Six Sleeps to Go - Packing my Case.

 I've definitely been working with small children too long! I'm counting down to my next trip to Bodrum and I've only 6 sleeps to go! My suitcase arrived home yesterday. My daughter borrowed it to get her Christmas haul back to college and has had to be reminded to return to owner. It is now standing in a corner waiting to be packed. 

You would think by now,  almost six years after our house purchase that I would be picking up my handbag and heading out the door. No suitcase, everything I need out in the house. Sean has this down to a fine art until I start packing into his suitcase also!

So what is going into my suitcase this time? The list would be endless if it wasn't for one little item called baggage allowance! 

This time I'm a little curtailed. My 30kg allowance with Turkish Airlines is 20kg  with Lufthansa. I'm flying Dublin-Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Istanbul. Then after a five hour wait I will fly Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Bodrum. By taking the scenic route, I'm saving enough money to cover the cost of car hire for the week.

There will have to be some judicious choices made. The first item to go in the case is a remote control helicopter,  followed by  lots of Cadbury's chocolate,  microwave popcorn, plum jam and some plums. Plums are not in season yet in Turkey and I have found that I can only but fruits that are in season there.  Chicken with plums ginger and soy is my signature dish and if I don't cook it for my friends there will be some long faces when I arrive. Hence the jam and the plums.

I will also pack a tub of salted butter, the one thing I really miss while I'm there, a packet of Mcvities Caramel Digestive biscuits  to nibble on in the evenings with my cappuchino. And then of course there will be assorted DVDs usually with turkish subtitles..... a chance to kill two birds with the one stone, catching up with some old movies and practising my turkish at the same time. Oh better not forget Neutrogena hand cream for Gulsum. Her hands get very sore making fishing nets.

Then of course there are my books. I bought a book by Robert Fulghum called "Third Wish" The book comes in two volumes and is  accompanied by a CD of original music. It weighs 3kg, which puts a big hole in my luggage allowance. This doesn't include the other pile of books stacked over my bed. 

When I'm on holidays I often read a book in a day and a half. Two years ago I bought a Sony E-Reader. It is wonderful when I'm travelling. It is hard to bring enough books to last two months. However for me it is just a solution to a travel problem. It will never replace "real"books for me. It doesn't feel like a book, smell like a book and would look very lonely on the bookshelf all but itself.

Now what I have I forgotten from the suitcase. Clothes??? Not much room left for those. I'm glad there are some out at the house!!