Rejoice - it is risen!

Yesterday - with no notice - and 25 months after the last was destroyed by fire - a new cantina opened at the end of sandy beach! It is not quite clear who is involved and in what role. Certainly several members of the extended family living in our apartment block have an interest in it and were there in the afternoon and evening. We have been asking about the opening date and getting evasive answers since we arrived. We can report that it is currently running from a generator, the beer is cold, the white wine is very drinkable, and they produce souvlakia and chips!

There are a few other changes in town. We have lost the wally-trolley - and no-one seems to mind! The ferry Samaria has been declared unfit and is moored in the commercial harbour. The schedule for the ferry with  the new boat (name Bob has seen but couldn't read!) is unclear, and it seems to mean fewer services direct to and from Gavdos. Meanwhile at the Skala port we have a new ship. Plenty of masts and rigging! No sails! It is available for private charter, and does trips somewhere, sometimes ... but we have yet to hear real detail, other than of a Dutch woman who was a deck passenger and was sick for nine hours having paid 70 euros.

We miss the Calypso. Barry and Jenny had to close it when the bureaucratic status became clear. They are both now working in local kitchens. See Barry's blog for more. There don't seem to be many other catering openings or closings, although Suzi and Olga (that's not Dr Olga from NI!) are now fully in charge at The Seagull, and have themed evenings. Mima nd Giorgos (ex-cantina) have closed their grill house on the front and it is now an elegant bar called Thalassa - run by Mikaelis (cake shop)'s son Giorgos.

The old Livicon hotel - long disused and unloved has been beautifully restored and is to be occupied by the town council. We assume this work was part of a deal which has seen our first 5* (mm!) hotel, which has just opened next door to it. Last year the talk was of a huge complex with shopping mall - probably all-inclusive - and underground car park. Surprise, surprise.. the Paleo rumour-mill had overdone it! The Lybian Princess is a much more modest enterprise - without even a restaurant other than for breakfast. There have been consequent improvements to the area near The Wave - with several rooms blocks looking better and having better views.

We were apprehensive about what we would see from our balcony, following worrying reports about the "monstrocity" being constructed beside us. Jenny witnessed the dramatic start in March 2009. It is now reaching completion as 5 or 6 apartments for sale. In fact a ground floor one is already occupied. The period of tiling floors and many walls was not one to be relished apparently - but we have only suffered fitting of windows and air-conditioners. Each day a new delight - including some turf that is no way going to survive! Our glorious bougainvillea has been strategically re-arrangd to give some privacy to us on the balcony whilst still affording an oblique sea view. The developer (not popular hereabouts!) has been grabbing what he thinks are rich Northern Europeans and offering them an apartment for a mere 210K euros. We think we have been spared this because we are so scruffy! They are, however, all sold according to our sources.

And what you ask of the street works? The main main street (crossroads to Stavros the barbers) has not been touched - so is passable but with some raised covers and medium-sized holes, but the top (church to crossroads) has had the full treament and shows us the future! This involves levelling pavement with road (even if some trees get felled) and a total cobbling - with occasional large circular mosaics. There are more of these down near the town hall - but there we have some odd stuff going on with rumours of the blessed water feature and a peripatetic periptero (kiosk).We also Chania-style street lamps that never get switched on.

Chez nous the prettifications are regarded as moderately tasteful, but unneccesary.

... and on the subject of blowing hot and cold Ruth has had three days of prickly heat in the arm-pits, following from some very, very hot days and nights. It could drive you to drink - a good job beer at the cantina is only 2 euros a bottle!

Our End of Year 3 Report

7/7 marked the end of our third year "on the road", Here are the stats:-

In summary:

• we would still not want more time in UK
• managing the UK rentals has been more challenging - with two voids and a nuisance tenant
• the euro exchange rate has knocked our spending, but is on the up again
• the weather has been the worst on our (very short) records

In the wake of The Orient Express!

So - back to civilisation! We had a ferry booked from Venice, and wanted a route that cleared Paris by a long way, and yet kept us out of Switzerland; so we stayed the night in Dunkerque and then drove to Troyes. We got ourselves automatically checked in there just as the crucial World Cup England-Slovenia match started. Next day we drove to Chambery - being the last Premiere Classe before Italy! En route we came off the autoroute for diesel and wine at Nuits St George! In Chambery it was very hot! We were getting psyched up for the next day's drive. We had never before needed to traverse the Alps as we were usually down on the Mediterranean coast. This time the advice was to go through the Frejus tunnel (35 Euros and 13km) - but with claustrophobic and vertigo tendencies this was daunting. In the car park that morning a Welsh couple asked where we were off to, and described their journey the previous day - four and a half hours coming over the mountains. Suddenly the tunnel seemed a very good idea. In fact it was a doddle! It has just one carriageway in each direction - both in the same bore, but there was hardly any traffic, and we emerged into Italy remarkably calm. We had a booking at a bargain hotel (The Old Convent) in the northern suburbs of Milan - close to the autostrada. It was difficult to find without a printed map, but after some enquiries we did, and wondered what we had done. A pretty building but with no obvious entrance, and some passionate sound effects coming from an open bedroom window! Eventually someone appeared and

gave us a big if tatty room. We had a strange afternoon and evening there - starting with a walk along the main road in 34 degrees, then time in the hotel's garden with some nice frizzante and a map of Northern Italy. The restaurant owner was Brazilian and there was a World Cup match going on inside. He brought us a plate of free goodies from the buffet he had laid on, so we didn't need more to eat. Back in the room we were reminded of one of the delights of Italy - the strange electric sockets! So no laptop amusement for us - just Berlasconi TV!

Next day was a Saturday - with beautiful weather and the schools just finished. This made the onward drive past Milan and towards Venice very hairy indeed, and we were glad we had decided not to go all the way there for our three days of camping - but to Lake Garda. We spent our third night of marriage camping beside the Lake in 1985, and were rained out then. Fortunately we can't remember where. This time we did our research and decided on Sirmione, and found one of the three campsites we had identified. It turned out to be quite expensive at 32 Euros per night; but is beautifully located with its long boundary on the lakeside promenade, had more space per tent than those we visited last year and an excellent pool - much needed in very hot weather! What we could not find, however, was internet access - other than very occasionally in a local bar/restaurant. We did some cycling in the area - including going into the historic town, with its palace and lemon stalls.

Full of tourists, of course!

We had three delightful suppers in the two restaurants nearest to the campsite, and sank a few frizzantes - including during the World Cup match between England and Germany. (The bar crowd was somewhat partisan for that one - and not pro-England!)

During our last night there was a sudden dramatic thunderstorm, but we had plenty of time the next morning for drying and de-camping. Alain had sent an SMS to say that Greece was on strike, so we thought we should get early to the port in Venice in case of cancellation, so - despite a little navigational flap about Verona - we went straight there, saw the ship was there, and began a very long wait for boarding. The ship was very full, it was very hot, and tempers all around were getting frayed. We had a chat with a Brit and his Dutch wife who were on their final emigrating drive to the Pelopenese - with dog. The last straw for many passengers with cars was being made to comply with the "driver only on the car deck" rule, with others struggling up the escalators with luggage. We forgave ANEK, however, when we saw our cabin - we had been upgraded to a large and comfortable outside one within the WiFi range. Our 38 hour cruise was uneventful, with plenty of sunbathing. Amongst the passengers was a large group of German professional party organisers, who hung their banner. We hoped they were only going to Corfu or Igonoumetsia, but they weren't!

When we arrived in Patras there was utter chaos with getting vehicles off the ship. Two private cars were parked on the raised ramp, and the drivers were nowhere to be seen (One Pole, one aged German). We waited for an age in a stairwell with some cold air, and met a couple who were on their way to our neighbouring town of Kandanos. With all day to get to Piraeus we stopped several times - most significantly in our usual line of seaside tavernas at Aspro Pyrgos - where we had our first Amstel. 

A hot afternoon in Piraeus - including use there of the port's free WiFi, and time in the nearest kafenion. The voyage overnight was on the Elyros - which is new but has a horrible enlosed and smoke-ridden public area, but we had a good cabin again, a good meal and quiet voyage. Next morning we got off emarkably easily and were in Crete! After the killing of time by the sea, and the trips round the three supermarkets, we drove down via the tunnel and arrived in Paleo. (July 2nd)

Green and Pleasant Land- June 1st to 22nd

A straightforward crossing from Dunkirk – we sailed through the controls, were boarded efficiently and found a half-empty boat. We were still having trouble accepting that the best route to Brighton is to go all the way up to the M25, round it and down the M23; so we compromised and went through Crowborough – a big mistake as we struck drastic road works and ended up on tiny roads to extricate ourselves, but we still got to Brighton with time to go round the ASDA at the Marina, and get our first real ale. We had three nights booked at our favourite hotel and by getting in there early and quoting previous visits we got an upgrade to the room we had last time. The sun shone, and we had a jolly stroll with fish and chips, and more real ale – leaving Chloe to revise for her final exam the next day.

We had a long-standing appointment for a service and MOT, or so we thought, so we did some fine tuning over parking restrictions and took Yvette for her check-up in Portslade. No record of the appointment! They did their best to help to help and we agreed to leave the car for the whole day (exactly what we wanted given parking arrangements in Brighton!) We then rode along the front in beautiful sunshine to look for the cafe where Monique works in the summer. She and Johnny are now regular winter residents in Corralejo (where he plays, and she is behind the bar, at Rock Island),  We found the cafe beside the boating lake in Hove, and to her amazement dropped in, staying quite a while to hear their news – especially about the boat they have just bought – and watching sailing tuition on the lake. She encouraged us to go and see J up at the Marina.

Later in the day Bob went back on the bike to get the car (ghastly price), and also received a message that the gig on Friday had been cancelled. So we abandoned plans for Dorset, and decided to stay a little longer in sunny Brighton. We met Chloe in the evening, and again the next day, when a large party of her house-mates, their Lithuanian friends, and parents assembled at The Fortune of War on the prom. Chloe tried to take us to eat at a Jamie Oliver-run place, but it was very full, so we went to a nice little Italian instead. Nor would there be room at the inn for Friday night, so we agreed to an offer to stay at a discretionary rate at the Holiday Inn, where both Charlie, and James’ partner work. So, on Ruth’s birthday there was Eggs Benedict at our hotel, then check-out and an interesting check-in at Holiday Inn. The receptionist asked if we were James’ parents – and wondering if the cheap deal would only apply if we were we sort of grunted – which was fine until she wanted to discuss the finer points of James’ home of Jersey! We were saved by the boyfriend himself, and it was a very nice room with a real bath!

We then cycled out to the Marina and met Chloe. During a drink at the Wetherspoons we saw Johnny of Corralejo and boat fame working away from one of the pontoons, so we went to see him and his boat – a fine vessel that will make its way to Fuerteventura in due course. Then we went to the Cafe Rouge for a lovely long lunch, and Chloe rode Ruth’s bike back to town while she took the bus!

Next day we were told that we couldn’t have a second night at the Holiday Inn, so we joined Chloe and friends at the house for a BBQ :- a real student job with folks only drinking their own booze, few seats and various drunken cavorting – some involving the paddling pool! We slept in a vacant bed and sloped out in the morning leaving a note!

Now we had five days with no fixed plans, so we decided to head for the Kennet and Avon Canal. The rain started soon after we left Brighton, but we managed to look at the canal at some vantage points near Pusey, and then went in search of a Sunday lunch in Devizes (Home of Wadworths 6X). That failed, as did the pub accommodation hunt, so we ended up at the Travelodge, which was a pretty good choice. We even managed a towpath bike ride out to pub for supper. On the second day – which was good in parts – we went to see the famous Caen Hill flight of 19 locks, which was restored through the 70’s and 80’s – in part through Ruth’s fund-raising efforts. It is now part of the thriving holiday run along the canal, and we lunched whilst watching (and helping) craft through.

The weather prospects, however, were bad, and we needed to find a place that would be interesting even on the rain; so next day we went to Bristol:- booked in to a cheapish hotel in Clifton. On cue, it rained all of the way there, and torrentially so in the city itself. We tucked Yvette away and did tourist things and shopping. The city is barely recognisable from when Ruth worked in St Philips in 1978/80, and we enjoyed the market, and the Commercial Rooms, and the water front. After two nights we went back to Bath and Bob cycled from there to Bradford-on-Avon on the towpath whilst Ruth drove there. The weather was very dodgy, but stayed dry for him. R even went to see the old home of the first husband!

After meeting up we went for a drink at one of the two very attractive canal-side pubs, and had fun with the Dick and Jane-themed menus and notices. Then we drove to the Gloucester Travelodge, and spent the night there, with some shopping (almost fully stocked by now) at just-opened stores in the quay area.

Friday was for sight-seeing! We had a drive round R’s ancestral area of Dursley/ Berkeley, the Forest of Dean (in honour of one of our heroes – playwright Dennis Potter) - and on to Symond’s Yat, which we treated fairly cursorily as we did not have the 3 sterling for the car park. What we did see was impressive, and the RSPB were out in force because of the peregrine falcons.

Finally we drove to Whitbourne in Herefordshire. Bob’s old friend Bill and his wife Julia live and farm on his family’s estate. The Hall featured a few months ago on TV in the UK as part of a “make-over” series – the issue being attempts by some the owners of the apartments into which it has been converted to make money for the upkeep. We were part of a huge family dinner that evening with all four daughters present, and next day helped with producing leaflets and notices for the next day’s Open Farm Sunday. On show would be their shorthorn beef cattle, Llewyn sheep, ponies used for Riding for the Disabled and the “Care Farming” project, in which vulnerable people get involved and supported in tasks with the land and animals. As we would be missing Sunday lunch Bill roasted some of their own beef for us on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning we helped with herding cattle and sheep as they were moved in readiness for the afternoon, and in setting up for teas in the cattle shed. Then we slipped away:- objective Suffolk!

It was a bit of a trek over to Lowestoft, and the weather held – just! We were to stay – as last year – at Britten House. After booking two nights we received an email to say there had been a mistake whereby the Monday was not available. They offered Sunday night in their special Mozart suite – with Monday at a neighbouring Band;B. The suite was luxurious – with a huge separate lounge, roll-top bath, four-poster bed and a sea view.

 We met Rose, Ray and Paul for dinner beside Oulton Broad. No18 was a perfectly acceptable alternative for the second night. We spent the day in Great Yarmouth, although the cycling was not too pleasant in the bitter wind. We were pleased to see that the Snails ride – very popular in Chloe’s youth – is still there, and we also went to see Auntie Kathy's grave - now with plaque.

 Before setting off South again we went to see the drastic works being done to cousin Ricky’s house. He was off-shore, but has bbviously been very busy, and is going to be an amazing home when finished.

Neil and Maggie once again put us up for three nights in Forest Hill, South London. We made good progress down the A12 and had time to visit IKEA at Lakeside. A disaster! We picked up the only wok that could not be put through the till, so after the traditional long queue we walked out almost empty-handed and fuming! But the sun was shining and we were soon on N and M’s terrace drinking white wine and putting the world to rights. Wednesday was Landlords Day! We visited the two properties and had some drinks with Pete and Baz – in part to discuss some jobs that they will be doing for us; and Thursday was Uptown Day. We took the train to London Bridge and in glorious sunshine visited Borough Market and some South Bank watering holes, before returning on a slow and crowded bus.

A strange thing happened that afternoon! We were near Charing Cross station when Bob's eyes met those of Jane T - who used to live in our street in Balham, and whose children went to Chloe's primary school. We had a good old chat in a card shop.

As last year we enjoyed a dinner with Neil, Maggie, Paul and Cheryl, and next day went down to see Josiane and Alastair in Rotherfield. They have been having some very bad times of late with health, bereavements and related business in France, relentless work, and now the second of two car problems caused by difficult neighbours. We stayed for dinner and overnight, but plans for country walks were thwarted by a flare-up of Bob's gout. Next day we went for a pub lunch with them, and then headed over to Hampshire.

The rationale for the whole British tour at this time was to be at the Diamond Wedding (60 years) of Ruth's parents. This took place at the now traditional home for family events - Uplands Hotel. We had decided the easiest option was for us to stay the nights before and after at the hotel. On Saturday it was quite crowded there, and we didn't need a meal. Next day there were 21 of us for lunch This was the happy couple, three daughters with partners, five grandchildren - two with partners, four great-grandsons under 7, and Mary and Iris, who had been bridesmaid and matron-of-honour respectively in 1950. We had picked Chloe up from a local station. We raced back in to the meal (our own space in the conservatory) just in time, with her journey having been seriously disrupted by the London-Brighton bike race. As well as the original photograph album, and trinkets brought by Mary, there was even a congratulatory card from Lizzie Windsor! (Alerted to the event by Ruth's sister Penny!)

After the "do" we stayed on and enjoyed the sunshine. Later in the evening we realised they had closed the whole building and we were the only people there. A "Shining" time, and we weren't even sure we would get breakfast! We did, and then drove back to Brighton for a cheap night at the Preston Park Travelodge. We met up with Chloe and Charlie for a pre-theatre dinner, and then the three of us went to see Spamalot on tour at the Theatre Royal. Seated in the Gods (or the Ashtray) we had a great time

Our last day was very hot again. We did some last-minute stocking up in Ashford, then took the 6 pm ferry back to Dunkerque. Yvette had done us proud with 869 UK miles.