Summer Holidays Part 9 (UK)

So on to the last part of our Summer adventure! The day after we got back from Greece my Sister organised a tea party for E's birthday in a little cake shop/cafe just outside of Maidstone. The weather had held good so we were able to sit out in the back garden and stuff ourselves with some delicious cakes with a good turn out from the family (K. A, C and her two kids as well as M. B and there two kids + Dad). We ended up heading for a drink at the Malta where we caught up with S. who is moving back to Maidstone and had a very pleasant drink as the sun set over the Medway (never thought I would write that!).

In the couple of days we had in Maidstone we managed our reguar trip down to Hastings where we had our usual seafood lunch at Whites and explored the beach and the Fisherman's Museum and also picked up a couple of huge crabs.

I have written before about my love of Hastings and here is a good shot from the beach of the fishing boats with the cliffs behind. This is a good shot of the old part of town.The fishermans net sheds are at the back of the boats.

We have been going to the same fishmongers for years - the ones on Rock-a-nore road although I noticed some little shacks around the back closer to the fishing boats that had also opened up and were selling crabs and whiting. We usually buy our crabs from the fishmonger on the right in the photo below In the converted fisherman net sheds (they are just along from the Fishermen's museum - a converted Church) although it sometimes depends on what is in stock.

We ate the crabs in the evening washed down with a couple of glasses of cold white wine and baguette - bliss!

Our next Port of call was Bristol where E's parents had agreed to look after the kids while E. and I spent a day or so in nearby Bath - our first night away from the ids since V. was born! Bath was only around 30 minutes drive way from their house and I will describe our stay in the last post for this month.

Summer Holiday Part 8 (Kefalonia contd)

Whilst pretty basic, the rooms were fine with a little kitchenette attached to the sleeping area for boiling water etc.. The accommodation arrangements also worked very well with the kids occupying the room next door which meant that they could go on the early morning run and yoga sessions planned by B and M without waking us up.!

In the mornings we all met for an al fresco breakfast next to the pool where we were treated to Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit. it was then off to the beach (We arranged a cab for Dad) where we basically swam/snorkelled/sunbathed most of the morning with a bit of fishing off the breakwater (not hugely successful) and hole digging (by the kids - much more successful).

At lunch we ate our own body weight in Greek salad (what else!) and indulged in a local dish of "cheesy chips" and granita and then headed back to the Hotel for an afternoon of siestas (adults) and running around like mad things/diving into the pool (kids). Towards the end of the afternoon as the sun set picturesquely behind the mountains I would wander down for some more sunbathing/book reading by the pool and a leisurely swim.

In the evening we all walked down to the beach/main street and decided on which restaurant we wanted to eat at. As it was a fishing village most of the restaurants had an ice cabinet out the front displaying the day's catch and most offered a very reasonable deal on meals for two (tuna, calamari and sea bass being particular favourites) which usually included wine.

Everyone at very well and I was particularly taken by the grilled calamari at the Lighthouse restaurant. All of the restaurants were right on the beach overlooking the sea and it was a terrific place to eat. The kids could play on the beach whilst the adults could finish the meals at leisure. We would all then head back to the hotel with dad and I (and occasionally B) breaking the journey up with a quick trip to a small bar which was handily located on the road back to the hotel. The bar was also the source of some football (Chelsea) and a pub quiz as well as a duet between the landlady's mother and Dad one evening (1). Dad also managed to win a raffle (Euro 29) which was also very handy.

We did not do any exploring other than hiring a couple of boats for a trip up the coast. E. and the kids bailed out very early as the wind was blowing and it was quite choppy which proved to be a very sensible decision. The journey up the coast was fine albeit a bit bumpy. However, we had a real problem in finding somewhere to stop for lunch and ended up mooring next to a beach which could only be accessed by a stony/rocky stretch of water which was a nightmare and then we could not find any shade. Dad had to stay on the boat because of the access difficulties and felt seasick all the way back as we spent a couple of hours crashing from wave to wave as the wind blew harder as we were steering into the wind - I also lost my cap and B 's fishing lines got tangled. Not a success!

Other than the boat trip, it was a terrific holiday - very relaxing and the kids were clamouring to go again almost as soona s we left.

Summer Holidays Part 7 (Kefalonia)

Having spent 5 days enjoying the sunshine in the wilds of Oxfordshire at the Wilderness festival we returned the vans and then packed for our trip to Greece with my Sister and her family. They had visited the same resort (Katelios)last year and had really enjoyed it so we all decided to go (with my Father) for a relaxing seaside holiday ... and that was exactly what we got.

We had all ordered a large van to take us all to the Airport (Gatwick) from Maidstone) very early on the Tuesday morning (although we ended up in going in cars as for some reason the van was not available) and we arrived in good time for our Thomson flight. Everything proceeded smoothly (flight into Kefalonia was around 2.5 to 3 hours)and the Hotel sent a coach to big us up at the airport and take on the short (45 minutes) drive to the resort. It has been a long time since I have stayed in Greece (probably when E and went to Crete back in the day) and Kefalonia is a largish Island which was quite reminiscent of Cyprus which we used to visit regularly - green and full of flowers and quite hilly.

The Hotel was just outside the (very) sleepy fishing village of Katelios) - around 10 minutes walk down the hill to the main street where there were 5 or 6 restaurants, a beach and a tiny harbour. The beach was protected by a breakwater and sloped gradually out to see which meant the water was very clear and calm and absolutely perfect for snorkelling as there was plenty of safe water for the kids to explore and the breakwater was home to many multi-coloured fish. The beach was sandy (although there was a lot of seaweed on the shore) and there were plenty of sunloungers which could be hired with parasols.

The Hotel was on three levels and very small - probably around 22 rooms but it had a great pool, a bar and a nice flower clad eating area for breakfast. Given our early start from UK, we had time to have a swim in the pool and then down to the Lighthouse restaurant (which became a firm favourite)for Dinner on our first day having allocated the two sets of kids to separate rooms and the adults and Dad to our own rooms.

Summer Holidays 2016 Part 6 (Wilderness days 3 and 4)

Highlights of the rest of our time at the festival included various visits to the "naked" fruit juice stall which dispensed huge quantities of free fruit juice (which the kids loved and given how hot it was, everyone took full advantage of), a ride on the Big Wheel which also gave panoramic views of the Park where the festival was being held as well as a number of trips down the nearby helter skelter by the kids; plenty of excellent food including a chocolate brownie stall and a waffle store which were in very convenient proximity to each other; plenty of live music including Robert Plant (of Led Zep fame) at full throttle and a jazz band that seemed to consist of a couple of huge Tubas and musicians who basically danced their way through the songs along with the audience; various demonstrations of dance, crafting, henna tattoos taxidermy, a "quiet" disco (where participants wear headphones playing the music and dance around to that but there is no other sound - it is pretty surreal to be standing around watching everyone cavorting in a silent room - the kids absolutely loved this); a late night yoga class which the kids found hilarious; more wild swimming; lazing around in the Summer sunshine people watching - the dress code appeared to be hippy chic with lots of glitter and the very young children (of which there were many) being transported round in little carts decorated with flowers - there was also a couple who were simply "dressed" in blue body paint and there was plenty of sunbathing with varying degrees of clothing (although pretty tasteful all things considered)around the wild swimming area; a couple of glasses of champagne in the Champagne tent to celebrate E's big birthday; games of Frisbee and football with the kids; and the David Bowie tribute set on the last night where Kate Nash and Charlotte Church shared top billing with yours truly and the Wilderness choir (well we opened the show with a four part version of Space Oddity which was quite magical even thought I say so my self).

I had never stayed at a festival before and this was very user friendly and loads of fun - I would definitely do it again although we were truly blessed with the weather which was uniformly good until the morning of our departure and even then it was just a bit overcast. We even got the hang of the toilet/shower facilities (the showers were actually pretty good). There was a lot of walking around and we barely skimmed the huge variety of events, shows, lectures, seminars, concerts on offer so next time I will pay closer attention to the programme. N. managed to break her teeth brace on the penultimate day so there was a bit of a rush to get back to Maidstone and return the vans and get to the orthodontist in time before our early morning departure on the Tuesday to Cephalonia for the next part of our Summer adventures.

Rugby-fest

After a hectic day of football and house hunting we caught up with JG who was in town en route from Thailand to Oman having embarked upon what appeared to be a World tour of education conferences. We caught up with him at the Tim Horton coffee shop near the kids old school which E and I use to go to after drop off and, after a fruitless trip to Nelsons at the Media Rotana to watch the England game (it was not on there) ended up watching England's victory over Argentina and Ireland's victory over Australia in the rugby at home. Despite our best efforts we were unable to tune into the Chelsea game although Chelsea did manage to win. It was good to catch up with J. Who now appears to have acquired a dog and a beer belly!

BBQ Friday

The rain stayed away but it was probably as cool in Dubai it gets this time of year as the sun hid behind a thin layer of cloud and the wind blow hard. We caught up with P and L at Wild Wadi an P did the Jumeirah Scarah which was the kids were fascinated by. We returned to ours for a BBQ a and some quizzing and it was very much like old days. A good evening was had by all!

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Not literally but certainly there were clouds in the Dubai skies today and reports of rainfall in some parts of the Emirate - the first rain since last Winter. P and L are in town - old friends from HK days who are taking a break before P starts a new job in London having spent the last 5 years in Zurick. We used to play tennis together on a Saturday morning and watch footy in Main Street of an evening. We also used to team up for the quiz at the Pickled Pelican in Stanley which we regularly used to win (there were usually only 3 or 4 other teams .......).

We tried to revive the glory days at the Dhow & Anchor quiz on Tuesday night (where by coincidence P and L were staying) with assistance from Dad and E. Unfortunately the old magic was in short supply (or perhaps the questions were more difficult). In any event, we did not cover ourselves in glory although given that it was held outdoors at least it did not rain. Hopefully we will also avoid rain tomorrow when we have invited P and L to a BBQ after a trip with them to a Wild Wadi waterpark.