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As I write, my brother and his wife - Barry and Jean - are on holiday (again); they ‘suffer’ from the same 'need to wander' that affects me.  This time round, they’re visiting two of their favourite cities - Edinburgh and İstanbul - and throwing in a few days on Cyprus as well.

However...a photo they sent me this morning proves, if proof were needed, that not all the hotels in the world’s most monumental cities have quite the views you’d expect.  It’s not always Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge or St Paul’s Cathedral that greet you as you throw open the curtains in the morning.

So there they are, in one of the most unbelievably stately cities on Earth...but no Blue Mosque, no Aya Sofia, no domes, no minarets, no ancient walls, no Bosphorus...

Behold İstanbul...

As Barry rightly noted, you can see the Sea of Marmara, in a Fawlty Towers kind of way.

If you have any recollections of hotels that were ‘disappointing’ for any reason, I’d love to hear from you.  Contact details below.

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One of Hildie’s last gifts to me was a small pebble with ‘Do What You Love’ painted on it.  That - and Barry and Jean’s adventures - have inspired me to plan my next 'Grand Tour'.  I’ll be travelling, mostly by train, through Denmark (spending a couple of days in Copenhagen), southern Norway and western Sweden.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places to visit or not visit?  Please get in touch…

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CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or email me:  truckshunters@googlemail.com