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!

To France and back

We headed to France for a quick weekend away to attend Kenan's sister, Ayşe's, wedding.

They live in Saint Claude which is about 60kms from Switzerland. The landscape as we flew over Switzerland towards Lyon was stunning with snow capped mountains which looked like fluffy milk floating between blocks of Swiss chocolate. And then flying over France where everything became green and lush. Saint Claude is beautiful and picturesque, surrounded by mountains which are covered in trees with autumn leaves.

The weather was beautiful and mild and the town was very green and lush. What is interesting about Saint Claude is that there are about 2,000 Turks living in this town of about 13,000. We were told that about 35 years ago one or two people from Yozgat in Turkey went there to work and since then many others from Yozgat have followed. Most of them are there for work and there are many Turkish restaurants and cafes. The groom's father told us that he lived there for 15 years without his family while he tried to establish a business and a life for the family there before bringing his wife and three children across about six years ago.

Saint Claude is really beautiful. In summer Europeans go there for walking and hiking in the surrounding mountains. I'd love to again and visit and see more of the town. I learnt that the town is famous for pipes and diamonds (yes, big ones!), not that I came across any myself, but apparently there are diamond factories there. In the town centre there is a large pipe and diamond, see the pic below.

I spent most of Saturday helping the bride prepare with her new sister-in-laws helping out. They helped her prepare her turban and makeup and then one of the sisters husbands came with his car all decked out in flowers and ribbon (and Turkish flag!) and drove the bride, groom, Kenan and myself around town for some pictures. From there it was back to the house to greet the visitors and family.

The wedding took place at the Turkish-France cultural centre that the Turks had built. The area contains some small Turkish shops, cafes, hall and mosque. The wedding reception was basic in order to cater for the 600+ people. It seemed more like a relaxed gathering than a wedding with kids of all ages running around the place and the three Turkish MC's talking too much and no one understanding a word of what they were saying. During the recent Bayram, one of the groom's uncles' passed away which meant that the plan for the wedding had to chang in that there was no dancing and not much music. There were some more low key songs that were sang, but certainly no dancing. The reception started from 4pm, which is apparently common in France and ended around 8.30pm. After the gift giving ceremony took place, where people come to the front of the room and present the bridge and groom with their gift of gold or money, we headed back to the sisters house and prepared supper for the guests. Turkish hospitality requires a lot preparation, food, tea and stamina in order to prepare all the food and eat lots of it too (even when you are full).

There were loads of great photo opportunities in Saint Claude which is why I would love to visit again and take photos in a different season. Below are just some of the lovely buildings with gorgeous flower boxes and shutters. There were also some interesting bridges around the town.