Croatia - August 24th - September 3rd

CROATIA - Croatia is a Central European and Mediterranean country, bordering Slovenia in the west, Hungary in the north, Serbia in the east and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the south. Croatia also has a long maritime border with Italy in the Adriatic Sea.







Dubrovnik - August 24th - 27th
Stayed in Dubrovnik for 3 nights before the sailing cruise started. It is such an amazing, unique town on the Adriatic and was very clean with shiny stoned streets. It was hard to believe the old city was bombed severly in 1991 and has recovered so quickly after such a devastation. We stayed above the old town and it was a decent walk up many steps back to our pension. 'Milo' was the owner of the Pension and he was so hospitable and nice looking for an older man too!!! By day we would lounge by the beach, sunbaking and swimming - with 30+ on of course!!! We went to lovely restaurants by night and explored the history and culture of the town. We explored the city walls (a whole 1940 metres of them), taking in awesome sights of the city and sea!!!! Dubrovnik is a must see - but is becoming very touristy!




Sail Croatia - August 27th - September 3rd
For 7 days, 11 Friends and I (Amber, Damo, Ellie, Tan, Luke, Rach, Erica, Meagan M, Megan, Mark and Vaughan Parkes - who I had to mention in full as he so desparately wants to google his name) cruised on the clear Adriatic seas around the Southern Dalmatia Islands with a vintage sailing ship - the sails went up once when the winds were good.

It was so relaxing and lovely (there you go Ellie!!!)! We were cooked whole fresh fish most lunches by Tony the chef, dived off the boat into the clear waters of the Adriatic, sunbathed on deck chairs as we achored or sailed to the next destination, explored the islands, ate fresh seafood of an evening, had a few cocktails and then slept on board the boat.

We sailed from Dubrovnik to some lovely, quiet islands to relax, swim and enjoy amazing dinners - The Chef's recommendations of eateries was spot on!



Some of the island stopovers
- Hvar, which is the longest island in the Adriatic. Great night life seen full of various cultures!
- Korcula, the birth place of Marco Polo.
- Mljet where we hired bicycles and viewed the gorgeous scenary and swam in the salt lakes of the National Park.
- Sipan, a lovely little island that was furtherest away from Dubrovnik on our tour.

I have painted a great picture and for the most part of the trip it was exactly like this, however here are some of the lows:
- Sea sicknesses on the first day, due to a thunder storm - which made me hurl over the edge of the boat and almost made me think what have I paid for? - but I quickly found my sea legs!
- Having to get up at 8am to have breakfast
- Watching the chef on the last day lick his fingers after serving every individual dessert!
Health and safety rgulations in the kitchen obviously still haven't reached Croatia!!! But the food was good!

We met some lovely couples on the sail boat and it was great to hang out with such a good mix of people.

Turkey - August 5th - 14th

Turkey - With Fez Tours 'On the Go'

Turkey was a great place to travel and the hotels where we stayed were excellent, many with pools and hot mud spas!!! Found out there were bombings a week after we left - so pretty lucky!!!! Don't let the bad press deter you... It is truly a remarkable place. With so much history, amazing scenary, roman ruins, and the people are so friendly.

Our tour was with Fez Tours 'On the Go' and it was definately on the go. Not much free time and many long bus trips but we saw amazing things. Went on the tour with Amber, Damo, Ellie (room mate), Rachel & Sharon.

Istanbul
The tour began in Istanbul, spent the night in a hotel located in the heart of the old city, Sultanahmet. Toured the exotic city that spans both Europe and Asia (2 continents) visiting the Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofya, Topkapi Palace, the Cistern and the Hippodrome. During the tour of the Blue Mosque, we found out interesting facts about the Muslim religion. Had to cover up in the mosque and we were all sweating profusely as it was extremely hot and the tour guy went on and on. Everyone also have to take there shoes off - get the drift!!!!!! Good sight but unpleasant conditions......

Met the local party organiser of istanbul!!!! Had a few drinks at one of his family restaurants and learnt all about the Turkish culture - marriage, virgins, men & sex, women, etc....!!!! Some things unpleasant on the ears but true none the less. Will fill you in over a beer some time, but some of the stories are not for the blog!!!



Gallipoli
An absolute highlight and something that will stay with me forever was the Gallipoli battlefields. This was one of the most emotionally touching places in Turkey, and now ANZAC day will mean so much more to me.






We visited the WWI Battlefields of Gallipoli with the Lone Pine, ANZAC Cove, and the Kaba Tepe Gallipoli Museum a highlight.






Troy, Acropolis of Pergamum
Stepped back in time for the most part of the trip. We visited Troy, home of the famed Trojan Horse. Then we toured the magnificent acropolis of Pergamum. Its impressive temples, library and medical facilities made Pergamum a renowned cultural and political centre in its time. After this we watched a leather fashion show, which starred Damo in a wig, and Ellie in a hot leather jacket. We then had to see the leather goods display that followed (not very exciting and over priced)!!

Ephesus
Arrived in Kusadasi to discover more history with a guided tour of Ephesus. The atmosphere of the city was great. We could visualise the historical events and viewed the stadium where chariot and horse races were once held.




Turkish Carpets
Carpet weaving has long traditions in Turkey. At the carpet village we learnt how the carpets are made by hand and what determines their value.
This was facinating to see!!! We viewed the makings of the carpets, starting with the Silk worm (for silk rugs of course)!!! The women work hard and their skill is apparently genetically determined!!! 1 large rug can take up to a year to finish. We also now know how to tell a handmade rug from machine made!!!

Stayed overnight in Pamukkale, which has magnificent white calcium formations. I was about to venture to the Cappadocia region when that night I heard the most tragic news of my life. My sister's husband and my dear friend Ricky Thompson was killed tragically in a car accident. I stayed one more night in Pamukkale at 'Mustafa's Pension' - Mustafa and his family looked after me so well and he drove me to the airport, where I flew to Istanbul and then back to Melbourne to spend time with my family, and support my sister and my neice and nephew!!! They have all been so brave and strong!! Rest in Peace Rick - You will never be forgotten!

A Memorial website for Ricky Thompson was created by Melanie Thompson.
You can visit the site by going to http://Ricky-Thompson.virtual-memorials.com
At this site, you can read about Ricky Thompson, post a greeting, share in the guestbook, view a photo album and more.

Picture of the cave houses found in the Cappadocia region