Day 43 Work and play in Elena

In which Sid and Doris sit out a rainy day, route planning through to Istanbul.The Hotel Panorama here above Elena has a huge view, from the 100m of height we gained yesterday afternoon, when already tired but with our wet clothing steaming its way dry, up a winding steep lane. This picture shows you our view, though right now it is invisible in the rain. The road you see going up that hill in the middle is the one we will take tomorrow, when it may not be raining. We have vowed not to put so much effort into off-route height until we are doing holiday distances.

We did not go out looking for places to eat last night, believing there to be none, and submitted to the hotel dining room. The whole place is set up for life outside (or in the basement spa) so has no bar or indoor communal space except its neon-tube-lit dining/ breakfast room. We managed to turn that into our bar and blog zone pretty well. We ate and went up to bed at 8.30. Sid was asleep by 9pm.

At breakfast we encountered a good attempt at ‘no smiling day’. We were impressed by how well a three year old girl had got the hang of it, as she maintained an eyes-down leg-swinging, chair-kicking pout for over half an hour. Dedication to the art, learn from this Violet Elizabeth Bott.

We have not gone down into town today because we would have to come back up. This is a rest day. Instead we investigated a converted monastery about 40 yards away. A very useful part of the conversion is its little restaurant with balconies, views, an English menu and good food for lunch. We promised you no more pictures of food and so here indeed is a picture of no food – this is where walnut cake and black currant cheesecake used to be (and in the background is a picture of where they are now). We’ll be back for dinner.

The largest part of the day has been taken up with more route planning. The new, new plot will take us via Edirne (our first stop in Turkey) to the Sea of Marmara (West of Istanbul) to Sariyer on the Bosphorus (North of Istanbul) before taking a ferry into the city centre. According to Doris this is taken as more correct for Epic Travellers than getting on the train from somewhere near enough. There are still hills so we have plotted generally shorter days. We book the best hotel in each town but this does not always leave Sid and Doris fizzing with anticipation.

The Hotel Panorama is a Spa Complex. We have not summoned up the will to investigate the sauna. Dealing with The Guardians of the Box just renders the likely effort to reward ratio unappealing. Apathy, lethargy or a reasonable calculation? I think probably not depression.

So on our rest day we have rested our legs but not our heads. We have put in the work (especially Doris) which means that the next few evenings should not have to be spent with mapping or hotel booking sites. Instead we will stay in town centre hotels and get out to see the sights, especially in Edirne.

Remember that Pleven and Kovin both looked less appetising than Ventnor but turned out to be quite engaging. See, hope springs eternal; like our knees, please. Just six more days.  And as always, Epic-ness is in the mind of the beholder.

PS  Hi Joe, here is another suggestion for Tasteful, Creative and Useful Things to do with used car tyres.