Last holiday picture post - Istanbul

So nothing has changed - still having a good day then a not so good day with my eating habits - but I'll get there.  I had a fabulous birthday on Tuesday - myriads of messages on Facebook, both sons calling me, family from UK and several very special SMSs.  I actually didn't feel that well all day - had intermittent stomach cramps but muddled along anyway.  We'd our friends come round in the evening and shared a few pizzas for tea and Deb brought a huge macadamia and chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake shop complete with candles which said '55'.  But through the night I was awake with worsening cramps and terrible nausea and so started 3 days off work - with a lot of this time getting up close and personal with the toilet bowl at  one angle or another?!!!!  But I'm better now.

So here's the last of the holiday photos - I've been back for four weeks now and I've almost settled back into the groove -..... almost!!

This was our final dinner for the six of us who formed some great friendships during the tour and cruise - this is us back in Athens at the end of the cruise

Some of our first sights in Istanbul- the fish market

Glimpses from the taxi

Interesting little streets

A bubble pipe

Lots of cakes and slices

A tall tower - trying out some alternative photography here (Caroline?)

Check out the bags of oranges on either side of the doorway

Shaz and I loved this shop till we discovered that if you liked something you had to buy five of it - a wholesalers!!

Chestnuts!!

How would you like to get your bread delivered like this?

Corn on the cob!

The men washing in preparation for prayer time

Views of Istanbul - this side of the river is in Europe - the other side is in Asia - the only city which belongs to two continents

Yes OK you can take a picture of me - I'm a shoe shiner

Cups of tea at very little low tables

Checking out a bubble pipe in detail

Some rose flavoured tobacco

Shaz smelling the pipe

Our friend Nadir drinking apple tea - a favourite beverage in Turkey

Dinner at the Water Pipe Cafe - just along the street from our hotel

This lady was making little pastries

A weaver at work

This oven on his left is for making flat bread

Here I am in the Basilica Cistern - a complete underground reservoir which was first built in 632AD - mind boggling!

The magnificent Blue Mosque

The chimney for the Turkish Baths

Another view of the Blue Mosque - it's definitely worth a picture or two!

Inside the Blue Mosque - impossible to do it justice

The Aya Sofia - we didn't have time to go in - but what a magnificent edifice

The Blue Mosque in the distance

The Aya Sofia

I could write a whole other post about Turkish men.  They are so full on and so romantic - but such fun - they make outrageous propositions to you but you can knock them back and have a laugh and still remain friends with them - but hey they never stop trying!!!  And age doesn't seem to matter to them - I had propositions from some young enough to be almost be my grandsons never mind my sons!!!  This delightful young man created this beautiful tulip from my serviette and then presented it to me. But prior to thus I took a photo of him and Shaz - telling him he looked like a film star - after he got really close to Shaz for the pic she told me "he had his tongue in my ear!!!"  I think the only  mistake you could make would be to believe them!

The streets are colourful

Inside the Grand Bazaar - an amazing place you can very easily get lost in - and we did!

Olives and nuts

And after the Grand Bazaar we found the Spice Bazaar

More views of the Spice Bazaar

We went out for dinner and this lady was in the restaurant - first cooking flat bread then making these tiny little ravioli with cheese.

And this is us on our last night of the Shazanne Adventure in our

lovely little hotel.
It was yet another holiday of a lifetime! 

Ok then - the wedding in Brisbane is this coming weekend - I'll enjoy that and then Monday 6 September - I'm on the case again - need to get re-aligned - only about 15 weeks till I'm off to Scotland.

Have a great week everyone
Love Zxx

Cruisin'

And so another week passes - and I'm still faffing about. It's my birthday on Tuesday so we've been having some early celebrations and I suppose I'm thinking I can't start being too good as I have to celebrate my birthday then the first weekend in September we're off to a wedding in Brisbane and spending a long weekend down there. So I think until then I'll try and invoke damage control - be good during the week and let up when it seems to be special occasion and my plan will be to focus on some serious stuff after the wedding - that would be 6th September.

So this week we have a selection of photos from the Greek Islands and Turkey taken during our cruise.

This was our cabin - the ship wasn't that new - but still clean and tidy and we thoroughly enjoyed it

Lifeboat muster - my face says it all!

First stop was at Mykonos and it was pretty windy as you can see

This is also on Mykonos looking back to the area known as Little Venice

St Nicholas' church at sunset

We were invited for cocktails as part of our tour - can't actually remember what I had - but it looks nice!

Then we had a Greek night on the ship - dress in blue and white.  I wore my hair up all through the cruise - couldn't plug in my irons or hot brush so it was easier just to pin it up.

We had a morning trip to Kusadasi in Turkey and an excursion to Ephesus - absolutely fascinating

Look a whole street giving you some idea of how it used to be

Wonderful carvings and architecture and remember no cement to hold it all together

The ancient toilets - I'm sitting on one - see they had thunderboxes back then too - Aussies know what I mean!

We had the most wonderful afternoon on Patmos - we just roamed around this beautiful little town - it was gorgeous

Patmos

We climbed up a hill and looked down on our ship

What a brilliant frame for a photo

Sharon found a tree with fresh figs on

Such a pretty street

Now we're on Crete - doing a winery tour at 8.30am!

Looking overland at the oldest vineyard on Crete

Such a pretty window

And a nice little shop

And a pretty little alley

Cretan dancers entertaining us - they were superb and so obviously enjoyed what they were doing

And now Santorini - it's just as pretty as the postcards

Beautiful pictures everywhere you look

Looking down to the ocean

Imagine living here!

The famous blue domed roofs

This is probably my favourite photo - I just love the feelings this scene evokes in me

The view from half way down on the cable car.

And suddently you're on this weekend.  It was the inaugural Botanic to Bridge fun run - so a group of us signed up to do 8km - we walked - but at a pretty good pace - finished it in under an hour and 15.  Not sure what my legs will be like tomorrow though!!

Me just before starting

Some of our group

Me when I had finished

Our group when we finished.  Bloss didn't end up doing it - reckoned he wasn't up for the 8km so was going to do the 3km but then he and Pat (a friend) said they couldn't get to the start line as so many streets were closed - so they just went to the finish line!!

So an exciting week ahead for me as it's my birthday.  We went out for tea last night with Grant, Tiff and the boys - see photos below.  Tuesday which is my actual birthday - the group of friends shown above are coming round - it's cheap Tuesday for pizza - so that's tea and we plan to do a bit of Singsta type stuff on the Wii - should be good fun.

Josh - he has the most beautiful blue eyes

Bloss and I

My boys! Oh Daddy look how big your ears are!

Me with my boys!

Curtis is trying to wind up his ears to look like Dad!

My first born and me!

And the whole wonderful family!

Have a great week everyone
Love Zxx