I never had a gap year. I lurched from med school to work life to parenthood, watching friends and children gallivant to ski slopes and South-east Asia. Well, now it’s my turn. Too many holiday cancellations and days in (weeks, months) during lock down drove a full-on mid life crisis- so, from April 2022 me and Mr G are taking a gap yah.

We’ve got parents, daughters and a very needy dog in the UK, so instead of disappearing with a backpack and our parents’ credit cards like most gap-yah-ers we’re planning a series of mini adventures. In between, we’ll pop back to catch up with loved ones, wash our pants, and cobble together the cash to keep on going.

First up is our big van trip. We’re taking our VW camper van on a road trip to Istanbul, starting on Friday ( did I hear you cry April fools?) We’re taking ten weeks to get there and back- heading out through northern Europe, Romania and Bulgaria then back through the Balkans and southern Europe. We’ll be stopping for an #IceColdinIstanbul halfway. Mr G is keen on taking it as it comes and going with the flow- but I’m more of a planner. Think Monica from Friends, but a bit more anal. I’ve got the spreadsheets, the Bond-villain style map with push pins and many, many, many colour-coded packing cubes.

If one of us comes back alone, start digging up patios in Turkey!