Tony wanted some big shelves. What he wanted is what he got.
Author: MelC
Dinner with Paul and Sue (Matthews)
Lesley and I had a lovely evening with Paul and Sue. Sue cooked a delicious meal, which I devoured with a vengeance (even though I had already eaten my way through all the nuts they had laid out beforehand).
Paul decided it would be a good idea to do a sofa photo which he then sent to the physics reunion group.
Picked up Ella from school
The Bear’s Paw with Alisdair and Sarah
What, No wind?
A typical day’s sailing in Vass.
Goodbyes
Happy Swiss day Switzerland! Today, rather randomly perhaps (as it’s Thursday) sees the departure of many of our new friends and neighbours.
Hugo and Marliss are leaving after 2 weeks in their motorhome into a local house where they will continue their holiday for another 2 weeks. We will at least see them at Sun Waves where we keep our windsurfing kit. They have been kind and considerate neighbours, fetching us little presents from chocolates to completely indulgent high calorie cream cakes. Yesterday they gave us an enormous plant which will shall keep until we leave and then try and find a good home for it before we leave – there’s no way we can take it home.
Danny, his wife and 2 children leave today to go back to Holland. The boys are very active, practising their hockey or riding around the campsite on their space scooters; one has white golden hair that many windsurf instructors try and emulate and the other has black hair. They are also pretty good windsurfers, the eldest being only 10 (last week). Danny worked as an advanced instructor before he married and is an excellent windsurfer. He kindly took time out to help me improve my windsurfing and I was very happy when I successfully executed a fully planing carve gybe, staying on the plane through to the exit.
Andreas and his wife also go back to Holland today. Andreas will be missed by everyone; a Greek national, married to a Dutch wife and speaks fluent French. He has got to know everybody. He has been my local support in my quest to learn to speak Greek and the things pertaining to Greek culture and the way of life. They have left us with the most delicious olive oil made from olives grown in the family olive groves and pressed by hand, plus assorted homegrown organic vegetables that will influence our meals for the next few days.
Tom’s Birthday
Managed to FaceTime Tom this morning to wish him happy birthday. Ellen and he had a great time in Norway and are now preparing for Will’s wedding and Cornwall before flying back to Hong Kong.
Lighthouse, monastery and Porto Katsiki
We decided to visit the lighthouse on the most southerly part of Vassiliki as we haven’t been there before. The roads are all tarmaced but it was still a long way on our little motorbike. Not much else to see there but the scenery is stunning as expected and it was interesting to visit the little monastery nearby. A Greek nun/sister opened up for us and showed us around the inside with pictures and artefacts that dated back to the 17th century; we bought some oregano from the shop which I suppose is like making a donation but you get something back in return. We then went to Porto Katsiki beach in time for a quiet swim before the crowds turn up. It is absolutely beautiful but gets very crowded at this time of year.
Stopped in Athani for a drink and then again in Dragano, the honey centre of Lefkada for some more honey.
Dolphin restaurant
A night out with Clive and Jean and Colin and Carol.
Enjoyed a meal with friends at the Dolphin restaurant. Because our friends are such well established regulars we had an excellent meal and all for 25€ per couple. We later moved on to Lavanakis bar for drinks and some unexpected street entertainment.