hello.

we are currently sitting in an internet cafe in istanbul. we arrived here last night. from what we have seen of only the nightlife, we both really like it here.today we will go and do some sightseeing finally.this and Prague being the only places where we have stopped for two days. so far it has been a real rush to get through europe.however we now are making good progress.

Since our last entry, we have gone through Austria,Hungary,Romania, Bulgaria and now Turkey. to highlight we have stayed in Vienna, Budapest (where two people had their tents robbed and bags stolen by Romanian gypsies) and Bucarest. In Budapest we and four others went to a spa with massive outdoor pools at night, its was very relaxing. it has been a shame to rush through so much of europe as we only get to spend a night in each city and dont get to see anything of it in the day. some of the bus rides have been 10 hours plus.it took 2 and a hlf hours to get through the Bulgaria/turkey boarder yesterday due to the guy ignoring us completely.but apparently that is to be expected at each boarder from now on.

the group is a much tighter now after 10 days together. we had our frist meeting togehter which caused a bit of conflict and there have been a few rifts between the Leighton(the tour operator) and a few of the group. one guy nearly got left behind in Brasov after passing out in the cellar mid week.

the weather is much better here, and finally we find ourselves in some summer conditions. its only about now that we feel away from home, due to the cultural differences here. we have managed to stay well so far, and have even managed to wash our clothes today.travelling is all good so far. but that is likely to change with the harder conditions coming up.must be off, there are mosques to view.

cheers, alec.