Turkish Delight meets Midnight Express

This is a story of the un-trip.  The voyage that never happened.  The Turkish Delight Holiday package that went all Midnight Express.  Hey, we got deported from Turkey!  So humiliating and embarrassing as loggies.  We forgot to check visa requirements.  Our special passports need special consulate visas.  Other visas on ordinary passports can be bought at port of entry.  They denied us and sent us home on the next plane!!  We spent the day in Turkish "custody".  Ok, so it wasn't really like a jail cell. We just had to hang out on metal seats next to the Police wicket.  But it also meant there was no Duty Free Shopping after all that time in the air! 

I was really looking forward to the relaxing vacation, seeing I had planned it well in advance and feeling really smug about getting good priced plane tickets, upgrading our room to biz class for the same price, pool in the hotel…. Adrian is upset because he lost a week’s leave.  I’m upset because the stupid mistake cost us $$. For consolation we did day trips close to London…  Could have been worse, I guess. Could have been brought into custody down that hallway where there were little rooms with locked doors, could have paid more for tickets.…  Could have been Turkish Delight meets Midnight Express for real.


So, this was turkey from the airport…the weather didn't look good anyway....

Visas?  Who figured another NATO country needed a visa? Its not like we’re Syrian refugees.  Don't need a visa if you're from Azerbaijan though.

Fly to London - but we just came from there....

What to do while you wait to get deported...

 Haven't quite figured out Rubic's cube.  Good thing the nice flight attendants gave E one the flight.


Well, the weather didn't look like it was going to be nice anyway...

This is what the airport looks like when its dark.  Kinda the same as when its light.

Yes, Fly to London - and back all in a day.  Does this make us jet setters?

So for consolation we drank expensive wine on the plane ride back.  Don't confuse this with exclusive fine wine.  I said expensive - the cost of a flight to enjoy Turkish airplane wine.  And a teeny piece of Turkish delight.  It was actually the best airplane food I've had in ages!!

Well, we got to spend lots of time with E!

Going Local - or Loco?

To hide our shame, we thought we'd be able to sneak some "Turkish" pictures into the blog, but figured I'd get busted for false representation.  

Just trying to get that Turkish feeling.

We still ate some nice food, like this fab avocado, smoked salmon and fennel sandwich in  Cambridge at Sticky Beaks.

We had a great day out in Cambridge.  Such a pretty city full of bicycles, restaurants and smart people.

King's College chapel with amazing stained glass windows  saved during WWII by removing and storing them all.

Reuben's Adoration of the Magi.  Stunning in its mastery of light.

Figures!  I was praying to the wrong saint!  Who knew that when in England, you needed to pray to St. Bolthup for travel and not St. Christopher??!!  Guess that explains a  lot.

College residence

Ding -dong, Avon calling!

Called on Liz for tea... but she wasn't home at Windsor.

Ate some more really good food at Heston Blumenthal's pub in Bray.

Goat curd, sweet potato and beet salad

Hash of snails with fennel

Sand and sea Fish pie

Duck and turnips

Checked out what looked like a Santa throne.

Vacation decadence

We might not have got the Turkish seaside, but we ventured out on for a beach holiday to Brighton.  OK, so avoiding the throngs of tourists in the seaside resort also meant that it wasn't quite beach weather.  We still had to head the warnings and A. almost got swallowed by a shark!!

Bet we could have fooled you in to thinking this was Turkey eh?

Sightings of Jaws

Good thing we can read (and swim).  Not sure how you're supposed to seek help if you're drowning....or being swallowed by a shark.

And just how are you supposed to do that if you're drowning/being eaten by a shark/dumb enough to jump?

Maybe I won't jump after all...

Not quite sure if this was a death wish or using human ballast for the windy conditions?

We really packed in a good time.... with celebrity sightings...

Mini-Sheldon from Big Bang Theory

Went to a wedding... 

Ate cake...

And more cake....

Raced cars...

Skipped stones....

Watched a beautiful sunset.

We actually ended up having a lovely week ticking off some local must see attractions, albeit the kebabs weren't as tasty.  Stay tuned for the next real tour with leprechauns.