With the car returned we spent the last full day and the last part day waiting to go back to the airport much as we spent the first day of the holiday. On the beach and around the pool, walking into the village, drinking at the friendly Italian bar and ocassionally watching the European football. On Thursday it was my forty-sixth birthday so I spent a bit more time than usual in the Italian bar that day but the evening soccer match was a dull 0 – 0 affair between Sweden and Turkey.
During the week the weather had warmed up and the last two days were very hot and we spent a lot of time lying on sunbeds and looking out over the haze of the Adriatic with the ocassional green silhouette of an island to be seen as though it was floating by. It was fun to snorkel in the warm calm waters of the secluded bay and then just sit around and let the days slip through our fingers.
I like all things about Greece and have returned every year since but since 2002 always to the Cycladic Islands to the east of the mainland , which are very different in character. Because they spent so long under Venetian control the Ionian Islands are more of a mix of Italian and Greek and with its grey limestone mountains and forests, Kefalonia has a feel of the Croatian Islands further to the north. I have been to the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Kos and these have a Turkish influence but the rugged little Cycladic Islands feel totally authentically Greek to me and I have to say that they are my favourites.
This was also the last time that I went to Greece on this sort of holiday, next year, also in Kefalonia we skipped the full board arrangements and after that we graduated through bed and breakfast up until 2005 through to full do your own thing back packing in 2006 and currently plans are being made for the 2009 adventure.
Just a few weeks later at the end of July we were back in Greece but unfortunately not all together. Due to a minor family disagreement we went to Skiathos on the other side of Greece without mum and dad and a few weeks later they went to Skiathos on the other side of Greece without us. Dad liked going on holiday and I am glad we spent this last one together almost a quarter of a century after our first European holiday together in Sorrento in 1976.
During the week the weather had warmed up and the last two days were very hot and we spent a lot of time lying on sunbeds and looking out over the haze of the Adriatic with the ocassional green silhouette of an island to be seen as though it was floating by. It was fun to snorkel in the warm calm waters of the secluded bay and then just sit around and let the days slip through our fingers.
I like all things about Greece and have returned every year since but since 2002 always to the Cycladic Islands to the east of the mainland , which are very different in character. Because they spent so long under Venetian control the Ionian Islands are more of a mix of Italian and Greek and with its grey limestone mountains and forests, Kefalonia has a feel of the Croatian Islands further to the north. I have been to the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Kos and these have a Turkish influence but the rugged little Cycladic Islands feel totally authentically Greek to me and I have to say that they are my favourites.
This was also the last time that I went to Greece on this sort of holiday, next year, also in Kefalonia we skipped the full board arrangements and after that we graduated through bed and breakfast up until 2005 through to full do your own thing back packing in 2006 and currently plans are being made for the 2009 adventure.
Just a few weeks later at the end of July we were back in Greece but unfortunately not all together. Due to a minor family disagreement we went to Skiathos on the other side of Greece without mum and dad and a few weeks later they went to Skiathos on the other side of Greece without us. Dad liked going on holiday and I am glad we spent this last one together almost a quarter of a century after our first European holiday together in Sorrento in 1976.
On the day I went back to work a meeting was called where it was announced that there would be cut backs and a redundancy. The boss was a horrible little man called Tom Riall who was a public school ponce and a self opinionated ex army captain who didn’t like me very much (and I didn’t like him either) so I knew he was looking in my direction. It was going to be difficult to select me ahead of some of the others and he wasn't nearly as clever as he thought he was and so because I had had enough of him and of Onyx UK I waited as long as I dared and then with perfect judgement volunteered to go. He was so pleased that he must breathed a big sigh of relief and gave me a very generous pay off and within a week or so I had got a new job doing what I like doing best and I was about to move to Lincolnshire.
2 comments:
Oops! I didn't mean to click the 'load of rubbish' button!! I thought by clicking it, I could respond to the miserable wretch who clicked it first, if only to verbally duff him up, but I discover it's not that sort of click.
Oh well, perhaps you can unclick it mentally!
I look forward to your holiday sagas, I enjoy a good chuckle. You seem to have holidayed most weeks of most years so I'm hoping that means plenty more tales!
Very Nice to travel. Stop by when you can
Take Care
JOHN
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