Pinched Nerves and Pizzas

Up to now, I’ve been letting Ben do the driving because a) he gets so much enjoyment driving European streets; b) I can sleep between the navigation crises; and c) he’s a more careful driver. However, today, feeling the restlessness that can only come with being sequestered in a beautiful villa on the coast of Turkey, I wanted to go ‘into town’ for an outing. And, besides, Ben needed more back medicine. Have I mentioned how he has somehow thrown out his back, pinched a nerve or tightened a muscle; whichever it is, the last few days, the poor guy has been in quite a state, as anyone with back problems can envision. This has left him with little capacity to move, much less drive. I have been showering him with love, kindness, understanding and the odd massage but, so far, he prefers the back medicine. Therefore, we had a quick lesson in driving standard again and, as the basics have come back to me, I am now claiming the set of keys.

The girls and I treated ourselves to lunch while in Kas, stopping at a Turkish restaurant that had a varied ten page menu. Today, however, they were only serving from three of those pages so Hannah had to quickly decide on a second option. She joined me in ordering a pide, the Turkish version of a pizza, while Abby elected to get a standard pepperoni pizza (after Abby placed her order, the waiter ran out to buy a pepperoni stick). Our pides were oblong in shape, made with soft, fluffy dough; covered with a flavorful, unidentifiable sauce; and topped with ground beef, peppers and white cheese. I enjoyed it immensely as well as the large mixed salad which seems to accompany most lunch orders. It was a large, tasty lunch and very affordable at $18. We’ll definitely have to do it more often as these outings, in effect, are our cultural attractions right now. While grocery shopping, the girls had compiled a care package for their dad, and after I added the back medicine and bag of frozen peas (aka an ice pack), they surprised him with it.

The afternoon ended with Hannah preparing a great lentil soup, topped with yoghurt, for supper – when in the Mediterranean...

That night, we were treated to another tremendous thunder and lightning show, an event that is becoming more commonplace, even to us. Typical February weather, it seems. We mop up the inevitable leaks with towels and weather the brief power failures that often occur with a storm. The day after dawned bright and sunny so, ever optimistic, I donned the swimsuit under my clothes once again. We spent several hours down at the platform by the ocean before retreating inside due to the wind. My determination at getting in that pool outweighed my reluctance (and usual common sense, according to Abby). I spent about three minutes in the bitingly cold water and insisted Abby use it as a photo op. I’m still hoping that we’ll get a couple of really hot days to allow us to enjoy the pools.