2012moreen

We rose early and breakfasted on the rooftop terrace surrounded by glorious views. Then we made our way to the Topkapi Palace. It only took about 15 minutes, in the crisp cool morning, but we wanted to get there early before the busloads of tourists arrived. We walked through the Arasta Bazaar, past the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia and the gardens of the First Courtyard of the Palace. After buying our tickets, we went through security, and entered the luxurious world of centuries past. There were still very few tourists at that time, so we made our way to the Harem, where we had to buy another entrance ticket. We were able to stay one step ahead of the early tourist groups, and enjoyed a most wonderful walk through the Harem. The rooms were beautiful - ... read more

Finally, the day had arrived. After almost 2 years of planning, Ian and I departed on our Singapore Airlines flight, bound for Istanbul. This was the first day of a 10-week holiday, that would take us through Turkey, Greece and Italy, with a few days in Phuket at the end, for a much-needed rest. Almost a year before, we had booked an "early bird" special with Singapore Airlines, which allowed us a generous baggage allowance of 30 kg, and it was just as well, as our bags were already tipping the scales at 24 kg. As we were going to be away for such a long time, we would need a range of clothing, from summer to winter clothes, not to mention backpacks for Italy. We had an 8-hour stop-over in Singapore, so we had booked ... read more

An early start today, as we made our way on to the coach. It was all a bit exciting as we hit the road. We started with a drive around Christchurch, and the weather was fine this morning. After a stop at “Mona Vale”, a lovely garden, we headed off to the Canterbury Plains. As we drove along, the clouds began to disappear and the sun peeped through. The Canterbury Plains went on and on for miles, with large hedges cut from rows of full-sized pine trees, used to protect livestock from the severe winter winds. In the distance to the west we could see the mountains getting closer, with a few being snow-covered. A stop for morning tea and some shopping at the "Tin Shed", then it was off to Lake Tekapo. We stopped to ... read more

At 10.30 a.m. we were picked up by chauffer-driven limousine.On our way to the airport, we collected Lina and Dominic Cavallaro, from Modbury Heights. At 12.45 p.m. we departed Adelaide, bound for Sydney and Christchurch. After a four hour wait in Sydney, our flight across the Tasman was pretty rough, and dinner was postponed for at least 30 minutes. We arrived into Christchurch at about midnight, and after a quick clearance through Customs, we were taken to our hotel, the Kingsgate Autolodge in Papanui.... read more