Author archive
19 November 2021
PCR Swab With remnants of Paris time in my body clock I fell asleep at midnight. But for some reason I woke at 0145 super alert. This is so unlike me. After sitting up till about 0300 I took half a pill and slept till 0800 After breakfast, my priority was to 5 mins away […]
18 November 2021
Why I’m in Istanbul I came to Istanbul because Covid-19 PCR tests here are ridiculously cheap and fast. With my entry into Malaysia and Sarawak on consecutive days, longhaul flights and an overnight in connection, there was the possibility I’d end up having to take two separate tests for the two entries. A free stopover […]
17 November 2021
Above: The queue at arrival passport control at Istanbul looked shocking but it moved pretty quickly. Leaving Paris Having gone to sleep at 2100 last night, I woke up at 0400 after 7 respectable hours. I had set the alarm for a 0545 wake up and a walk to the Roissybus at 0610 and departure […]
16 November 2021
Today I continue to revisit the various sights that make this city so spectacular. I started with a metro ride to the Notre Dame and a walk in the surrounding area where I once stayed with a friend. The cathedral has been inaccessible and boarded up for over two years while undergoing fire reinstatement. Next […]
15 November 2021
Train to Paris Lou and Riccardo took me to Joigny this morning, driving me around its old town before dropping me off at the railway station. It had been a somewhat sudden meet-up but very enjoyable. I took the 1109 train to Paris Bercy station where I’d have a two night (one full day) stay. […]
14 November 2021
Above: Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen any of the local wildlife such as foxes or wild boars. It was relaxing day again, giving Lou a massage and checking the travel requirements for my next country Istanbul. Fortunately, Turkey’s relatively easy entry conditions hadn’t changed and I did my arrival declaration to obtained “HES” health code. I […]
13 November 2021
Above: Lovely home of my hosts. As we’re now further west in the time zone compared to Italy, the sun rises later around 0800. It sets around the same time as where I had come from in Italy around 1700 with shorter daylight hours due to the more northerly location. After the constant walking and […]
11 November 2021
Today I join Lou and Riccardo for their drive back to their home about 2h south of Paris. After an earlier breakfast than yesterday, at 0800, we departed at 0845. After a little detour, we got on the motorway where the GPS indicated that we would be on the motorway to Geneva for about 220km. […]
10 November 2021
Egyptian Museum It was a very leisurely start in comparison to my usual 0630 wake-up. We had a buffet breakfast at 0900 in the top floor of the hotel. On the agenda today was the Egyptian Museum in Turin, which is quite well-renowned, plus a little wander around the city. We departed around 1000 and […]
9 November 2021
Last Supper Today I am leaving Milan with in friends’ car, bound for Turin. But I figured that as I hadn’t seen much of the city’s art galleries, I’d splurge out on seeing the Last Supper. Quite surprisingly, I had been able to pre-book this just over a day in advance. I woke at 0630 […]