the waiter took us to what we considered to be the best table in the place and he offered to take a photo of us.

We reminisced and said we fell in love with Bellapais in 2001, when we sat in this very same restaurant but there weren’t ANY of the houses you can see behind us, it was just fields down to the sea. That was when we decided this was the country we wanted to live in. We consider we had the best years living here, a lot has changed since then.

As everywhere in the TRNC, cats plagued us while we were having our lunch, with one particularly cheeky one…

This is now the face of the TRNC, two couples out to lunch at a beautiful place like Bellapais Abbey and were they admiring their surroundings or talking to each other, no way, they were each on their phones!

Anyway, we love Bellapais and I have to say although the menu is a bit pricier than most, it really is worth it for the ambiance and classical music in the background. It is a beautiful place and where Dawn and Neil got married a few years back.

Again it was a bit chilly in the evening and so we lit the log burner, it soon warms the house up.

Thought for the Day – “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” ~ Paulo Coelho

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We went to Mediterranean Gardener to buy some weed killer. the sort that is harmless to animals as we have so many cats going in and out of our garden (and trying to come in the house!). So, I spread a lot of that around and Mal cut all the hedges. Now that the lantana is lower, we have a better view where we sit and eat our meals.

We met up with Margaretha for lunch and went to The Blue Song. Another good restaurant. We sat outside but there was quite a cold wind.

Thought for the Day – “A child can teach an adult three things; to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” ~ Paulo Coelho