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Let’s go baklava

July – August 2025
  • Pavlos Simpsonopoulos
  • Jessica Simpson
  • Ruby Simpson
  • Fallen Comrade
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A 29-day adventure by Pavlos Simpsonopoulos, Jessica, Ruby Simpson & Fallen Read more
  • Pavlos Simpsonopoulos
  • Jessica Simpson
  • Ruby Simpson
  • Fallen Comrade
Currently traveling

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  • Greece Greece
  • Netherlands Netherlands
  • France France
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  • Let’s go baklava
    1Sunrise
    1Sea kayakingSetting outAllegra on a swingDon't look upKickin' backTate was rockin'Lazing in the seaAction shotsHad enough of hard workA solar vortexThree kayaks on the beachThis is the lifeThis was the best selfie we gotAdmiring the viewVegetarian lunch...with meatLily under the bougainvilleaDinner of championsFireworksFireworks 2Swinging Tate1Jumping Jess

    The mythical Kalymnian cow

    Yesterday in Greece ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    First up this morning were the girls who had decided they wanted to see the sunrise so at 5.45 they dragged themselves out of bed (even Tate) and down to the beach to see it come up over the hills here. I am happy to report that it rose as normal. I did not get up at this time but was still up early enough, as Jess had asked us all if we wanted to seek a yak. I was pleasantly surprised that all the girls were keen on this, I was too, I have not seen enough bovine creatures on our trips in Greece. We got ready and were out the door by 9, we were all so excited. On the way Jess started talking about being in the water and I was getting a little confused. It turns out that we had had some crossed wires, where I had thought we were going to seek a yak, what Jess had actually organised was a sea kayak.
    This was possibly even more exciting. We got to the town and found the hire place, it was nice and early in the day so there was not any other people around and the water was calm. The town was at the end of a fjord, it was an amazing setting. We set off on the water, we took to it like ducks take to something, although I can’t quite remember what. Our first stop was at a large, fairly open cave. It had a jumping off point above and a swing hanging down, so we loitered for a while. Jess set off for the jumping off point and leapt, it was about 7m high. Then her and Ruby went up, but Ruby had a little moment, the fear froze her and she couldn’t jump, and she couldn’t bring herself to come back down either. Jess jumped again, from a higher spot and Tate also jumped but Ruby was not for moving. Jess was up there with her, offering gentle encouragement in the way only a mother can and eventually (that word again) Ruby found it within herself and jumped, a very impressive feat to overcome whatever fear was stopping her.
    We were back in the kayaks and heading further round the coast, we saw a beach but it was too soon so we kept going in search of another but had no luck so we turned back for the beach, pulled our kayaks up and chilled. Another fjord like setting, with cliffs on either side and deep water. I jumped off some rocks that must have been all of 1.5m high and I felt Ruby’s struggles as for me, that is high enough. It was a good spot for a snorkel as well, there were quite a lot of fish, with shoals of tiny little fish swimming in balls, it kept me most amused. But we had come out without food, very poor planning on our part today. We kayaked back and gave all the gear back, then it was time to find some lunch.
    The town we were in was called Vathis and it was a complete opposite to where we are staying, it’s funny how you get a feel for a place, mostly based on nothing more than first impressions. Vathis had a good feel and it made us wish we had found accommodation there as it was so much nicer than the crowded beach where we are, it is less built up, there are more traditional looking tavernas, and I have mentioned the setting before. So we decided to have lunch, found a nice taverns and got chatting with the owner, who was from Melbourne, although had been here nearly 40 years. We asked him about vegetarian options and he told us there were as few, including vegetarian moussaka. This sounded good to Ruby so when the waitress came to take our order she double checked, ‘is the moussaka vegetarian’ she asked, with the waitress replying yes. What she should have actually said was yes, except for the lamb that is in it. Like wise with our tomatoes stuffed with rice… and beef. So vegetarian adjacent may have been a better description. Luckily the beer was ice cold so this took the edge off my care factor, plus the food was very tasty and we were all just feeling generally relaxed after our adventures.
    Back home to unwind, although with a little work to be done. Tonight the twins volunteered to cook, seriously I am going to need to use Google maps to find my way to the kitchen next time I have to cook. We didn’t need much though after our big lunch, they just whipped us up a lovely salad which was very tasty. As we sat on the balcony there were some fireworks from the beach across from us so that was a very entertaining end to our day. The girls were all very tired after their early morning start, they won’t be getting up to see the sun tomorrow, I just hope it comes up without them there to witness it.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    The view from our balcony
    A lonely pineA balcony kind of evening

    Not much goss in Kalymnos

    July 30 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    After a day of travel yesterday we were all still feeling tired so there were no big plans made for today. So some work was done in the morning while Lily and Allegra got back on their exercise wagon, Ruby judged them harshly and Olivia was not seen as she was sleeping, trying to catch up on days where she had been interrupted due to having to sleep with her sisters. When she did finally make it up the stairs she was so happy, fully refreshed. We didn’t have much food but Jess managed to whip me up a very tasty toasted sandwich with bean paste and tzatziki with a fried egg on top, yummers.
    It was off to a supermarket for our big adventure for the day. The town here is very much on the side of a hill so the roads are very windy and also very narrow with many parked cars. Jess was directing me and all was good until we got to a spot where there were two taxis coming in the opposite direction, at a point where there was barely room to get through as it was. It was time for my reversing skills to be on show once more, and although it was slow going I managed to get back to a spot where they could get past. The second driver clearly had something to say so I wound my window down. He was just shaking his head and said, ‘who would tell you to drive down this way?’’ I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was Google maps. It’s not as if I was the only car going that way and it wasn’t my fault the roads are so narrow, I think he just wanted to express his disapproval.
    We eventually made it through the narrow maze of streets and found the supermarket and got our supplies, it was surprisingly well stocked. A quick walk along the winding road to a bakery had us taking our lives in our hands, footpaths are obviously not a thing here and most drivers take racing line through the corners, judging by the scrapes and scratches on most vehicles they are not afraid to take them tightly. We were fully stocked up for lunch so we headed home and ate on the balcony.
    By the time all this was done it was 4 o’clock and Jess’s hopes of catching up on work were mostly dashed, though that didn’t stop her trying. I couldn’t get much done, I had a bit of a headache so had a bit of a lie down, only to be woken twice by noisy children and air conditioners. Twice! Then I almost had a tumble on my way to the toilet, the bathmat slid under my feet and i skidded across the floor and then my momentum took me another couple of steps and I had to stop myself with my hands otherwise it would have been with my face. It was the sort of thing that would have been hilarious slapstick if it had been filmed.
    The girls had gone across to the beach although Ruby and Tate didn’t last long, I went over as well just to have a quick dip and a cool down. Tonight it was Ruby who volunteered to make dinner, I could definitely get used to this lifestyle of relaxing evenings, it had the benefit of fresh vegetables and was also most delicious. The rest of the evening has been spent sitting on the balcony with the only competition to Taylor Swift’s soothing tones being the gentle lapping of the Aegean Sea on the beach below. Very calming.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    Let the battle commence
    Check them out

    At a loss in Kalymnos

    July 29 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    It was moving day again, we were on the road from Lipsi to Kalymnos. I was slightly concerned because I couldn’t come up with any humourous rhymes to go with Kalymnos and I clearly spend far too much time thinking about these things through the day. But Lily helped me out by saying that I was at a loss about Kalymnos and my first problem of the day was solved.
    We have had plenty of practice by now at getting organised for a moving day and Jess had made us get up earlier than we needed to do we were ready in plenty of time. We got out of our Lipsi accommodation at 11 and had a few hours to kill before our ferry, so there was only one thing for it, a game of giant chess down near the port. The teams were established, Lily and Ruby against Allegra and Olivia in a battle for their parents love. They all know the basics but none of them are experts and so they are pretty well matched. Tate was not hugely interested so it was Allegra against the other two and she was making all the running. Lily and Ruby were very clearly not keen on losing to their younger sister and were taking ages over each move, it was very hot in the sun so we all just wanted them to hurry up. If not for a couple of small mistakes Allegra would have won but in the end a draw was probably a fair result.
    We still had time to kill and it was lunchtime so we sat in one of the small cafes and had a very tasty lunch. It was actually a very generic western brunch, nothing at all was Greek about it, but it was tasty nonetheless. We took our sweet time but eventually thought we should head over to the port and wait for our boat. In all the time we have been catching ferries in Greece, it has been quite impressive how punctual they have been, not today though as our boat was late. So we had to find a spot with a bit of shade and breeze to wait in. Eventually (and it is funny how often I use that word, everything happens eventually it seems) our ferry appeared, actually quite suddenly just from around the corner and pulled up, we hopped on and we were off. It was trying to make up time I think. It was just a short trip today, just over an hour and we were on Kalymnos.
    We may actually have travelled from chalk to cheese as I dont think that Kalymnos and Lipsi could be more different if they had set out with this goal in mind. From an island with 800 inhabitants to a sprawling metropolis of over 10000 in the main town itself, it was quite the culture shock. We got our car and drove to our accommodation, the setting looked lovely, a stones throw from the beach with trees and a couple of tavernas. We met our host who showed us around our latest villa, which is conservatively 3 or 4 times the size of our last place, with 4 bedrooms, huge living room, an upstairs and downstairs balcony, two bathrooms, the list goes on. In fact it is so big I have only seen the girls a couple of times since we arrived, I think they got lost at one point. I think they will get an extremely low rating on Airbnb though because despite being the most incredibly equipped place there is NO COFFEE MACHINE. I’m sorry, I went full R u b y there for a moment.
    As is often the way, we needed to get some supplies and luckily there is a mini-market that is even closer than the beach. A little less luckily, it leans more to the mini side than the market side. So, if we want vegan mayo we are sorted (!?!?!) but if we want a vegetable, Greek yoghurt or feta, then less so. These things are staples people! The good thing about travelling with our personal chef is that an absolute gourmet pasta with tinned mushrooms, sweetcorn, giant beans, tomato purée and scrambled egg, it was devoured so quickly I couldn’t even get seconds. Thank you Lily.
    Tiredness had well and truly set in so it was time for bed, but not before a small battle with the aircon to try and get it to blow cold air in the general vicinity of the bed. I think we just about succeeded.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    The first cloud of our holiday
    On the walk to the beachTwins in the waterRuby readingLily sudoku-ingJess collecting rubbish1W is for wictory

    Once more unto the beach

    July 28 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    I have literally been waiting for the appropriate day to use that title since the beginning of our trip but I wanted it to be at the right time. And since today was quite the battle to get to said beach, I feel that today was that day. After the 5 island exertions of yesterday, and since apart from different beaches we have seen most of this island, we were in no hurry to get moving today. So a leisurely morning was had by the girls while Jess and I did a bit of Monday admin, aka work. Soon enough it was time for lunch so we sent Lily and Olivia off to the bakery to pick up a few things, Ruby had done an exemplary of cleaning up the mess in the kitchen from last night, while Allegra read her book and managed to avoid helping at all.
    We ate lunch and it was time to get ready to go out. Everybody knew that our plan was to head to a beach, since activity options are very limited on this island, but it was only at this point that they started to take exception to this plan. Lily started to complain that Greece was boring, doing the same thing all the time, and we should have booked a multi-country holiday for variety. Ruby started complaining that she doesn’t like beaches, information that would have carried more weight if she had told us this when she was voting that we come to Greece this summer. Jess and I were getting frustrated with them and the twins were trying to remain calm, listening to music on their headphones, which also managed to upset Lily. I like to alternate at these times, from being a calm voice of reason, to being a wind up merchant poking whichever bear is at the point of most irritation. This probably does not help the situation, neither does the fact that this accommodation is on the small side and there is nowhere really that anyone can go to calm doctor have a bit of time to themselves. Anyway, after much animated discussion we were just about ready to leave for our beach day.
    Jess wanted to go back to the one we were at on the first day, I said we should go to a different one, just for variety, the twins were not bothered at all, and Lily and Ruby still would have been happy if we had changed our mind and just stayed in. The end decision was that we would go to a different beach, although as it turns out we should have listened to Jess. The interesting thing is that no matter his much it seems like everyone is arguing before we leave, and no matter how much no one really wants to do a 30 minute walk in this heat, as soon as we start walking everyone’s mood changes completely and we start having a good time. Today was no exception and we had a fairly enjoyable walk to the beach. On the way we had quite the treat. We think that for the first time on this trip we saw a cloud in the sky. We stopped to take a photograph to commemorate the occasion. When we got there we had the whole beach to ourselves, although as I implied, it was not the greatest beach. I say this as a beach snob, the water was warm and clear and we were the only ones there. A few people did arrive as we lazed about, Jess walked the beach collecting rubbish, the twins were hanging in the water, Lily did sudoku, Ruby read a book and I loitered between the water and the beach. As it was nothing too special we decided it was time to head off, although at this suggestion Ruby told us how she was extremely content just where she was, it’s hard to keep up sometimes.
    After walking home we went out for a nice cold mug of beer and an ice cream, both were extremely tasty. While sitting there I had to let everyone know that I couldn’t care less about any pointless arguments we all might have, I wouldn’t change a single thing about our time together because I just love it all. It may have been the ice cream talking but I don’t care, I stand by every word. A bit of light tourist shopping and another delicious dinner whipped up by Lily (I am getting quite used to these nights off) and that was pretty much it for the day.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    Suncream to start the day
    Waiting for the boat to leaveStill waitingMe and Jess in the waterThe girls watching the wavesSome wine on the boatIconicPoser's gunna posePoser's gunna pose, pose, poseRelax timeWaiting for foodTwins synchronised diving1Beautiful girls on the boat1Lily walks on water againTake the leapJess swims to the caveRuby and Tate having funToo cool for schoolOITwins synchronised diving1A nice spot for a snack

    A bit of malarkey near Arki

    July 27 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Something a little different was on the cards for today, a 5 island boat trip. This meant a 9am alarm to get us all up, except for Lily and Allegra who had already finished doing their exercise by that time. Such dedication, they certainly put Jess and I to shame, we had started with such high hopes for our daily holiday routine but did not have the dedication to last. Anyway, we all had our breakfast and got our suncream on and were ready to go. We walked the long 3 minute walk to the port and boarded the boat, then we had around 30 minutes to wait for our departure time.
    While sitting around we were just chatting and I can’t remember why but Ruby declared the the word for fear of palindromes is aibohphobia (this was news to me and turns out to be a made up word). I think it was just because she likes to show off her vast knowledge of useless facts. This led into a general discussion on palindromes where we named a few and then I asked if anyone knew what is the longest (real) palindrome, mostly because I like to show off my vast knowledge of useless facts. Everyone paused for a moment to give some thought to this poser, not Jess though who quick as a flash blurted the answer; ‘minute’. I am not sure she understood the game we were playing but it did give us all a good laugh The actual answer for those who have not lost interest already is ‘redivider’. After all that excitement it was time for us to leave.
    The first stop was after about 30 minutes and we all had fun jumping off the boat although we were stopped in deep water and I don’t feel that confident in my swimming to go too far, but Jess, Ruby and Allegra swam off through a cave/tunnel and reported back that it was very impressive. Then it was back on the boat to head for our second stop which was completely different, a very stony beach where we could just chill for a bit. While walking along the beach we passed a bit of rubbish, not a ridiculous amount but some. Then there was a plastic bag with some empty cans so Jess picked this up and managed to fill it while we walked the beach, as well as finding a 5 litre plastic carton and so we gathered it all and then swam it back to the boat so it could be put in the bin. Not a huge thing, but every little helps and it’s a shame when there is any rubbish in such a beautiful place.
    Back on the boat again and we got a bit of lunch, a sandwich which was tasty, washed down by what we agreed was probably watered down wine. But it was early in the day so that was fine. Another very amazing spot followed for stop three, I think you are probably getting the idea by now. Another swim was enjoyed by Jess and I although the girls stayed on the boat for this one.
    The next stop was a small village port with a few tavernas which was nice although we were surprised to find out we would be there for over 2 hours. So we sat in one of the tavernas to have a bit of a snack and a drink which was all very enjoyable. Lily did not want to stray too far at this point because she wanted to watch the F1 race that was about to start and didn’t want to leave the wifi. So Ruby sat with her while rest of us went and had a 2026 swim in a little beach not too far from the port. It was getting close to time to leave so we headed back, but saw some signs for a mini-market, Jess and I went in search of this while the twins went to meet their sisters. The mini-market was closer to a cupboard than a shop but since on our entrance the old lady shopkeeper had got out of her seat outside to come and serve us, we felt obliged to buy something. We found a pack of biscuits and a carton of juice and thought this would do. The price was €3.30 which she showed us on the calculator, she obviously didn’t speak English. I indicated that I would like to pay by card. Now she may not have spoken English but she was an excellent communicator in the international language of the eye roll and she flashed a very disdainful look at us. I searched my wallet for a solution but had nothing apart from a €50 note and on getting this out we were the recipient of a second disdainful eye roll, this one was accompanied by a little snort I think. By this stage we could have just given up, we didn’t need either of the purchases, but the shopkeeper was not going to give up on satisfying her customers so she made a phone call and had a conversation with someone, I think I picked up the Greek words for ‘card’, ‘idiots’ and ‘fu**** tourists’, but in the end we we were able to use cash and we got our change.
    It was back on the boat for one last stop which was good fun, plenty of jumping off the boat and messing around and I managed to conquer my fear of diving from the front of the boat which was a bit higher than the side. After that it was time to head back to port with some Zorba the Greek blaring on the speakers.
    A lazy dinner, a birthday song for Steve (the old man) and some football to watch, with England winning the Euro 2025 final rounded off what had been a very fun day.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    2Dancing (not) in the moonlight
    1V for victoryLily was a little grumpyRuby catching some rays1Looking good, feeling good.Why do I look so confusedImpromptu dancing

    Tipsi in Lipsi

    July 26 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 29 °C

    Nothing much to report from the morning, just that Olivia had a Korean lesson so while she was doing that I did a bit of work and everyone else watched some Hamilton, much to Ruby’s delight. I had to pop out to the shop to get a few things for lunch, I managed to find some pastries we hadn’t tried before so that was a success. We had some lunch and then Lily watched a bit of F1 and then we were ready to start discussing the day and getting ready to go out.
    As I mentioned yesterday, this is a very small island so the options of what to are either visit a church, which would take about 5 minutes, or go to a beach we hitch will take at least a couple of hours. The beach it was. Of course when going to a beach it is most important to get your blush and eye makeup just right, so everyone very patiently waited while I got this sorted out. The beach is a little walk from our accommodation, 30 minutes or so, which given it was a hot day we weren’t looking forward to, but we loaded up with water and set off. There was a bit of a breeze and even though it was a warm wind it definitely made it a bit easier as the sun was very hot.
    We got to the beach, which was fairly large and also reasonably empty so we walked around a bit and found a spot with a little cave to provide some shade and we proceeded to cool off in the water, spending a little time searching for some urchins like we were living in London in the time of Charles Dickens. Ever since Tate was attacked last year she has been a little concerned that it may happen again. It was just a nice chill time, apart from when Lily and Jess had a bit of an argument about something, I can’t remember what. I did a bit of snorkelling and then spent some time skimming stones. This is very relaxing, it is all in the wrists. It turns out that there is only one thing I enjoy more than skimming stones and that is having people be impressed by my impressive ability to skim stones, and Tate was more than happy to oblige.
    After a while we had had enough and so we packed up and headed for home. We dropped off our stuff and then we headed back out as a bit of liquid hydration was required. We walked around and checked out all the local establishments, while passing one the owner tried to entice us in by offering me a job, I said I would work for beer. It wasn’t the right place though as it was a restaurant and we were just after a drink. We found somewhere we could have a nice cold beer and/or a smoothie and it was very refreshing. While sitting there we discussed dinner plans for the evening. We didn’t really have much idea, and the beer was tasting good so we decided that instead of going home we would just head straight out for some food. We obviously went back to the place the owner had tried to entice us into, it was so early we were the only people there. The owner promised me a free beer or ouzo and I was only too happy with this arrangement. We ordered food, too much as always, but I took one for the team and made sure to polish it all off. The beers continued tasting good. When we asked for the bill the owner made good on his promise and brought out an ouzo which I very graciously accepted and polished off. When he gave me his card though I felt that was a step too far.
    After all that food it was all I could do to fit in two or three biscuits as I wrote today’s edition and watched the girls doing a random dance in the living room.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    2Lily was a little grumpy
    1Goodbye Ikaria111111

    A short tripsi to Lipsi

    July 25 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 30 °C

    Oh, I could hide 'neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings, the six o'clock alarm would never ring. Cheer up sleepy Tate, oh what can it mean, for a forlorn sleepy bugger woken up from a sweet dream.
    Unfortunately it did ring and we had to get up as we had a boat to catch. Once again our organisational abilities know no limits and we were ready in plenty of time. We said goodbye to Karavostamo, we had enjoyed our time there, and got on the road for a last drive across the island as the boat was leaving from close to where we were yesterday. We parked the car and went to get a fridge magnet and a drink before the boat arrived. The trip was fairly short although the sea was a little bit choppy so the boat bounced around a little making Lily feel a bit queasy. But as I said it was fairly short and we arrived on our next island, Lipsi, quite early. Our place wasn’t ready yet but we could drop our bags off until the cleaning lady was finished with her work. We went and did a quick check of the island, it is very small so we have seen most of the town already. We found a place to sit and have a coffee/smoothie/juice. Then we were finally able to get in, the aircon was on so it was nice and cool. We were all a bit knackered after the early start so it was time to chill out for a bit. A quick nap for Jess before she got on with some work and the girls lay about watching a bit of rubbish on the TV.
    We didn’t do much for the rest of the day, a bit of a trip to the supermarket and a check out of the town to get some options for the next few days. Ruby and Allegra whipped up a lovely pasta salad for our dinner tonight, it’s always nice when I don’t have to do it. So all in all, a day with not too much going on.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    1
    1Relaxing on the beach1This was hanging over our heads1My beautiful family waiting for drinks1Tate got my phone1It speaks for itself

    Seychelles sea shells by the sea shore

    July 24 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    The goal of the day was simple, get out early and explore the island. Of course I made the mistake of giving the girls a window and said we would leave between 11-11.30. They of course took this to mean they should aim for 11.29 while Jess understood me completely and was ready by 11. So a bit of time was spent with us trying to hurry them up while they were very affronted to be hurried when they felt like they were already doing as they were told.
    Within the allocated time we were all ready to go. A quick pit stop at the local bakery to make sure we didn’t repeat our mistake of yesterday and we bought a selection of cheese slices for our lunch. Then it was into the car to navigate far windier roads than we had to deal with yesterday. We were heading for the south side of the island which meant crossing the large hills in the middle, seemingly climbing forever. We were almost at the other side before the descent started, and it was a twisting, turning road most of the way back down, often on the edge of a cliff. We reached the car park of our destination, Seychelles beach. It then required a bit of further descent on foot, mostly on a rough path but at the end clambering over rocks with a stop into the sea if we fell. The beach itself was very nice, especially for the Instagram generation, with clear water and a stunning setting. The beach had been formed by a landslide at some point and where we were sitting you could look up and there was an overhang of some fairly unstable looking rocks. They managed to remain in place for the time we were there, so that was positive. Ruby’s opinion of the beach was shared by most of us, it was worth the walk down but not worth the walk back up. But unfortunately whether it was worth it or not that was what we needed to do and we did manage to get back to our car with a minimum of fuss.
    We all got in to the car ready to move on, with Ruby putting her handbag into the side of the car door. Then just before we took off Ruby noticed a wasp in the car and got Tate to open the door to let it out, problem solved and off we went. A hundred metres or so up the road Ruby asked if her bag was there because she needed her phone, but it was not, it had fallen out when the door was opened. We stopped and Jess got out and ran back down to get it, impressive considering the heat, and that she was wearing a swimsuit and a sarong. I didn’t want her to have to run back up the hill so I reversed back down to pick her up, my first but by no means my most impressive reversing feat if the day. Bag was rescued, with phone, kindle and portable battery all inside, what a relief. Until the dirty tyre mark was noticed and Ruby looked a little closer, her phone had not survived. It seems that I had reversed over her bag when leaving the car park. Everything else was still in working order though, but she was most upset about her phone.
    We set back off in the car for our next stop and the drive along the coast was even more hair raising than the first leg as there was some very sheer drops in places but luckily, as with yesterday, it is just not possible to drive very fast so it felt mostly safe. Our next stop was a village called Therma and as we were driving through and looking for a parking spot, the road formed a figure 8 coming back underneath itself. I followed the narrow road between parked cars only to see that there was not much headroom going back under the road and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it as the car we have has a large roof rack on it for some reason. I asked someone to jump out and see if I had room and helpful Tate volunteered. When I asked if I would make it under she replied either a ‘maybe’, exactly the sort of resounding confidence I was looking for. Jess got out and determined that no, I would not get through. There was no way to turn and luckily nothing behind me so the only option was to reverse back down the narrow street between all the parked cars. With Jess guiding me from behind (oo er) and using all three mirrors plus the natural reversing skills bequeathed to me upon being born a man, I navigated this challenge without a problem. When I got out of the car to take a bow, the round of applause from the crowd that had gathered brought tears to my eyes.
    Therma is named for its hot springs so this why we were here. There is a spot next to the port where a hot spring enters the sea and you can just sit and enjoy the mix of the hot and cold waters. It was very unlike any other springs we have encountered, completely free for a start and also fairly minimally touristy. So we had a little chill and then needed to find somewhere to have a drink, a local cafe doing the trick. Some refreshing drinks and some shared cakes rounded the day off nicely, we had done Ikaria proud today.
    All that was left was a last crazy drive home but there was virtually no traffic so it was not too stressful. A dinner was whipped up by me while Jess got stuck into the packing, it’s our last day here so moving on again tomorrow. At the moment though most of our clothes are hanging up drying so it seems like there will be last minute morning packing to be done.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    1
    4Bunch of terrapins on the beach21111121

    Armenistis Day

    July 23 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    In an unprecedented development I didn’t wake up until 10 o’clock feeling very refreshed. I bounced out of bed and made my way to the coffee machine, I decided to switch to the filter today to keep things nice and simple. A little bit of work was done while the girls watched F1. We gave them fair warning about a departure time but our efficiency is slightly lacking when we don’t have a hard, set deadline. But we managed to get on the road, our plan was to head for a beach, surprise, surprise.
    Driving on this island is not a hugely enjoyable experience for a few reasons. The roads are very windy, quite narrow and not in the best condition and when going through a village the parked cars and buildings make it even narrower. The car we have is quite wide, the bonnet is quite high and when the aircon is on full as required the power level is low. So at almost no time does it even get up to 50kms and it takes a long time to get anywhere.
    So today it took us a long time to get to Nas beach, which we viewed from high up the hill and it truly looked like a very cool place to swim and chill for a bit. We had however made a rookie mistake and arrived at our destination at lunchtime without any lunch and as much as we all wanted a swim there was no way we were walking down a hill and back up without food and so an executive decision was made to go and get food first and then go to a beach. So it was back to the car and a bit of a backtrack on our journey to a pie/pastry shop where we stocked up and then got back in the car and drove to one of the beaches we had seen in our way, Armenistis beach. It was hot and when we got to a spot on the sand all I wanted to do was jump in the water but before I could we needed to get our beach umbrellas set up for shade. This mostly something Jess takes care of but it would have been rude if I had just run off into the sea and left her to it. There was a little bit of wind and the umbrellas are pretty crap so there were a couple of elements not in our favour, but in not much time at all she had fabricated a little shady spot that somehow managed to survive the whole time we were there. Finally we could get in the water and cool off although not for long at first because there were a couple of tasty pastries with my name on them. But after they were polished off there was time to cool off properly, Jess set off for a bit of a swim and I went to do a bit of snorkelling. There were not many fish to see and not much variety either so it was not so much fun. After a while of being at the beach someone declared it to be an ice cream day so we packed up and found a place to get one, very tasty it was. Then a supermarket for essentials and head for home.
    Once again Lily volunteered to make our dinner and once again she whipped us up a treat. I don’t want her to get a big head, but it can be quite difficult to whip up something tasty for six fussy buggers with very little to work with but the flavour she conjured up with half a lemon and some oregano was extremely tasty and really hit the spot.    Read more

  • Let’s go baklava
    1A private ses
    2It's warm right hereRuby under a shade1Chillin' on the rocks4Four beautiful young women3It's clear where they get their looks from1Twins having a laugh1Obligatory sunset1All the sauce in the world and all we have is now1

    Lazy daze

    July 22 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We were all very happy we didn’t have to bounce out of bed for any particular reason this morning so we just took our time. Jess and I still got on with some work, Ruby and Allegra were sleeping in the front room so I couldn’t even go and get myself a coffee because I didn’t want to wake them. We heard some stirring after a while and as my caffeine withdrawals were kicking in by then, at that point I could wait no longer and did bounce out of bed. I got some breakfast sorted out for Jess and then turned my attention to the coffee machine. In my opinion, since these will often be being operated by people suffering from the aforementioned withdrawals, they should be as easy to operate as possible. This one wasn’t. I couldn’t get the water section out to start with and then I couldn’t work out how to get the section where the capsule goes open. Eventually I did get these two issues resolved but it took a while. There is one button on the machine and I pressed it from all different angles and I wasn’t getting any response, by this stage I was still staying calm but it was getting more difficult, then I came up with the genius idea to see if plugging it in would help at all. It did and it didn’t. On the one hand, some lights came on, on the other, pushing that one button wasn’t having any effect. Somehow I was still maintaining my equilibrium. I then scanned the QR code on the machine to see if that would help, only if I wanted to buy a new model apparently. Google is my friend, I thought to myself, but no apparently not, it had way too many solutions, none of which were actually relevant to me. I think by this point I may have been huffing in frustration because Jess got out of bed, came and looked at the machine, pushed the button and glorious black liquid gold came trickling into my mug. My heroine.
    A bit more work was on the cards after that, which I was fine with because I had had some coffee. Then it was time to get some lunch, so we popped up to the bakery and picked up some variations of cheese pie and also a custard pie. We had our lunch and then Jess had to bang her head against wall for a while trying to deal with French bureaucracy, in this case it was trying to sort out Lily and Ruby’s bourse (uni grant) for next year. All the girls decided to go to the beach and Lily did her helpful parenting impression, making sure they all put suncream on and took their hats. Jess and I followed about 20 minutes later and found them easily enough, there was literally no one else there. This is crazy when you consider the setting, in most other European countries a beach like this would be absolutely mobbed. It is very nice to be in a place that is not swarming with (other) tourists. We had a bit of swim, the water was cool in spots and warm in others which was very nice.
    We headed home for a while and then were out for a dinner to one of the tavernas in the village, it was right on the ocean with a view of the setting sun. Lily had a plate of chips as part of her meal and asked for some tomato sauce. The owner dude came back quickly with a bottle and proceeded to shake it for all he was worth and managed to get enough sauce for about two chips out. It seems like that was the last sauce in the establishment as he gave an apologetic shrug. The food was very tasty, although it was no lemon pesto pasta.
    We came home to watch the semifinal of the Women’s Euro 25, go England. As I sat here watching and composing this blog a biscuit literally landed in my lap, like some sort of gift from above. It did not last long.    Read more

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