We are now in Lattes (within the Montpellier agglomeration!), enjoying a quiet life, good food, cycling and very civilised public works. We are also needing to locate clothes stashed away for four months as the weather is somewhat odd, and getting used to the price of French beer.
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| "More water with it!" |
To say we are glad to have arrived here is to greatly understate the relief. Here is the story of our last two weeks. Early September was pretty good in Crete. There were windy days, of course, but the sea was warm and the beach generally - if busy - quite mellow with the arrival of the "grey pound, euro and kroner". We moved belongings into storage with the blessed Jeff's help, and a week before departure moved ourselves and everything else into a tourist studio in the block that will be our future summer home. This meant we could get our under-loved apartment cleaned and returned, and we could get some decent nights' sleep! Bliss! After a few days the wind started, and we endured unbeachable times, although we were able to brace ourselves and walk to the
cantina for an end-of-season party, which went on into the early hours and involved Ruth's backward tumble from a dodgy plastic chair:- fully recorded by Duke!
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| "You don't often see this!" |
In what is becoming the tradition we never knew we were having our last proper sea dip, thanks to inclement weather! On the Monday the sky darkened. We drove to the access point to collect our sunbeds for storage, and met the Kandonites with whom we were planning to eat lamb chops in the evening. We pondered the advisability, but got the job done and sat on our balcony until the thunderstorm. It was dramatic, but the rain did stop after an hour or so, and we decided to meet up. On our way we walked along the seafront and witnessed enormous and frequent lightning flashes moving slowly east over "the crocodile" and beyond. This was some show! There were forks that looked like a cartoon representation. As a chronicler Ruth was able to tell all that would listen that September 16th was also the date of last year's thunderstorm!
Tuesday was clear and very hot, but Greyrocks was on a mission. We returned keys, moved remaining items around the village and took Yvette for the most thorough wash and brush-up of her six-year life! Towards the end of the wash there was a sudden panic as the brushes knocked the bike rack backwards leaving it horizontal. Brackets had been bent, and it took hours of fiddling and the help of the garage owner and visiting maintenance men to get it securely re-fitted. That, together with liaising with cleaner and restocking Yvette with kit put paid to any beach time that day! Wednesday was our last day, and it was - yes - unbeachable! Except that Greyrocks did in fact go to the beach to find a Chinese masseuse and get Bob's back seen to. We were about the only people there! That evening we went to do a series of farewells and then feasted at the Small Garden. Afterwards at Cosmogonia it was all very jolly and we were about to turn in when our companions got a call from Mats the Swedish singer and Sophia to say they were in Kandanos
en route from the airport. It seemed churlish not to wait to greet. This turned into an epic nostalgia trip, an incident of Bob falling off
his chair and a 5.30 bedtime!
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| Observe and reflect Paleo elders! |
Next morning was an organisational mess the results of which in terms of overlooked belongings is only just becoming apparent. Still, we had all day until the ferry and enjoyed a good lunch on the Nea Hora in Chania (where they have made the effort over the Blue Flag), although it was too windy for the beach! We did a wine run in Carrefour and then sat in a very nice little bar near the ferry terminal killing time until we were allowed to board. We had a fair cabin, no need to eat and a good stock of UK TV to watch, so the only problem was the very severe wind which kicked in later on and made for some noisy perturbations. Disembarkation was efficient and we decided to drive despite the early hour as Piraeus port has de-modernised in the last few years and now has no facilities at the Crete end! So it was a clear run towards Patras with hours and hours to kill.
We made a few stops, had an over-priced but quiet and long lunch at the marina, and drove down the road to the "new" (to us) terminal 5km south. In retrospect the little bar we used for the afternoon and early evening was a bit small to be the main terminal, but we didn't know and thought we were doing fine when boarding started and we got into an ill-tempered queue. After half an hour we reached a malevolent official who said we hadn't been stamped and we had to go to the check-in. Suddenly it all made sense, but had there been any signs to tell you this? Have a guess!
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| Never again! |
To our great disappointment it was to be "Forza" again. This is a horrible ferry! (see June post). The cabin was small but adequate and outside, but the public space is completely inadequate when busy! Overnight was no real problem, but at 6 am it pulls into Igounemitsa for a 8am departure, and many, many more people embark, so for the day and following night there is huge pressure for seating space. There is virtually no deck space and what there is gets full of smokers and dog-owners, so one spends a day with no fresh air. Sleeping on banquettes has to be tolerated as there is so little deck space, so people without cabins hang on to the seats with sleeping bags and general spreading. There is only one cafeteria so one gets thrown out of those seats at meal times.. and there is pressure on that, too! All in all, not a recommended route anymore!
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| "When we will ever get off?" |
Time passed, however, and we arrived only 30 minutes late having had the enchanting voyage up the Grand Canal on a pleasant morning. It was then another hour and a half before we were on the road. We never found out what was stuck where, but it was disembarkation chaos, mitigated only by the fact that we were on an open deck and could watch the arrival of a cruise ship. It was from the same company as the ill-fated Costa Concordia!
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| "Just as well!" |
It was then a 260 mile drive to Varazze, where we had booked into the same hotel used three years ago. The sun was shining, and we even sensed better driving habits and felt safer. We could remember exactly where the hotel is, but still overshot and ended up driving down a pedestrian street that became an alley full of chairs and tables. We had the humiliation of being addressed by a bar owner in English about our sins and how to extricate ourselves. On arrival at the hotel we got a good welcome, a secure parking spot and a very nice room!
It was a sunny September Sunday afternoon, and the town was heaving! We strolled down the promenade remarking on the inviting beach and sea, and the gross
bagne that ruin them! We stopped for a beer and were ignored, stopped elsewhere and only got Becks, stopped somewhere nearer the hotel and enjoyed good cheap stuff and a community at play. Later we went out for dinner in a restaurant we had used last time. It was delicious! We were warming slightly to Italy. In the middle of the night Ruth woke with stomach cramps. This made for a nervous and uncomfortable 300 mile drive next day!
