Siena

A city of winding cobbled streets and beautiful food where we were stuck during a rail strike whilst trying to journey to Rome.

An estate in decline

Calke Abbey was one of the most amazing country homes I have ever visited. The slow decline of this grand family estate is played out in each room of this impressive crumbling residence. The collections that it contains are astounding and the disrepair of the buildings charming.

Staying with friends

 

On an adventure as long as ours it was so important for us to stop somewhere for a substantial amount of time to prevent travel weariness. It was such a joy to stay with friends for a week in Birmingham. 

We got to sleep in a normal house, eat home cooked meals and even watch some trashy tv! But most of all we were able to catch up with our friends and experience their life on the other side of the globe. Not only did we relax around the house but the four of us ventured out of Brummie country with a trip to gorgeous green Oxford and the art deco delights of Liverpool.

Wiltshire and Dorset

We did a quick run up through glorious countryside to Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge as even though Ad is English he had never visited this mysterious rock formation. This took us unexpectedly via a pub for the night where we played 'Rock n Roll' bingo!

Then it was on to Dorset where we had a grand time visiting Ad's Uncle and his family and experienced the most beautiful sunny weather.

 

Charleston House

Charleston House was a must visit on our adventure through Sussex. Visiting this amazing property set among green fields, miles from anywhere was magical. In 1916 Charleston House became the home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and was a meeting place for the Bloomsbury Group.  The house is full the Bloomsbury Group's visitors and residents artistic endeavours but unfortunately there is no photography allowed inside so here is a taste of the glorious garden...

Rye

The beautiful medieval town of Rye is perfectly English. We stayed on cobbled Mermaid Street, ate scones, had a beer at the pub and rummaged through the antique stores.

Brighton

Brighton is fabulous! Ad and I had perfect weather (for England) and loved the vibe of this town and the little maze of backstreets full of exciting places to discover.

Ad had a lesson in how to construct a deck chair from two very helpful older women and then we sat in our blue and white striped chairs on Brighton Pier eating Brighton Rock admiring the pebbly beach.

It is a perfect distance from London and I think it would become my favourite seaside getaway if I ever lived in England.

Turkey II

After the magic of Cappadocia we headed for Pammukale to the limestone springs where we posed for pictures (all covered up unlike the European tourists) and relaxed in the ancients baths of Hierapolis.

Then it was on to Ephesus to visit some more Roman ruins. The scale and beautiful craftsmanship of the structures was amazing. It is a very popular destination for cruise ships to dock and was bursting with sightseers by mid morning.

Gallipoli was a touching to place to visit because of its connection to Australia for terrible reasons and at the same time it was very beautiful.

Turkey was fabulous. The people friendly and the country diverse. I feel that there is so much more to see (and shop). Next time I would love to pop down to Kas, it was on our itinerary this time but we had under estimated the distances in Turkey - it is huge!

Turkey

Turkey was a whirlwind of bustling streets, whimsical landscape and historical sites. Our first two stops were Istanbul and Cappadocia.

Istanbul's yummy restaurants, grand bazaar and modern art galleries contrasted with the amazing history and beautiful details of the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

Cappadocia, home to the gorgeous fairy chimneys, amazing cave paintings and many pottery outlets was wonderful to wander through. The landscape was breathtaking.

Our overnight bus trips were bumpy and a little disconcerting but enabled us to travel easily around this vast country.

Helsinki

Helsinki was our recovery stop. After weeks of continuous travel it was lovely to find ourselves in the beautiful capital city of Finland. It was easy, clean and expensive. We were lucky enough to visit in 'Aparagus Month' (one of my favourite veggies) and had several amazing meals. Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art and the green open parks kept us entertained. It was the perfect place to recharge before we embarked on our journey through Turkey.

Russia

As you know I loved Siberia, it was the highlight of our adventure for me. The rest of Russia was also a very interesting.

My first time inside a Russian Orthodox Church was in Suzdal and it was breathtaking. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin was highly decorated with paintings and decked out in gold. The spires and domes gave the village a feel of a deserted fairy tale. We had dinner at a local lady, Eliena's house where she cooked blini (pancakes) and we drank vodka within a glitter wallpapered room while techno was playing.

Standing in Red Square, Moscow with the amazing St Basil's Cathedral behind us was surreal. It was cold which was just as it should be. We saw Lenin's body glowing like a glowworm, wandered through Guum (although it has not retained its Sovietness) and had a guided tour through the Kremlin where we were lucky enough to view the beautiful Faberge eggs.

St Petersburg was pretty (with an icy cold wind) and reminded me very much of the beautiful European cities. The Hermitage was amazing, the collection extensive and hard to fathom. I loved standing in the room of Matisse's paintings.

We watched Russian women running for their bus in stiletto heals on ice, were told to be quiet in Lenin's Mausoleum and were served hot chips for breakfast. Russia was intriguing and bizarre. Moscow is the city I would choose to return to as it had an amazing energy and I would love to explore more.

Mongolia

Mongolia was desolately beautiful.

The capital, Ulaanbaatar was freezing, contained one unfinished skyscraper (the funding ran out before it was completed) and several statues of Chinggis Khaan. We ate horse, slept in a ger, made buuz (traditional dumplings), shopped in The State Department Store, lingered in Gandantegchinlen Khiid monastery, listened to Mongolian throat singing, visited an orphanage and wandered around in -9° temperatures.

In 2010 there was a terrible drought in Mongolia so nomadic families who had lost all of their live stock (the skeletons lined the railway track) set up their gers on the outskirts of the city to try to find work. It was an interesting contrast with the concrete and brick houses next to the tradition round ger.

The highlight for me was visiting the Natural History Museum. Not only did it contain the dinosaurs found in the Gobi Desert but it also had the most interesting taxidermy with plastic goggle eyes stuck on some animals!

Next time I would like to find the worlds largest Chinggis Khaan statue. I don't know how we missed it the first time!