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Four months down, two to go!

Yes I am two thirds done on this marvellous adventure. Where has the time gone? 

After four months I am a bit travel weary.  this just happened yesterday,,,..Vienna is not getting the love from me that I am sure it deserves.  I don't want to be home...I am not home sick...home sick for London perhaps but just tired and kind of fed up.  It will pass.  It doesn't help that while out at the market this afternoon I decided to withdraw some cash and my debit card was rejected...twice at different ATM's.  It did this to me in Turkey as well but only once and not at two different banks.  Maybe I will be setting up a "fund me" website if I can't get my cash out...ha ha...just kidding....(I think)   Update: I did manage to get money out of the third ATM today.  Whew!!  And I am now back to my usual self - I just needed one day to "chill out".  Yay!!! 

The 15 day tour of Turkey was amazing with a super tour leader and great travel companions but very tiring as well...I think that is most of my problem right now. I am tired.  For abut 30 seconds I had a flash image of me sitting on my sofa with my feet on my coffee table, a cup of milky tea (made in my tea pot which is how I always make it....a tea bag in a mug....no bloody way....a rarity these days even in England unless you go out for proper tea) by my side watching Corrie...I then banished that thought as pretty soon I will be doing just that and wishing to hell I was back on the road.  So I am riding it out for now....it's all good. 

So how many beds have I slept in?  Too many to keep track!  Honestly...the one in York I was at when I wrote my last update, one in London, god knows how many in Turkey and now the pension in Vienna.  Ten?  I'm too lazy to work it out folks.  Lots!!! 

Best meal?  I can't even pick one....it would be in Turkey for sure but it could be the wonderful home cooked meal prepared for us in Cappadocia...bean soup, a leek strudel or whatever it was..it was delicious or Turkish ravioli or the Turkish pizza....I'll be doing a blog post on the wonderful food I had in Turkey...man oh man it was good....

Worst experience:  nothing really - can I hopefully say after disasters in December and January it has gone pretty smoothly since then.  Fingers crossed it continues but life happens. 

Best experience:  the tour of Turkey and the great people I traveled with.  And the balloon ride! 

Most unusual experience:   okay I threw that one in because I have to mention my Turkish bath..MUCH better than the experience I had in Jordan which I've never blogged about and only talk about it when I've had a glass of wine or two (yes, it was that bad) ....anyway this experience was much better and I will write about it soon but no pictures!  Hell, we couldn't even talk!!  (right Hilary?)

So places I've covered since March 10th...let's see when I wrote that one I was still in beautiful York, two days later I headed down to London to stay at Claudia's airbnb in Streatham. (south London)  A great experience as Claudia and I became great friends - in fact I am going back there for six nights when I go back to London on the 23rd.  We had movie nights, she made home made pizza one night (she is Italian) and I picked up takeaway Chinese one evening.  We yakked and giggled like the girlfriends I miss so much back home - I needed that.  Then I flew to Istanbul two days prior to the tour and explored on my own before setting off on a 15 day adventure with Intrepid, a small group adventure company.  Only seven of us plus our tour leader so it was absolutely perfect. Our group got along so well and it was sad to part company with them.  I'm now in Vienna.  On Sunday I will get to meet my long time pen friend Lisa so am excited about that. 

What's next?  Well on Monday I head to Germany to spend a couple of days with my friend Claudia in Heiligenstadt in northern Bavaria.  (where I will have a "digital detox" - she does not have internet and does not want it..so no blog posts for about ten days...just sayin.....) The two of us will then head to Prague for five nights - another new place to discover!  Then back to Germany for two nights before flying back to London.  Six nights in London before taking an overnight bus/ferry to Dublin where I will be for five nights and then up to Belfast.  From there who knows...at the moment I have a booking in northern Scotland but I am thinking of canceling and just going back to London.  I have so much I want to do there and after the exhaustion and travel weariness (the first I've felt on this four month adventure) I have felt the past 48 hours I think I need to uncomplicate my life a bit.  I plan to take many day trips out of London - be ready to hear about Hever Castle, Leeds Castle, Winchester Cathedral....more jaunts along the Thames path and there could be a few concerts thrown in as well....life will not be boring!!!  London never is...my time in London has only strengthened the love I feel for that place and I can't imagine what it will feel like to leave. There will be tears.  Oh let's not talk about that.....London will be a part of my life until I am physically unable to go anymore...oh let's not talk about that either!!! 

One more catch up from the road and the one after that will be from home...sniff sniff...I can't even express how wonderful this journey has been.  I have met so many wonderful people along the way and it has just been incredible.  I am so glad I made this happen. 

In the meantime lots more adventures to come..and don't forget when I get home I will still be blogging and going into more detail about places....I will have more time and hopefully the words will flow better...I feel like my writing isn't what it should be. 

Live your dreams!!!



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