"Everybody is normal until you get to know them"
In 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 moreAs I mentioned, I got a bit philosophical while cycling across the Danube plain, and I decided it was time to focus on something other than war. 1. Mosaics I have always been fascinated by mosaics. I had “Mini Mosaic” as a child, fun to make the mosaics but a terrible challenge to prise the little tiles out of the…
Read moreThe mosaics in the Chora church were really fantastic and inspired me to Poesy: I am a Pasha With a hat I wear my turban Just like that Some people say That it’s too fat But I am THE Pasha And this is MY hat.
Read moreQ: So the Epic Journey to Istanbul has delivered! What changes did you make as you went along? Doris: I think we became a little more fixated on Istanbul as a destination as we went on, and that straightened the route out and meant less sightseeing. We didn’t go to some bits of Bulgaria and Romania that we originally had…
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 moreThe Epic Journey was originally conceived of in three parts, adding up to 16 weeks plus a bit in the UK to get home from the ferry:1. An outward leg to somewhere Epic2. A slower bit with some free time taking ferries across to Greece and Italy and having some chill-out time en route, eating leetle feeshes in harbour towns…
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