Greetings from a very sunny Tbilisi. I decided to fly with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul as they offered a reasonable return flight but it did require a 6-hour stopover in Istanbul on the outward journey - initially reduced to 5 hours as we were an hour late getting into Istanbul but then extended by over 90 minutes as we were then late taking off for Tbilisi - a storm in the region. Not that you'd know since there was never any explanation other than a very bu...

Greetings from a very sunny Tbilisi. I decided to fly with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul as they offered a reasonable return flight but it did require a 6-hour stopover in Istanbul on the outward journey - initially reduced to 5 hours as we were an hour late getting into Istanbul but then extended by over 90 minutes as were late taking off - a storm in the region. Not that you'd know since there was never any explanation other than a very bumpy flight all the w...

Greetings from a very wet & windy Faroe Islands.. I picked up a hitch hiker who was sheltering from the wind & rain & after telling me where he was going and asking if i was going there, too (a single-track road only going to Saksun) went on to say there was a storm coming... Hmmm - and the difference being? The flight from Copenhagen takes 2 hours - that's the same as the flight from Stansted - mind you, it's quicker to drive to Heathrow & fly...

Staying in the Kempinski in Sofia - which is posh but out of the way & a long trek to the city centre. The Panorama Restaurant on the 19th floor has - inevitably - good views of the city & surrounding hills. I had dinner there on my first night - some lovely turbot (from the Black Sea) (i assume they farm it) - and then for dessert a plate full of gorgeous ripe cherries & some red grapes - a fine (Bulgarian) Sauvignon Blanc to wash it all down - magi...

On leaving Veliko Tarnovo - and sadly having to say goodbye to the captivating Liliana (who is studying finance at the university in Veliko Tarnovo and working in the Hotel Yantra during the holidays) (and who kindly chatted to me & answered my daft questions about life in Bulgaria) - we set off for the rather unlikely sounding city of Plovdiv - Bularia's second-largest city... Plovdiv reminds me of the Central Asian rice-based dish "plov" - and it...