The monasteries at Meteora in central Greece are a UNESCO World Heritage Site that really has to be seen to be believed. Perched high atop giant sandstone pillars, or clinging impossibly to the side of a cliff, these monuments are incredible. The monks and nuns who have studied there over centuries really were trying to get closer to God. We […]
Category: Retirement
Olympus, Home of the Gods
After our spot of rest and relaxation in Thessaloniki, it was back on the road to continue our journey through Greece. Our destination was Mount Olympus National Park, home of the ancient Greek gods and some of the best hiking trails in the country. There was too much snow about to really cover the best trails in the park, but […]
A Ten-Day Break in Thessaloniki
This post marks the end of our three months in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Eastern Europe, and back to commence our second 90-day block inside the Schengen Zone. There was a slight hiccup at the Greek border, when we thought for a moment that we were going to be denied entry, but it was resolved, and we made it to […]
A Quick Trip Through Northern Bulgaria
Our 90 days outside the Schengen Zone was drawing to an end, meaning we could enter Greece for the next part of our adventure. But we still had three days to fill in. Getting from the Romanian capital down to Greece’s second-biggest city, through Bulgaria, seemed to be easy enough. But there were some hurdles we hadn’t anticipated. We finished […]
Bucharest, Relics of Communist Extravagance
Bucharest is the capital of Romania. It is sometimes called The Paris of The East because of its grand buildings, arts and long, wide boulevards. Layered over its grandeur from the “belle-epoch”, the decades-long Communist period under hard line ruler Nicolae Ceaușescu saw the addition of architecture from the Socialist Realist style. Ceaușescu had grand plans to turn Bucharest into […]
The Painted Monasteries of Bucovina
Tourists come to the North-Eastern corner of Romania for one reason, to see the sublime UNESCO-listed Painted Monasteries of the Bucovina Region. Although it’s a long way from the attraction in Transylvania, and less than 50 kilometres from the border with Ukraine, the effort to get here and back is repaid tenfold when these gorgeous structures are seen. Enjoy seeing […]
Cluj-napoca, Transylvanian Steampunk
Our travels through Romania continued northward to the de facto capital of Transylvania, Cluj-napoca. It felt a bit strange to be back in a big city after the relaxed environs of Brasov and the medieval towns of Sibiu and Sighisoara, dealing with busy streets and having to dodge pedestrians again. We did, however, adopt a rather relaxed pace for this […]
A few Days in Dracula Country – Brasov, Transylvania
Following our fantastic New Year treat at The King’s lodge, we travelled back to the heart of Dracula Country, Brasov in Transylvania. Brasov is a smallish city with a compact old centre and plenty of opportunities for side trips. We were lucky to be there when the Christmas markets were still going, brightening up the city with their lights and […]
The King’s Lodge, A Royal Start to the Year
We will be celebrating just one New Year while we were away, and we were determined to make it a memorable one. And what better way than to treat ourselves to a bit of Royalty? The King of England, Charles III, owns a property in Transylvania, and when he isn’t staying there himself, it can be booked by commoners for […]
Veliko Tarnovo, a Lovely Stopover in Northern Bulgaria
We were on a mission to get into central Romania for a special booking we had made for New Year, but wanted to break the journey a bit. We had read that the small city of Veliko Tarnovo was a pretty place, and worth including in any Bulgarian tourist’s itinerary. And so it proved to be! Although we only had […]
The Adriatic Coast: Izmir and Ancient Ephesus
Our journey takes us back to the coast, further north, against the backdrop of the Adriatic. Izmir is one of the biggest urban centres in Turkey, and very much centred on local residents. While there are things for visitors to see and do, they are in the background of daily life. Thoroughly modern and very vibrant, this is a place […]
Another Geological Wonder in Turkey
After our restful stops in Antalya and Bodrum, we headed inland again to see another of the great attractions of Turkey, the white terraces of Pamukkale. Photos of the beautiful aqua pools against a pure white background feature prominently in all the tourist advertising for visitors to this country. When we saw them for ourselves, we weren’t disappointed. They really […]
Relaxation and Resorts on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast
Travelling south after our awesome visit to Cappadocia, it was time for some R&R at a couple of coastal resorts in Turkey. The first, Antalya, is a large city on the Mediterranean coast, the second, Bodrum, is a smaller resort city located where the Mediterranean meets the Aegean. After more than five months of moving about and doing lots of […]
The Surreal Landscape of Cappadocia
One of the must-see destinations in Turkey is the other-worldly landscape of Cappadocia. This volcanic region has been weathered over millennia to form an amazing array of formations, deep valleys that contain tall stone chimneys that look like elongated toadstools. For centuries, the soft stone formations have been hollowed out to form cave dwellings, some of which are still occupied […]
Four Days in Fabulous Istanbul
The next stop on our marvellous adventure is Istanbul, the age-old city where East meets West. The only city on earth that sits across two continents. Split by the Straights of Marmara, the eastern shore is in Asia, and the western parts of the city are in Europe. For more than two thousand years, the trade routes between Asia and […]
A Ten-Day Adventure in Jordan
Our adventure continues off the beaten track, and mostly off the grid, in Jordan. We spent two days in the interesting capital of Jordan, Amman, before joining a group tour. The tour started with a five-day trek of over 80 kilometres from Dana in southwest Jordan to the World Heritage site of Petra. After the walk, we spent a day […]
A Week on the Nile
Jan has dreamed of cruising up the Nile since she was in her twenties. It was always going to be in our plans, and we were delighted when our vacation club, Karma, announced that it had acquired a boat and would be offering cruises from mid-October this year. We expected a leisurely week, relaxing on deck while the river passed […]
Four days in Cairo
The next phase of our journey has begun. We’ve temporarily left Europe behind and have begun our travels through Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and Eastern Europe. This will take around 90 days, by which time we will be able to re-enter the Schengen zone for another stint in Europe. Our first port of call is Egypt. What an amazing […]
North-Eastern France
Our first 90-day period within Europe draws to an end. Visa requirements mean that we can only stay 90 days in every 180-day period, and our adventure will have consumed all of them by the time we get back to Paris. The last post was from Baumholder in Western Germany, and from there we had about a week to travel […]
Strasbourg, Colmar and the Moselle Valley
Another double-story post this time and across three countries! This part of our adventure saw us crisscrossing borders over a fortnight. After leaving southern Germany, we drove back into France for a few days in Strasbourg, a city on everyone’s must see list when in Eastern France. Colmar, a delightful town, is an easy day trip from there. We then […]