She almost took me hostage aka Too Many Stamps In My Passport??

And I'm talking about the customs lady at Heathrow today.

CL: Where are you coming from?
Me: Brussels.
CL: And where before Belgium?
Me: Turkey.
CL: Who is this address for? [I'm staying with a friend for a couple nights, and you have to put down your address on the incoming custom form.]
Me: A friend.
CL: [flipping through my passport] Is this the person you stayed with on your visit here in February?
Me: No, he was out of town.
CL: [Continuing to flip through my passport] How long will you be in England?
Me: 2-3 days.
CL: Where are you going then?
Me: Maybe Croatia. Maybe Florence. Haven't decided yet.
CL: Where else have you been in Europe?
Me: UK for six weeks, Eastern Europe for about two months.
CL: When do you leave Europe?
Me: Two months.
CL: What do you do?
Me: I'm a writer.
CL: What kind of writer? Fiction, non-fiction...
Me: Mostly fiction.
CL: How did you get the money to finance this trip?
Me: Part inheritance and part stock from my previous job.
CL: Where did you work?
Me: Amazon.com.
CL: Thanks. Enjoy your visit.

I know I've left a couple sentences out, but this is really about how it went. I've *never* been grilled like this upon entering or exiting any country.

I can't tell you the joy I felt unloading so much from my bag today! And I still intend to take another pass at it to remove a little more. While I intended, in July, on purchasing another bag to carry my travelling booty home, it's clear I need that bag NOW. The little backpack I already left here is full, as is a tote bag that I'd prefer to carry with me further (it's a perfect size for beach excursions...).

Though the funny thing is: I'd completely forgotten some of what was in the bag I left here two months ago. I pulled out a skirt and cardigan I'd *completely* forgotten about...

Tomorrow, I'm off to Cambridge to meet a lady I had quite a bit of contact with, while I worked at Amazon. She was also just in Turkey (not that far from where I was last week, really), and since the other ladies I dealt with will unfortunately not be available, we will be able to (she said this, so I can't take credit for coming up with this):

Talk Turkey.