The weather continues to be glorious and we have been enjoying a lot of pool time during the day. Daisy always enjoys some beauty and retail therapy while she”s here. It’s so much cheaper than in the UK and some of the pampering experiences are fab. On Saturday I got a haircut at my go to salon while I’m here – it’s just down the hill on the main road. Ali’s. He’s a great cutter of short hair and a very nice guy. I got a pedicure from his wife in her upstairs salon too. The total charge for both things was about £20 including tip.
On Monday Daisy went to the nail bar at the bottom of the hill next to the Soulist Music Bar. It is run by a mix of Ukrainians and Belarusians and I have found them to be excellent. It’s now the only place here I go to get my nails done having learned the hard way that not all salons are created equal. Anyway, she got a great manicure and a full set of extensions put on plus gel polish for £22 including tip. She was delighted.
We were thinking we would have a spa day and in recent years the Lords Palace Hotel have done very good spa offers ie buffet lunch and drinks with a 1 hour massage and use of the hammam for £25. This has now rocketed up to £42 and reports say the lunch isn’t as good….. I guess they are full again in the post covid age and don’t need to do such good offers. Another good spot is the Sarayah Hammam in Kyrenia so while we were down there today we called in. They are offering a 2 hour package for £32: a 45 minute hammam foam and peel treatment, that’s where you lie on a massive heated marble platform and the hammam attendant pours bowls of hot water over you and lathers you up with masses of bubbles and a loofah till you are polished like a penny, then a 15 minute face mask, tea and water and a 1 hour massage. We booked in for tomorrow morning, so I will report back.
Bob managed to come out without a single pair of shorts packed and so we were looking around today for a pair for him in Kyrenia. No luck as yet. Daisy needed new sandals and also some shoes to wear to various evening events she has coming up, including of course, the Poppy Ball here. We went to loads of shoe shops….. she got a pair of really nice glittery sandals early on in black leather with black beaded tassels for £8. They might do for some evening events. She really wanted some heels and so far a bit of a failure on that front but she did scoop up some lovely leather gladiator sandals with embellishments that will be brilliant for out here and also for Goa next February. They were so comfortable, she wore them home. They were £16. We will return to the hunt for heels when we are in Kyrenia again tomorrow. There are a lot of high heel shoes here but they are real ankle breakers and not very comfortable.
We were famished by late morning so we called into a bakery/cafe near the waterfront and the Dome Hotel. They had a variety of brunch dishes on offer. Bob had a cheese and sausage pide, a sort of Turkish pizza. I had 2 fried eggs and a dish of shatsuka and Daisy had a dish of eggs and fried potatoes mixed together. We had a basket of lovely seeded breads too. Delicious. £20 for the three of us including teas, coffees and tip.
While we were down there, Bob and I booked our full medical checkups at the Kyrenia private hospital. It’s a fab service where you get literally dozens of tests done for about £75 for me and a bit less for Bob. The results are interpreted for you by a doctor once they are returned. An English lady walks your round all the test locations within the hospital so you don’t get lost. Quite apart from the raft of blood tests, you get a chest x ray, a stool test, an ecg, a bone density scan, a torso ultrasound, a mammagram, cervical smear, prostate test for Bob. One of the blood tests identifies various hard to spot cancers. We think its an absolutely brilliant service and we get it done regularly. If they find anything, you have the option of getting it treated here or you can have al the tests translated into English to take back to your own doctor. We have booked the tests for November 9th.
Spent the rest of the day around the pool reading.
Bob has continued to do a few “end of season” jobs we needed to do. Not a lot really. A big one was to test all the garden automatic watering system lines and get them working. It’s like painting the Forth Road Bridge. They develop splits in the plastic or the little nozzels shoot out. Our area has had water problems over the summer. The first time we’ve had those in a lot of years. When we first bought a house here, summer water rationing was normal and you were not allowed to have a garden system or your pool connected to the water main. You had to have water tankers up for that. But it’s been a good few years now since the pipeline from Turkey to Northern Cyprus has ensured a full reservoir, cisterns and no water problems at all. Not sure what’s been going on this year. It may, of course, be financial. I don’t suppose the Turkish water is free…. Anyway, we havent been able to have the garden system on since May. The water has been freely flowing for a few weeks now – thank heavens – so whatever it was, is over. Our olive tree is looking a bit sad. Habibi says it is still alive but we are running lots of water around its roots now on a daily basis. Fingers very crossed for it. The rest of the garden looks to be ok, if a little dry.
We will have to take the gourd lights down for the winter in a few weeks. Heavy rain and wind would not do them a lot of good and January/February will no doubt bring that. We will put them back up in April when we return to ready the house for the summer.
Tonight we ate out on the terrace. It is still warm enough at night to do it. Bob and I were in cotton t shirts. Daisy was in pjs and a dressing gown!!!! So lovely to sit under the moon and stars with all the atmospheric lights on…. It is so peaceful up here… just the crickets chirping away.