Great news from UK yesterday. Debi phoned to say that she had just brought baby Joe home from hospital. He is progressing well, almost regained his birth weight and he has passed all the pediatric tests. Needless to say, the boys are so excited to have their new brother home and Andrew is mightily relieved to have both him and Debi home.

Early yesterday morning, Jeff decided to clear a few more of the weeds and rubble from around the garden while the day was relatively cool. He decided that a bonfire would be a good way of disposing of them. It had not been lit many minutes before a neighbour, Graham, came up the road to tell him that you couldn't just light fires here because of the danger of it spreading to the surrounding dry vegetation and it was necessary to get permission from the Police first or pay a heavy fine! Ooops! He sympathised with Jeff though, he has lived here for some years and knew the difficulties of trying to establish a garden, so he offered to send his gardener up to us as he now only worked 3 days a week for him. Sure enough, later on, a little old man appeared. He spoke reasonable English and said yes he could see our problems and he would come back today and start tackling the problem for 40 YTL per day (about £11). How could we resist.

Yesterday our builder Mehmet, sent some of his men around to us to start cleaning our swimming pool, ready for filling, great news. Mehmet later appeared himself with his foreman to check that we were happy with things. Apart from filling the pool and fitting some extra railings to the edge of a patio we just had one complaint. An area of plaster on one of the outside walls had seriously cracked and it was obvious would start to fall off before long. No argument once he was shown it and agreed that his men would tackle it on Monday. He also said the water would go into our pool on Sunday, but it is now evening and there is still an empty hole. The manyana attitude prevails out here so we are sure it will happen in the next day or two, inshallah.

This morning we left the house early as we were joining a group of friends for a day out on a boat and decided we'd have time to go to the 8am Communion first, so we didn't see whether little old man had appeared until we got back in the late afternoon. Sure enough, he had made good inroads into clearing the garden, so we will see what happens tomorrow.

The boat trip was brilliant. There were 16 of us, most of whom we had met before. We sailed east out of Girne harbour, later to anchor off Turtle Beach. It really is a beach where the turtles come ashore and a team of student biologists come every year from one of the UK universities (Bristol I think) to monitor the activity. It was lovely swimming in the sea, the water was warm and so buoyant. The crew made a delicious salad lunch with grilled chicken and lovely fresh tuna that the Captain had caught the day before. A lazy couple of drinks and then we began to sail back towards Girne, stopping at Diana beach for another swim. What a great way to spend a day.

Now while the majority of the ex-pats are watching England play Ecuador, we are going to a bar that we know doesn't have TV to have our supper.

We have spent the week cleaning and unpacking, organising gates for the house (no, they don't come as part of the deal), shopping for wardrobes, loungers and sun umbrellas and getting to know the neighbours. We have also found some very quaffable wine at a modest cost too - about £1 a litre.

We have also caught up with the two men from Manchester who we met on the Italy/Turkey ferry. They had hoped to catch the N Cyprus ferry the same day we had landed at Cesme. Unfortunately they were 20 minutes too late for the ticket office, despite the fact that the boat didn't sail for a further 4 hours. It meant that their wives arrived in Cyprus before they did as they flew in from Manchester the following day. The guys had the same runaround as we did on arriving in Girne, infact Brian had to go around part of the system twice as he had a motorscooter in the back of his car! He has a very nice house, back more towards the foot of the mountains than we are, but the extra height gives him some very nice views.

We spent over 2 hours in the HSBC bank, Girne this morning in order to open a local bank account. Everything takes so long because despite being computerised the systems they operate are bureaucratic.

Good news from the Kelseys today. Baby Joe is making good progress and is out of his incubator and Debi is able to start feeding him. The other boys may well be having their new brother at home before too long.

16 June 2006 wıll be a very memorable day for our famıly. Not only dıd we arrıve ın Northern Cyprus but our latest grandson, Joe was born.

He was only 5lb 7ozs and hıs arrıval was not antıcıpated for a couple of weeks, but he obvıously dıdn't want to mıss any of the excıtement. He ıs beıng looked after ın the ıntensıve care unıt at the hospıtal for the tıme beıng as he ıs experıencıng some breathıng dıffıcultıes, but we feel sure ıt ıs only a matter of days and he wıll be ok. Obvıously ıt ıs a dıffıcult tıme for Debı and Andy and our thoughts and prayers have been wıth them over thıs weekend.

What of our arrıval though, the ferry, as expected, was old, uncared for and not very comfortable. Also as expected there was a bıt of a performance gettıng on board down to all the varıous offıces that had to see our varıous papers and add theır stamps, but thıs was mıld ın comparıson to what we experıenced on arrıvıng at Kyrenıa. We were on deck at 7am watchıng the coast get nearer and eventually docked at 8am on a glorıous sunny mornıng, wıth not a cloud ın the sky. Two hours later we fınally drove through the port gates, Jeff had to vısıt 4 dıfferent offıces, some twıce and some 3 tımes (must get your papers stamped ın the correct order by the partıcular offıcer!). What a performance!

It was two very excıted people who drove along the coast road that mornıng to Karşiyaka and even more excıted when we fınally opened the front door and arrıved home! (No he dıdn't carry me over the threshold!)

Sınce arrıvıng we have been unpackıng and cleanıng and meetıng some more of our neıghbours. Two couples are on the ısland at the moment who we have not met before. Ian and Carol who have a bungalow behınd ours and Lee and Tracy who have one next-door but one to us. They are both usıng them as holıday homes for the tıme beıng and we have never managed to meet up before, so ıt has been great to say hello at last.

Yestday we went to church and became proper members of the congregatıon ınstead of vısıtors and today we have been ınto Kyrenıa to start sortıng out local bank account and pay a £2 electrıcıty bıll. Hopefully we wıll have the pool people out ın the next few days to clean and fıll our pool, but ın the meantıme we are usıng Sandıe and Steph's pool, nextdoor.

What an amazıng day we have had.

We left Beyşehır quıte early. Glorıous mornıng as we drove through countrysıde rıch ın wheat fıelds and olıve trees - then we began to clımb ınto the mountaıns. The road twısted and clımbed and took us through some amazıng canyons and mountaıns. Hard drıvıng but well worth ıt - we feel as though we have been soaked ın Turkey's beauty today. Almost every bend ın the road revealed somethıng more beautıful than the last.

We drove around one partıcular bend, hıgh up ın the mountaıns and wondered what we could see ın the road. We stopped to dıscover a large tortoıse slowly ploddıng hıs way across. He must have been quıte some age as he was the largest tortoıse we have seen - about 15/18 ınches long. Jeff moved hım out of danger and we went on our way.

We lunched ın a small mountaın town on chıcken doner and a sort of pıtta. Along wıth a glass of Pepsı each ıt cost 1 pound 25p for both of us! We do lıke to lıve well. After drıvıng through more wonderful countrysıde, ın the maın on good roads we arrıved ın Taşuçu at 6pm and Jeff organısed our tıckets for tonıght's ferry.

Wouldn't you belıeve that whıle we were organısıng tıckets, we met another UK couple from Wındermere headıng for Karşıyaka - they only set off last Saturday though! Some drıve.

Whıle havıng a beer a few mınutes ago I was watchıng a famıly of storks that had chosen to nest on top of a clock tower near the harbour. There were 2 young ın the nest and mum was ferryıng back and forth wıth food for them. Earlıer ın the trıp we spotted one that had made a nest on top of a telegraph pole!

The next tıme I wrıte we wıll have slept ın our own beds once more and we hope that ıt wıll not be too long before we can ınsert some photos onto the Blog.

Managed to vısıt the museum ın Uşak yesterday afternoon. Some very nıce pıeces of jewellery from a Lycıan tomb fınd.

After a short rest we went out for what turned out to be great evenıng's entertaınment. Dıdn't start too well as we found ourselves ın a 'dry' restaurant (we've sınce dıscovered that the majorıty of them are here). Anyway whether ıt was my smıle or Jeff's wınk at the waıter he sent a mınıon along the street to buy us a beer to go wıth our meal. It was a very Turkısh meal wıth the maın part beıng a rather spıcy kebab but there were several unusual accompanıements - some we lıked and some we dıdn't. After we felt ın need of some more alcohol before turnıng ın for the nıght and returned to a bar we had found earlıer ın the day. We hadn't been seated for many mınutes before a gentleman came to see ıf he could speak German to us. but we declıned as we were tıred and dıdn't want to make our braıns work that hard. However we were hardly ınto the 3rd sıp of our drınks when a lady approached usıng her lıttle Englısh to fınd out where we were from and how long we were stayıng. She was joıned by a 2nd lady and they went on to ınterrogate us. ,They had lıttle Englısh and we have even less Turkısh but I had the presence of mınd to put a sheet of Englısh/Turkısh phrases ınto my bag so between us - by poıntıng to the sheet and drawıng dıagrams we spent quıte a hılarıous hour wıth them.

Thıs mornıng we set off for Beyşehır, the 3rd largest lake ın Turkey and one that we had vısıted 20 years ago and had very fond memorıes of. Beautıful scenery, great weather and a very enjoyable drıve. We found a nıce roadsıde restaurant for lunch where they looked after us very well - no problems wıth beer here. Late thıs afternoon, after drıvıng down one sıde of the lake we arrıved ın the town of Beyşehır and trıed to fınd where we had stayed before wıthout success. Over the years the town has grown and our lıttle lakesıde restaurant had been swallowed up somewhere. Anyway we have a bed for the nıght, albeıt not the the standard we have become used to, but the sheets are clean and the plumbıng works, so we wıll be ok.

Tomorrow we hope to reach Tuşuçu but as we have not pre-booked the ferry we may or may not saıl for Gırne at mıdnıght tomorrow - anythıng could happen.

A text message from Andrew thıs mornıng told us that Debı had gone ınto hospıtal as part of her waters had broken. Thıs has happened before partıcularly wıth Tom, so ıt just means that babıes arrıval ıs gettıng closer. We spoke to Debı thıs mornıng and she ıs fıne and ıs antıcıpatıng beıng sent home from hospıtal and baby to arrıve ın about 10 days tıme.

Back on terra fırma after our crossıng from Italy to Turkey. Gettıng through the boat formalıtıes was not as manıc as we thought ıt mıght be and although we had to ask for a change of cabın after a fırst nıght wıth very lıttle sleep (cabın located above the propellors!) once thıs was sorted and we had a new cabın up ın the bow we were very comfortable for the rest of the tıme at sea. The boat was not too busy so thıngs lıke restaurants and bars were not too crowded.

We were able to relax and catch up wıth some readıng on the fırst day, but on the 2nd evenıng we met up wıth two men travellıng from Manchester - to guess where - Karşıyaka. Brıan has a house not far from ours and he had a frıend wıth hım to share the drıvıng. Both theır wıves were flyıng out to Cyprus to joın them later thıs week. Brıan and Bob were hopıng to do the journey ın 7 days (ıncludıng the 3 on the boat), not quıte the way we were doıng ıt. They were great company so ıt put pay to our relaxed readıng the followıng day as the sun was shınıng and we were all on the sun deck sharıng a few tales along wıth a few beers!

Thıs mornıng saw us wıth a very early start - up at 6am for a cup of tea and collectıng our thıngs together before the boat docked at 7am ın Çeşme. There was a bıt of queuıng on shore to complete formalıtıes but by 8am we were on the road out of the port and headıng for Uşak about 150 mıles due east. Nıce journey, not too busy and we have found a lovely hotel mentıoned on my 'Specıal Places to Stay ın Turkey' book. It ıs ın the centre of the large town of Uşak and has been made from a restored 18th century warehous. We have just consumed a lovely lunch of spıt roast chıcken, salad and delıcıous bread all washed down wıth a beer for a fıver for the 2 of us!

Questıon for all the boys: Sam, Josh, Wılls, Tom and Ross: what was ıt lıke to go campıng? Dıd you get to stay up late?

Questıon for Sam: We've been wonderıng now that you have lost your front teeth can you stıll suck up spaghettı?

Questıon for Josh: Are you stıll followıng where we are on your map.

Thursday 8 June

After a modest breakfast we set off to find a particular hotel in a seaside town called Roseta degli Abruzzi. We had been using a book of Italy's Hotels de Logis and each one had been excellent. The Hotel del Lido here was the only one in the book for this area, so after the previous day's experience in finding what we wanted we decided to plump for this one and check in for a couple of days.

This is where we met Franco, the hotel owner. What a man, he could talk for Italy. Although alteration work was still taking place on the hotel he made us so welcome and was so proud of his half completed establishment. He could not do enough for us and he spoke excellent English, so we immediately felt very comfortable. We had a nice room with a large patio next to the garden (and not too far from the sea one way and the railway line the other - you cannot win them all!). As his dining room and kitchens were not completed he served our breakfast on our patio - what silver service for breakfast! It was great.

There was nothing remarkable about Roseta d A, it has long sandy beaches, all geared up for hundreds of sunbathers but it was still off season so we were able to wander unimpeded. We sorted our clothes out first and gave them a good airing (the bags were getting a bit smelly!). Then we had a lazy lunch of calamari at a beach cafe and spent the afternoon catching some rays of sunshine. We ate extremely well that evening in a fish restaurant where the first course was a series of fish dishes, small portions similar to a meze, they included octopus salad, fresh anchovies, oysters and prawns. Second course was an assortement of small fish and squid deep fried - a beautiful meal.

Our friend Franco recommended that we explore the interior of Abbruzzo a little and with his advice we headed for a small hilltop town that overlooked Roseta d A. It was only small but very old, and walking down its narrow streets we would turn a corner to be confronted by the most wonderful views, some down to the sea and others over the hills and others to the Gran Sasso mountains with snow covered tops. From there we went to a town called Teramo. Again an ancient centre, beautiful piazzas and lovely old buildings. We could have spent much more time there but on Franco's agenda was a visit to Citaveli de Tronto. This we could not have missed. Dominating the countryside for miles around is this huge fortress on top of the hill and the old medieval town tumbling down the sides. We have never seen such a huge fortress and still very much intact (after some resturation of course). It contained 3 huge plazas for the parading of the troops, accommodation for men and horses still intact but most striking was the size and the area it commanded. Well when we got back to Roseta it was "thank you Franco" for giving us the information for such a great day. On this little taster we know there is much more to explore in Abbruzzo so if you are looking for somewhere different for a holiday, think of this area, maybe even combine it with Florence. We can assure you of a great welcome.

The best was yet to come though. Jeff and I were getting a bit "fished out" food-wise, so we went on a serious search for some red meat - and it was not easy to find. We didn't want to drive and many of the smarter restaurants doing local food were just out of town, however we spotted a sign for a restaurant at the back of the town. I wrote what we had in a little note book I carry, because I would not have been able to remember it all. Here goes: First complimentary aperitifs of Spumanti and Tomato Bruschetta.

We shared the started which consisted of little portions of:
Apple Slices on Cheese
Tomatoe sliced with soft cheese
Ham rolled around grapefruit
Rice Mixture
Bressano ham
Tomatoe and sieved egg on bruschetta
Proscuittio wrapped around nectarine
Sweet grated carrot
Potato, cheese and ham slices
Ricotta & herbs
Courgette wrapped around soft cheese
Flagelot beans on bruschetta
Spinach with grapefruit
all served with the most delicious olive bread.

Our main course was the most delicious entrecote steak with a mixed salad
and all this was washed down with some gorgeous red wine at EU4 per carafe!
No we didn't have room for pudding..............

It is now Saturday 10th June and we have just arrived in Ancona. We experienced a few problems with the Internet Cafe in Roseta degli Abruzzi where we have recently been staying. It had erratic opening hours, so as a consequence we were rather frustrated over making our postings.

Anyway, to continue our story from Mattinata. The next morning, after picking up supplies from the local supermercator we went inland and up, through the most wonderful countryside of forest and mountains to the tip of Italy's spur, a town called Vieste. A pretty port and old world town. Mixed day of showers and sunshine found us driving up the east coast, past mile after mile of golden sands on our right and to our left snow-capped mountains, it was a really great drive.

We were aiming for anywhere along the coast that took our fancy, but it seemed that hotels were few and hard to find. Although the coast was geared up for holidaymakers. They either took their own accommodation with them (loads of campsites) or else rented an apartment - of which there were hundreds. Eventually, as the evening was drawing in and we had travelled for quite some time, in desperation we saw a sign for a hotel off the beaten track upon a hillside and checked in for the night there. The hotel was small but friendly and the views in all directions were fabulous. We were given a simple but adequate dinner there, with what has now become the norm - a carafe of wine and after an hour with our books we were soon off to bed.

We have been away from the Internet facilities for a few days so while this could be a mamouth entry, I will break it down into sections to make it more manageable.

Saturday 3 June

After completing the laundry on the first day in Sorrento, as the sun was shining we decided to explore the coast a little more. To save any further driving we took the local bus to Positano on the recommendation of an American couple we met in our hotel. This proved to be great fun as the bus twisted and turned along the cliff-side. The driver was taking no prisoners, so all oncoming traffic scattered out of his way. Positano is a small village built up the cliffside from a tiny port and beach below. It is really pretty to see all the white-washed houses tumbling down the hillside. We meandered downhill in the sunshine and wandered about before taking the shorter and less steep circuit out of the village back up to the main road and the bus back to Sorrento. By the time the bus arrived there was a bus load and a half waiting to board it. The driver was a real star and did his best to get everyone on, encouraging everyone to squash up and apart from his knee I believe every other space on the bus was occupied. Then it was foot down and away back to Sorrento - quite an experience!

That evening we dined in the hotel which was located like an eagles nest high up on the cliffs looking out over the Gulf of Naples and down onto Sorrento below. We could not have imagined a more delightful place to be.


On Sunday, the 4th June we decided to have a cultural day and visit the sites of Ercolanum and Pompeii.

We took the hotel shuttle bus into Sorrento and then caught the local train, first to Ercolanum. The day started well with the sun shining on us and as we had made an early start there were not too many people at the site. We really enjoyed wandering the narrow streets and exploring the villas of the wealthy who had lived in that area. Many of the buildings were pretty well intact and there were mosaics and wall paintings intact in many of them (of course the best bits were in the museums). On the way out of the site we bumped into a local parade - Italy down the ages were represented. The parade was led by a centurion in his chariot, then Byzantine Italy, 19 century Italy and then down through the 20th century with flappers, post WW2, and 60s. Jeff managed to catch the eye of a medieval lady in a carriage and she gave him a carnation!

After a bite to eat we caught the train again, just a couple of stops down the line and we were in Pompeii. The enormity of the site was quite mind blowing, plus the fact that there is still much more to be discovered. Everything was on a much bigger scale here, making it less intimate. There were huge temples to Appollo, the forum area and surrounding shops being interesting and we found 2 open air theatres plus a huge amphitheatre (not quite Coliseum size). During the afternoon the weather changed and mount Vesuvius disappeared from view beneath thunder clouds - we had obviously chosen the wrong gods to favour. We had to shelter from the rain for a while but there was a convenient arch or two nearby.

It was two weary people who got off the train in Sorrento and it decided to rain again so in our dash for the hotel bus we got very wet - but it had been a good day and we had all evening to enjoy our view, even if the clouds did roll around Vesuvius across the bay.

Monday 5th June

Monday morning dawned bright and clear and we had a lazy breakfast before packing up again and set off around the Sorrento peninsuar towards Salerno. The whole of that coastline is so pretty. We went through Positano again, a quick coffee stop in Amalfi and through, above and around numerous other little cliffside villages.

Salerno was a great disappointment. A bit scruffy, busy, industrial port, so we headed further south, keeping to the coast road to another historical site I had read about - Paestum. This turned out to be wonderful. We found a hotel immediately opposite the entrance and arrived early enough for Jeff to have a swim in the pool (I paddled - it was a bit chilly for me). Then it was across the road to the site of 3 most wonderful Greek temples, probably more complete than the Acropolis. Obviously a site not known to many outside Italy and although it is cared for, not a lot of money had been spent on it (unlike Pompeii). It was magical wandering around it in the late afternoon sunshine with only a few people about. We were glad we had made the effort to come that little bit further south.

The next morning we retraced our journey to Salerno and then across Italy from west to east. This journey took us through a range of mountains and then across a vast wheatland plain. It took about 3 hours and we decided to make a slight detour and visit a castle I had read about.

Castelo del Monte was interesting for the fact that everything about it was 8-sided. The body of the castle was built in an octagone shape and there were 8 octagonal towers on each corner and all the internal rooms were octagonal too. It was built around the time of the Crusaders and had been occupied until around the 17 century when it fell into neglect. The Italian Government have been instrumental in restoring it in recent years and now it stands magnificent on a hill overlooking the countryside for many miles around.

Then we drove to Trani on the coast - another town with a large cathedral unusually built right on the side of the port. It had an interesting old centre to the town and it rained there too! We drove up the coast to the area on the map that looks like the spur on the boot of Italy - the Gargano National Park. Here we stayed in a small town call Mattinata in a hotel called The Veranda, that overlooked the sea.

Yesterday, 2nd June was the Day of the Republic of Italy. We had originally planned to visit the Colliseum but thought we would check with the garage staff where Jeff had left the car, that we could collect it around 1pm and make our departure from Rome then. That was when we discovered the garage would be closed after 10am until that evening as everyone was going to the National Day parade. This was to take place just in front of the Colliseum! A rapid change of plan was called for. We decided to load the car there and forego the visit to the Colliseum. This worked to our advantage because all the roads were so quiet, we were able to leave Rome without any stress.

Once on the autostrade we were heading for Naples. To start with it was an easy journey and we decided to make a break and visit the site of the battle of Monte Cassino. This is where we first met traffic jams. These were not for the battle site and British War Cemetary but because Monte Cassino is in a most beautiful valley and local Italians were taking advantage of the holiday and were visiting the abbey at the top of the mountain. We went to the Military Cemetery, which was very similar to others around the world, except that this has Monte Cassino as it's backdrop. What amazed us most was the number of Commonwealth soldiers who are buried there. We spotted some from India, Pakistan, Canada, S Africa, N Zealand, Cyprus etc. So many of the old regiments I have been dealing with over the years were also represented there.

Moving further south using the main roads and autostrade we eventually reached the Gulf of Naples. Due to a misunderstanding by both of us on how the road system was on the peninsular, we travelled cross country, down little lanes and villages until we reached Sorrento. A popular holiday spot with many hotels, we had booked one that described itself as being located 5kms above the town of Sorrento with uninterrupted views of Vesuvius and the Bay. They offered a shuttle bus service to town and this gave Jeff peace of mind regarding the car being interferred with. We found a sign pointing us onto the winding cliff side road and drove up and up and up until we were almost in the cloud base - oh yes, I forgot to mention that as soon as we hit Naples and that most beautiful of coast lines, the heavens opened and we were in the middle of a terrific thunderstorm!

Eventually we found our Hotel Il Nido. It is in a most fabulous location. From our room and the restaurant we can see the whole of the Bay and we look directly across to Vesuvius. We woke this morning to gloriious sunshine and the view from Capri all the way around to Sorrento below us are simply breathtaking. Well worth the effort of finding this hotel. We have come into town on the shuttle bus and while I write this Jeff is watching his smalls go around in a Laundromat. Then we are off to explore a bit of the coast.

Today is the 1st June and this is Rome .. makes you think of sunshine and heat doesn't it. Well after leaving our hotel at 8am and taking the Metro to the Vatican City, we joined a very long queue for the Museum. Before we reached the ticket office we had to resort to buying an umbrella from a street trader. It threw it down. We had seen the weather forecast promising rain, but hey, this is Rome and its summer.

Anyway it didn't spoil our day, we spent the whole morning and more in the museum, it has so many wonderful things to see and not only are there wonderful artefacts, but the rooms and the buildings themselves are fantastic. Those of you who have been will know that the circuit around the museum ends by taking you to the Cistene Chapel, which is a whole breath-taking experience in itself. The whole experience was worth every minute of the queuing and the soaking we got. It will be an experience we will remember for ever.

After a short respite with a glass of vino blanco we ventured on again to St Peter's Square, where we joined yet another queue to enter St Peter's Basilica. We were behind a group of English catholics from Coventry which was amusing. The Basilica is just awesome and despite all the tour groups being conducted around, we plugged ourselves into our audio guides and lost ourselves in the enormity and splendour of the many wonderful things inside. What an age it must have been to have lived through when Michealangelo and his contempories were alive, so much talent existed. One of the surprising things we found was the grave of the last of the Stuarts - the famous Pretender and his wife have their memorials there.

All in all it was a trip of nearly 9 hours duration and do our feet know it! Fortunately there is a convenient bar just opposite our hotel where we could refresh the inner man at least. We had intended to be back sufficiently early to start downloading some pictures but alas this was not the case - maybe tomorrow.

We have seriously travelled around Rome today, both by bus and foot! We started on an open top hop-on and hop-off tour bus, did the circuit of all the sights and then decided where we would start our explorations. While we were on the bus we were taken to St Peter's Square and were in time to see the Pope giving and audience to the crowds there.

We got off the bus in the northern part of the ancient city and then explored numerous churches, basilicas and squares, including the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and the famous Tivil Fountain and many many more besides. We were able to compare the difference between the column of Marcus Aurelian and that of Trajan (a bit like Rameses II and Seti). We saw some of the archelogical remains of Augustus, but despite all this there is still much more to see.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Vatican City, but tonight my feet are sore and I want to relax!

Tuesday today, and we head for Rome. First along the coastal road and we found a nice spot by the sea to have our picnic. The sea was rough enough to have surfed on I think. After lunch we took a deep breath and hit the autostrade again and attacked Rome.

We knew it was going to be fraught but based on past experience, it was nowhere near as difficult as finding your way through Paris!! Yes, of course, we got lost. But from hitting the ring road to finding our hotel took us only about an hour, and as our hotel is in the centre of Rome we feel it was a pretty good achievement. The car is now safely locked away in a subterranean garage, so Jeff can relax and enjoy sightseeing now.

We plan to go on a Rome by bus trip tomorrow to get our bearings and then we will have a better idea of what we will want to see in more detail. We did manage to visit the Santa Maria Maggiore this afternoon and a basilica near the Plazza del Republica that has intrigued us, but we cannot find too much information about it. As soon as we are able to publish some photographs we will and you will see why it was so intriguing.

What a find the house we stayed at in Longeville. Mary and Greig made us feel so welcome, it was just like staying with old friends. There were amazing views to be enjoyed from the house and garden across the Ardennes - it was a really lovely spot.

After having a lovely meal at a Lakeside restaurant on Saturday evening, a truly fitting farewell to France, we took our leave about 10am and headed through the Alps (and I do mean through as there were countless tunnels). The longest one that took us to the Italian border was the Frejus Tunnel - we think about 22Kms long! The sun shone all the way I am pleased to say.

we stopped for a picnic lunch en route, enjoying views of snow-capped mountains. However, all did not go well when we reached the coast. We arrived in Savona around 4pm and planned to drive along the coastal road till we found some accommodation. We had hardly gone half a mile when we came to a grinding halt. Not overly suspicious at first as the traffic was heavy but when we had only completed half a mile an hour later we knew we were in trouble. Seemingly there had been a very serious accident somewhere in the area and the whole of the coast was grid-locked! We ended up being stuck in that jam for nearly 3 hours before we found a way out. On the lighter side, as we were crawling along past the docks we saw this huge cruise liner loading. It was the largest boat I had ever seen and its name "Costa Fortuna". No I havn't made it up.

We did find a really nice hotel at the end of all this that turned out to be part of a group call Logis d'Italia, so we are now on the look out for more of them. We met another English couple staying at the hotel, Chris and Susan from South Wales. They were both disabled, Susan in a wheelchair, but were about to go on board HMS Nelson for a week's sailing as part of the crew. They had travelled to Genoa by train and were quite an intrepid pair as nothing seemed to daunt them.

The next day, Monday was much more enjoyable. We meandered along the coastal road around the Porto Fino area. It is such a beautiful coastline and again the sun shone. After lunch we hit the autostrade and travelled down past Pisa to a little coastal resort called Orbotello. Found another Logis d'Italia and had a pleasant evening there.

It is now Day 3 of our trip. We had a wet run to Bayeux on Thursday, both from our tears at saying goodbye and the weather.

Stayed in a lovely old manor house owned by a retired Col & his wife; they were charming & we were soon swapping war stories.

Yesterday we visited the old town of Bayeux and went into the cathedral, first started by the Normans around the same time as William was doing his conquering. We then had to see the famous tapestry which was quite amazing. The rest of the day was spent driving to Bourges in central France. We arrived in time to visit their cathedral, located on a hill in the centre of the old medieval city. We were both so impressed by the quality & quantity of the beautiful stained glass windows there.

A mere Etap hotel was our bed for last night, but now, Saturday, we are not far from Grenoble staying in a lovely old house perched on a hillside overlooking the Rhone valley; A view of Mount Blanc is possible from the garden!

More news soon.

Where have the weeks gone? I was so full of good intentions of publishin monthly reports but I did not reckon with how many other things we were trying to fit into our lives.

Since Christmas we have been to a friend's wedding in the Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas in February - a story in itself that we will save for another day. We visited most of the hotels on the Strip, they are like Disneyland for adults!! I think The Venetian and The Wynn were my favourites but they were all pretty amazing and I have never seen so many slot machines and gaming tables in one place - it was mind blowing. We did manage a trip to the Grand Canyon which was the highlight of the week. We travelled by small plane, helicopter, boat and bus - so we saw this amazing spectacle from every angle.

Two days back from Las Vegas and we made a very quick visit to Stoke-on-Trent where my cousins had arranged a surprise birthday lunch for my Aunty Betty, who was celebrating her 80th Birthday - and was on extremely good form. It was a superb occasion and we were glad to have made the effort even though we were off to NC the next morning!

This was just to be a short visit over to North Cyprus (NC) to check on some of the final snagging on the bungalow and fit one or two items and do a little unpacking prior to our final move out there. We were overwhelmed by the size of the weeds that had grown in the spring sunshine. While we were wondering how to tackle it our local shepherd came down the lane with his flock, so we invited them in! Well, they ate some of the weeds, trampled on a few more and dropped smelly poo all over my nice new block paving! Nice idea - not to be repeated!! We finally solved the problem by employing two young men from a nearby garden centre and for £35 they cleared the lot beautifully, leaving us time to get on with other things.


Aunty B (left) 


Tackling the weeds!

While working we had a company car, so we had to go shopping for a car for ourselves. I left the choice of model etc to Jeff and he has chosen a Kia Sedona - plenty of space for luggage and very, very comfortable. However, the deal he took with our local supplier was to buy a pre-registered vehicle,(a saving of a few thousand £s). Tinted windows were a pre-requisite, however, there was no colour choice, so now we have The Hearse! Yes, black, tinted windows and quite large.

Once we were retired we spent a few days at the beginning of this month visiting relatives in the Midlands and North of England. This was a great opportunity to test The Hearse - it is like driving two armchairs - we are well pleased with it. My sister and brother-in-law were first on the list, they live on the edge of the Peak District National Park, near Chatsworth. Who should be passing through Chatsworth at the same time were our future neighbours in NC, Sandie and Steph. They had just got back from NC and were spending a few days in their motorcaravan, so it was great catching up with things in Karsiyaka.

Jeff's brother was next on our itinerary and while we were there Jeff was able to renew his acquaintance with hiniecece, Michelle, whom he had not seen for about 30 years. Then it was over the 'border' from Yorkshire to Lancashire where we spent some time with his sister, Jean in Burnley. Turning south again it was time to visit Stoke-on-Trent, my home town, to give big hugs to my Aunty Betty. She was very excited when I explained how she might visit us in NC. (She feels uncertain coping with airports on her own, so we have an opportunity in Sep/Oct for her to travel out with me and return with Ian and family at the end of their holiday). It will be a good time for her temperature-wise too.

Our round-robin trip culminated with an overnight stay with 2 of our dearest friends, Maureen and Frank Roberts. They have been friends since school days and we have the kind of friendship that although there have been huge gaps over the years when we have not seen each other, the minute we meet the threads soon pick up again. We had a great time with them and look forward to seeing them again in the sunshine.

We were ready to finish work when the time came and completed the 'winding down' period with a satisfying sense of achievement of jobs well done. We have been wined and dined as is appropriate, infact the whole retirement process was very liquid! Lovely presents from everyone and very many hugs forcing that tear out of my eye that I promised wouldn't happen and now 'D' Day (Departure) is approaching fast.

Which way? 

This last weekend has been farewell to family and friends. Our son, Ian, Sharon and his boys, Sam and Wills came up from Wiltshire and we all joined up with Debi, Andrew and their boys, Joshua, Tom and Ross for a lovely weekend together. On Sunday, despite the English weather, we joined about 16 of our friends for lunch at a nearby pub which overlooked the marina. What should have been a lovely setting was lashed with wind and rain, but despite this it was a happy occasion.

Since then there has been frantic packing going on in the Lloyd household. Jeff has been doing a bit of fretting about how he is to get everything in the car, while I have been saying he should just concentrate on heavy and awkward things, anything else could be put into a suitcase on future trips.

We are booked on the 12.15pm ferry out of Dover tomorrow, 25th May, sail to Calais and then turn right. We have planned our first stop to be Bayeux as neither of us have seen the famous tapestry. Then we will head south through France, into Italy where we will spend some time in the Eternal City, then down to the Amalfi coast, taking in Pompeii and/or Heracleum before crossing to the east coast and exploring the Puglia region. We have a dead-line of 10th June to be in Ancona to catch the midnight ferry to Cesme in Turkey. This journey will take 3 nights on board and the boat will sail through the Corinth Canal which is why we have chosen it. It only sails once a week, so it's pretty important we are there on time. Once in Turkey, we shall drive due east for about 300 miles before turning south. As we have no dead-lines from there on we will stop and start as the fancy takes us. We are planning to visit the area of Turkey's 3rd largest lake - Beysehir. We first visited this area some 20 years ago when we spent a holiday in a hired motorcaravan. No doubt we will see some changes on the way.

I guess we shall be arriving in Girne (Kyrenia) around the 17th June. Meanwhile, we shall endeavour to update this Blog as we go on our travels.

December 2005

A & J 

Where has this year gone?! It has been quite a year for us, to say the least. We have continued to enjoy the excitement of visits to our bungalow in N Cyprus which was completed earlier this year. However, our hopes of spending a summer holiday there were not to be as we’ve had to wait a long time for electricity and water to be connected.


Jeff and I celebrated our 60th birthdays this year and as a treat to ourselves we went on a wonderful trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. However, before we could make our escape our children had other plans. Debi and Ian, after much planning and conniving, managed to spring a surprise party on us. It was a superb occasion, people were there from every aspect of our lives: immediate family of course and other relatives from all round the country, army and civilian friends, old and new neighbours, work colleagues past and present, people we had not seen for quite some time making it a fabulous evening which spilled over into the rest of the weekend.


As for our South American adventure we spent two weeks visiting cities and towns, rain forests, volcanoes and lush, beautiful countryside throughout Ecuador and then a further week cruising the Islands. We saw so many amazing sights and took so many photographs I have produced a separate section just to give you a flavour of all we saw. We crossed the Equator several times during our travels and experienced every kind of climate. Part of our trip included a 3-day stay in the rainforest. We had travelled by coach over pretty rough terrain to get into the area and then go by canoe to reach our lodgings. Although there was no electricity, our stay was quite comfortable. We were issued with wellies and oil lamps on arrival! (We really needed the wellies as underfoot was very squelchy!). It was here I celebrated my birthday and even had a cake with candles!


Over last winter Jeff and I took the decision that our house in NC was too nice to just enjoy for occasional holidays and after spending time doing a few calculations we agreed that if we worked until Spring 2006 we could afford to take early retirement and move out there fairly permanently. So the first stage of this plan was to sell our bungalow in Kent. We put it on the market at the beginning of February and were lucky enough to sell within a week. Debi offered us a temporary home with her, so once we returned from South America it was a busy time spent packing up our home. Not the easiest of tasks as we had to decide whether things were going to NC, Debi’s or ‘the tip’! Meanwhile we had to apply for planning permission to have a conservatory built onto Debi’s house, this was to become our dining room, we also converted part of her garage to become our bedroom, the utility room to a kitchen and then decorated it all. We couldn’t have accomplished all this were it not for all the help Debi’s husband, Andrew gave us. The great move took place in early July and it was a strange feeling watching the container lorry swallow up most of our home and send it on its way to Cyprus. Unfortunately, not everything was ready for us at Debi’s house but it was not a problem thanks to some great friends who helped out, one couple let us use their house while they were away, another stored some of our kit and by the end of the July we were comfortably installed in our new home. It is cosy but adequate in the short term and we get to see 3 of our grandsons every day.

August saw us welcoming the container down our very dusty lane in N Cyprus, and we were soon reunited with our things in our home in the sun. Most of it is stored in our garage until we are there and can unpack properly but it has now became more difficult to close the door and return to UK.

In the midst of all the house-moving we received an invitation to one of Her Majesty’s Garden Parties. It was a sunny July day, albeit a bit blustery, which caused the ladies a few problems with their hats. Not only were the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh present but Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall along many other Royals. As well as being able to Royal watch and do some frock spotting we had a delicious afternoon tea, and chance to wander in the grounds. We now have a few more special memories to take away with us, it was truly a lovely occasion.

At work, the Army Benevolent Fund were involved in the 60th anniversary celebrations of the end of WWII in St James’s Park. We had a stand along with many other Service Charities and met many WWII veterans and a few of the great and the good such as Camilla and General Sir Mike Jackson. Sadly, the latter end of this week was marred by the horrendous bombing of the Tube and on the bus.

Unfortunately we have not been able to see very much of our son Ian and his family in Edinburgh this year, but the good news is they moved back to Wiltshire just a few weeks ago, much easier to visit. This change has come about as Ian has been promoted onto the Board of Directors at Lloyds TSB and his job has changed. We are very proud of him. At the first opportunity I went down to see them. The boys are great and they have a lovely home just outside Salisbury. We have a lot of catching up to do before we leave UK.

Throughout the year Jeff has been coaching his successor and I mine. We are both counting the days until 30 April when we retire. Our plan then is to drive overland, making a holiday of our journey out to N Cyprus. No doubt we shall be spending part of the Christmas holidays planning our route. We anticipate arriving in N Cyprus in June. Initially we expect the family will be joining us for the school holidays, but we shall look forward to having visits from our friends too.

This time last year Ross, grandson number 5 had just arrived. Well, he is doing fine, a really big boy now and a great time-waster in the nicest possible way, as they all are. He is just taking his first steps and probably has the loudest voice of them all!


Preparations for Christmas are well underway and we shall be spending it in Wiltshire with the whole family together - it should prove to be lively.