Istanbul

During 5 glorious weeks in Marmaris Geoff managed to get all the exterior varnish work rubbed down and got two coats of varnish on, to protect the wood work throughout the coming winter. He still had plenty of time for afternoon siestas in the sun which I know did him more good than anything else, and aided his excellent recovery.

We had a couple more sails on Bella Sogni, with Lulu,and spent a lovely week-end visiting friends, Bill and Jo (from s/yArctic Blue) in Fethiye.

Finally, we had a wonderful 4 day break with our niece, Lucy, and her husband Steve, in Istanbul. It was our first visit to this beautiful city and it certainly did not disappoint. Our little boutique hotel had a roof terrace which over looked the Blue Mosque, and the weather was good enough on two occasions to have drinks up there and enjoy the splendour and majesty of the domes and minarets of this stunning building.


















Inside, the Blue Mosque was equally grand - the tiled decoration of the pillars, walls and domes was magnificent.
The blue light effect through the stained glass windows added to the spendour.





















Next we visited the Basilica Cistern. This amazing chamber, built in the 6th century, with over 300 marble columns to hold up the vast ceiling,had a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of water!











Topkapi Palace was worthy of a whole day's visit really, but the cold temperatures (a real shock to our systems) kept us in the main buildings and in particular the Harem, which we all found quite fascinating.










Hagia Sofia was grand and imposing. This massive Byzantine church, later Ottoman Mosque has now been turned into a museum and houses some very beautiful mosaics, pillars and coverings.













On Monday,while Steve and Geoff went off to the Turkish Baths (Hamam),Lucy and I took a stroll around the local area and we all met up at the Grand Bazaar!














After delicious fish in bread (the local street food, sold from boats in the harbour) we took a boat trip on the Bosphorus. Sadly the day had,by then, deteriorated and become cold and cloudy,so we spent a lot of time inside the boat!!










On our last morning in Istanbul we took the tram and crossed the bridge, over the Bosphorus, to the Galatea Tower. On this warm and sunny morning the views over Istanbul were quite splendid.

Back in Turkey

There were times this year when we wondered if we would ever get back to Matapan but, finally, here we are in Turkey!!

After a few grey,rainy days the sun has at last made an appearance and we have beautiful blue skies, temperatures in the mid 20s and it feels good to be back.

Most of our first week has been spent socialising with friends who are either leaving Netsel marina for alternative winter venues in the Med, or flying back to UK.
We were very pleased to have got back in time to see them all but realise now that once they have gone there will be no distractions or excuses for not getting on with all the boat jobs we came back to do!


From 3rd to 5th November we went on one of the now famous 'Gwen' trips to Antalya. This was essentially to see the amazing dance performance by Fire of Anatolia (similar to River Dance in UK) at Aspendos but also included visits to some lovely ancient sites like Perge,Phisalis and Myra. A long journey, but well worth it.














On Sunday our friend Lulu invited us out for a sail on the 50 foot Beneteau she is currently caretaking over the winter. This was our first sail since last October and it was lovely to be out on open water again. We even managed to get the sails up for a short while and made the most of the gentle breeze in Marmaris bay.


















Now it is time to get on with the boat jobs - we can put this off no longer!! The weather forecast for the next week is good so we really have no excuse now but to get the external wood work rubbed down and varnished.

Almost a year in UK

As Autumn sets in I realise that we have spent 10 consecutive months now in UK watching the seasons pass, adding finishing touches to the house and garden and exploring the wonderful Suffolk countryside.

We have begun to know our neighbourhood and are starting to feel familiar amongst the miles of footpaths and bridle ways that criss cross this area. We have joined a number of assocaitions - The Deben Association, The RSPB, The Woodbridge Cruising Club and a walking group... all of which help us to feel part of this great little community.

Last month had a Maritime Festival at Woodbridge where Geoff felt instantly at home amongst the traditional, wooden boats that had congregated in the harbour.


















It was also Heritage week end in Ipswich and we took the opportunity to visit a couple of building that are not normally open to the public. Most impressive of these was the Arup built, Willis building with it's vast sheets of curved black glass and lovely rooftop garden.

















Our 'yottie' friends are all making their annual trips home - just as we are looking forward to getting out to the Med for some late summer sun! Fortunately we were still here to welcome Judy and Rich back for a few days before we, in turn, flew out to Turkey!

Maritime week-end at Great Yarmouth

Well if he can't be out sailing his boat, the next best thing for Geoff is being around other people's boats!! On a bright a sunny Sunday morning we drove to Gt Yarmouth and met our friend Meryl at the Maritime Festival along South Quay. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the quay, listened to sea shanties and loooked at a variety of large craft, including a restored fishing barge,a Border Agency vessel and a lovely Russian 'Tall Ship'.

A great day out!

End of summer sail!

Our friends Paul and Sandra have just bought a dinghy and they very kindly invited us to sail with them this week end, on Hickling Broad.The weather forecast seemed best during the morning on Saturday so we set off very early and got to the sailing club by 10.00 am. Paul and Geoff took Boomerang out first, while Sandra and I sat outside the club house in the warm sunshine. As dinghy sailing is not really my thing, I was the official photographer for the day!


















After a warm up and coffee break Sandra joined Paul and Geoff in Boomerang and as it was getting rather windy out on the broad they took the jib down and sailed under main sail only.

Summer in UK

Around march or April we would usually be setting off, back to the boat,but as Geoff had some health problems, this year, that required treatment, we are set to stay in UK all summer. Hopefully, we will return to Matapan in the Autumn and catch the last of the summer sunshine in Turkey for his convalescence.



















So here's a taste of what we have been up to during the summer. The weather was just great and we continued to sort out our garden, having planted lots of things for winter interest, they now needed looking after, which means regular watering and lots of weeding!

We decided to put in a water feature in the place where the green house used to be! That was rather more work than we had initially anticiptated, but after much digging to set the pool in at ground level and a lot of searching for the right colour stones to pile up around it, we were pleased with the end result. We certainly get more pleasure from the water feature than we did from the green house we had inherited!!



















We have enjoyed several days out and about in Suffolk and Norfolk, including a very interesting visit to the Sainsbury Centre at UEA in Norwich We were lucky enough to have our own private guide (a friend who does voluntary guide work there) to explain some the fascinating exhibits.



















Tours of the Olympic Site are now on offer and we spent a sunny, Saturday afternoon on one of these. The guided bus tour of the site was really interesting and informative and whilst the site is not quite complete yet, it gave an excellent preview of what will surely be an amazing venue for the 2012 Olympics.


On July 24th /25th we donned walking boots and wet weather gear to climb Mount Snowdon, in memory of my sister, Nicole and to raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. As you can see from the photo, the weather was not kind to us and we were soaked to the skin! It did mean however that we completed the climb and descent in record time (for us at least) as we were too cold to hang around having rests and drink breaks!! Geoff went up by train and met us at the cafe at the top, where we toasted Nicki, with champagne (her favourite drink... and ours!) We then rushed up to the summit for a photo before Geoff had to get back on the train and we had to head back down the mountain - still in the rain! When we got back down to Betws y Coed, all was bathed in warm,eveing sunshine..... what can I say!



















We had a great week end; we enjoyed a couple of walks around Betws y Coed and it was lovely to have some time together over delicious evening meals.


















On 7th August we went to see a really whacky, performance of Midsummer Night's Dream in the middle of Rendelsham Forest!! It was very entertaining and thankfully it didn't rain during the actual performance. A day of showery weather had already rained off our planned picnic, so we, with our friends and family, opted to eat in our conservatory, before setting off for the outdoor theatre! It was fortunate that by the time we got to Rendelsham, the rain had stopped and the last rays of a watery sun appeared!

 

A superb performance and, despite the weather, a great time was had by all!

Nearly Spring in Suffolk!

On 12th, 13th and 14th March we had a mini sailing re-union! Our friends from Crazy Dream (Pauline and Gordon)came up from Portsmouth for the week end and Liz ( from Elma Lee) who was on a flying visit from Greece also managed to fit in an overnight stay with us.





















We had a great evening catching up on all the news, over drinks and dinner on Friday evening. We drove up to Southwold for the afternoon on Saturday and enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the sea front in the bracing sea air!! It was bit chilly for Liz who had been enjoying temperatures in double figures in Greece. For the rest of us I guess we are just glad temperatures are now above freezing!

Photo:Enjoying our walk along the sea front.

At last winter seems to be receding and Spring seems truly on its way.Time to get the garden sorted out! We had been brave (or some might think, rash) at the end of last year, just before the snow started, and had removed almost all the plants from the beds surrounding the grass in the back garden.

The idea was simply to unclutter it and to establish a garden with plenty of interest and colour in the winter months, when we would be around to enjoy it.

Photo of our empty flower beds













So with help from a very helpful and friendly local nursery owner, Susie, we purchased lots of winter flowing and evergreen plants. Last week she arrived with our order and I realised that whilst we might be changing the plants - by the looks of the amount we had bought, the borders would be no less full or busy than they were before! Undeterred, and with Suzie's expert help, we placed our new plants according to colour, size and ability to cope with shade - which we have quite a lot of! The result was very pleasing and we now hope they will have a very happy growing season and be splendid for when we get back in the autumn.




















Photo of the garden with new plants!

Winter in Suffolk

We flew home from Turkey in November and took up residence in our newly purchased house in Martlesham, near Woodbridge.

We were fortunate that whilst we were away sailing in the summer, most of the rooms had been re-decorated. Also floorings and curtains had been re-newed and the whole place looked pristine! All we had to do was furnish it! It is not often that you get the chance to furnish a home, almost from scratch! We hit the shops with gay abandon and enjoyed the biggest spending spree we had had for a long time!

What we hadn't bargained for was the BIG FREEZE! Snow started falling in Suffolk the week before Christmas and it was mid January before it all finally disappeared!













We enjoyed Christmas in Martlesham with Lucy and Steve.





Whilst we have missed many of our live aboard friends we have managed to catch up with some who usually winter in UK, or who were here on their annual visits!


















Anne-Marie went on a class re-union weekend in Rome and had a fab time with 8 of her school mates!
Check out the photo collage!