The Turks and their coffee ☕️ 🤪

Black, strong and thick enough to stand the whole cutlery set up in.

Not at all a match for a single shot soy drinking yuppie like moi.

Fortunately MoD, who can smell a chocolate shop at 200 metres, spotted Max Brenners.

A little bit of Melbourne – even though it’s an Israeli brand we Aussies have claimed it. Well Australia is where most of the MB shops are located. To be fair. 

Anyho, there it was, in the Istanbul airport. 

Which is where I sit, savouring that $9NZD, purported to be large, soy latte. 

It’s been a big year. Not necessarily the way we planned but I’m definitely not complaining.

Rather the opposite. Feeling immensely grateful and filled with joy that our friends and family have organised so many wonderful trips for 2024 all of which have included us. 

Ok, so I may have invited us along to some……. 

The Princess was not amused.

Coincidentally when the two big cases came out, the sad puppy eyes appeared. 

Our house sitters have since been trying to coax her out of our bedroom. 

Still not amused.

It’s ok MoD, she will come good. 

About dinner time. 

Back to my story. 

We have been in the air for just over 29 hours plus stopovers of about 9 hours. 

A further 3 air hours to our final destination.

41 hours in total. 

We left the house at 6am Thursday – in Istanbul it’s now 6am Friday. 

This old girl is very confused. 

Our final destination?

Ljubljana.

Where we meet Doug and Annabel to head off on a 7 day Intrepid cycle tour of Slovenia. 

There are no e-bikes.

A sad state of affairs even though I could never be trusted on a bike that actually moves fast.

We all know I definitely do not do hills – well rather I do do hills – provided my fellow travellers don’t mind a lot of whining, huffing and swearing. And singing to try and keep my mind of my pain.  Which everyone knows is so much worse than anyone else’s pain. Everyone knows that. 

I apologise in advance guys.

Should be fun.

Importantly it might shed that mid belly jelly roll which appeared from nowhere. I kid you not. And which does not look pretty in orange – even though everything looks pretty in orange – on the new Cue masterpiece of a frock I bought for our youngest son’s wedding. 

In 23 days. 

In Mexico.

That’s actually our final destination this time around.

But in between is a tour of Croatia and a family Disneyworld holiday in Florida. To celebrate our eldest son and daughter-in-laws 10th wedding anniversary. 

I kid you not 🥰

The stuff of my dreams.

Stay tuned.