Olivelo, a great idea in theory
13.5.25 After a lovely peaceful sleep in Çinar we set off to Olivelo nature park about 30 minutes away. Reviews said it was looking run down and forgotten but we loved the rustic charm and the otherwise empty car park where Maisy enjoyed running free and having a good sniff. There were schoolchildren in the […]
We’re off, a new road trip
Destination Çesme, Izmir, Türkiye
Time to explore
12.5.25 My transfer from Turkcell to TTnet mobile is complete!. Super efficient. Very impressed at the speedy and smooth transition. Time to leave Çeşme. It’s been great.Alacatı was just 12 minutes drive away. We thought the parking would be awful, but found a large gap very close to the main area.We spent about 2 hours […]
Race day
11.5.25 Half marathon Çesme I slept well, John didn’t, he always struggles the night before a run. We were up at 7am, dressed and in the Belediye square by 7.40am. Banging tunes played and people stretching various muscles were raring to go. It was a great atmosphere. There were several street dogs around, they all […]
A day in Çesme
10.5.25 An interesting nights sleep by the little harbour, after finally catching the mozzie that was otherwise going to eat us alive. At 4am there was a huge clap of thunder, a bit of rain, and noises that sounded like they were definitely unloading fishing nets and banging buckets right next to the van. Remember […]
Buda, Pest & Bratislava
29.9.24 6.45am alarm and off to brekkie, I don’t do well with only 6 hours of sleep. Thankfully the espressos are very strong. First stop metro 2 to the war memorial. I really need to do some background reading regarding the war. Instead I know everything about Hungarian cakes. Our lovely receptionist at the Star […]
Must-See Highlights in Budapest: 18km of Exploration
28.9.24 Another comfy night for me. Not sure why but Carol was woken by flashing lights in the room in the night, which must have been scary. Breakfast was good, not in the same league as our last 2 hotels, but definitely plenty of choice. After breakfast I went off to the loo and wondered […]
Our next jollies
27.9.24 I was actually awake before Carol this morning. Breakfast was crazy busy, with long queues to make waffles and to get coffee. The eggs, beans and hash browns were cold. Ibis breakfast was definitely better than Hiltons We decided we would see the Stadt park, the Danube, Leopold roof terrace and Schonbbrunn Palace before […]
Oh Vienna
26.9.24 A 7am alarm, packed, off for our last amazing Ibis breakfast, then a Bolt that was also an Uber and off we went to the main bus station. At least we knew we had a booking and won’t feel daft and lost. Our Flixbus was bang on time. No check on the Bratislava/Austria border […]
More Bratislava explorations
25.9.24 I was determined to only eat protein at breakfast. Started well, but it didn’t continue. We set off for 3 places we missed yesterday, via the war memorial. It ended up being via a cemetery as well. It’s always interesting to see how different countries lay their loved ones to rest. It was up, […]