We headed out from home at 18:00 Friday. The M4 was totally blocked. We left at Reading and headed up the A4, making Marlborough at around 9:15. We were later told that shortly after we got off the M4 the police closed it. Having missed dinner at the Sun Inn we headed out for Italian food. I had a stinking cold. Back in the room, discovered I had bought the recharger for the Eee but not the bit that adapts it for use with UK plugs. Today, after an excellent breakfast, we headed for Savernake Forest which is truly spectacular. We just wandered around, looking at ancient oaks and beeches. Some of the more ancient oaks have names and others do not. It was warm and sunny and still. We hardly saw anyone. I would highly ... read more

We are in Foca as I write although we have had problems establishing wireless connections here. The drive from Mordogan was pleasant then Industrial then we missed the turning and it got a bit scary, then we found our way back and after more industrial and roadworks it got OK. The side road from the motorway is pretty. We have both taken a liking to Foca - this is ancient Phocea... It has a working fishing fleet including trawlers and several schools. It is a 'real' place and not a resort. It is also pretty and very friendly. (Oooh the 'you can eat now' firework just went boom). The weekly market was today and it's huge and lively. We could live here. Today we drove to Yeni Foca 22km up the road. The drive was spectacular. ... read more

We took a trip out to the Istanbul Harley Dealership. It was OK. They had no dealer shirts my size, a pity, they were expecting new stock to arrive soon . Got some goodies anyway, a HOG Istanbul pin badge and the HD Turkey guide including maps and stuff, this book will be great for we we enter Turkey on the Harley next summer. I also found this. http://www.grandrun.fr These guys are doing 12 day supported rides in some amazing places. One ride starting in Trazbon, Turkey, doing the silk road to Baku on the Caspian shore, and back, a little over 3000 km. Thy are also doing a ride through Sub Saharan Africa, Mali, Burkino Faso, and Niger, again with support vehicles. For both of these they fly you out from France and ship your ... read more

It is hard to believe we were in work yesterday. Arrived Istanbul not much before midnight. booked into hotel. Had a couple of beers in Just Bar then back here with a few cans to enjoy the view and watch Harry Potter movie dubbed into Turkish. today we went to the local Harley dealership and bought a pin badge. We walked back to Sultanamet and met with Hassan. Then, after chatting a long while, we walked through the hippodrome which, in Ramadan, reminded us both of Marrakesh. Then dinner and back to Just Bar for drinks. The power was down and watching the power lines get fixed was a very popular entertainment. On the terrace of Hotel Pem now with more to say but having huge keyboard problems in the dark. Will update when I can ... read more

After breakfast it was raining. We were disinclined to stay in our hotel. If you ever go to Porlock, go to the Ship and not the Castle. The Ship is a fine Inn and it has Otter beer which is excellent, not to mention local. It also has a lack of Elvis impersonators and thumping cheesy disco till the early hours. Which is more than can be said for the Castle. Anyway, we took a stroll whilst deciding what to do and, very swiftly, I spotted an open top bus. We ran for it. It was going to.. Lynmouth. We got on and went upstairs where we became intimate with some wet trees. We went up onto Exmoor and when we seemed to have gone as up as possible we asked the bus to stop and ... read more