Things we have learnt from our travels

They say that travel broadens the mind, but I'm not so sure. Before this week I had no particular strong feelings about Turkey as a nation. But having just returned home, I can say that there's things about Turkey I now really hate. Gumbet, for a start. And a lot of the Turks I met too.

But still, it was worth every minute spent sitting on a plane next to a screaming baby, every drop of sweat I lost in the 36 degree heat and every penny that was fleeced off me by insincere, manipulative, untrustworthy, noisy, aggressive and sometimes plain scary Turks. Because despite having spent a week in Turkey, I got to see a very special girl for another week. And that was worth the damage to my skin and my bank balance.

Maybe that's the main lesson from this week. No matter how scary, ill-advised or plain stupid the thing is, it may well be worth doing it if there's a girl involved. Just as long as she's special.