Hitting the Juice!

Fruit juice that is- there is alcohol in Turkey but tonight I went out to one of the more more common alcohol free cafe venues. Poor Alex is still in recovery so I forced myself to go out out the town by myself tonight- it's Friday night after all! I got a couple of recommendations from the hotel staff of where to hear live acoustic music and, with some help from friendly folk, found my way to one of them. I've have had a very enjoyable, if loud, evening- the only spare seat was fairly close to a speaker so I improvised earplugs fairly early on. The performers were really good and it was very laid back- just what I was after. There was a birthday group next to me, (late 40s I'd say) and it was so laid back that the musicians even accompanied a few different individuals from this group so they could serenade the birthday lady with unexpected talent. The group all sang well- on one song the singer left the group to sing the whole song as they were doing it so well, they danced for some of the songs too. A great evening after waking up grumpy, stiff and aching from yesterday's exercise and cold this morning. Poor Alex got quite sick of me moaning today I'm sure- I've been whining for a sauna or hot springs and a massage all day- the shower here at the hotel in Samson barely counts but an evening of music and the warmer climate here, (14 degrees C as I walked back late tonight) helped. The rest of the day was spent in getting here via fuel, grocery shopping and lunch stops along the Black Sea coastline. It's a shame about the prevailing litter on the beaches and pollution hotspots as it really is a lovely coastline. Unusually we arrived here in enough time to look around the shops in Samson tonight before they shut and I bought a Turkish style chair that I had been looking out for. I tried one in Edinburgh and it was immensely comfy- but not £200 comfy. This one here was a steal at only £35 and I got them to wrap it well so it can spend at least some of the time on the roof rack-sorry Anna, only room for one, I know you wanted one too! Every day Alex gets better- he's just left with a persistent cough and low appetite now that leaves him tired and I think in a day or two he'll be just fine.