We had absolutely no idea, at all, what Serbia would be like. It’s actually rather pretty. It has some beautiful and stunning scenery and completely by accident we came across a historic church when Cliff decided to leave the motorway for a few minutes because he was feeling weary. It had the most amazing painted…
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Bulgaria! We had very little idea what to expect in Bulgaria. We have very nice Bulgarian neighbours in Paphos but apart from that, nada! On arrival at the hotel a very nice man parked our car in the secure hotel garage and the very helpful and friendly reception staff showed us to our room then handed us…
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Crossed into Bulgaria without a hitch. The border was very quiet but also very organised, so a painless experience. The first European we spoke to, the border policeman, cracked a Brexit joke!
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Istanbul is a city squeezed onto small islands amidst bodies of water with names to conjure with; The Bosporus, The Golden Horn, The Marmara Sea. Part European and part Asian with a history that stretches back through the Millennia, we had a fabulous stay. Following Sat Nav carefully, we manoeuvred through the narrow streets of…
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Ankara is a pretty city and when we arrived at the hotel we were met by very helpful and friendly hotel staff (and taxi drivers!) After a previous night of poor sleep on the ferry, the room was heaven. We quickly showered and refreshed ourselves before heading for the hotel bar and gardens for our…
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Lunch and refuelling stop on our way to Ankara. There was some lovely scenery on the way. We were traveling through the plains of Anatolia. Wide open expanses with fields of wheat and a lush green plantations that could be sweet corn but I couldn’t get close enough to confirm. We were mystified by the…
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Three hours to get out the port! Had to buy Turkish car insurance – even though we were already insured, they wouldn’t accept it. This entailed entering Turkey as foot passengers, buying insurance, reentering the customs building, lots of queuing, more cash to be paid, customs checks and three hours later we finally got on…
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Crossed the border into the Turkish Occupied Northern Cyprus and had time for a leisurely dinner before catching the overnight Ferry to Tasucu, Turkey. We learned that the process for boarding a Turkish car-ferry is both time-consuming and confusing with no real process and a lot of jostling. Several check points – police, customs etc.,…
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Count down to departure has begun. Getting very excited (and slightly scared) as we nearly finish all the packing. We have one booking for the summer so it has to be empty. It’s all in the lockable cupboards in the bedroom and, with the bikes gone, in the shed! All this lot will all eventually…
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Our car doesn’t have a spare. With our plans to drive over 4,000 kilometres each way on Eastern European roads plus a few when we are in France, I didn’t fancy relying on pumping glue into a flat tyre to get us home. So I asked Costas to see if he could source a new wheel and change…
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