Itisallgreek2me

With Ray and Heather in Balkoni bar – Sunday night

Never have my followers had to wait so long to read my next Blog … the past two weeks were supposed to be quieter and more relaxed, however, in the main, those anticipated peaceful days did not eventuate.  This morning Ray and Heather left the island to commence their journey back to Aberdeen for the Winter, so perhaps now, we will find it easier to spend more quiet days and nights together.

Last Monday evening we were in Point of View with a group of friends to farewell the Scots.  Coming home around midnight meant it was not a late night by Greek standards but, of course, any night out here always involves a lot of drinking.  The day before Penny had invited us to lunch at their home – eight of us … Penny, Anna, Ray, Heather, Graham, Judy, Costas and I.  It was my first visit to their house on the hill … we took a taxi up there and with the occasional heavy rains that we have had, it was a struggle for the poor driver to navigate the so-called road.  The location and views, even on an overcast day, are amazing … the house even more amazing – Wow!  Started with a delicious French Onion Soup, Snails, then a main course of Steak and Kidney Stew with pastry triangles, mashed potatoes, beans, broccoli and a red cabbage pickle.  Finished our meal with a dessert made from meringue, lemon curd and I am not sure what else … it was exceptional!  Early evening, with the aid of a small torch loaned by Penny to show us the way, we started off down the road.  It was not long before we met our taxi coming up the hill, asking our driver to take us to Balkoni bar where we met up with Ray and Heather, staying there for quite a few more hours and having a lot of fun.

The previous Sunday, Costas and I had popped down to Balkoni for a couple of hours.  We were sitting at the bar when Costas asked me to change stools and sit on the other side of him.  At the time, I had no idea why, until, I looked up and out the window.  There was a full moon lighting up the sea … a view I will be reminded of every full moon, wherever I may be … simply stunning!  I did try to capture it in a photograph, however, on auto the sea did not show and on night view, I could not keep the camera steady enough – pity.

The previous Friday evening, we had met Ray and Heather at Mosquito for pre-dinner drinks, from where we made the short walk to Akrogialia Restaurant in Kounoupitsa.  Anyone dining at this establishment in the summer can enjoy a very “Shirley Valentine” setting with tables on the beach, however, at this time of the year they only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and dining is inside.  We shared six plates of wonderful food, accompanied by two bottles of a Greek wine called “Four Lakes”.  The food, wine, service, atmosphere and music were all about as good as it can get … thoroughly enjoyable!  Finished up back at Balkoni from where for us  it is only a short walk home.  For anyone interested, check out the website www.akrogialia-restaurant.gr where you will be able to view 360 degree panoramic views of the restaurant and location.

Wednesday nights, of course, are Pool nights for the boys at Point of View.  We did go down last Wednesday and I had an enjoyable time in the company of Heather and Marilyn until around 0100 hours when the rains came down and we decided it was probably sensible to hot foot it home.  Costas may go down tonight to play Pool, however, my mind is already made up … I will be more than happy to stay at home.  Earlier today we met at the Dapia for coffee, came home and made two large pots of Vegetable Soup, a little of which we have just had for lunch.  Very tasty but hot … Costas does like his chilli!  Beach days are over for now although I am sure one could venture down to the sea and enjoy a pleasant swim today but I have packed away the bikini.  The forecast high for Spetses is 23 degrees C which is exceptional for this time of year.  It would be a mistake not to go out and enjoy the sunshine and so soon we will just go for a walk.

Time spent at home with the four cats will increase from now on.  The cats have all had recent trips to the Vet with Sydney having had teeth removed so I have been nurturing him, he is putting weight back on and is almost back to his old self.  We have started playing Scrabble once again and although I have still to beat Costas, his wins and my losing have only been like one move apart so I am confident that it is only a matter of time and I will win the odd game.  Movies too are great for passing the time.  The two that we really enjoyed last week were “The Commitments” and “Zorba the Greek”.  It is 50 years since the latter was made and so much of the old Crete has vanished since then.

My friend Bev and her party who were here recently, gifted me a ceramic plate which now has pride of place in our wee house.  I like it very much and it is nice to have something that belongs to me permanently here.  Sadly, I have just over two weeks to go until I again commence my journey back to New Zealand.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2014 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.