Wednesday 24 September 2014

V festival

At the start of the year I made some resolutions and rather than do the usual ‘give up this, give up that’ I decided to make the list a bit more of a ‘bucket list', filling it with things to do, adventures to be had and first experiences to enjoy. 
Going to a festival was on the top of my list and I finally got to tick that off when a few of us went to V Festival this summer.






We arrived early on the Friday and pitched our tents, making sure we had a good spot. After greeting our neighbours and having a few cheeky drinks we decided to explore.


I was surprised at how big V Festival was and how many little stalls, fairground rides and food carts there were. 

As there is no live music on the Friday evening, V hold a silent disco in one of the larger tents.


After partying in the Silent Disco tent till the early hours of the morning we retreated back to our tents for the night.

On Saturday morning we woke up a little worse for wear, grabbed a coffee and planned who we wanted to see that day.


We grabbed some food, a few beers and made our way into the arena.
Stopping off at the different fancy dress tents to try on some of their very silly hats.



 Dancing along to 'The Wailer's, Bob Marley's band.

On the Saturday we saw Pixie Lott, Kaiser Chiefs, Blondie, The Wailers, Justin Timberlake who I thought stole the show. He might not be everyone's cup of tea but boy did he put on a show.

More on the V Fest shenanigans tomorrow. 

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Take me to the Water

When I last saw you, we were quad biking through the dusty roads and getting rather muddy, so on our next day in Turkey we decided we needed something a little more relaxing….a boat trip.
Up fairly early again, we wandered down to the beach and boarded a boat for the day. We were surprised at how quiet our boat was and so took to sunbathing on the top deck.














The water was crystal clear and it reflected the brightest shade of blue I've ever seen.
It wasn't long before we were sailing along to our first stop.

As the sun in Turkey reached almost 40 degrees, you did not have to tell us twice to jump in.
The water was cold but fresh.














For our next stop, we went to a place called 'Butterfly Island'.
Our driver told us you could trek half an hour up to the waterfall to see the butterflies but as we had only an hour, we decided to snorkel instead. 

And relax too. 
















































The chef on board cooked some lunch on the barbecue and we eat happily, knowing we had nothing to do for the rest of the day.

Our next stop was at 'St Nicholas Island'. We were told that the view from the top was worth the steep climb and that on a clear day you could see the island of Rhodes.
Naturally I had to see this view.

On the way, we stopped to take pictures of the church ruins and got a little carried away shall we say....





















These are some of my favourites photos I took on the holiday.
Our last stop of the day was to a little cove, where because of a natural spring, the water was meant to be quite cold.
Let me tell you now that cold was an understatement......it was freezing.














I promise you I'm in there somewhere.
After a wonderful day at sea, we went back to our favourite restaurant by the beach.


I thoroughly recommend Turkey for any kind of Summer Holiday. Whether you are looking
for a bit of adventure or simply want to relax on the beach, there is something here for everyone.












The question is, where will we go next?

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Quad Biking in Turkey 2

After spending a few days relaxing in the sun we decided it was time for something a little more adventurous. Turkey had lots to offer so we opted for a morning of quad biking. 
Up early and ready to go, we set off at 7am to try and beat the blazing morning sun.

 After our short safety demonstration and a quick lesson in how to use the bikes....we were off.

We raced down roads and through country lanes, into a traditional Turkish village where we passed the local gentlemen selling their fruit on the side of the road. 


 We sailed past, giving them a nod and a wave.


 Before being let loose on the dirt tracks.



I love how you can see the dust settling in this picture. Trust me, it was pretty hard to see where you were going at times.

But it wasn't long before we were treated to this amazing view.



Once we had turned the engines off, the peace and tranquility that surrounded us was amazing. There wasn't a soul to be seen on the roads. For a short while you felt like you were awake before the rest of the world.
With the sun pouring down on us we soaked up the view.


And a few cheeky photos too. 





































On the ride home we stopped at a traditional looking cafe for a cold coffee. I say 'cafe' but it was more like a shed with little sections of comfy sofas and cushions, helping you to cool down from the heat.


We paused to take a photo and suddenly realised how dirty our faces were.




All in all, a great morning and a new activity to tick off our list. 

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Turkey Day 1

At the end of July, I flew to Turkey for a week in the sun.
Longing for a relaxing week where I could dip my toes in the sand, swim to my hearts content but also have a bit of adventure on the way, we decided to go to Olu Deniz. 

Famous for it's Blue Lagoon, probably the country's most photographed tourist attraction, it regularly tops the polls for one of the worlds best beaches. 
If that doesn't sell it to you, perhaps the fact that Olu Deniz is home to one of the world best paragliding spots. Here you can do a tandem flight, 1,960 metre from Babadag Mountain and float down with views of the Blue Lagoon, Butterfly Valley and apparently on a clear day you can see Rhodes Island. 


We stayed at the Blue Lagoon Hotel and managed to get a rather nice view from our balcony......

You could sit for hours and watch the paragliders float above you and come in to land on the beach. I found it quite a peaceful place to be and exactly what I needed. 

On our first evening we explored the town and wandered down to the beach to see the views and bask in the last bit of sunshine of the day.




Here are a few pictures of what we got up to in the first few days.


























































This was a little restaurant that we found overlooking the sea front.
It really was beautiful and the food was just amazing but I think that
deserves another post of it's own.  
So until next time