There is pattern and colour everywhere you turn in Uzbekistan.      The Khiva Retreat - A Journey Through Uzbekistan . . with me!! 17th - 30th October 2026  I am so looking forward to going back to Uzbekistan. Having led 2 x 14 day trips there in 2025, I know what wonders are in store for us on this exciting trip. This tour is particularly special as we will be staying longer in Khiva. There will be time to sketch, stitch, take photos, wander . . . This will be the first retreat style tour with Aahilya Holidays, I will be leading 4 more next year in Delhi, Spain, Morocco and Uzbekistan.  After all my tours last year, I felt there was a place for a slightly slower paced tour, spending longer in one city, giving us a chance to take in more, maybe develop some designs to stitch or get out and sketch. On this tour we will be traveling through Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and ending in Khiva for 5 days. I adore Khiva. It is small, everything is contained withi...

Girls just wanna have fun!! In Khiva.  Hello, it's been a while - Happy New Year! The change from teaching to traveling has been reasonably smooth. And very exciting. In 2025 I was tour leader for 2 x 14 day tours of Uzbekistan in March and April, and in November, I led 2 x 7 day tours of Istanbul. Working with  Aahilya Holidays  has been the new opportunity I didn't know I needed. It has changed how I feel about myself, I feel more confident . . and able! Getting older is interesting, the things we worried about when we were younger hold less importance. We have different worries now, our knees and backs and occasionally, our memory!! And for me, my confidence. Who was I if I wasn't a tutor anymore? Did I have any value? Working and traveling with Isha from Aahilya Holidays really opened up my world, literally. Isha and me in Istanbul I discovered that all the years of teaching different groups of adults was a brilliant training for managing the groups of excited guests ...

The Ismail Samani Mausoleum   Yes!! I know you are expecting the wonderful blue tiled buildings. They are stunning. Here is one to keep you going til I post about them, and there will be several posts. One of the facades of Registan Square  One of the main reasons we design in black in white is that colour can be distracting. When you remove colour you are able to better able to see any texture. This building is the prefect example. If there were coloured tiles all over it - you wouldn't see all the amazing brick patterns. One of my favourite buildings in Uzbekistan is in Bukhara. The Ismail Samani Mausoleum.  This beautiful mausoleum is constructed in baked bricks that are laid in 18 pattern forms. The pattern of three horizontal bricks and three vertical bricks is apparently showing the importance of learning - stacks and stacks of books (I can’t help but see basketweave) It was built in the 10th century CE as the resting place of the powerful and influential Islamic Sa...

A beautiful Suzani embroidery  It is now 111 days till I leave for my 2 tours of Uzbekistan. The original tour sold out so fast, we had to add another, which will start on March 23rd. I get breathless with excitement just thinking about it . .  Since my move to Ireland I haven't been saying Yes! to too many things, I wanted to settle into my new environment and not get too distracted. And then came Covid, so I REALLY settled in. So when Isha from Aahilya Holidays first asked me to lead a tour for her, I said no.  You may remember that I led 4 tours to Jaipur with Jamie from Coluricious in the early days of tutors of and artists leading travel tours. I think I felt that I had done with travel and I was happy to be settled where I was. Discover new foods   However, I have always dreamed of exploring Uzbekistan, the colours, the textures and the general romance of the country. But never, ever, thought I would be able to actually go. So when Isha suggested we go to Uzbek...