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Monday, February 21, 2022

A nice lunch, gluten free treats, and a funny story!

We figured on a forty minute walk to get to the restaurant where we were meeting some of the "Senior Nomads" facebook group, and timed it perfectly, arriving right at 11:30pm.

There was Bob and Vera from Australia, Thomas and Georganna from California, and Matt and Avic from Colorado. 

The Australian couple had been traveling for many years, but the two American couples are fairly new nomads.

It was an interesting restaurant choice.

The Australian couple are actually here in Antalya for three months and it was their recommendation. It's a government run restaurant, something to do with the teacher's union. 

Matt, Bob, Thomas, Ruth, Georgiana, Vera, Avic, and Kevin.

I had the meatballs.

And Ruth had the chicken shish.

Total bill for the two of us was 75 lira ($7.00 CAD, $5.50 USD).

Of course the discussion centered around travel, and where have you been, and where are you going next. Lots of fun, and we enjoyed the get together.

Afterwards, Ruth and I headed towards the old town harbor to have a look around.


There were lots of people out enjoying the day.

View of the Antalya cliffs.

A house for the stray cats.

Lots of history near the old harbor.




Again, lots of people out and about on a nice warm Sunday.


The old town walls.

Just having a nap.

From there, we headed to a gluten free bakery that I had read about. What a place! I think Ruth thought she had died and gone to heaven! Gluten free bakery, cafe, and shop. 

Everything gluten free.

Wow!

Breads and buns.

Well stocked shelves.

Cakes! Sorry, too much reflection.

We bought an assorted box of cookies and biscuits.

And a piece of delicious cake to share.

We bought a couple of loaves of bread, a bag of flour, the cookies and cake and the bill came to 120 lira ($11.25 CAD, $8.75 USD).

We walked back to Max, and parked a few spots over were friends Katja and Yves. The four of us decided to go over to a nearby cafe that had been recommended by the parking lot guy and have a happy hour drink.

Happy hour selfie!
Kevin, Yves, Katja, and Ruth.

So then something funny happened.

We asked for the bill, and the waiter guy (who spoke pretty good English up to this point) comes over and tells us their machine wasn't working, and the bill is 410 lira. 

Now, all we had was 2 beer, a glass of wine, an iced tea, and three bags of nuts.

410 lira is almost 40 bucks! That's Canadian prices! More than double what we expected it would be.

So of course we argued. 

I asked the guy to write down the bill in detail with how much everything cost.

He's gone for a while, and comes back with a piece of paper detailing everything, and the bill now comes to 320 lira.

I asked him why there was a difference, but now he says "No speak English". He actually said it with a straight face. It was hilarious and I laughed at him.

I got up and walked back over to our parking lot guy (who really doesn't speak any English) who had recommended the cafe in the first place and told him via google translate what was happening. He looks upset and got on the phone. Made a couple of phone calls, then told me to go back to the cafe.

Ruth and Katja and Yves were still sitting there, and our waiter guy was nowhere to be seen. We waited ten minutes or so, and then decided to go inside with 200 lira, the maximum we were prepared to pay. Once inside, our waiter guy comes up to us and (in perfect English) says "I spoke to the owner and we are prepared to give you a discount and the bill is only 250 lira. "

And I said, "but the most we will pay is 200 lira". To which he replies "okay".

So I handed him the money and we were done.

Ah, the adventures of travel!

Today we are off to our doctors appointment to be poked and prodded. Should be another interesting experience!

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Almost a record low deal on this Coleman Sundome 6 Person Tent.

And in Canada...


6 comments:

  1. Very happy to have finally met you both and exchange so many stories over our extended three hour lunch. It was indeed a lively meet-up.

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    1. It was wonderful to met both you and Bob as well as the others. When you have chatted with people on facebook you sort of feel like you have already met, so it was really nice to finally meet everyone in the flesh. There was definitely never a lack of things to talk about, I am sure we all could have just continued our conversation on through the afternoon and into dinner, lol. I hope we get to see you one more time before we leave the Antalya area.

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  2. Sounds like Mexico! Gluten free bakery? Like kids in a candy store!

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    Replies
    1. Yep, but that didn't happen to us very often in Mexico either. I think there are a number of countries where you have to be aware of the pricing and the possibility of being ripped off.

      Yes, being in that gluten free bakery was just like being in a kid in a candy shop for sure. I really didn't know where to start, lol! I was definitely in my glory. :-)

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  3. That was one of our best days in Antalya, meeting you and chatting for 2+ hours sharing Nomad stories and experiences.

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    Replies
    1. We also had a great time meeting you both. When you get together with other travelers there is never a lack of conversation. We may just met up with you again in Cypress. How long are you there for?

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