|
Post by dennisn on Sept 9, 2018 14:39:48 GMT
First full day, Saturday 8th September.
I woke with not even a trace of a hangover, much to the annoyance of Vera who thought I should have had the biggest headache in the developed world. But no, up at 6:30am to make us a drink and get ready for out first beach swim. Sorry, I forgot to mention that FRiday afternoon, whilst VEra had a short nap, I went out and had a swim in the pool. Slightly big girls blouse temperature, but I'm from up north.
So a quick awakening drink and off we went to the beach. We were rewarded by a lovely peaceful walk, meeting a few old friends on the way (we never just stroll, we stroll with chats to anybody daft enough to pause, very much to my liking - no puffing and panting to keep up!). The sea was beautifully calm and I did try to beat Vera in, but she always takes advantage of my chivalry - I hold the bag open for her to put her wrap in, then put my hat down for her to put her glasses in, then I put my stuff in the bag and glasses in the hat, by which time she's already ankle deep, so my competitive attempts at beating her in are thwarted so easily.
We swim to the line of buoys - Vera to the fourth one, I go for the fifth, say "hallo 5", then we turn and swim back. We had two lots of skittering fishes. Then the glass man came along - he patrols the beach each morning to find small shreds of glass which have been ground into little tiles which his wife uses for mosaics.
Before the great masses of people started to arrive, we left and on the way back greeted everybody cheerfully. One couple turned out to be Russian, a short stocky man whom I would definitely not wish to offend and his extremely beautiful lady partner. I used the majority of my Russian vocabulary to say hallo friend and goodbye, which was enough to set him off telling us in three word English about how great is Putin, what a demon is Mrs May and I'm not quite sure what he thought of Angela Merkel. We parted as the best of friends, his girlfriend tugging at him to stop his embarrassing tirades and maybe also prevent him from hammering me downwards into the ground!
Breakfast and off to town. We had a straightforward plan for the dress - look at everything, buy nothing until we'd seen them all and also seen them on Skopelos and Alonissos. So we ony boughtb three dresses and two tops. And one pair of shoes.
Nikos Taverna (yellow fence, Papadiamantis Street) still provides our favourite gyros, despite the abrupt rudeness of Nikos. I asked if he had mustard and he said "NO, whatever you ask it's NO", but when he brought the gyros he also brought the squeezy mustard thing. Also, his humour turned a small infant to tears, so he brought it three strawberries in a saucer. Far better than I was able to manage when my smile brought instant tears from another infant in a shop. I suspect he has a soft heart.
With only two bus journeys, we have not yet renewed my friendship with Katerina, the blonde lady bus conductor bloke, but there's time yet. We had instead first the unhappy one, for whom the world is surely about to end before tomorrow, and the tall thin happy smiling one who addresses all women as Lady and hands Vera down the steps from the bus. Has anybody ever seen him not smiling?
We ate at Jasteri. Vera had the sea bass and I decided (in advance) I'd have whatever the special was. Turned out to be tuna steak for which I specified chips instead of oven potatoes. I like chips, even though so many Greek places do rubbish ones - I persevere with optimism!
|
|
|
Post by kelso on Sept 9, 2018 16:36:09 GMT
Great to read your report again Dennis and to know that you are doing your bit for international relations, but please but on a pair of rubber gloves before you or Vera touch the door (Word Deleted) of your luxury suite. š Bob
|
|
|
Post by balddave on Sept 9, 2018 19:02:16 GMT
We chat and talk to anyone daft enough to talk, wonderful, one of the joys of holidaying abroad is to meet and converse with complete strangers, all be it fellow holidaymakers or Locals. Shame folk donāt make the same effort back home, a simple good morning goes a long way. Glad to hear skittering fishes greeted your return, can vision you saying hello to the 5th bouy , I suspect itās waiting in anticipation of a similar greeting tomorrow. You are obviously in your comfort zone back in Skiathos. Have a wonderful holiday
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on Sept 9, 2018 19:21:36 GMT
Great to read your report again Dennis and to know that you are doing your bit for international relations, but please but on a pair of rubber gloves before you or Vera touch the door (Word Deleted) of your luxury suite. š Bob Donāt worry, Bob. I donāt know the Russian for Novichok and I didnāt have the nerve (pun?) to see if he knew the English for it. I expect weāll meet them again tomorrow on our way back from the beach and I shall limit my Russian to āHallo, friendā. By the way, I forgot to comment on my continuing admiration for waiters etc. In Jasteri, all four staff greeted us warmly and welcoming. But the maitre dā surpassed it all, came across and said āSo, Sea bass filletā to Vera and waited for my choice of todayās special, then said āAnd of course, to start, tzatziki with pitta bread and three black olives.ā A round of applause!
|
|
|
Post by cariad23 on Sept 10, 2018 6:15:36 GMT
wonderful update Dennis, you write so elequently, i can picture the walk, beach, meal etc. I laughed out loud about the russian,perhaps you should get a t shirt printed while you are there in russian, saying good morning, i love putin ! my husband swims in his glasses otherwise he,d be heading off over the horizon, i used to have wear distance glasses or contact lenses, i once came out of the sea headed towards the coloured blur on the sunbed i thought was my towel, put my glasses on and found i was talking to a startled stranger, and saw my husband laughing several beds away. I have now had my eyes lasered and dont have that problem anymore.
|
|
|
Post by kevb on Sept 10, 2018 10:06:35 GMT
Yes its bizarre the coincidences. I chatted to a couple on my last day when I was killing time at the tennis club. They were on my flight and came from Malvern. However it turned out the female half of the couple once had an uncle that ran a restaurant in the tiny west yorkshire town where I grew up.
|
|
|
Post by cariad23 on Sept 10, 2018 12:00:58 GMT
yes its weird, we met a couple in india who came from same small town in wales as my husband, relatives lived across the road from my in laws the start of a good friendship and holidays together in greece
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on Sept 10, 2018 14:25:52 GMT
Coincidences are terrific. At the moment, however, I'm too inebriated to think of one so it will have to wait. Just as an aside, back home I take drink less than every six months. Here, I take drink before I wake up and take it in order to stay awake throughout the day!!! I wonder if that makes me alcohol dependant. (secure members of this forum who don't want to be banned under my magic Moderator powers should hastily post their avowals that I am NOT).
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on Sept 10, 2018 14:50:07 GMT
So, Sunday 9th September.
We decided to have a day of rest and Lord's Day Observation. So we went for our swim as usual. Beautiful, slight breeze, one set of skittery fishes. Have I said, we have a routine - we take an empty water bottle and as we get oout, Vera chucks it to me and I fill it with sea water, we walk out to the wall where we sit on it and each washes the others feet. Passing persons look and I tell them I used to do Vera's until she cut my hair!
We met our Russian 'friends' again on the walk back and once again I used up my stock of Russian to say Hello friend and Goodbye.It seems to satisfy him as he has not yet nerved me to death.
We had a lovely day off., nothing but relaxing in outr room, then out by the pool.
We ate at Ratatouille, just a 100 yard walk away, tzatziki with pitta bread, chicken souvlaki for Vera and chicken Ć la creme for me. Portions are really too much, but which should I avoid? Tzatziki? No way! Chicken? No way. Beer? You've gotta be kidding! Tiny little gratis ice cream lollies at the end? Come off it, not to be so ungracious!
So we came back and I paid the price of once again forgetting to take my tablet (I've been late every day so far and I'm beginning to decide it takes a few hours to activate) and had a couple of hours struggling with Gaviscon pills. Cheapest meal so far, ā¬32.50 before tip (I was too disconnected to hear what the two previous days cost). 'Disconected' is a euphemism which only Kelso will understand - I leave it to him to elucidate.
|
|
|
Post by kelso on Sept 10, 2018 15:19:35 GMT
I can't remember when I last elucidated, but I believe that they can't touch you for it. I can only assume that by "disconnected" you meant inebriated and thus disconnected from reality? There is a more common word we use up here but I wouldn't want to shock any of your army of readers, or your Russian friends. Continue to have fun. Bob
|
|
|
Post by kevb on Sept 10, 2018 15:22:39 GMT
I know what you mean about Ratatoullie. We didnt go this year but here's one from last year of me trying to tackle their chicken souvlaki 100_0677 by
|
|
|
Post by balddave on Sept 10, 2018 15:28:55 GMT
Excellent to hear you are well and truly relaxing, who knows the more disconnected you become,the more you may understand your Russian comrades. The weather forecast seems to have improved for the period of your stay which is good news. Keep up with your informative, and highly amusing posts.
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on Sept 10, 2018 15:30:01 GMT
Monday 10th Serptember.
A bit late starting out today, so we hit the beach at about 8:15. My very expensive iPhone said wind from 9am and it did. A proper sandstorm from the land out to sea, we had to duck and turn away, sharp sand blasting session!
We didn't meet our Russian friends this morning, so annoying, I had my vocabulary all tuned up to wish him "Goodbye friend" to see if he has a sense of humour. Maybe it's just as well we didn't see them, I don't know if Russians have a sense of humour.
Into town, at last renewing my friendship with Katerina the lady bus conductor bloke. She recognised us immediately, remembered Vera's name, but not mine - I was mortified and called out all the stops on the way into town to get my own back on her.
We ate again at Nikos Taverna, the gyros are so tasty. The beer is pretty good too. At the shop where I was clobbered by the motorbike man, Vera found the exact right dress to end all right dresses. To explain, the Slimming World Christmas party has been defined as a masked ball. Vera doesn't have many (ANY) masks or ball gowns, so having been given a mask, the search is on for a ball gown. The search has been going on for about three months and now we have found one. Yeah, right! That presumably means the previous six choices are redundant. Yeah, right again!
Katerina the lady bus conductor bloke's bus back to Troulos. A couple of Italians got on and waved a small leaflet at Katerina - I presumed it was asking for where the picture showed, and she said Ah Koukounaries and charged them 2 Euros. When we got to 15, Kolios, they both started to get up, so I intervened and said this isn't Koukounaries, it's Kolios. Katerina said that's where they always get off and off they went, to my extreme embarassment. Especially at the next stop where the bus driver announced 16 Koukounaries, to gales of laughter from everybody on the bus. Didn't help when we got off, announced as "18 Koukounaries". I smiled of course because I'm a generous person. But if looks could kill, there'd have been a bus full of corpses.
We are going to Skopelos and Alonissos tomorrow. All the boat trips today were cancelled due to the wind and we had seen the forecast of thunderstorms for Thursday when we intended going. So it turned out the cancelled trip today has been rescheduled for tomorrow and we're going on it.
So Kelso and all other voyeurs, watch for us on the Skopelos webcam, at whatever time it was in July.
We're off to eat in Kalivi now. Tara.
|
|
amy115
Full Member
Posts: 340
Visits to Skiathos: 5
Accommodation Stayed At: Thymis House Hotel
Dream House
Elizabeth Studios
|
Post by amy115 on Sept 10, 2018 19:04:00 GMT
Oh dear Dennis, fancy Katerina the lady conductor bloke not remembering the name of her staunchest supporter! Shameful! Must be having a bad day or maybe it's her sense of humour? You did make me with your comment about your killer look though. Glad that Vera has found 'the' dress! How is she going to get all her new purchases home? Is there room in your case? You will probably only see your russian friends in the mornings. When I had a holiday in Bulgaria some years ago, I found that the Russians were up early and in bed early. The resort was like a ghost town around 9.00 pm!
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on Sept 10, 2018 19:36:56 GMT
Kalivi. Small, friendly, excellent food even though it's a small menu. We both had moussaka and one between two would have sufficed. Tzatziki with pitta bread, large water for Vera, large Amstel for me. ā¬27.50. What's not to like?
|
|