Turkey, continued: May 2014

Our next stop in Turkey was Selçuk, from where we would visit the Greek ruins on Ephesus, or Efes in Turkish.

After the hustle and bustle of Istanbul, Selçuk seemed decidedly tranquil. It's nestled in a valley, with blue hills rising up all around. Strolling along the streets, there were oranges hanging from the trees, and the smell of jasmine on the breeze. An impressive fortress looks down upon the town, and we enjoyed views of this and all around the valley from the rooftop restaurant at our hotel.

Efes is just a short drive from Selçuk, so we went on the afternoon we arrived. I don't think either of were expecting something so vast. With a main path running alongside the ruins of former buildings, you can imagine how the city must have once looked. and many parts of the ruins themselves are quite intact, such as the library and a huge amphitheatre. It's nice that you also have the possibility of walking right up to everything.

It was in Efes that we started to notice the abundance of cats in Turkey. They were lounging about all throughout Efes, and all seemed to be in relatively good condition.

We soon hit the road again, and en route we managed to stop off in Pamukkale, the town famed for its travertines - naturally formed terraces formed by minerals in the flowing water, and its hot springs. Provided you take your shoes off, you can walk right on a path to the terraces, wading through the milky blue coloured pools of water, and enjoying the stunning view from the top. I couldn't help thinking that the pink and white terraces in New Zealand must have once looked something like this.

Later that day we arrived into Fethiye, on the Aegean coast. From Fethiye itself, one of the main attractions is Öludeniz: picture postcard Turkey, with deep blue sea and long strip of beach stretching to a headland. As it turns out, this area is quite the destination for British holidaymakers and retirees. It was very strange wandering down the street and seeing sandwich boards advertising things like 'British bacon' 'PG Tips.' The area is also well known for paragliding, and from down on the beach you can see the brightly coloured gliders circling and landing one after the other. So we thought we'd give it a try ourselves.

We were picked up early the next morning for our adventure. I started to get quite nervous when our rickety van kept climbing and climbing at quite a speed up a narrow and not too stable road, but by this stage, no possibility of backing out! As newbies, we were paired up with instructors and were suddenly standing on an extraordinarily steep hillside, and being told to run towards the edge. The wind picked us up and away we were. After the initial adrenaline of running off the side of the cliff, the ride down itself was actually quite peaceful, although I still clung nervously to the handles/straps all the way down - which is actually quite a long time. We were also lucky enough to have some a beautiful sunny day, so the views really were breathtaking.

Our next stop was Kaş, a small coastal town further south. The afternoon we arrived the weather was stunning and we enjoyed a beer in the sun, looking forward to the next few days of scuba diving. Unfortunately a big storm blew in that night and the weather for the rest of our stay was pretty off and on. The diving was also quite disappointing, as there just didn't seem to be many fish, or much of anything to see there, despite us having read it was a good spot for diving. The bad weather didn't help our enjoyment of it either. So after our first day, we ended up cancelling our second day. 

Kaş is a really cute wee town, hills curving around a harbour and rocky outcrops to swim from, and winding stone streets, where you're actually not pestered in the slightest by shop owners trying to sell their wares. In bad weather however, we quickly exhausted most things to see. I would recommend going back, but not in May, when the weather is quite unpredictable - the locals recommended September is a good time to visit.

We tried another couple of delicious dishes in Kaş. One was manti - a pasta, similar in size and shape to ravioli, however it wasn't filled, and it came served with a garlicky yoghurt sauce with a bit of rich tomato sauce on top. Delicious, but gave you terrible breath! The other was lahmucan: similar to a pizza, but with mince on top. It doesn't sound appetising, but it was perfectly seasoned and super tasty.

Manti

From Kaş, we just had one last stop before flying back to London - this time in Antalya. Antalya is a bit of a resort town, with casinos aplenty. We even saw tourist cruises around the harbour, in ships fully decked out in pirate regalia. It's quite a big city and did quite a few interesting things to see, but didn't particularly appeal as a holiday destination.

In Antalya we again noticed an abundance of cats roaming around, apparently strays, but in very good condition. We then came across a cat house in a park. It seems the stray cats are really taken care of here. 

Local cat house :) 

Our time in Turkey had come to an end. It was an enjoyable trip, although would have been more so with better weather. We also had some great food, although at the end, it felt like we had subsisted on meat and bread, and were glad to get back some normalcy at home.

Hannah's visit to the land of the long white cloud: January - February 2014

At the end of January I began the mammoth journey back to NZ for a visit. My flight from Heathrow was delayed which meant a rush to transfer in Singapore. Although I made it, sadly my bag did not until later the following day. I now appreciate the wisdom in packing a change of clothes in your carry-on. 

Auckland welcomed me home with stunning weather

It had been two years since we left the country so it was nice to be seeing friends and family again. I spent time in Wellington, Palmerston North, New Plymouth and a brief stop in Auckland. I really enjoyed catching up with friends and family, and making the most of all the things I miss about NZ while living in London.

You can't beat Wellington on a good day - looking out over Oriental Parade

View from my sister's house, Titahi Bay

Titahi Bay

Titahi Bay

Fantastic strong flat white and date scone

mmm delicious sushi from Sushi Bi (Wellington), and feijoa juice

View from my old uni (and work) back to the city

Oriental Bay, the beach in the city (Wellington)

Oriental Bay

Wellington harbour

Wellington harbour

Market on Wellington waterfront

On the track up to Mt Kaukau, looking back towards Wellington

I'm sure anyone who has spent a long time living away from their 'home' country and returns for a visit can relate to the slightly surreal feeling I experienced. Although Wellington still sort of felt like 'home,' I have a different life in such a different place now. Some things are the same but many have changed. So it was with mixed feelings that I jumped back on the first of my three flights and 26+ hour journey back to my second 'home.'

Only in New Zealand...the departure board telling me to relax

August 2013: camping in Kent: marshmallows, cornfields, and near-death experiences – part 2

The next day we fuelled up on coffee and baked beans, in preparation for our renewed mission to find a shop. While washing the dishes, the sunshine was suddenly disappeared, and out came an intense downpour of huge hailstones. Poor Paul was caught in this and had to hurriedly rush for shelter, much to our amusement. The weather continued in this unpredictable manner for the rest of the day.

Armed with sunblock and raincoats, off we headed optimistically in search of the next village along. Data on our phones was pretty much non-existent, and the only map we had to work from was severely lacking in detail, so we relied on this and rough directions given to us at the pub. Keen to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s hair-raising walks along busy roads, we were pleased to find several ‘public walkways’ signposted.

These public walkways however were often not particularly helpful however, with no idea of where the walkway led, we often discovered ourselves in the opposite direction to what we intended. We also ended up crunching our way through a farmer’s cornfields, gaining a few cuts and scratches in the process.

What we were promised was a mere half an hour’s stroll from the first village soon turned into a few hours. We were getting increasingly hungry and fed up with our ridiculous situation. Finally we found our way to civilisation and were keen to have a hearty lunch, which ended up being in yet another pub.

We asked the waiter about the village shop, explaining that we needed some groceries. Perhaps by the word ‘groceries’ meant something grander to him as he said that there was only a very small shop and he didn’t think it would have what we needed. He explained that there was a bus which left from just down the road every hour or so and could take us into the metropolis of Tunbridge Wells where we could get everything we needed.

Suitably sated, we rolled our eyes and headed off to wait for the bus. Finally off we rolled. Two minutes later we saw the infamous shop, which looked like it would have had everything we needed to feed ourselves for the next few meals.

Nevertheless, we found ourselves in Tunbridge Wells and walked around a cute little centre before finding the huge Morrisons. We started stocking up, and then realised that we still had to figure out how to make our way back to camp. By this time we had had plenty enough of trekking our way through paddocks, cornfields, over stiles, and turning ourselves around in circles, and so we decided we would taxi back to the campsite. Fearing an outrageous sum, we enquired with a driver as to the estimated fare, and he guessed a mere £10. Not having to worry about lugging our supplies back over countless miles, we added some cold beers into the trolley.

Our chatty taxi driver was amused by our story, and keen to check out what the camping area was like, drove us all the way to our tent. 

The journey was only twenty minutes.

August 2013: Camping in Kent: marshmallows, cornfields, and near-death experiences – part 1

In August four of us ventured out into the lush countryside of Kent for a spot of relaxing camping, but what in actual fact ended up being a comedy of errors. We took a train south to Ashurst, laden with newly purchased tents of varying quality, one pot, a bag of marshmallows, instant coffee and some tins of baked beans.

After finding our bearings, off we plodded in the direction of the campsite, only to realise that the country roads were bordered right to the very edge with thick hedgerows. Meanwhile the roads themselves were full of rather large cars and trucks hurtling past at breakneck speed, and honking their horns at us fools who clearly shouldn’t have been there. A sweaty and stressful trek later, we arrived at the campsite.

To say we were underprepared would be an understatement. We claimed our patch of grass and pitched our tents. It soon transpired that the advertised on-site farm shop which we had been counting on for dinner that night and beyond was only open on Saturdays. It was a Thursday.

We were assured there was a shop in the next village, a short walk away. Using the unreliable maps on our phones, we eventually navigated our way to said village, by way of some slightly quieter roads. Once we arrived however, we were informed the shop was closed.

We were left with no other option than dinner in the pub – about as far from camping as you could get. Asking about the shop for tomorrow’s expedition, we were told that we would need to go to the next village again. We sighed and headed back to camp to comfort ourselves with toasted marshmallows.

A lack of foam mats, mattresses, or any form of cushioning and being unaccustomed to sleeping on the ground meant a long and relatively sleepless night for us city slickers.

A Sicilian adventure, July 2013: food, sunshine and friends, part 2

After a few days in Palermo, we jumped on a bus and then a ferry to Favignana island where we 'glamped' for a few days. This is really camping as it should be.

Waking up in the morning, we strolled to the campsite's restaurant where we enjoyed delicious pastries and cappuccinos, including Genovese - a delicious pastry which looks like a ravioli, filled with a custard-like pastry cream, although a little rich for breakfast for me.

We would then hop on our bicycles and cycle to one of many different beaches, or to the town centre. It's a truly stunning place - the colour of the water is just incomparable. It's a popular holiday spot for Sicilians, and it didn't feel like there were that many international tourists, which is often a bonus.

We had a lot of really tasty food on Favignana. Delicious foccacia, gelato, pizza, and the ubiquitous Birra Moretti. We would buy one big bottle at a time, and share amongst plastic cups, ensuring the beer was always cold.

What little we saw of Sicily we loved. We would love to come back one day soon and visit other parts of this gorgeous island, hopefully again with the fantastic company of our ever-stylish, diminutive guide.

Sadly though our time in Sicily had to come to an end, and we had to bid it, and Ester alla prossimo.