• Leaving Stella and moving to Parikia

    28. september 2021, Hellas ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Yesterday after lazing by the pool and a final lunch we said goodbye to Stella in Ambolos and drove across the island to the capital Parikia. Driving in Parikia is much more complicated than out in Ambolos , the streets are narrow and mostly one way so whenever you want to turn it seem the road is one way the wrong way. In the end though we got through to where we wanted to park, got the apartment keys and settled in. In the evening we felt very tired and just went to a nearby touristy restaurant by the port, but it was really good.

    Today we spent the morning in the archaeological museum, and a small cemetery dating from the 8th century BC up to Roman times. When we're here before we had just half a day before our ferry left to go to Santorini, so we had to rush around. This time we could spend good time in the museum, which is quite small but full of lovely pieces from the island and neighbouring couple of islands. Definitely worth the return visit.
    Les mer

  • Naousa

    27. september 2021, Hellas ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    This morning we drove up the coast to the nearest small town to us, Naousa. It looks quite prosperous with lots of fancy clothes shops and a couple of harbours full of boats. I guess it's on the Aegean sailing routes. We started with the biggest church in town, built in the 1800s , it sits on a hill and dominates the town and can be seen from the harbours. Then on to the remains of a fifteenth century Venetian fort at the harbour and a little fishermans' chapel on the harbour wall. The last time we were here Lynette remembers seen octopuses drying out on strings along the harbour so this time we sat and had lunch in one of the harbour restaurants and had grilled octopus.

    On the way home we found a bit of archaeology, a "Hellenic period tower" just along from our village. There isn't much left but it's still a wonderful construction of cut and shaped blocks.
    Les mer

  • Sunday

    26. september 2021, Hellas ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    This morning we drove around the area near here. There a lots of new large villas in isolated spots and several wide and empty beaches. Not sure what it would be like high season.
    Paros does not have much in the way of archaeological sites but we are trying to visit the few marked on the map. The Mycenaean acropolis from 13c BC sounded worth a try. Obviously from the name it's at the top of a hill but this one proved too difficult for us to climb - no clear path and big boulders so we gave up about two thirds of the way up. I guess we aren't going to do much climbing of Greek mountains any more!

    Sunday lunchtime is big for Greek families and the hotel restaurant was busy with long noisy groups. We ate a light meal on our terrace of cheese and shrimp pies and later, Tim's favourite Greek dessert of galactoboreko.
    Very quiet in the restaurant this evening and Stella, the owner, sat and chatted for a while about what it had been like during the pandemic. Her son, a Greek pop star, was on TV last night in a sort of Strictly for singers where a professional singer pairs with an amateur.
    Les mer

  • Beach

    25. september 2021, Hellas ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This morning we walked along the coast road up to a small promontory with views along the coast. Last time we were here (6 or 7 years ago!) I used to run up this little hill every morning - can't do that any more! Afterwards we spent the rest of the morning at a little beach (with no other people) just along from our hotel and stayed there afterwards for lunch in a taverna looking out over the sea. Then Lazed around the hotel pool the rest of the day and celebrated Barnet's first win of the season.Les mer

  • 50th wedding anniversary

    25. september 2021, Hellas ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We have spent our anniversary doing what we do best. After a yummy breakfast we went for a drive, first to the archaeological site in the mountains that was the ancient Greek quarry for the Parian marble used for many Greek statues and buildings. In truth there wasn't much to see but it was still pleasant to wander around. Next we went to the pretty hilltop town of Lefkes and wandered around and visited a Greek orthodox church. We then went back to the coast and had lunch at a harbourside taverna in Piso Livadi before heading back to the hotel. The afternoon was spent in the sun beside and in the pool. Stella cooked us a wonderful dinner of dolmades, grilled sea bream and some strange chocolate/caramel/cream dessert with a candle in it that was far too rich to eat much of. A lovely day.Les mer

  • Relaxing first day

    23. september 2021, Hellas ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Got up really late this morning and I went for a short walk down the village harbour. It had turned really windy during the night and although the sea wasn't rough it was distinctly choppy with white caps everywhere. The walk back was harder uphill and into the wind. I don't think there will be much fresh fish tonight ! This afternoon we just lazed around the pool in the sun and I went for a swim. It was nice till I got out and got hit by the wind. By this evening the wind had really got up and we had to eat inside the restaurant. Hope it's better tomorrow!Les mer

  • Arrival

    22. september 2021, Hellas ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    We left home at 5.00 am by taxi to Heathrow. All the paperwork done beforehand and submitted to BA to verify was worth it as we sailed through check-in and security. Flight was on time arriving in Athens and, again, the prior submission of paperwork meant we were through security and collected our bags within an hour. A leisurely lunch of Greek pies was followed by half an hour in a museum in the airport exhibiting finds dug up in the area around the airport. What a good idea! The next flight only took half an hour and we arrived in Paros at 6pm. The worst part was having to wear a mask for a solid 11 hours - our ears hurt. We picked up a car at the airport and arrived half an hour later at Stella's hotel just as the sun was setting. A beer by the pool followed by a delicious meal made it all worthwhile.Les mer

  • Back home

    22. juni 2021, England ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Tuesday turned out wet, cold and quite windy so we spent the morning in the Jersey museum in st. Helier. This is a decent museum about the people and history of Jersey and well worth a visit. After lunch a walk around the two central markets and bought some jersey butter and some jersey Royal potatoes. It was still cold and raining so we retreated to a warm coffee shop with comfy seats and waited there till it was time to check in for the overnight ferry to Portsmouth. A good dinner, Some glasses of wine and watching the England match, and we were to leave jersey. The crossing and drive home were uneventful and we were back by mid-morning.Les mer

  • Time to go home

    22. juni 2021, Jersey ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    This evening we catch the overnight ferry back to Portsmouth with a 2 bed cabin so we get a decent sleep before the drive home. It was raining when we arrived, is raining now and due to continue all day. It has rained most of the time we have been here so we have not seen Jersey at its best. However the hotel has been exceptionally good and the location with the lovely beach is wonderful. Even in the rain we have enjoyed gazing at the seascape from our room and balcony. We have also eaten far too much of the delicious food. I could imagine coming back - if you could guarantee decent weather. All the locals tell us how good the weather has been and how unusual it is to have 5 straight days of rain at this time of year. The weather is expected to be good tomorrow!
    We will go to another museum today and to the central indoor market to see if we can bring some of the great produce home.
    Les mer

  • Rainy day trip

    21. juni 2021, Jersey ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    This morning we drove in the rain and morning fog all along the west and north coasts. The west coast is pretty much all one long sandy beach, which in the sunshine and a good day would be wonderful, but it's bleak and facing the incoming Atlantic seas and weather, and pretty much no habitation except for surfer shacks. The north coast is rocky with cliffs, sea caves and tiny inlets much like north Devon or Cornwall.

    We had a tour booked at a vineyard and distillery near to the north coast, so that was good. the wines didn't impress us much, although the cider and the calvados were good enough for us to buy a bottle or two. And by the time we came out it had stopped raining and the sun was peaking through. On the way home we stopped at "the last remaining working water wheel mill on the island", except although you see how it all worked they only mill grain twice a year.
    Les mer

  • A gentle day

    20. juni 2021, Jersey ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We had a gentle walk all along the beach and a paddle in the, surprisingly warm , sea in the morning and then, between the tennis and the football, a walk to the end of the beach in the other direction. There are a church dating from the 12th century, and a chapel dating even earlier from the 11th century, and containing stunning frescos of bible scenes.Les mer

  • Castle and passage tomb

    19. juni 2021, Jersey ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Out on a promontory on the east coast of the island , this castle was built in the 1300s as defence against the French. The English crown had lost Normandy and the French were threatening to invade. It's a huge, impressive and very fine castle that has been enlarged over the years, especially during the English civil war, when jersey stayed loyal to the crown.

    The coast of Normandy is clearly visible from the castle towers.

    Inland from the castle is a Neolithic passage tomb, dating from 4000 BC, on top of the tomb is a 40 ft high mound, where a Christian chapel was built in the 12th century, and in which frescos were painted in the 1600s.
    Les mer

  • On to Jersey

    18. juni 2021, Jersey ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We woke up to heavy grey skies and a smattering of rain, and drove to Poole to get the ferry to Jersey. The arrangements all worked fine and the ferry even arrived a bit early in pouring rain. We had to complete comprehensive forms online before we left England and did PCR tests on arrival, and show our vaccination details at the hotel.

    We stopped on the way to the hotel to see a really interesting church. It's proper name is st. Matthews, but it's always known as the glass church. Originally built in the1840, it was refurbished in the 1934 by Lady Boot, widow of the founder of Boots of Nottingham in his memory, and filled with beautiful glass work by Renee Lalique, the French art nouveaux/deco designer, and one of my favourite designers.

    The hotel is wonderfully positioned right on the beach and if we get a day when it's not raining, it will be really good.
    Les mer

  • dorchester museum, dinosaurs and chesil

    17. juni 2021, England ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    After the Roman house we visited the Dorset county museum in Dorchester which is an excellent museum covering the history and archaeology of Dorset from Neolithic times up to the present day, and a great collection of dinosaur fossils from The Jurassic coast. It is really a fine museum and we spent ages just in the Neolithic up to Roman periods. On the way home we crawled through the traffic jams to go and walk on chesil beach, which I remember going to in my youth on a family holiday. We were lucky all day with the weather. It was mostly cloudy but it only rained a bit when we were inside the museum.Les mer

  • Maiden castle and Dorchester Roman house

    17. juni 2021, England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    About half an hour's drive west of Lulworth is Maiden castle, a HUGE Iron Age hill fort. It's the biggest in Europe and so big that you really can't see it all from the ground- aerial pictures are best. It's been cloudy and a little rainy all day today but when we got to maiden castle the sun came out and it was magnificent. It was built in two phases : the first about 600 BC and covering about 16 acres, then it was tripled in size in 450 BC and covering 47 acres. After that we drove up to Dorchester to look at a well-preserved Roman townhouse with lots of nice mosaic floors, but although you can see through the windows it's closed except for pre-booked entry.Les mer

  • Corfe castle

    16. juni 2021, England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    A quick 20 minute drive this morning and we were at Corfe Castle. This was built by the Normans in the 11th century, but probably on a Saxon wooden stonghold, and sits on a spectacular hill top commanding a prime pass through the downs. It's now almost completely ruined but still very much worth a visit. It's also on the the swanage and Corfe castle steam railway so that was a must visit as well. After a run down on the train from Corfe castle to Swanage, and a icecream on the front by the beach we got the train back up to Corfe castle in time for a cream tea!Les mer

  • Durdle door

    15. juni 2021, England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Feeling better today. We had a really good meal in the hotel last night and slept really well then this morning (after a full English !) We walked all morning along the Dorset coastal path to Durdle Door. It was three hours and pretty steep in places. Just reminded me how unfit I now am, but it was a good workout and although there were still hoards of people on the path and at the site, we came back on an inland path and had it to ourselves. This afternoon we just relaxed and watched the queens tennis.Les mer

  • Drive to Lulworth Cove

    14. juni 2021, England ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We got away in good time this morning but by the time we got near to the south coast around Southampton the traffic was crazy. Stopped on the way to visit Kingston Lacey but it took us three hours to get there. It's a huge country house now owned by the national trust, and the biggest collection of Egyptian artefacts in private hands, as well as a fine collection of paintings. There wasn't as much Egyptian stuff as I thought but what there was is very fine. Most of the paintings are not currently on display - covid you know!

    When we got to Lulworth it was just packed, I guess lots of people had the same idea. And the hotel was, shall we say not up the standard we are used to. All in all we were pretty grumpy.
    Les mer

  • Emily's birthday

    5. mai 2021, England ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    As it was a school day Emily just opened a couple of presents in the morning, then we went round after she was back from school. We were lucky with the weather and it was so nice being there to share it with her. She couldn't have any friends there because of the covid restrictions, but they plan to have a party later when we can.

    Our present, that we've been making for last few week is a Mud Kitchen. They have one at school and it's very popular - kids and mud!
    Les mer

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