Hello Girls, we are back……having had a really lovely holiday! As much as I would like to be able to give you a wryly amusing and gently derisory account of our stay at The Barut Lara, Turkey I’m afraid that I am utterly unable to find fault with the hotel, not even a teensy little one and on the journey home from Bristol airport, which by the way is yet another revelation, each of us gave the holiday at least 9 1/2 out of 10 (daughter and I wanted to give it 10 but husband says that’s not possible so we weren’t allowed to). He was so stressed at this point by the trip home, which by the way was dreamily smooth, that we were in no position to argue his warped stance on positive thought.

Over the last few years we’ve been lucky enough to go on annual holiday at all after the debarcle that was 2008 and in order to save a few pennies like many others we have joined the ranks of the ever popular “all inclusive” break (a slightly less expensive way to lie in the sun). Our first dabble into all inclusives was a stay at a hotel quite literally shaped like concorde and of course called The Concorde (how original), rather nasty rooms and even nastier bathrooms but we had an OK time for not very much money; I had long accepted that this was our travelling future…..no more Algarve, Barbados or Marakesh, we were downsizing and probably a jolly good thing too.

Concorde Hotel, Lara Beach

We are not a very adventurous family where travel is concerned, I’m afraid Husband has made sure of that, anywhere other than a five star joint (even if it is the Turkish equivalent) is truly out of bounds and according to him it would probably kill us, so having had a reasonable, if not rather cattle markety stay, at The (5*??) Concorde the first time around we decided to return to  Antalaya but to try a different hotel, The Delphin Palace. This gaudy building was glamorous, very “gold” looking on the outside and inside pretty grotty once one got down to brass tacks (easy to be impressed by enormous chandeliers and turkish tea urns in lobbies), once again we had an aceptable stay; the holiday had the rather downmarket feel of an “all inclusive” package; plastic cups full of luke warm drink, the thrice daily rush to buffet style meals as there’s nothing but ice-cream to eat before or after but crucially there was little charm from the staff, I guess they got the jist of the “British all inclusive” from the pinky white, tattoed bodies slobbed around the pool day after day and frankly couldn’t be bothered!

So, anyway after all that husband slinks off again, 4 weeks ago, without warning and books us a last minute, all inlcusive package to, yes, you guessed it…….Turkey!!! However, this time the man did good, apart from the ghastly and misleadingly awful website photos which make the place look like Wandsworth nick, the hotel was spotless, nothing like the photos at all, quite the opposite infact, the staff were gracious, the food was 24hr and extremely good (so good we ate far too much and had the most appallingly bad Turkish breath the entire holiday), the pool was beautiful, the drinks had ice in them, the weather was perfect and what more can I say……trip advisor considers it to be a number one and I couldn’t agree more.

I am feeling slightly technologically disorientated today as we had no computer in Turkey, I have not tweeted, Face-Booked or Pinterested in 9 days and I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to have a break from all of that, especially with the kids……but hey ho, he ho it’s back to work we go………and I’m looking forward to my first “twarty” possibly this evening???

Yours, tanned but with swimming costume marks, I am such a prude……oh dear, I couldn’t quite bring myself to wear a bikini! Why do I care so when no-one else seems to give a damn about that sort of thing?! ELLIE XX