miss b loves .....Princes' Islands, Turkey

Princes' Islands (Kizir Adalar) in the Sea of Marmara, off the coast of Istanbul, are a world apart from the hustle and bustle of the city. A couple of Sundays ago we visited the largest island Büyükada (Big Island!)

The catamaran from Kabatas soon transported us to another world ... a bygone era ......

As there's no traffic on the islands (except for service vehicles) the only way to get around is on foot, horse and carriage(fayton) or bicycle and we thought it would be fun to hire bikes and ride to the top of the island. 

During the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, members of the royal family who fell out of favour were exiled here and gave the islands their name.

The bike ride took us past impressive villas and wooden mansions set in the most beautiful lush gardens along flowery lanes. No skyscrapers here!

miss b loves ...... guest blogging again at NYC, Style and a Little Cannoli.

Today I'm over at NYC, Style and a Little Cannoli again. I was delighted when Rosemary invited me to write another guest post.

If you missed my first post about York, you can read it here and if you don't already know about Rosemary's lovely blog, I can definitely recommend it. She knows the remarkable city of New York like the back of her hand! 

I thought I would write about Uppermill, a picturesque little village with an interesting history. It's forty minutes away from home and The Vintage Cupcake Kitchen is another good reason to visit!!

I hope you'll pop over to Rosemary's blog and join me on my recent trip. Here's a little preview .......

....and while you're over there, check out the rest of Rosemary's blog ...... It's an amazing guide to New York ....... and yet you'll see that it's so much more ....... it's also about style and the most delicious food ....

Please join me here 

Next post .... Sunday in Istanbul and a day trip to the Princes' Islands ........

miss b loves .......... Istanbul and a visit to the Asian side

Istanbul is one of those fascinating cities which draws you back and we've just returned from another long weekend there to discover and explore a little further afield .....

Saturday began with an early trip to a local market .... no other tourists here ...... everything was on sale from pots and pans to factory seconds but we were mesmerised by the vast quantities and variety of fresh food which we were encouraged to sample! 

A riot of colour ...... I think this deserves a post of its own some time .........   

Our next stop was a market of a different kind ..... Misir Çarşisi (the Spice Bazaar) in Eminönü .....

.... another feast for the eyes and tastebuds ......

We sampled so much Turkish Delight and we didn't need much persuasion to buy half a kilo of pistachio flavour to take back home ........

miss b loves.........Ladies' Day

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Last Tuesday evening we headed over to Oldham Coliseum Theatre to watch Ladies' Day.....

Ladies' Day, written by Amanda Whittington, is about four factory women from a Hull fish-filleting factory enjoying a glamorous day at the races......Royal Ascot in 2005 when Ascot temporarily moved up to York. 

They swap their plastic aprons and hairnets...

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.....for their best dresses and fancy hats....

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