I do not rock a headscarf!

So, its been a while since i last updated this. Sorry about that, but it has been a bit busy to say the least!

the first thing to mention is that it has finally stopped raining!!!!! only just mind!

we left sofia and headed to a town called Plovdiv in Bulgaria. None of us had ever heard of it before so werent expecting much from it. When we arrived the suburbs were the usual eastern European tower blocks that we had grown so used to over the previous few days. When we finally got off the bus we were greeted by our walking tour guide who was going to show us the way to the hostel; have to admit i had no idea why we needed a guide at all. the place looked awful and tiny! as usual, the second we stepped off the bus the heavens opened! we walked up tiny little streets that were cobbled in stone that looked like it had been there for millions of years. turns out i wasnt that far off! Plovidv is a really lovely little town (actually its the second biggest city in Bulgaria) that has a massive histroy and is full of the remains of different civilisations. I would 100% recommend a trip there if you are ever in the area. from what i have seen its far nicer than Sofia.

from Plovdiv it was time to hot Istanbul. I had no idea what to expexct at all there, but Dad had said that it was really nice. I absolutely loved it! out hostel was in an amazing location over looking both the Ayasofia and the Blue Mosque on one side and the Bosphorous on the other! the people are friendsly, even if the men are a tad sleezy and the food was amazing! no puppy kebabs thank god! a few of the girls went to a turkish bath, and by all accounts it was fab! even with old turkish lady boobs in their faces! one of the nights in the hostel, there was a belly dancer. so while all the girls hid behind tables etc for fear of being dragged up, the boys were the ones shaking what their mammas gave them instead!! so funny! its such a shame that my camera battery had died cos now i have no photos/videos.

from istanbul, it was on to goreme (google it) for hotair ballooning and absailing! goreme is unbelieveable! its formed from volcanic ash that has eroded over the years into what the locals call fairy chimneys. during the cursades people hollowed out some of the rocks and moved in. our hostel (the aptly named flintstones) was made entirely of caves which was pretty fab. we were all in bed early for a super early wake up the next morning for hotair ballooning. It was unbelieveable!!!! definately one of the best things i have ever done in my life! the scenery was so gorgeous and the ballooning was so peaceful. i couldnt get over how quiet it was up there (well, quiet when Annie wasnt saying how lovely everything was the 50 millionth time!!!) once that was over, and following some very tasty champagne (if only all the days could start with champagne) it was back to the hostel to get ready for absailing. ever since i had signed up i had regretted it. thankfully so had Emma and Richard so it made it a lot easier to decide not to do it and lie out by the pool all day instead! having seen the pictures of the rock, i know i made the right decision!

after leaving Goreme we had two longish drive days to get us to the Iranian border. as i am writing this i am in Tebriz in Iran sporting a not so fetching headscarf and wanting nothing more than to role up the sleeves of my "form covering" ridiculously large kaftan! its roasting and the girls have to covedr up completely! we have a feeling that it is going to be a long, hot, moany 6 days in Iran! Im not sure that my phone works here and i think internet access may be a bit sparse, but i will be in contact as much as possible. we fly from Teheran to Karachi to avoid the Talabain stronghold on the Pakistan/Iranian border, so hopefully that will all go according to plan!

as soon as i get my photos sorted and get access to wifi i will post a few more pictures up here.

until then, i have a headscarf to fix and awfully unflattering clothes to wear! YAY