Month: March 2016

Bargains – Monarch Cheap Flights | £29.99 | monarch.co.uk & Park Holidays UK – Waterside Holiday Park in Devon & The Toy Shop Discount Code | 50% off | thetoyshop.com & Photobox Offer Code | 50% off | photobox.co.uk &Designer Bags Sale | mybag.com & QHotels | up to 40% off | from £23.50pppn | qhotels.co.uk

A lot of gardening again in the morning and David and Kenny invited us over for lunch. Kenny cooked Kleftico, it was so good. We each had huge pieces and lovely vegetables to go with it. What a treat that was. They really are such good neighbours and we really miss them. It was also good to see their dogs Jekka and Loppy after all this time. David pays our water bills for us, so we sorted out all the money we owed them. The Beledeysi won’t allow us to put extra money on before we leave. You think they would be glad of the money. It was a lovely afternoon and Mal helped with some of their techie problems too.

Thought for the Day – “People exist to be loved; objects exist to be used. The world is in chaos because these things are the other way round.” ~ Dalai Lama

Bargains – Marks and Spencer Discount Code | 50% off | marksandspencer.com & Easyjet Promotional Code Gives You 15% Off Your Holiday & This Is The Best JD Williams Sale For JD Williams Clothes & Debenhams Flowers Discount Code | Bunch of Flowers | £5 off & You Are Guaranteed To Be Pleased With All Sole Footwear & Mankind Discount Code | mankind.co.uk

We went to Lapta walkway for a long walk but they haven’t progressed since we were last here. It looks as though some pathway has been laid in the distance but what happened to the middle section? So we walked “there and back”.

On the drive back we called into Esta to collect our house insurance policy and also to complain about viewers not appearing and them not cancelling the appointment when David was waiting. I feel someone is in trouble because the boss knew nothing about it! Well, the agents charge enough.

Some serious gardening for the rest of the day.

We can now see the sea again from the kitchen window!

In the evening we went to eat at Silver Rocks, Lapta. I really fancied chicken şiş and a big bowl of salad. I did last night but it wasn’t on the menu.  Of course it was at Silver Rocks. Mal had the swordfish. I have to say it is consistently good food and service and I have lost count of the number of times we have eaten there. During the day you have views over the sea and as tonight was a bit chilly, the log fire was going. The owner welcomed us as soon as we walked in the door and said “nice to see you back again.” That was appreciated seeing as we haven’t been there for a couple of months. Unusually there weren’t many customers in there, so rather a surplus of waiters, who were very good. I have to say for 27tl (£6.50) my chicken şiş was excellent. Mal had the chips and potatoes and I had the salad and vegetables….perfect! Turkish coffee and liquers followed “on the house”. It does make me wonder why we bother eating at some of the other places.

Thought for the Day – “Life is short, smile while you still have teeth!” ~Mallory Hopkins

Bargains – How To Use An Allbeauty Discount Code To Save Money & Warner Leisure Hotels Special Offers 2015 | 50% Discount & How To Get A Park Resorts Isle of Wight Ferry For Free & Designer Bags Sale | mybag.com & I Want One Of Those Discount Code | Daily Deals 80% off & Bon Marche Sale | 50% off | bonmarche.co.uk

We went for a lovely walk in the mountains before breakfast, the only thing missing was Ellie! We were orchid spotting but didn’t find any bee orchids, I can’t remember now, perhaps they appear a bit later.

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Nice to see the sun again! Mal cleaned the pool and backwashed. It is in very good shape thanks to David. It’s funny being back here and hearing things that are going on around you, as this “Tale of Buyuk Han“.

It’s surprising what you find when you start clearing things out and I have so many photos here. This one is of my mum and dad in their pub with Torin as a toddler which must make it around 1973!!!! A nice find for just after Mother’s Day!

For anyone walking their dogs in the Alsancak/Lapta area, a warning from KAR……..

It’s glorious weather during the day but clear skies at night which means the temperature drops considerably, so we have the log burner alight.

Thought for the Day – “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why” ~ Mark Twain

A Happy Mother’s Day to all the “Mums” out there…………………..have a rest today! Mal says we are doing nothing indoors today, he is taking me out!

We woke up to sun so flung open the shutters to look down to the Med!

Mal has a bit of a disaster as his computer won’t work!

Coincidentally, I have just seen a good article about north Cyprus. It is a lovely place, we just had our own reasons for returning to the UK and felt we had the best times over here. The timing for us was perfect,

We popped out to get a bit of shopping, proper misshapen tomatoes, in other words ones that taste and don’t have thick skins grown for exporting. Lovely Cyprus potatoes which must be THE tastiest. Yes, these are some of the things we miss which is why Mal has his allotment.

After breakfast we were going to Bellapais and eventually have lunch there. Well, the traffic was horrendous and so I ended up turning round as I didn’t want to sit in the car on a nice sunny day. The harbour was so busy too and we wanted somewhere relaxing so then decided to go to Green Heights. They were closed for repairs….re opening tomorrow. We weren’t doing very well. It was OK we would drive to Incirli for lunch, overlooking the sea, it would be very nice…..it was closed! That was it, we headed for home and Mal made some lunch and we sat on the terrace and ate it and decided my Mother’s Day meal would have to be in the evening!

One thing we did discover there is a new China Bazaar in Karaoğlanoğlu. We had a wander around there, they seem to sell everything. One of our clocks has stopped working so we bought a new one in there 17tl, which is about £4.10 AND we were given the clock in this carrier bag, not your cheap plastic variety but cloth AND we didn’t have to pay 5p!!

We really were  still quite tired from the journey, so we went for an early dinner and decided to eat at The Lodge in Lapta and we had a back up plan in case that was shut too. It wasn’t. They have an extensive menu, you are spoilt for choice but I chose the lamb sis and they were probably the best I have had here as the lamb is often chewy but not tonight. We also like the nice cosy atmosphere there, so a nice evening.

Thought for the Day – “A person’s most useful asset is not the head full of knowledge, but a heart full of love, an ear ready to listen and a hand willing to help others.” ~ Kotaku Wamura

Bargains – Wilko.com Discount Code | Free Delivery | 50% off & London Discount Theatre Tickets | discounttheatre.com &Shearings Coach Holidays UK Late Deals 2016 | shearings.com & Electronic Cigarette Starter Kit | ecigarettedirect.co.uk & Cheap All Inclusive Holidays | mercury-direct.co.uk & Tesco Discount Codes | £15 off | tesco.com

Torin woke up with “man flu” and Scarlet was still not well, having been off school for three days AND it was snowing, time to leave!! Torin made us some breakfast and then off we headed to the airport. I hadn’t been able to decide at home what clothes to bring and what I had left in Cyprus. When I arrived at the airport I suddenly remembered that I had photographed everything in my wardrobes and cupboards before I left last time just for this very reason. How organised of me…….if only I had remembered that! Old age is a terrible thing.

The flight was delayed, something to do with air traffic controllers in Istanbul but at least we managed to persuade them to give us leg room seats but I have grown to hate that journey. It is so long with the stop in Istanbul. Mal spent most of the journey chatting to a man named Bill who owns a computer magazine company in the UK. Him and his wife hadn’t been to north Cyprus before.

The usual guy from Acmenya was waiting for us at Ercan, so he could drive us back to the office, which is just down the road from us. When we arrived there he just gave us a car and told us to sort it out in the office another day. Ali knows me well enough to know it will get sorted. It would have been nice if the petrol tank was not on empty though. The driver did offer to stop at Ileli so we could get some shopping but we said thanks but we would leave it until tomorrow. Just too tired.

Bargains – Cheap Hotel Deal | up to 50% off | laterooms.com & Marks and Spencer Discount Code | 50% off | marksandspencer.com & Valueflora Discount Code | 10% off | valueflora.com & Currys Deals | Sale Now On | currys.co.uk & This Is The Last Stop For A Debenhams Plus Discount Code & Warner Leisure Hotels Special Offers 2015 | 50% Discount

Another beautiful day for a walk (or run!) around the orchards.

We packed our cases and then took Ellie to Lou and Rhys’s as they are looking after her while we are away. Then on to Torin’s. After school Scarlet and Jack had a second birthday opening presents from us. Jack is really into his lego and is very good at it. Unfortunately Scarlet has been off school not well for the last three days, so she wasn’t enjoying it all quite as much as usual. But we managed to have a lot of fun and they were allowed to stay up late. Torin cooked us a lovely Jamaican meal too.

Thought for the Day – “If we all do one random act of kindness daily, we might just set the world in the right direction.” ~ Martin Kornfeld