Sid and Doris Bonkers and their Epic Journeys
"Everybody is normal until you get to know them"
In which Sid and Doris have a fab day with a generous baker, visit a Christening and see the railway that bankrupted Greece.Maybe we should have looked harder for the small delights in Corinth but Via Michelin probably has it right. There is a good view up the road to the mountains as we leave to find the coast road…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris benefit from Saturday traffic negotiating Piraeus and the commuter ferries. The Lesbos to Piraeus ferry was punctual both leaving and arriving. So at 8.30 we were chased off. We found the Poros ferry after a good tour of Piraeus port with advice from both innocent and guilty bystanders (you’ve arrived at gate 2 but it…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris ride over the hills to Mytilini, buy ferry tickets and check into a hotel for a few hours before the ferry leavesLeaving early meant getting in Quaker Granola for breakfast in our room as no cafe is open before 9.00am. According to the nutritional info on the packet we had 3.5 portions each, that’s cycling…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris enjoy the English expat life and meet a long distance cyclist at Barry Hoban’s bar Last night there was a terrific storm. The wind thrashed the branches of the trees, big raindrops hammered down. The thunder and lightning was very, very frightening (Galileo, Figaro, magnifico etc). Big noise. To add to the drama the village…
Read moreIn which, paradoxically, Sid and Doris see a Balkan house and idle by the seaIf you Google for Petra you will probably be shown the Treasury, in Jordan. It is not that one (nor the Blue Peter dog) but has kept us touristically interested this morning. This is so holiday – morning swim, seaside breakfast. The road by the sea…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris cross to Greece, finding the Hostaholic in Petra This was the day we moved from Turkey to Greece. The owner of the Eden Park Resort had shown us the ferry route from Kucukkuyu to Midilli Molivos Lesbos. How many names is it useful to have? The Turkish port is just down the coast from the…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris cross the Dardanelles, see Troy, sneak a lift a miles south and find a ‘new’ ferry to Lesbos The Turks would seem to be punctual people. All of TJ’s arrangements for our drivers and guides have gone well. This morning, in true Audley (our usual travel agents) style, we were escorted to the ferry to…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris evade Istanbul traffic with their very own trip to Gallipoli Having discovered how hard it is to cycle into Istanbul we have decided not to cycle out. But our cunning ruse of subscribing to an organised Tour of Gallipoli and Troy meant that at 7am we and the neddies were travelling in fine style in…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris go to the Topkapi Palace, after several trips to Istanbul this is apparently their first timeToday were we not sure if we would find some esoteric thing to see, bimble around our neighbourhood here or Do A Sight. On our way down the hill looking for cafes we found the Plaster Board Museum and certainly…
Read moreIn which Sid and Doris visit the Rahmi Koc collection of almost everything Rahmi Koc is the main shareholder of Koc Holdings which is the largest company in Turkey. They own Tofas (see Posts passim), they build Ford trucks, they build the Army’s tanks, they own the biggest electrical goods business. Rahmi is a collector with means, which means he…
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