Day 1695 Thanksgiving dinner in Rome (as you do!)

First of all….

I’m celebrating being Scottish out here in Rome!

When my travel friend Melanie asked me to come stay with her in Rome, and be a part of her Thanksgiving meal on Saturday 30th November, I jumped at the chance. I managed to get a flight for £74 which is cheaper than trying to get a train from Glasgow to Inverness.

That said, I did then add on a suitcase a month or so later, then chose my seats so I could have the window… that added up but hey…. I am paying for memories.

I have never celebrated an American Thanksgiving 🇺🇸. Melanie has been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for around 30 years and it is a big deal to be invited to her table.

She said she decided that, this year, she would invite strong women. I was proud but, you know me, I inwardly cringed because I can big a “big girl’s blouse” as we say in Scotland and I can “worry about the day we never saw” as my Gran would say.

I think it’s about time I actually realise what I do actually do. While I internally panic and flap and catastrophize at times, I still actually go and do the thing I want to do. Again the reason for writing the blog is to help others see the reality of life rather than just the FB glorified version of my life.

I am in my element out exploring the world. I feel a sense of peace and of excitement that I don’t get from the day to day existence of trying to make enough money to cover the bills. Does that sound awful? Should I be more grateful for the day to day… yes I should, and I’m working on that. I also think that I finally work to live rather than living to work. I had it all wrong in the past.

I’ve had a very peaceful November. I’ve spent it relaxing and resting and preparing for this adventure.

The bird is in the oven!!

Mrs veggie/vegan is being parked for the day. We had a long talk about this as I didn’t want Melanie to change anything for me. She told me last night that even the salad has meat in it. 😆

We wake at 6am but have slept from 9pm so that’s pretty good I think. It’s a beautiful but cold morning.

I’m off out to walk to the local park to see Belvedere Lake. You would never believe this was in the centre of Rome.

and then you stumble on some ancient architecture.

Wow!

Zoom in on this amazing fountain… it’s CarPlay growing!

I had a really good walk and then went back to Melanie’s lovely apartment!

Here I am all showered and ready for my first ever Thanksgiving.

And Melanie’s wonderful food…..

And the wonderful table. Full of wonderfully strong women!

Left to right, Claudia, Melanie, Antonella, me, Wadzi, Samantha & Rosana

And my meal! It was just as good as it looks!!

And boy did we talk. Strangers around a table and yet we talked and talked and talked!!!

What a wonderful noise we created!!

I love meeting people I don’t know. I’ve sat in an apartment with 11 Italians, one Zimbabwean, 1 Polish Italian and 2 American Italians…. When would I ever be able to do that?!? I loved getting to know everyone. it really is a small world.

(Did I say, Melanie’s son also had a table of 8 in the other room! She cooked for 15 of us!)

Then we got stuck in to the dishes before moving on to Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie and Cheesecake…. I loved my first ever pumpkin pie and of course I had to have a bit of all 3.

As the sun started to set, the starlings flew across the skyline. It was fascinating to watch so many of them.

The sky looked lovely at sunset.

Pic with Wadzi!

Pic with Antonella!

More chats, more washing up and then it is over. We are sitting on the couch. We have our feet up.

What a wonderful day with so many wonderful people.

Melanie is so kind to invite all of us to her special day. What an effort to go to, she’s been preparing since Tuesday….

Think we’ll sleep tonight!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Day 1276 our last day soaking up the glorious sunshine in Turkey ☀️🇹🇷☀️our last day of summer!!

For those of you who know me well, you will know that I’m already pre-sad about having to head home tonight. Craig knows that I love him and knows that I am looking forward to seeing him, but I am so sad to be leaving this incessant sunshine. Wall to wall sun for 7 days…. It’s been glorious.

I am truly in my element in the sunshine. I’m vitamin D’d up to the eyeballs.

I love the clothes I’ve brought to wear, I’ve felt comfortable in everything, in fact I’ll go so far as to say, I’ve felt great in everything.

I usually spend a holiday over indulging and I feel fat and frumpy in everything. I’m bigger than I ever was on holiday, when I was younger, and I just do not care at all.

I love the sunshine, I thrive in the sunshine. I can’t get enough of the blue sky. I can’t get enough of the sea.

I’m not a lover of the beach as such… sand disturbs my need for cleanliness…. But I love the sea. A beach deck is my idea of heaven. We’ve been lucky enough to enjoy this beach deck for most of the week.

Yesterday was a lot. I chose it, I wanted it but even for me, it was a lot in one day. we had about 4 hours driving in Turkey before we even thought about the boat over the Greece. I’m still glad we went but I’m not sure I’d commit to that big a trek on a future holiday…. She says 😂 I just wanted to use two country emojis 😂🇹🇷🚐⛴️🇬🇷🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏽‍♀️⛴️🇹🇷

We have another 9 or 10 hours of travelling tonight, which seems a lot after yesterday. We get home at 2am Scottish time which will be 4am Turkish time. Least we should sleep on the plane.

It’s lovely to be back on the beach deck today. I’m not reading, I’m not listening to music. We’re chatting but other than that I’m just listening to the sound of the sea under the deck…. And obviously writing this.

We’ve got on great. No hassle, no stress, very similar likes and dislikes. I wouldn’t have said anything if we hadn’t… but it’s important for me to say that we did. I’m not great in company 24/7…. I need my space. I think when you come in holiday with a husband or partner, you make assumptions about how they feel, what they like and dislike all the time. You put words in their mouths, you don’t always like to do the same things… we’ve just settled into a way of life here that suits us both. We had no pre-conceived ideas. We just went with the flow and it seemed to click. Overall you are probably way more polite to another person that you are with your partner. No snapping…. Note to self Julesie 😂😘

Being all inclusive was probably pointless but it’s allowed us to have what we want, when we wanted it and not had to think about paying as we go. It cost what it cost.

The hotel is beautiful. Big bungalow style rooms with a huge reception area, a shopping mall, 2 pools, flumes, huge restaurant (with outside balcony) and the one night a la carte.

The local “town” is not my favourite. It’s just full of shops with knock off sports gear. One is called English Primark, one of called TK Max and one is called JDe Sports to name a few. We don’t feel we need to buy anything as the world is smaller now and we can get things just as cheaply at home. I wouldn’t rush back to this area. We both saw what Bodrum has to offer, as we left the boat yesterday and Gayle reckons, any resort that has cruise ships is likely to have much better facilities. The restaurants were everywhere in Bodrum, with fantastic shopping scattered through them.

This hotel has done everything we needed it to do… gave us a chance for a relaxed week away in the sunshine. I’m so grateful to have been able to do this. I’m very lucky that Craig doesn’t fancy Turkey and allows me to come away with my friend.

We had to be out of our room by 12 and turns out our neighbours had organised a golf buggy for their luggage so we hopped on that!!

I’m pre-sad we’re about to go for our last lunch but I’m looking forward to a lovely salad.

And now we have precisely 4 hours left in the sunshine. Current view!

I’ve been in the sea and need to go in one last time!! I totally count everything down by “the last time”…. Torturing myself 😂😂

The last pirate ship parade….

It’s 3.15pm now and I feel I should put this out rather continue the countdown. I am looking forward to being back home. Once the sun goes down I’ll get over the fact that this might be the last heat I feel on my skin until March or April 😱😱😱

Turkey you have been everything I needed and more. Thanks to Gayle for coming with me as I’m absolutely certain I wouldn’t have enjoyed it anywhere near as much on my own.

Stay safe everyone 🇹🇷✈️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Day 1275 from Turkey to Greece and back 🇹🇷⛴️🇬🇷

It’s 5.30 when the alarm goes off but we were both awake earlier….. we have to be in reception for 6.15 as we’re taking a day trip to Kos, Greece 🇬🇷

It’s very early when you’ve not surfaced much before 8am but my sense of adventure is tingling. I’m excited about my day. Through tired eyes! 😂

A picture of a massive lake we pad on the way there taken through the bus’ very dirty windows.

The bus journey is almost 2 hours from our hotel to Bodrum. That’s why we left at 6.15am.

Bodrum is beautiful. Would really have loved some time to spent some time here. There is A lot of money in the harbour… some very expensive boats.

Craig’s says I’ve to bring this wee guy home!

He sat on my foot. 😂

Check the size of the Virgin Atlantic cruise ship in the background.

Kos. 🇬🇷

So the only negative of the trip was it took us about 1 hour 45 minutes between docking in Kos and actually getting out into Kos Town. I think we sat on the boat for about an hour before we got off as they said passport control had reached capacity. It’s a long day with a 4 hour bus journey, to be stuck for that length of time getting into the country.

That said, Kos Town is beautiful and I’m really glad I got to see it.

We stopped for lunch straight away as we hadn’t eaten much. We were in a lovely, leafy, roadside cafe bar.

Check the sign I’m pointing to!

We went for a walk around the old town. It’s really pretty with quaint wee shopping streets.

We wandered round to check the beach…. It’s tiny pebbles but really clear water.

Passport control was so much faster when we left. Only took about 10-15 minutes to clear. We were on the boat about an hour early as a result.

Our Turkish boat leaving Greece 🇬🇷

The blue dot shows where we are in relation to home!

Sailing back into Bodrum.

That Virgin Atlantic cruise ship is enormous!

After cleaning passport control in Turkey in about 20 minutes, we are finally on our way back to the hotel. Don’t think we’ll be there much before 9pm. A long day. I’m glad we got to see Kos but with hindsight it really was a bit too much of a trek in one day. I’d love to go back and visit sometime.

Thanks so much to Gayle for indulging me on this trip.

I’m too tired to spellcheck so sorry for any errors 😂😂

Stay safe everyone 🇹🇷☀️🇬🇷

Day 1274 really could get used to this life!

I had the best sleep!!! The neighbours still came back in at 2.30am and put the tv on but I went straight back to sleep. It was soooo good.

There was another lovely sunset last night.

We had a lovely Chinese meal at the pre booked a la carte restaurant last night. The food was amazing.

I tried to get this selfie standing on a hill but I look tiny next to Gayle, it would have been a lovely photo if we could have been at the same height! 😂

We were lucky enough to have this stunning view from our table.

The restaurant was lovely too.

And the food was just so good.

Chinese prawn crackers, Indian popadoms and several dips

We both really enjoyed it… it was much cooler last night and we could have done with a jumper. I think the summer season is ending now as it was much cooler this morning too….. yet back to scorching as I lie here on my sunbed writing this.

Here I am this morning in my lemon loungewear…. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂😂😂 sweatshirt needed outside this morning.

We had a slightly later breakfast… this is the spectacular view.

and a pirate ship from a different location 😂😂😂

So we had a different morning today where we sat by the pool. It’s a completely different dynamic and a new view!

The pool was FREEZING. I didn’t expect it to be so cold. I had a good swim round it though.

We had lunch in the snack bar today but headed back down to the beach for Gayle’s favourite waffles and my favourite chocolate wrap thing…. Here is the lovely lady who makes them for us every day.

Her face lights up when she sees us. I would like her to be my Turkish gran…. So rude of me to believe she is old enough. On the first day we ordered way too much and we all laughed and she zipper her lips as if to say, telling no-one. 😂

View from the beach snack bar.

I had a lovely float in the sea after that. It’s so lovely in there. Then some woman went and fed the fish and I had to keep treading water until she was finished. Didn’t want to swim right though a fish feeding frenzy!!

Then there was a wee bit of drama as clouds of smelly, black smoke billowed out of the kitchens.

It went on for a wee while and was really smelly. So lucky it didn’t get any worse than that. Everyone was watching, even those in the sea.

It’s half 5 Turkish time so it’s a bit cooler now.. I may not have applied the sun tan lotion as liberally as other days oopsie. The sun is beautiful.

These pics were taken just outside the most scenic toilet I’ve ever been to 😂😂😂

Bored yet?!? 😂😂

Snapped at work!!!

Stay safe everyone 🇹🇷🌅🇹🇷

Day 1273 what a lovely way to spend a Monday! 🚶🏽‍♀️☀️🇹🇷☀️🏝️👙🌊☀️🇹🇷☀️

We were in bed early last night with a plan to go for a long walk this morning. I couldn’t get to sleep for the Turkish women chattering next door 😂😂 (we actually think they might be German!£ then got woken at 2.10am by the folk coming back on the other side! Then wide awake reading at 5.30am. Just as well I could sleep all day if I had to. 😂 I then heard the 6am Islamic call to prayer! The hotel is really quiet to be honest and I’ve slept through every other night. 😂 could have been the late Turkish coffee 😂

We were in breakfast earlier than usual. a lovely view from our table.

Now that we’ve found out you can sit outside, our meals have a much nicer ambience than sitting in the huge, bright canteen style restaurant. I managed some food snaps!

I didn’t eat breakfast but had some lovely Turkish coffee.

We sent off into Didim Altinkum for our walk. It was still nice and cool to start off with. It’s lovely to walk to where we have been looking over from our beach deck out in the sea.

The flag is MASSIVE!!

None of the shops were really open and the cafe bars were just starting to open up. There were gardeners out ripping all the marigold flowers out of all the flower displays all the way along the front. They obviously think the summer season is over! There were Turkish people walking with handfuls of marigolds as they could see they were all being pulled up.

The end of the street still has some flowers.

Here’s the very marbley hotel reception!

Then we went for a seocndlate breakfast as by this time I was STARVING!

It’s been lovely to do something a wee bit different this morning. We’re back in our usual spot on the beach deck for the rest of the day.

We did have ice cream and booked a wee trip for Wednesday!

The temperatures at this time of the year are just perfect for me. It said 23°C when we came up from the beach just now. I don’t need much hotter than that to be honest!

Oh just remembered that I saw the strangest thing on our walk last night….. a row of stars that seemed to be following each other and gradually one by one disappeared. It was the strangest thing! I looked it up when we got back to the room.

Who knew?!?!

I’m still loving the no stress, no worry, no drama, just relaxation….. and of course, the beautiful blue sky and sunshine. Missing my boy and the puppers though. 🧔🏻‍♂️🐶🐶🐶🐶

Stay safe everyone ☀️🇹🇷☀️

Day 1272 a lazy Sunday by the sea in Turkey!

It’s been another beautiful day in the life of a sunbather. Nothing else for it but to lie by the sea, watch the Didim/Altinkum pirate ships sails by and read.

It’s been a bit more cloudy and windy today but it’s still scorching. Factor 30 is doing a great job and despite 2.5 days out in the sun, neither of us have burned.

We caught a lovely sunset by the pool last night.

We went out for a walk into Didim Altinkum last night. The hotel looks lovely.

The streets are pretty quiet to be honest. It must be the season, suits me obviously but even I notice it was quiet.

I think this is us looking back to the lights of the hotel and the beach deck! Lovely moon too.

We had breakfast on the Panorama terrace and headed back down to the beach deck for the day. This was our home for the day!

We had a fancy bed decoration when we got back to our room!

Coffee (not decaf! 😂) and chocolate for a pre dinner snack, showered and back down for sunset. We literally made it with about a minute to spare. The photos don’t do it justice at all. It was absolutely stunning.

The sun was actually a giant, blood red ball in the sky.

Just had dinner and went for a walk…another lovely end to a lovely day!!

It’s so good to have nothing to think about, nothing to worry about, I’m still fasting, I’m eating plenty and having the best relaxing time…. With a very lovely friend….. While talking the hind legs off a donkey. 😂

Stay safe everyone ☀️🇹🇷☀️

Day 1271 in and out the sea all day… it’s a hard life 🏝️☀️🌊🏊🏼‍♀️👙🤿🇹🇷☀️

I slept like a log last night…. My head hit the pillow about 10.30 and didn’t waken until the incessant Turkish chatter kicked in from next door at 8am. 😂😂 I’d love to see how long I would actually have slept, if I hadn’t been woken up! The women next door obviously want to be first for breakfast 😂 they are very loud first thing in the morning!

This is my current view.

Dinner last night was in the Panoramic restaurant which is MASSIVE. Unfortunately they have created the image of a large university refectory which wasn’t the most intimate of surroundings. It was Turkish night and there was a huge selection of food!

The main pool looks lovely at night.

We were going to head into town but in true Julie fashion, headed back to our room as we were shattered from the day.

It’s been a scorcher all day today. We went for breakfast and I had Turkish coffee which was really lovely. I thought it might be a bit strong but it really hit the spot. I don’t eat anywhere near as much as I used to so I was still full from dinner last night. I managed a 16 hour fast. I know I’m on holiday and won’t an age that every day but I’ll do it when I can. The view from breakfast is beautiful.

The restaurant is a little bit nicer during the day. A little less stark and bright white.

On our way down to the beach deck.

This is how we get in and out the sea. Now interestingly enough, the tide does not seem to come in our out here. I’m not sure how that’s possible but the sea is at the same level every time we go in?!?

We sat here for the morning, our on the beach deck. It’s very sheltered.

The pirate ships all head past just before 11am. They must leave Altinkum at 10 or 10.30.

I am that sad that I counted 11 of them heading out this morning.

There are loads of wee fish in the sea! I’m writing this in the sunshine so not sure if this photo shows them or not!

Very random arty shot trying to catch the stunning view from the mirror passing the gents toilets 😂😂 then realised I’m actually in it 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Current view watching the pirate ships heading back in. We had a lovely chocolate waffle lunch in the beach cafe. We swim, chatted, read, chatted, more chat 😂😂 it really is the perfect chance to relax.

Loving the windswept photoshoot!

A perfect end to a sunbathing day. Back now to get ready for dinner!

Stay safe everyone ☀️🇹🇷☀️

Day 1270 Turkish massage day! 🇹🇷💆🏻‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️

We didn’t get to bed until after 1am Turkish time. We had the air con on…. As you do. We both woke up about 3am absolutely freezing!!! What a laugh trying to get the aircon to go off. The remote control needed the batteries reseated before it would switch off. I went back to bed in joggies and a sweatshirt with a blanket over me too!! Woke up at 8.30am to very loud Turkish chatter next door and lashing in sweat! Air con back on. 😂😂

By the time we got up and moving it was 11am. We had tea and coffee on the balcony.

And we did a first round of the hotel complex. (I know…. Never start a sentence with and!)

Gayle outside our little bungalow garden room.

We found the Turkish massage place straight away and got that booked for 12.30pm. Best to have a good body scrub before you get any sunburn.

So the Turkish massage was out of this world. Gayle went first though, we went in together. Firstly we were in the Hammam, the Turkish bath. You lie on a hot marble table in the middle of the Hammam and they rinse you with water from the sinks that surround the room. Then they scrub you with a scrub mitt and then with Turkish coffee…. Which smells amazing!!!! Then rinsed off again and they soapy suds you with the soapiest soap suds ever. It was so silky smooth… you just lie there and they run it all over your body and gently massage it in. A full rinse again and then you stand up for a full rinse down. Then towel off.

You then sit out on a lounger and have a drink while your “bather” gets rinsed off and changed herself.

The massage is something else!! That wee girl was up on the bed, totally astride me at times and, with the tiniest of hands, delivering the most powerful massage.

We had a full body massage, there were hot stones half way through and a facial with a mud mask to finish off…. With Turkish Apple tea. It was sooooo lovely!

So we are all scrubbed up and ready to go for some sunshine!

I love the decking out into the sea. You can get in and out of the sea without having to fight your way through the busy beach. The hotel has a private beach but it was very busy when we got down to it at 11,30am. The decking has had empty beds all day.

Sitting on the balcony now about to get ready for dinner!

It’s a hard life 🇹🇷

Stay safe everyone ☀️🇹🇷☀️

Day 1269 off to Turkey with Gayle! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✈️🇹🇷

It’s 10.22am and I’m sitting outside Viv’s Nails and Beauty, waiting to get my toes and eyebrows done.

I’m not sure how best to describe my mood… in true me fashion, I’m gonna try!

My stomach is churning. I’m all over the place, I’m frantic at worrying about all the things that might go wrong.

When I actually stop to breathe I know that I am completely in control. There is no stress. There is no panic. As long as I have my purse, phone and passport I will be ok. My head is so used to over dramatising everything, the voice in my head lashes out with an “ah but” every now then. It’s determined to trip me up and stop me from being in control.

We picked Gayle ip at 12.45…. We left the house twice… I had to go back for my hand luggage. I have enough hand luggage to choke a horse. You can just never be too sure in my anxiety ridden world. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

We headed into the airport…. To Jet 2 bag drop, where you actually weigh your suitcase yourself. That’s a new one on me.

We headed into the departures and got through security pretty fast. As we were both starving we went to Frankie & Benny’s for lunch.

Halloumi ceaser salad for me and Arribiata pasta for Gayle with garlic bread to share. A Coke and a Diet Coke. That’s how we roll on a holiday with a tee totaler and someone who doesn’t drink much at all. 😂

We went back to DuTy Free and got some perfumes for £20. I have to say the duty free prices were extortionate! Not what I remember. I think I’ve got CK One Everyone or Everything, it was really nice.

Everything went like clockwork as we literally walked straight through to gate 26 and onto the plane.

It’s dads birthday today and sadly his birthday card has had to come to Turkey with me as there were no stamps for sale in the airport and nowhere to post it anyway!!

We’re about 3 hours into the flight and we’re finally both tired. I can’t load images and might not get this posted tonight.

There was a beautiful sunset!

We flew over what I assume were the Swiss or Austrian Alps. That was really pretty but didn’t come out in a photo.

It’s dark now and nothing to see anymore.

Excited to see what our hotel is like when we get there!

We got a little golf buggy to our room!! It’s now 1.22am and we’re 2 hours ahead. Sitting out on our balcony!

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✈️🇹🇷