Greg and Deb's Travel Blog

Up at 4:30am for another very good reason, Hot Air Ballooning over Cappadocia.
While we were waiting near reception for our ride, “Call to Prayer” started at 5:17, I’d forgotten how loud it is at that time of the morning.
We were picked up at 5:20am and taken to a staging/coordination area, we arrived around 5:40am. There were so many mini buses and cars, all full. It’s 10C and we are sitting on a minibus like most others, waiting. We drove to another area parked and then we were transferred from 1 bus to another, and parked and waited. We could see balloons inflating to the side of us, 9 or more glowing from the flame. And more being readied to inflate right next to us. We eventually got off the bus and just stood around waiting and watching all the activity as 1 balloon after another took to the sky. Continue reading →

We checked out and left our hotel just after 8am, off for more adventures in Cappadocia.
We arrived at the airport after a 40 min drive, its big, but well sign posted if you know where to look.
First up all bags go through security check entering the terminal. That done we went to bag drop, we had checked in on line last night. We were going to go through to the gate but you had to give up all water, so we sat outside that security until about 10am, hydrating! Continue reading →

We had a nice lie in this morning, and a late breakfast. I went out visited an ATM and picked up our laundry before we went down for breakfast. After breakfast we caught up with Carly & Ella, and then Karlien. It was nice to share where we are and catch up on things going on in their lives.
We eventually left the building and went for a walk up around the plaza. We settled on Bilice Kebap for lunch. The young server, Sohin, who looked after us last time got us sorted for a light lunch. He is a real character. Last time we were there he realised we were Australian and kept saying something like “galah galah” to us. He eventually showed me a piece of paper with “G’day” written on it. I helped him with the correct pronunciation. So this time we were met with a very happy “G’day G’day”, he was so pleased with himself. We finished up with some chicken skewers in flatbread, with small plates of humus, spiced tomato puree and cucumber tomato & onion mezze. It was delicious, again, and just the right amount. As with all meals, it was finished off with a glass of tea each. Continue reading →

Hope you had a great birthday Von!

We had a quiet morning with not a lot to put in the blog, so I thought I’d tell you a bit about our hotel. At breakfast on our first morning here Deb had photos of many famous people on the wall behind her – Earnest Hemmingway, Ian Fleming, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Agatha Christie, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and many more.
It is the oldest European hotel in Turkiye, and it was built to host passengers of The Orient Express. Room 101 in the hotel is preserved as a museum, it was where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk regularly stayed, he was a founding father of modern Turkiye and many critical decisions were made in the hotel room. The room contains many artefacts connected to him and is open to the public.
We took a stroll out for an hour and a half. Dropped off our washing, hit an atm, visited the Catholic church we saw on our 2nd day here, played some Ingress and walked a few back streets.
The church was very quiet, unlike the first time we visited. There were maybe 8 people around. Deb got some nice photos and an arty video of candles burning. The church was very “clean” in the way it was decorated, subdued. It has some magnificent stained-glass windows. Deb managed to get a photo of the outside of the church with no people in it! Continue reading →

Istanbul formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is a city of 16 million people, today we started exploring some it. The city is spread across the Bosphorus River and the Golden Horn (an estuary), it spans two continents and lies at the cross roads of both the Silk Route and the Spice Route.
It’s this later feature that has formed the city into what it is today. In its history it has been ransacked, pillaged and ruled by some of the most powerful historical Empires. Continue reading →

Up at 2:30am, you wouldn’t do that by choice unless it was for a good reason! We did our final pack and were picked up by our driver at 3,15am, out at the airport and through immigration and security by 3:50am and in the Emirates lounge by 3:55. It’s pretty comfortable and we both got some breakfast.
Boarding was from 5am, a short stroll back upstairs from the lounge. We pushed out at 6am. Continue reading →

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there.
This morning we packed our bags ready for our international flights and checked out of our bnb.
Its Fathers Day. Deb gave me a card from Carly & family, and i got a thoughtful message from Ben & family. I had a lovely video call from Laura with A & O. Does your heart good. Continue reading →

A quiet slow start today. We woke to very grey skies and rain, and the forecast was for up to 35mmof rain and strong winds.
We headed into Perth city this morning to see the exhibition, The Art of Banksy “Without Limits”. We timed our departure so we travelled between storm events, it mostly worked! Continue reading →