It's been a long time....

I know, I know, it's been ages since I blogged. I think the last time was in November and I got caught up with my travel plans and excitement which took me off course from blogging. But the holiday is now over, so I should get back to blogging and report a bit about my time away.

I headed home to Melbourne on 12 December with a suitcase full of warm weather clothes, only to need to borrow my mum's flannel's and mocco's. It was certainly not warm times downunder. But it warmed up in the week leading up to Christmas and we had a few hot days here and there to warm the bones.

I had some great catch ups with friends and family. I took a couple of day trips to visit friends down the coast in Dromana and Phillip Island and stuck my feet in the sand. I don't think I've had that many bbq's in a very long time. There is nothing like a barbie at home cooked by your dad on his old skool barbie, i.e. not gas. It's oh so tasty.

Man I missed the food back home. I miss the massive variety and options when shopping and dining out. The quality of the produce is so fresh and easy to find. From Italian and gelato in Lygon St to Vietnamese in Victoria St to Sydney Road for middle eastern, nothing beats it.

We had a delish meal at Gingerboy for my sister's birthday which was asian food like I have never tasted and oh so yummy.

After Melbourne, I was off to Singapore for three days with my sister. Singapore is always great. It never lets me down. Great shopping, great service, amazing food and so easy to get around and do things. We ventured out to the best shop, Daiso. We went to the largest Daiso in Singapore, with something like 30,000 sq feet of everything for $2 a piece! Love it! They have absolutely everything you can imagine from stationary to storage containers, chop sticks to deodorant, chinese tea sets to table cloths, and asian food items to cleaning products! I walked out with two big bags full of stuff for less than $100 Singapore dollars. Love a bargain. So now I am writing letters on my stationary, eating lunch from my new lunch box and eating that lunch with my gorgeous chop stix!

So now here I find myself back in Istanbul, holiday over, winter and snow well and truly set in and dreaming of the warmth of far away places like Hawaii and Thailand. I really was not built for this weather. I find the cold so difficult to deal with, especially at temperatures around -4 which it has been this week. Although, it is still such a novelty to me to see snow falling as I never saw it fall before I came here in 2007. The landscape totally changes once a blanket of snow cover Istanbul. The trees look beautfiul and you can really see and understand where the hill in Istanbul are, especially from the 14th floor of my office building. Unfortunately, with the snow comes dangerous raods (and drivers!) black-outs, gas-outs (yes, our gas went off for hours on the coldest day!), slush and mud.

Anticipation...

The countdown to anything; whether it be the end of the work day, end of the work week, special event, or to a holiday always brings about a level of anticipation that is hard to match, well, for me anyway. I love the countdown to exciting things such as weekends, holidays, catch ups with close friends and sometimes even bed time when I'm really exhausted!

I am now on the countdown to my trip home and although with every passing day it gets me closer to that day, I still feel like it's just not going fast enough. Patience is not something I have much of. I know I should be more patient, and everyone tells me the days will fly by and I'll be there before I know it.

Anticipation. It's a great thing. I'm glad it exists. Since moving here, anticipation has become my good friend. Anticipation keeps me hopeful and it makes me feel like there is a big reward at the end of 12 months of hard work. It's like the ultimate gift. Nothing beats it.

picture from etsy
anticipation-orange by kikkiandpolly

Short Breaks - Part Two - London

I didn't realise how much I missed London until I was there. I forgot how fast paced it was especially when riding the tube and pacing the tunnels of the underground system from one tube line to another. I forgot how multicultural it was and how many different people from all around the world live there. It's such a melting pot. It is a place of comings and goings; where people are either transitting through or find themselves staying for an indefinite period of time. It's a place you can very easily get stuck to.

London is so green. Although a metropolis of people and buildings, there is a lot of green which was a beautiful sight as we flew in over Greater London.

You can get attached to London for many different reasons. I got attached because of its location, the sense of adventure it provided me and the fact I could go anywhere in Europe with such ease, and also because of its similarity to Australia. Being in London this time round not only reminded me of my life and the experiences I had there, but also bought back memories of my various trips to places like Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Italy and all the trips to Turkey I took to come and visit my sweetheart. Although I loved to leave to go on those trips, I always returned to London at the end of the trip feeling like I was coming home.

Being in London again filled me with excitement and bought back good memories. It was so refreshing to catch up with familiar faces - long time friends, and chat over endless coffees about our respective lives and what they were all up to in London; two of them are there for the short term before heading back to NY and then onto Hong Kong; two others have been there for the past five years, but will leave for Australia in the coming months; and one other is deciding whether to stay or go. All of them in transition and all of them contemplating their next move and destination.

I was fortunate to stay with friends in the most lovely little part of London, Notting Hill, off Kensington Park Road which was close to great shops, cafes and restaurants. With my New Yorker friends we had a great meal at the upstairs restaurant Bumpkin on Westbourne Park Road which styles itself as a country brasserie with traditional meals such as pies and fish and chips but also turns out sumptuous dishes of free range chicken, lamb, organic salmon and 28 day Yorkshire rib eye. We all ordered three courses and sides and got to taste each other dishes which were all very delicious. It was a nice change from the ever overcooked meat that is so commonly served in Turkey and a nice change to not have vegetables swimming in olive oil. But what was most delish, was the Banoffee pie, which I shamefully admit to never tasting before until now. If you have never experienced Banoffee pie, you must. It was the most moreish combination of caramel, cream, banana and crushed biscuits layered inside a tumbler glass. The most perfect combination of flavours with the crunch of the biscuit. I was truly in dessert heaven. Really. I was.

We also fulfilled my Thai cravings and had dinner at Market Thai restaurant in Notting Hill on Portobello Road, which is situated atop a pub and is family run and owned. The atmosphere is relaxed and quite laid back. It is reported to be one of the best cheap eats in town, but the food remained authentic with a good amount of spice and heat. I had really missed authentic Thai food, so it was a real treat to eat duck, green chicken curry, pad Thai, spring rolls and prawn toast and lots of peanut sauce.

I miss being able to easily find meals of pasta, Thai, Chinese, Lebanese or Greek, but simply I miss the huge variety of food that London has to offer. You can find a market or organic shop easily and buy fresh produce that differs so much and offers many speciality fruits and vegetables along with great cuts of organic meat, chicken and even more speciality meats like emu, roo or wagu. You can find whatever kind of restaurant food you want usually within walking distance of your home and if not, you can find the ingredients in the supermarket to cook it yourself.

I walked the streets of Notting Hill and cruised down Brompton Road from Knightsbridge to Gloucester Road and rode the tube to Oxford Street, Regent Street and High Street Kensington. I was coiffed and pampered in Kilburn and I ate on-the-go with a sandwich from Eat in one hand and a latte in the other. I didn't want to miss anything or waste any time so I ate on the go most days. I walked Portobello Road and devoured fresh pastries with butter and homemade jam. I stocked up on the essentials at Boots and stopped in at H&M for some sale shopping. I scanned the food isles of M&S for their tasty salads and gourmet sandwiches. It was a nice change to feel the fresh cool air on my face as I walked and not have to inhale a cloud of smoke from cars and trucks racing by as they honk their horns endlessly. It was peaceful and relaxing to walk the streets and and not be terrorised and barked at by street dogs. I felt recharged, refreshed and alive.

It was great to feel London again. To live it, if only for a few days. I love falling in line with the pace of a city and also being able to walk everywhere or use multiple modes of transport to get to your final destination. I can understand how some of my friends have found themselves there after so many years and wondering why they haven't left already. When you are there you find yourself perplexed by the cost of things, the weather and crowded transport, only to miss it like crazy once you've gone.

I don't know really what it is about London, it just seems to pull you in and doesn't let you go.

London calling

Tomorrow I will take a much needed trip away to London where I will see my friends and visit old places I once used to haunt. I have a tonne of great and happy memories of my time in London and look forward to revisiting the city.

I am so looking forward to drinking proper lattes and eating tasty fresh organic food, yummy cooked breakfasts of blueberry pancakes or fresh porridge and maybe a curry or Thai meal.

I'm looking forward to walking the streets of Notting Hill and peeking in the windows of all my favourite shops like Reiss, Topshop, GAP and Selfridges. I'm looking forward to riding the fast and frequent tube and pounding the pavement in my trainers in order to get from a to b.

There are lots of things I miss about London.

I'll fill you in on my travels when I return.

Struggling

I'm struggling this week with being back in Istanbul. My time at home went to fast and I wish we were still there. The weather here is cold and gloomy. Melbourne is warm and summery.

With that in mind though, I should be thankful for my health, holidays, family and belongings.

Many of my fellow Victorians have lost their lives and their everything - homes, children, possessions and livelihoods - in the worst natural disaster in Australian history.

Bush fires have ravaged and destroyed parts of Victoria this week which has left the country in shock and disbelief.

It seems that the world is also watching and many countries, including our less wealthy Asian neighbours have donated millions of dollars to help those affected. Corporate Australia has agreed to donate in excess of $12 million and a telethon raised in excess of $60 million. President Obama offered his help in whatever way possible and has offered to send a team of experts from the US to assist. The PM has taken calls of support from other global leaders, including Turkish PM Erdoğan.

I saw this today in The Age online, Honour your Valentine with a bushfire donation. I think it is a perfect way to support those in need at this time and to also be thankful for all we have.

Around the world and back

Well, almost. But going to Australia sometimes feels like you are going around the world!!

We headed off on our trip home for our second wedding and a bit of r&r. We survived long flights, old 747's, a second wedding, the hottest weather in 100 years, bush fires and sharks (well, not really, but it sounded good and they were out and about on the beaches!).

For the first time, I felt the drain of the long journey, but felt rested when we finally got there. Husband is not a keen air traveller and travels most of the way with white knuckle fever. I, on the other hand, find it very easy to sleep and relax which drives him mad. The trip is long though, and can really drain you at the end. It took him several days to work out when to be awake and when to sleep.

It was such a great time to be in Melbourne. The tennis was on, we arrived on Australia Day eve, the weather was balmy and light still until 9pm, however, we experienced some of the hottest weather I have ever felt in my home town in my whole life. Consecutive days of over 40 degrees was a lot to handle when we had come from cold and snowing in early January.

Our first day saw us celebrate Australia Day in pure Australian style with a barbeque of steak and sausages and beers, followed by the one and only; homemade pavlova.

On 31 January we celebrated our Melbourne wedding with family and friends which was amazing and so special to be able to do for a second time. We had a fantastic night which passed so quickly and it was such a treat to have friends come from far and wide to help us celebrate.

We had some great nights with friends and with family having barbeque's of seafood and steak, yummy Italian at old time favourite spots and catching up with my girls who were in town from QLD.

On the way back to we enjoyed a couple of days in Singapore were we shopped and relaxed. Luckily for us there were some great sales on due to Chinese New Year. We ate great food in Arab Street and enjoyed the cheap and tasty Malaysian and bowls of noodles on offer in Orchard Road. I love Singapore. It is so civilised, clean, and orderly. I loved the older architecture of the shophouses in the Arab area along with its nargile cafes, with patrons seated on carpets on the floors and trendy shops of home decor and designer handmade jewellery. The service is always good, everyone speaks English and you can find a real mix of Asian food culture, from Chinese to Malaysian, for whatever price you wish to pay. We didn't really venture out of our immediate location due to exhaustion and the want to shop and then eat and relax. I hope to visit Singapore again and get outside the city and stay somewhere nice for a couple of days. Thanks for all your Singapore tips, my dear readers. They will come in handy for the next trip!

On the countdown!

We are heading home in one week to have our 'second' wedding in Melbourne and to catch up with family and friends over a long needed break in the sunshine.

During the summer here in August I was in Melbourne, so I unfortunately missed out on a warm summer holiday. So this is my chance to feel the sun on my skin (with SPF 30+ of course!), enjoy some time with family and friends and relax and take in the time away from Istanbul and the winter!

We will have two days in Singapore on the way back. It's my first time staying there and I'm not too sure what I should put on the Top 10 List of things to do and see. So if you have any suggestions, please drop me a line and let me know. Husband has been there before, but he's done it all before, and given I'm a keen shopper and up for a bargain, some tips from those who have been before would be helpful!