Sunday 18th Sept - Ankara to Goreme, Cappadocia After breakfast and thanks & farewell to our hosts, we caught a taxi to the nearest metro station and caught a metro that took us to the bus station. Naively, we arrived at the bus station at 5 minutes before 11 thinking we would be able to get tickets on the 11am bus out of Ankara to Cappadocia. It's Sunday morning and as soon as I saw the amount of people crowding the bus terminal I realized that we were pretty stupid thinking we would get a on the bus we wanted without having pre-purchased tickets. There were just 2 different bus companies that were going directly to Goreme, but of course now it was just minutes, even seconds, before 11 and I was not surprised when both ... read more

Wednesday 14th Sept, fly Casablanca to Istanbul We were up early, packed and on our way out the door by 8.30am. We caught a taxi from the Uncles place back to the train station in Sale and were on a 9am train towards Casablanca, changing trains once to get to the Casablanca airport. The train took about 2 hours. I wanted to get to the airport early as I had a bone to pick with Air Arabia as they had changed our flights and not only caused us to loose a internal flight in Turkey which I had already purchased and was non refundable, but also stole 2 days from our holiday time. We were advised a few weeks ago and have been trying to contact the airline since then. They did not answer any of ... read more

Saturday 11th Sept 2011 some frogs went walking on a summer's day, ah hum ah hum some frogs went walking on a summer's day, they met an Australian on the way, ah hum ah hum ah hum ah hum ah hum Beautiful clear sunny day today and I joined some frogs (French people) who went for a hike in the forest with a couple of the local Moroccan lads. It's the most exercise I have done for months so I'm sure I will pay for it tomorrow. The day was hot and sunny, but we all managed to have a pleasant walk which was not too exhausting. Along the way we found a small kitten in the middle of nowhere. Although it did not seem to have a home as there were no homes within miles, ... read more

Wednesday 30th - the end of Ramadan! Eid El Fitr This ceremony, as its name indicates, celebrates the breaking of the fast at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. In Morocco, Eid El Fitr is celebrated by getting up early in the morning. Men go to the mosque for the prayers of that day. As for women, they prepare the special breakfast for Eid El Fitr which is constituted of typical Moroccan pancakes such as Baghrir and Melwi. After the prayers, the family gathers around the table to indulge in a copious breakfast. It is also a time when families visit each other and chat around cookies and mint tea. Children are dressed in new clothes and adults in traditional outfits. The holiday of Eid El Fitr lasts only one day. Today seemed like ... read more

Sunday 28th - day twenty-seven There was noises in the house today. Noises of movement. Everything was being moved out of the kitchen as it is going to be painted this evening. Removing the pictures and hanging from the walls left a few holes and Zak had the job of patching up the plaster. Zak had told Said (the cousin we have been sitting with at the cafe all Ramadan - who happens to be a painter by trade) and he offered to come paint the kitchen for us with a roller. He also helped with purchasing the correct paint at bargain price. Cost to paint the ceiling and walls of the kitchen 40dh = aud$4.85 - cheap as!! So by the time breakfast came around the kitchen had been emptied ready for Said's arrival after ... read more

Tuesday 23rd - day twenty-two I woke up earlier again today and actually feel better off for it. I think the over indulgence of sleeping such long hours was putting me in a bored melancholy mood. I took some time out and in the true spirit of Ramadan took the time to reflect and look at the person I am within. On searching and seeing this reflection I came to the not so pleasing conclusion that I am a cranky, crabby, old bitch. Amazing how food and drink deprivation enhances your personality - obviously in my case not in a good way. So I have decided I'm going to try and lighten up a bit for the remaining days of Ramadan and try to enjoy the last days. I'm working on the cranky and crabby bits, ... read more