how we got our sri lankan groove

Rainy Kandy wasn't really doing it for us. Nothing against the city, we had our moments and the people were lovely and friendly, but we hadn't found our happy place here yet (which is scary when you have three more weeks to go). So we decided to find it hopefully in the highest hills. But we have one very motion-sick child (and it isn't Girl). The train seemed our best option over the bus or hired driver, as you can move about easier, visit the toilet, breathe fresh air and it is very inexpensive. Still I wasn't looking forward to the impending waves of sore tummy, knowing the train ride was going to be loooooooong. The train tracks are old and you feel every bump, sometimes bumping backwards, sometimes going very slowly, or idling in wait for another train to pass. So as my moaning child clung to me I watched the foggy trees and cleared my mind.

from beach to buddha

We spent our first days in Sri Lanka at the beach. Then it was time to head for the hills. We took a morning making our way to the train station via tuk tuk, bus and foot to catch the train for Kandy. After all the "mind the gap" business on the trains in the UK, it was interesting people watching plus we learned the art of boarding the trains.

turkish mother nature

We are out of the big city and visiting the Cappadocia area, in the interior of Turkey. It is a unique landscape with endless hikes, caves, tunnels, mesas and mountains to explore. Buddy and Girl have always had hours of outdoor time at their "real" school and in our own backyard, so this has been a perfect place for them to visit and breathe in fresh air before we leave Turkey. After our complimentary (and endless) breakfast we have been setting out on foot in a different direction each morning. The children are excited by the unknown, sometimes running ahead, other times collecting interesting leaves, sticks and other treasures. We just follow along taking it all in, enjoying the quiet and the space.

we heart istanbul

I am really in love with Istanbul. It is so much more than I imagined and the weather has been a gift. Staying in the Sultanahmet has been a perfect base for us, and our hotel includes breakfast. We start the day with school and then head out to see what we can do for free.

finding fall

I love fall. It's my birthday time, and the birth of my children time. We have decided to follow summer for one year (and I love summer!) but I have been soaking in all the fallness of Istanbul. Even though I have one hundred ideas and thousands of photos to share in a blog or two about Istanbul all I want to do is share fall photos. So here you have the fall photo blog post... long shadows, changing leaves, warmth.

greek for a day

We were a little reluctant to do the day trip to Greece after reading many reviews about the crowds. But we are so glad we went because we are quickly realizing that this is the time to visit Greece and Turkey. While it is still hot, there is no one here! After boarding our barely 30% full ferry we were off for a short ride across the water. We entered Greece with no problems. They even move families with children through the line up first. Girl is very popular with her blonde hair in these parts. She hates people looking at her or touching her hair, but she doesn't make a big deal of it. Some of the travel blogs we follow have blond children that are having a really hard time in Asia being photographed constantly and touched. (We haven't mentioned this to her yet, although I am thinking her old look of two braids and a hat may be back for that leg!).

something else

We are staying in a village near the sea in Turkey and enjoying our small life of village, beach, pool, market, corner store and repeat. We feel comfortable sending the kids to go gather sticks for a school project. But today we decided that our time is coming to a close here and we needed something else, so we are going to take a ferry to Greece this weekend. In order to buy the cheapest tickets we needed to go to the ferry dock. So we hopped the dolmbus (mini bus) to the next town over to buy them. We seem to have trouble figuring out the cost on the minibus because we don't speak Turkish and we have a GIANT nine-year old. Kids are supposed to be free, but no one seems to understand us. So we paid for three...

cruising the aegean

We knew that the one thing we wanted to do while on the coast of Turkey was get out on the water. The Dad had done some research and decided that the booze cruise (of his last visit to Turkey eighteen years ago) was not what we were looking for. Instead, through Trip Advisor he found great reviews for an eight passenger all-day sail/cruise to 5 bays near where we were staying.
The boat is owned by an English woman who has lived in Turkey for 32 years and captained by her Turkish partner.

nine

Nine. The last of the single digits. Amongst all the dorkiness that comes with being a nine year old boy (ie: wiping dirty hands directly on anything other than a napkin and taking up more physical space than a herd of elephants) I love finding him in his quiet moments. Fittingly we ushered in nine in the quietness of a quaint French village. His big birthday present had been going to a football game in Spain. So the birth day we spent going to a nearby town (with the visiting grandparents) to poke around and get a birthday cake. It was pouring rain so the poking around was made difficult.