Today we left London where people everywhere are preparing for the Royal Wedding. Street parties are being planned and the flags and bunting are going up. But before we leave there is just one last task, to get a new sim card for the phone so we are now in touch with the world (at a cost). Now for the big decision. Should we leave Northwood for Terminal 5 via London by train at some ridiculous hour and costing a vast amount of money or leave at 12:45pm by private car costing 25 pounds and get there within 30 minutes. It was a no brainer. So we said farewell to Joanne, assuring her we would be back at the end of August, and we were on our way. The rest of the journey was very straight ... read more

Today is my sister’s birthday and we had to celebrate it here in London while her husband probably had some wonderful surprises planned for the day in Tauranga. The day started slowly with a quiet breakfast and then a ramble through the local woods. What a wonderful sight, seeing the bluebells out and the oak trees with their new foliage. Holly the dog enjoyed the ramble as did the rest of us. The area around the woods was a very nice residential area with every house having its special name and several cars in the driveway or triple garage. Lunch was going to be late and would also be an early dinner. Joanne and Paul prepared a wonderful leg of lamb meal with roast potatoes and all the trimmings to help celebrate Easter and Catherine’s birthday ... read more

On this our final day in Istanbul we had hoped for a fine and pleasantly warm spring day. No such luck. The sun was out but a cold wind was coming off the water, just for us. Perhaps we should have taken a Bosphorus Cruise yesterday but then we thought today was going to be better. Oh well not to worry, so off we went on our final adventures. After resisting/ignoring many men in suits offering us the finest cruise in Turkey we headed for the one and a half hour cruise for 10 lira. Today we are being very frugal because we don’t want to get any more lira from the machines as they are worthless outside Turkey. The boat left on time with just a few passengers. In spite of the wind, sick bags ... read more

Well, after a great sleep in we had a late breakfast, packed up the bags and hopped into a taxi to our next Istanbul hotel – a significant downgrade!! The taxi driver consulted several passing pedestrians in his efforts to locate the elusive Samil Hotel in the old town, with little success. His driving would not have been out of place in a car rally but then that’s how most driving is done here. Missing collisions with other vehicles is a very close thing and horn tooting is constant as drivers manoeuvre vehicles through very tight (or non-existent) spaces. Eventually we were delivered as close to the hotel as possible and in the rain we managed to pull our bags through and around missing bits of pavement and mud puddles to arrive somewhat breathless at said ... read more

After the adventures of the past few days in the Cappadocia region today was really a travel day to get us to Ankara. It was Chris’ birthday today and what a great place to spend it. Travelling in Turkey has been just as we expected and to celebrate a birthday in Ankara just tops it off. The day started out cloudy but soon turned into drizzle, then rain. We passed more open plains with grain crops well advanced and shepherds looking after their sheep. Men were ploughing fields either with tractors or horse and women digging smaller plots by shovel. Everyone comments how men seem to be everywhere, drinking coffee or tea, smoking, and talking around tables outside coffee shops. Where are the women? We assume at home working. The highway for most of the way ... read more