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Kalkan Discussion => Holiday Reports and Reviews => Topic started by: hobbo on August 06, 2013, 11:32:37 AM

Title: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: hobbo on August 06, 2013, 11:32:37 AM
Just got back home to chaos after a very relaxing 2 weeks in Kalkan, arrived home 2:30am Sunday morning, no security light came on and the house was in total darkness, trip had gone! Very wiffy smell coming from the kitchen area... 2 freezers totally defrosted so spent Sunday cleaning out fridges and freezers and re stocking..... then the early hours of this morning awoke by a neighbour who had called the police when he saw some lads climbing on our car trying to get onto a low roof, didn't sleep too well after that, police helicopter overhead and a vist by the police at 5am..

So how was Kalkan? well it was just like Kalkan, the peaceful, friendly, beautiful place that we remember from many visits. Did we achieve our task of trying loads of different restaurants? well yes and no, we visited several 'new to us' places but the 'must try' list actually got longer.. there is always next time... We already have a list of places we always visit, Cafe Vita, Chillies, Mussakka, Cafe EV etc.. but this year added House Cafe (further down towards Kalamar bay than Vita) on a steep hill down to the bay but thankfully not too far down! and Yesil Ev, Kalkan side of Elixir hotel on the Kalamar rd, both places a real find, great food with a good selection of Turkish home cooking and lovely dining areas both excellent value and got top marks from our lads as well. We also had a fabulous meal at Tanzore it was a brilliant Indian meal and faultless service we will be back!. Moonlight restaurant (near Chillies) has been on our 'must try lists' for several years and we eventually booked and tried it, fabulous setting and the food reminded us of the first few trips we did to Turkey in the 80's-90's again really good Turkish home cooking.

Down by the harbour we were asked if we were looking for somewhere to eat on a few occasions but I think they have started to get the message that hassle does't work, most greeters were smart, polite young Turkish ladies. We ate twice at Mussakka still my favourite restaurant in the world. I noticed this year that the restaurant next to Mussakka is trying to capture some of Mussakkas customers, they have exactly the same chairs and table dressing ... genuine fake comes to mind, so be careful you sit at a genuine Mussakka table and not a fake one (I am confidant there is not much difference in the tables but doubt the quality of the food will match!)
Couple of evenings spent at the Midway bar listening to the great band, (many thanks to MartynE for supporting Andy and giving him live gig experience)

As well as eating and drinking we did some shopping and included a day trip to Antalya approx 3hr drive each way but through gorgeous scenery  (we went the coastal route and returned by the mountain route) fabulous place for shopping (so I am told by wife and sons) it was a great day out and we will be doing it again, perhaps flying into Antalya and shopping on the way to Kalkan..
Great boat trip on Zeus, very relaxed, great swimming and food, wonderful new boat with loads of space (thanks Ali)
Several days of total relaxing by/in our pool, the water hammocks are still the best invention ! and a couple of nights BBQ ing .
Holiday haircut and shave at Sweeny Todds (plus a new one for me, ears waxed! I think my ears must be very sensitive just don't want to imagine having anything else waxed!)   

At our villa we had two new windows fitted by the lads from Ardic, also what a refreshing change they came when they promised and finished the work earlier than planned!!! Also had a wrought iron 'child gate' fitted to the basement stairs, again workmen turned up when they said they would... an Aircon unit serviced within 30 mins of phoning them and the plumber arrived within 45mins to service the backup water pump.

As we had a same day changeover at the villa we left early had a late breakfast at Fener cafe and set off on a drive to Berzigan ... part way there we realized the road was being rebuilt and they had sprayed a fresh layer of molten tar over the surface, a slight change of plan saw us doing a large loop around Berzigan and then back to the same road where they had continued to spray with tar so we had no choice but to drive slowly back towards Kalkan on wet tar, when we dropped the car back to the rental company at the airport their brand new white car with less the 2000km on the clock looked more like a Dalmatian than Dacia.

Ah well only approx 75 sleeps before our next Kalkan fix......
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: Babs on August 06, 2013, 11:48:02 AM
Thanks Hobbo for a great report! What a shame you arrive home to chaos......bet it didn't take long to lose the holiday feeling? Poor you. Sounds as though Antalya was a great find....well for the rest of the family!
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: kalkan4eva on August 06, 2013, 11:49:18 AM
great post, hobbo.
Thanks for sharing, really appreciate you taking the time to post given your terrible experience on arriving home. I hope it all gets sorted for you soon.
A holiday report!!!! bit like a sausage in a synagogue at the moment - come on people out there, tell us about your trip :)
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: Babs on August 06, 2013, 12:02:20 PM
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: MartynE on August 06, 2013, 12:14:42 PM
Great report, but sorry to hear about your homecoming Hobbo :(  Kind of adding insult to injury to have to leave Kalkan and then go home to that experience!

No probs re helping Andy - he did really well and has a bright future - it was a pleasure to back him.

You've also given us some ideas for more restaurants to visit and "research" for our recommended list in the apartments ;)

See you next year!!
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: Lizilu20 on August 06, 2013, 12:25:55 PM
Brilliant report Hobbo. So sorry for the problems you had upon arriving home though. Thanks so much for taking the time to post. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading every word and glad you had a great holiday. Well done to Andy, I've heard he was very good - maybe next year we will get the chance to hear him sing live.  :)
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: onelove on August 06, 2013, 01:32:29 PM
Great report hobbo  8).  Writing our blog from Kalkan to the uk as I write this post, had a fab time, loads of story's to tell......Albania was a bit hairy to say the least.... :o
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: hobbo on August 06, 2013, 11:10:47 PM
Great report hobbo  8).  Writing our blog from Kalkan to the uk as I write this post, had a fab time, loads of story's to tell......Albania was a bit hairy to say the least.... :o

Did I miss the blog that you were doing on your UK > Kalkan journey?? from memory it sounded like you had a few stories worth sharing on that journey as well..  8)
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: suzyq1 on August 07, 2013, 07:31:12 AM
Thanks for the lovely report. Only sorry that you had to face all that  chaos when you got home.

Sounds like you all had a great time and managed to fit in trips and to just relax...... perfect!  :)

 
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: fidgetliz on August 07, 2013, 10:07:36 AM
  Lovely report hobbo. We are currently staying in a villa in Akbel and have had no choice but to drive over the newly laid tarmac. At least they have now laid chippings over the top. Did you have any problems with the hire car company as our hire car also has tar stuck to the bottom of the doors. Hubby is thinking of taking it to a garage to see if they can clean it off.    :)
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: hobbo on August 07, 2013, 10:23:32 AM
No problem at the hire car return... and our car wasn't the only one covered in tar. 8)
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: fidgetliz on August 07, 2013, 12:24:09 PM
Hobbo thanks for the reply might give them ring before we leave on Monday.
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: brian j p on August 07, 2013, 02:17:18 PM
Great report  Hobbo

You summed it up so perfectly i.e.  " "So how was Kalkan? well it was just like Kalkan, the peaceful, friendly, beautiful place that we remember from many visits. "

After all the recent posts over the last few months  about lasers and  goldfish bowls, it goes to show Kalkan will always remain Kalkan , no matter what changes come along  or not so to speak
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: Painter Man on August 07, 2013, 02:21:15 PM
I fully understand Hobbo, how the feel good factor having had a great holiday can disappear rapidly by a turn of events on returning home.
We got back home on Saturday 24th after eighteen days away to find half of our ground floor under three inches of water. A pipe to the water softener in the utility room had decided to break while we were away. We spent the first few hours brushing water out of the doors and getting items out of the house to dry. I felt that I wish I had not been away, at least we would have caught the problem more quickly. Luckily I was able to close the stop cock and stop any more water flooding out. I actually  felt grateful that the burst had been downstairs  and not in the loft which would have caused much more damage.
We had brought a Turkish carpet back from Kalkan, on our last visit in May, and put it down in the hall. This was so sodden two of us struggled to lift it out of the house. We laid it out on painting cloths on our lawn and I spent Saturday night wet and dry vacuuming  both sides to get the bulk of the water out. Sunday was spent on my hands and knees with a hair drier gently drying the carpet out. Luckily the weather was warm and not raining or my job would have been a lot harder. I did not actually get it fully dry until Tuesday. We were worried at first because the sides began to curl up so I had to weight them down.
We reported the incident too our insurance company on Monday morning and had the loss adjuster round on Tuesday  afternoon.
Thursday saw the arrival of the surveyor together with a building team. Skirting boards came off, the oak flooring which  had only been laid eighteen months earlier was stripped out. It had buckled up like a mountain range and was unsafe to walk across. The  tiles in the kitchen, breakfast room and utility room  were lifted, plinths of all the kitchen units removed and dumped.  Carpets pulled back in other rooms to get them off the damp floor.
Four large industrial de-humidifiers were set up and three industrial fans installed in order to dry the building out. These units run 24 hours a day and generate a lot of heat. We have to keep the doors and windows downstairs closed and so are virtually living upstairs to escape the sauna. We have been busy arranging for furniture to go back to the suppliers for restoration. Plumbers, kitchen people have been to access what can be restored and what has to be replaced.
As yet we do not know the extent to which plaster has to be stripped off walls nor whether the rest of the flooring has to be removed.
It looks like it will be several months until we are back to any sense of normality.
The good thing is that the Turkish carpet seems to have survived and none of the colours ran, something I was afraid might have happen as it was lying in water for some days. Consequently, as the insurance company want to see invoices for all the items which were damaged, even items bought ten years ago, I am grateful that the carpet is undamaged because it is the one item for which we have not got an invoice showing supplier detail and purchase price.
Interestingly our water meter had been read two weeks before we went away and once we swept  the water out I read the meter just to see how much water we had run into the house.  Allowing for the two weeks use before we went away we had managed to flood our house with 145 cubic metres, enough to fill our swimming pol in Kalkan two and a half times. I would rather have filled the pool twice: at least we would have got some enjoyment from it.
The one thing I have learned from this experience is to turn the water off before we go away. I do close off the water valves in the house in Kalkan for the winter months but unfortunately I have not bothered at home during summer periods. In future I will. Life is too short to live camped out on abuilding site for several months.
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: clara 50 on August 07, 2013, 03:14:05 PM
Painter Man that's really terrible, so sorry,you must be frantic, and good point, we never turn the water off either but listening to your horror story we will from now on. Hope you're managing to get things gradually sorted without too many hitches, sounds like you have more than enough on your plate. Think when these major things happen to disrupt our lives we wonder why on earth we worried about all the stupid trivial things in the past. Well what can I say, just hope your home is back to how you want it as soon as possible and all the very best to you both.
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: Lizilu20 on August 07, 2013, 03:36:22 PM
Oh painter man how awful for you and your family. Hope it's not too long before your house is back to how it was before the burst.  :(
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: MartynE on August 07, 2013, 05:10:45 PM
Oh Painter man that's terrible. it actually reminds me of something that happened to us about five years ago.

I can vividly remember sitting in Trio, having a meal with some American friends we had just met in Kalkan, and receiving a phone call from Fiona's daugther (who was staying in our house in the UK).  The conversation started along the lines of...

"Martyn, should there be water all over the kitchen floor... I don't know where it's coming from ?"

Fortunately, as she was there I was able to direct her to the stopcock to prevent any further damage but a lot had already been done... a pipe had started leaking behind the sink unit below floor level and it had been leaking for quite some time under the floorboards, and had not been noticeable until the water level rose above the floor.

Anyway, the rest of the holiday was a bit subdued as we were worried about what we would find when we got back. To cut a long story short - we got a completely new kitchen out of it. (And we had another holiday in Kalkan a few months later while the new kitchen was being fitted... ;) ) but it was a horrible experience while it lasted and I totally sympathise with you both, Painter Man and Hobbo.  Nothing worse than a water leak to bring you back down to earth with a bump after a fabulous holiday in Kalkan.

Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: hobbo on August 08, 2013, 02:23:12 PM
Forgot to include on my report that during our fortnight we saw joggers and runners nearly everyday, these weren't the 5-6am joggers (they might have been some of them but how would I know!) but midday running up cardiac hill... up from Kalamar rd towards the Bus station, even coming up from Kalamar bay.. they must have been in training for something pretty intense  (or really did not get on with the rest of the family....). Also whilst recovering from my own exercise regime of walking up to the Moonlight bar from the harbour and in serious rehydration mode, I witnessed a young man cycle up the hill directly opposite the bar and on towards the PTT, the thing is he wasn't even stood up and it didn't look like it was difficult. 8)
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: Chris the Spark on August 08, 2013, 04:36:12 PM
That cyclist must have been the resident Action Man who has the Villa behind you Hobbo :)
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: alantj on August 09, 2013, 10:31:07 AM
Last year one of our friends morning jog comprised running down from our villa (near the Mediteran hotel) to the harbour running up and down Cardiac hill 10 times and  then back up to the villa.  He described this as relaxing!   
Title: Re: Where did that fortnight go to!
Post by: amber on August 09, 2013, 11:23:28 AM
I wonder ıf the cyclıst was my husband.We lıve ın the old town and he cycles that way most days - he ısnt young but ıt was probably hım!!! Mad!!
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