Comfort Residence Izmir

... time in towns, I guess. Normally we just cycling through there's no time to look or wrap a parcel to send home.

But the regular cay was not the only type I was able to sample. Upon learning that I was feeling ill, the man at the hotel showed great concern and insisted on making me a special tea. Brian watched as he rummaged around with dried herbs (mostly sage) and created a special concoction for me. Nice enough to drink, but ...

... lying on the mahoosive bed (and obviously writing this) and thinking about finally going to sleep. So now is the time for me to leave you and get the much required shut eye before we begin the travel saga again tomorrow - let's just hope it's a much simpler and shorter trip back to sunny Shoreham.

Until the next time...
Big love
Sam & Lisa xx

(ps please forgive all the typos and spelling mistakes, my brain is way too tired to worry about anything like that, teacher or not.)

... making kick off.) The taxi driver pulled up outside a football ground. The wrong football ground. The driver had taken us to the old stadium, and we wanted the new stadium. Fortunately the taxi driver didn't just abandon us, he apologised alot, got directions to the proper place and took us right up to the gate of the proper stadium.
And we were there - at the stadium! The security team had a laugh with us, they didn't speak English but enjoyed inspecting our ...

I felt asleep before 630 last evening, and got up at 5 this morning. What a sound sleep! And an amazing new noon arose outside my window. The prayer sound made the context really turkish.

Our lunch was at a resort with a lake. There were no other customers but us, the participants at the conference. It cost 20 lira, so maybe too expensive for local people.

Dinner was lighter, but i still couldn't finish it.

Last night Michael from the hostel in Istanbul turned up. Although this is a co-incidence its not a huge one as we're using the same guide book. It was nice to have someone about so we went over to Cannake in the evening for a drink / meal by ferry. Which was pleasant and the journey back in the dark was nice too. I went up to the bar to see the oasis overlanders who arrived that evening but only three of them were up as it was about ...

... history, Christian history, here. I had no idea. The house of Virgin Mary was first. As the story goes, Jesus, from the cross, asked John to take care of Mary. He said to Mary that John was now his son and that Mary was now John's mother. In fulfilling that promise, John brought Mary to Ephesus (another place we saw this day) but it was a pagan community and John feared for Mary. He ...

... fell as I treated myself to three huge plates of chicken, salad and chips all for just 4 quid. I'd had the foresight to ask a passing jandarme if I could camp on the football pitch near the small army barracks. I didn't want to be woken up at gunpoint friendly or otherwise. Once again I camped under a strarry sky as the lapping shoreline lulled my to sleep. Later I considered that song being played at just that time on what I thought was an all Turkish music radio station. It's ...

... honkıng at people and around corners as it went. Eventually we stopped ın thıs side street and I looked out and thought we must be here but what I saw was not a bus statıon but a barber shop! The drıver and a guy ınsıde had a talk through the glass and the guy came out. He sat on the bus whıch had to move a bıt as ıt was blockıng traffıc and then he got out as the bus was movıng and on we ...

... What a view from our room on the 18th floor! We have a view of the entire Izmir harbor, of ships going to and fro. But looking down, off to the side is a rather odd looking red-tiled roofed building that seems to be on the verge of falling apart. Tim later told me it was the style of roof where the rain gutters are under the roof. The same style is sometimes used today when no visible rain gutters are wanted, but the style is prone to problems.

Our cruise stopped off in Turkey for a day. We toured a bazar/casbah and drank some tea.
I remember on our land approach, being surprised at how deep green colour the hills were, popluated with so many trees. The city buildings were a beautiful cream white colour - sublime beauty.