It’s the final countdown now until the beginning of another term.

Can’t believe the Summer has nearly disappeared already! Now it’s down to the unending paperwork of sorting lesson plans for next year….We did have a magnificent time in Crete though – it’s gotta be the best Greek island surely?!! More like the Greek I knew from 20 years ago (Hydra) when I first visited (seems more like a lifetime ago). We stayed in a little place called the Alykes in Elounda and ate fresh fish every day from the little boats which moored in the harbour. There’s not many places I’ve visited that I would go as far as calling ‘magical’ – but Elounda’s definitely one of them. Our apartment was about 50 steps away from the ‘Blue Flagged’ sea (which really was as clean and blue as you would ever imagine a sea could be). The people were wonderful, the food cheap, the weather between 33-38 every day with a nice cool breeze in the evening….too good to be true? Well maybe the return flight could’ve been better – but hey, after suffering the absolute hell of flying into and out of Naples last year – anything else pales into insignificance by comparison.

We had a very, very lazy time. But there was one very important decision for each of us to make every day. Mine was: ‘Mmmmm, what colour bikini should I wear today?’ and J’s was ‘Which restaurant shall we eat at tonight?’ (!!) In fact the only time we dragged ourselves away from the beach was to visit the touristy island of Spinalonga – it's just off the coast of nearby Plaka. It used to be a leper colony for Greece right up until the 1950’s. A lot of the older buildings were sadly demolished in the 70’s – but some remain and it’s a bit spooky walking round the small narrow streets that used to be the marketplace for the poor(ly) residents. Reminded me of Pompeii a bit (not to mention the heat). Plaka itself (back on the mainland) is an excellent ‘designery-type’ place (very ‘us’) with only a handful of small shops and excellent fish restaurants. Probably a nice quiet place to stay compared to Elounda (although we were the other side of the town, so well away from all the bar and road noise, thankfully). We saw lots of beautiful sailing ships moored-up around the beach (I’m very jealous, Jason) and maybe next year we’ll be a bit more adventurous and get about the islands a bit more…

Must just report on one incident that made us both laugh our heads off at one of the restaurants: it was another lazy lunch time (yes, probably about 4pmish). On the next table was a group of older-generation ‘Hell’s Angels’ – about 5 couples. Overweight, tattoos, string vests…you get the picture. The first thing I heard one of the guys say was ‘Oooooh, I’m really missing me dogs’ at which the others tried to sympathise and say they would be home again before they knew it. Anyway, they ordered, and unusually for this place (maybe the waitress wanted them gone) the food turned up quite quickly (when I say quickly, I mean Greek style – that is, within the hour)! Plates clattered, and more wine sent for (while J and I picked at another delicious Greek salad). Next thing we hear from the next table is ‘Wow, that was delicious!’ to which the others asked 'what was it?' The answer was ‘a veal’. Silence. ‘What is ‘a veal’ anyway?’ someone asks...Silence (apart from the stifled laughter at our table obviously). Suggestions abound: maybe it’s a vegetable…. or an animal. Dunno. Helpfully, someone at last offers: ‘I think it’s a type of cow, innit’. We were having too much fun to explain. We did laugh. Well, OK, maybe you had to be there….

Best restaurant in Elounda? Must be the Ferryman on the quayside – although the rest are cheaper and almost as good. No horrible cheap plastic tablecloths and patio chairs to be found here! Consistently, proper, clean table linen. Best bar? Alliogos’s place in the square – we watched the rugby there and the family were always welcoming - along with the smallest dog in the world - Leo ('the Lion')! Best shop? Wish I could remember its name – owned by Nickolas at the top of the town who imports all his stuff from Bali and mainland Greece. Proper stuff – not tourist tat.

I read lots of excellent books the best of which included: Ian McEwans ‘Atonement’ (lucky as I’ve just discovered it's soon to be released as a film). Nicci Gerrard’s ‘Things we knew were true’(desperately realistic) and Torday’s ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’ (hilarious)…
piccies to follow...
Off to pack the bikes and fishing gear for the weekend’s camping now! Let’s hope the weather stays nice for us….:)