Club Sun Village 22/7- 6/8 Scouse Fitz reporting

by **ScouseFitz** » 01 Aug 2012 10:29

Right. Now. Where were we?

Oh Yeah, Sunday.

Well, the day started with a little self catering. Following a recipe given to me by JT, Icmeler's very own Evel Kneivel (he buzzes round hither and thither all day on his scooter at breakneck speeds - I'm quite looking forward to seeing him attempt to jump over 15 dolmuses!!), I made us an ommelette with Turkish Pastrami and green chillies. Wow. Tasty and a good start to a lazy day by the pool.

A quick note on poolside reading- I'm beginning to get the impression that as well as your tenner at the airport, it's seems to be now enshrined in Turkish law that every woman entering the country MUST have a copy of Fifty Shades Of Grey!! Now, I haven't read it, but it must be a very funny read, cos all the women reading it round our pool are smiling!!

After much swimming and sunbathing, we've been invited to JT's house for a barbecue. So, armed with several cold Efes, we arrive at Chateau Toohey to find the the man himself slaving over a hot stove in the kitchen. After some impressive and hilarious pyrotechnics involving JT, the barbie and a bottle of lighter fluid, where our beloved travel agent nearly went up in a cloud of smoke, I was deployed on meatball duty at the grill. John and Sharon made us all really welcome and we all got on with the serious business of having a brilliant afternoon/evening. We met some lovely people, and had a great time. At one point, Dr Murat joined us to help serve the amazing food JT had made for us. He looked so impressive in his Drs uniform, including stethoscope, with a ciggie hanging out of his mouth. Only in Turkey! As I say tho, a great time was had by all the family, and we want to say a big massive thanks to John and Sharon for their hospitality, food and great laughs. Cheers, folks. Back to base for some games of pool with the 11yr old Hustler, then off to bed with big smiles on our faces.

Monday.

I awoke feeling somewhat, erm, ahem, "tired", from the previous night's exertions. I blame JT's Vodka and Orange slushes, and it was absolutely NOTHING to do with the case of Efes I accidentally spilt down my neck!! Honest!

A real lazy day followed, hard hard graft sitting in the sun and relaxing, and swimming. We hung around the apts today, doing pretty much nothing else of note except for dinner, which for me, was a beautiful, and large Sea Bass baked in salt, priced at 35tl. It was delicious and really well cooked. So much so, as soon I was finished, I headed straight to the kitchen to thank the chef. Fish in salt sounds and looks easy to make, but it's actually very easy to get wrong. Mine was perfect. The ladies in my party and I were all stuffed so didn't even venture out of the apartments for our evening stroll, instead choosing to sit around chatting with some of the other guests and having as lazy a night as the day had been. Little Norway is now liberated, by the way. Tho they're on their way back in Sept. In fairness, they've been coming here for a good few years and are actually quite nice people, apart from the slightly ASBO members of their party. Plus, a good few Norwegians are Liverpool fans, so they can't be ALL bad!!

A couple of Mr Daniel's finest followed, then to the inevitable land of nod. G'night Jonboy, G'night Mary Ellen.

by **ScouseFitz** » 01 Aug 2012 12:07

What? Tuesday??? Already?

Well, today's fun was mainly based around a nautical theme..boat trip on the Club Sun Village boat. 9.30 pick up and we're off for an adventure. Hopefully not the Posiedon kind!! Down to Icmeler harbour, and straight on board with Captain Ibo at the helm. 19 of us from the apartments. And what a day!!

We set off, and the conversation and laughs start. It's a real scorcher of a day, and we're all dying to jump in! We sail through the beautiful scenery for an hour so til we reach a truly magical little cove. Stunning. Everyone jumps into the clearest water I've seen since the last time I saw really clear water! We stay in the waterfor a couple of hours while Papa and Ibo get the barbie going. Then it's on board for a great lunch, kebabs, meatballs, chicken breast, wings, pasta salad, fresh salad, bread. Great stuff. Ibo entertains us all the way with his slightly insane and life threatening antics. He jumps in about a qtr of a mile from shore and climbs the rocks to collect sea salt. He got tonnes of the stuff in a water bottle. And then swam that qtr mile back with it. Nutter. It's a beautiful little isolated cove. Until the cast of the Turkish Shameless turn up!!! Some rowdy Turks high on life and bladdered on Efes, screaming like really loud Banshees. You can almost hear the peace shattering!! They even scare the fish off!! After lunch we head for a another swim stop. We pull in at a little known Russin enclave up the coast for a wander round. All the menus are in Russian. I have a hard enough time reading English so the girls and I take the Ice Cream/drink option. Nice place tho. Ibo summons us back from shore leave with a large Vuvuzwela, and we head off for anther swim stop at a cave. Gorgeous deep blue sea, we all dive in, at which point Ibo takes his life (and our chances of getting home) in his hands with some impressive and slightly reckless rock diving. It's a great laugh watching him. Back on board and it's Efes time (cue the MC hammer music). Off for yet another lovely cove, and yet more gorgeous scenery, and yet another swim stop. This time the water seems saltier, tho that might be just me. Forgot to close my big gob when I jumped off, so ended up washing my beer down with a decidedly less than healthy large dose of saline!!

A slightly sleepy leisurely cruise back to shore and our waiting bus. We arrive back at the apts. Mothers and kids all head up for showers. Sadly, it appears that while we've been out, they've erected some sort of force field around the bar which traps Dads!! So we make the most of a bad situation and enjoy a beer or seven at the bar. Let's face it, we're Dads, last in the queue for the bathrooms, but always quickest. May as well make the most of it, eh?

A brilliant day, we totally recommend it. Papas is just a small boat, only room for 20 people or so, no upstairs, but it made it more interesting. A great idea to go with people from your apartments too, as you get to know people a bit more than a casual 'hi' on the staircase. A great day for just ten of yer English quid. As I say, recommended.

So where to eat, well, Mrs ScouseFitz and I are in search of something spicy which doesnt include anything grilled so, acting on a tip from toonbarmyarmy in his blog, we head off to Three/4 Bells. And are we glad we did. Strangely, it's the 3rd visit to Icmeler, but we've never eaten there. Korean food. A winner. All the way. Especially if you like your food with a kick. I had hot and sour chicken noodle soup. It was fresh, tasty, and hot as you like. Followed by BiBamBap. Thanks for the tip, Tim. It was fantastic. Really tasty and very filling. The littlun had a three bells pizza which even with her sisters help, she couldn't finish. Everyone enjoyed their food, we chatted with Mehmet and a few of the boys, and left feeling happy as a pig in you know what. I'm really pleased that even though they've moved off the main road, business is still as booming as it always is. It always used to be a fave haunt of mine, for a couple of beers, on one of my trips 'to the supermarket'. From here on in, it's one our fave places to eat too. Here's to em and their crazy water bottle Xmas tree!!! Home for drinks with new friends at the apartments, then beauty sleep time for me. And God, do I need it. (the sleep that is, not the beauty!!) Ciao for now.

by **ScouseFitz** » 04 Aug 2012 08:14

Wednesday again, and we're up early to hit the market while it's still cool enough to breathe. Off we go, munching on some figs off a local tree on our way. Technically, it's probably Grand Fruit Theft, but damn, these things are tasty!!

The daughters decide to join us, as they're looking for gifts for their mates back home. I launch a raid on one of the spice stalls, this time picking up some more lemon pepper and a large bag of sumac. Back home, I go through sumac like it's goin out of fashion, assuming of course, that a spice could ever be IN fashion. It plays a starring role in my Adana kebabs, and tho I can get it at home, it doesn't seem to taste the same. I pick up an 'Adidas' bag and resist the temptation to give the vendor's suggestion of giving him fifty quid, instead offering him a tenner. He went mad, starts talking about me starving his children etc, so after a while arguing with him, I play the winning card. I walk away. Works every time. He follows me, and says "ok, give me the money". Result. I hope his kids get something to eat, but I'm actually quite happy with my new bag, so if they starve it's his fault!! Next up is a pair of 'Levis' jeans. I use the same M.O. And pick em up for about £15. They wanted £45.

Again, I resisted the temptations of the Taser stall, but I'm quite happy with my shiny new AK-47!! Next year, they'll no doubt be giving rocket launchers and hand grenades the hard sell. The girls pick up some bits and bobs, and we return to the apartments for some heavy duty sunbathing and swimming. We've decided to do the Turkish night again, mainly cos they've dropped the price down to 20tl, and the food was so good, it's hard to resist at £7 per head. This weeks Dad dancing seemed to have the right effect, ie extreme embarrassment, and the atmosphere this week was brilliant, mainly cos we'd all had a bonding session on the CSV boat trip the day before. A great night was had by all, and this was probably evident when they cashed up the bar till at the end of the night!!

Bedtime. I wish someone would get up the mountain and fix that flag, it's looking very sorry for itself. Night night.

by **bobbysgirl** » 04 Aug 2012 10:41

Hi Scouse Fitz, had to catch up with your blogs for a couple of days and as usual, enjoyed them immensely, such humour! Well, not long before you return home but hope to read your blogs before your return. Thanks once again for brightening my Saturday morning

by **ScouseFitz** » 04 Aug 2012 11:23

Thanks Bobbysgirl, glad you like em. Ive really enjoyed writing them too. Spent an hour typing the next days up this morning, only to press the wrong button and deleted it!! Had to have an Efes just to calm my anger. Thankfully it worked, and now I'm at poolside about to do it again. Here goes. Enjoy.
Cheers
Paul.

Thursday.

And boy, it's hot. The humidity's as high as an elephant's eye. There's something in the air, and it's not oxygen, that's for sure. Muggy is the word. So while the eldest and the mother don their Jackie Onassis sunglasses and head poolside, the littlun and I opt to take a walk into town, as she wants to have a walk round the square. As we're walking, we notice something I can only describe as clouds in the sky....clouds...CLOUDS? Well, I don't remember any mention of clouds in the welcome pack, so first stop is the ICR office to demand a full refund!! While we're there, the girls in the office tell me to expect rain. Yeah, right. As if. Rain? In Turkey? Surely not. Don't they know we're on holiday? Well, the shop owners certainly seem to agree. They're all busying themselves covering their stock with plastic sheeting. We have a little mooch around, pop into Chef, which has been recommended to book a table and a pick up for this evening. Looks like a nice place. Littlun thinks it looks posh. I agree. Their napkins aren't even made of paper, but linen! Dad grabs himself a quick beer, well, you've got to support these local businesses, haven't you? Daughter gets herself yet another bracelet. (she's gonna run out of arms ace any day now!), and we wind our way back to the apartments.

The sky blackens. Heavy and angry looking clouds everywhere. Even the mountains look worried. This has all the looks of being a good show, so Mum and I grab ourselves front row seats on the balcony with a cuppa. Let the show commence.

Millions of gallons of hot and heavy rain decide to show up. The kids are singing and dancing in the rain (there's a song in there somewhere), and the parents run for shelter in the bar (where else?) to watch. Eardrum busting thunder, and lightning that makes the the tasers in the Market look positively friendly and harmless, I reach for my phone and film the whole show. The rocks high up in the mountains throw up huge clouds of steam. It's all very impressive and really entertaining actually. Its absolutely brilliant. A parasol throws itself in the pool for a quick dip while no ones looking, and has to be rescued. The show lasts for about an hour, but eventually calm returns and that lucky ol sun wins in the end. The air's lighter, and we can breathe again. Aaah.

Chef sends the pick up, and it's off we go in search of sustenance. We arrive in style and are shown to our table. I peruse the seafood menu. The most expensive item is listed at 28tl. Lobster is listed as 'pls ask'. I don't need to be told twice, so i ask. He leans into us, and drops his voice as if he doesn't want anyone to hear. I sense a bargain coming. "it should be 300tl, but for you I'll do it for 280" WHAT??? 280?? A HUNDRED QUID? ARE YOU HAVIN A LAUGH, MATE?? A HUNDRED QUID?? The Lobster in question, once shelled, looks like it would offer us less meat than you'd find on the average butcher's pencil. I'll have the Sea Bream, thanks! Mrs ScouseFitz had the beef fajitas, which to be honest, she didn't enjoy as much as Wayside's last week. The girls had Quesedillas and Chicken nuggets, which the latter didn't really enjoy much. My Sea Bream was delicious and we washed it all down with a lovely ice cold bottle of white wine. On the whole though it was all a little style over substance, but still quite an enjoyable evening nonetheless.

We returned to base for drinks with some lovely new friends. Boat trip tomorrow, so we head to bed. Just one Jack Daniels left in the bottle. I think there must have been a hole in the lid, cos that litre I bought in duty free at Manchester appears to have evaporated in the heat!! I make a mental note to write a letter of complaint on my return, and head to bed.