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Post by dennisn on Sept 23, 2021 18:50:43 GMT
Thursday 23rd, our last day before going home. We’re not the sort who party, swim and travel about for 23 hours on our last day. A great part of it is finally closing down suitcases, that sort of stuff. As Villa Maria closes with our departure, there will be no remaining guests upon whom to bestow our unused shower and shampoo glop, milk and water etc, etc, and we always donate as much decent stuff as possible to our cleaner.
So off in the Jimny to Platanos. Mythos Free (of alcohol), frappé (x 2), club sandwich and Platanos sandwich, then a very gentle return via two roundabout trees and the valley down to Agia Paraskevi. There was little damage to the tracks from the rain, just a few places for extra care to avoid bouncing Vera about. Then mooch around for a couple of hours - no thought of a last minute pool swim, there isn’t a girl’s blouse big enough for that after the amount of rain we’ve had.
We drove round to Jasteri for our last meal. Vera had her favourite, Sea Bass fillets and I just had to repeat the lamb in plum sauce which is so rich in flavour it comes close to too much. Two frappés, a large beer, tsatsiki with pitta bread, 41.50 Euros before tip. Complimentary tiny pots of white glop with deep pink topping.
Drove Vera back, then returned the Jimny. I was supposed to take it back with same fuel level as I got, but I just said I hadn’t and bunged him 10 Euros (I strongly suspect he’d have waived it if I had let him with me having extended the hire twice).
And so to bed, our holiday over, all bar the return expedition. We’ve had a very good one especially the second week in spite of Vera being in agony - she never made a song of it, where I would have. Just once she actually allowed me to hear a gasp, amazing.
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Post by balddave on Sept 23, 2021 19:29:21 GMT
So glad you both enjoyed your holiday despite Vera being less mobile than normally. In some situations you can either give in and mope around or make the best of it, very much sounds like you did the latter. Wishing you both a safe and uneventful journey home.
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Post by cariad23 on Sept 23, 2021 20:56:34 GMT
will be watching flight tracker tomorrow
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Post by yorkshiremouth on Sept 24, 2021 6:48:28 GMT
Is it normal for them to see off the last guests this early?
The ‘season’ proper doesn’t finish for a fortnight.
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Post by dennisn on Sept 24, 2021 8:05:51 GMT
In my past experiences, the season ‘proper’ has closed mid September and later holidays have been the exception, generally flight only and separate accommodation. Lot of people do that but most package people end before October. I had formed the uneducated opinion that this year has been extended a little by the likes of TUI because there had been enough demand from disappointed and/or desperate folks.
I was once wrong, could be again, it was decades ago.
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Post by dennisn on Sept 24, 2021 8:08:24 GMT
will be watching flight tracker tomorrow TOM or BY6559. There’s no outbound flight 6558 this week.
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Post by balddave on Sept 24, 2021 8:29:40 GMT
In my past experiences, the season ‘proper’ has closed mid September and later holidays have been the exception, generally flight only and separate accommodation. Lot of people do that but most package people end before October. I had formed the uneducated opinion that this year has been extended a little by the likes of TUI because there had been enough demand from disappointed and/or desperate folks. I was once wrong, could be again, it was decades ago. I could just be a case of no forward bookings, no point opening with no guests. when our daughter worked on the island in 2003 the last flight back to the uk was early September. I personally feel in the years to come the season will continue fully open well into October, global warming etc
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Post by kevb on Sept 24, 2021 9:24:05 GMT
Shame the holiday didn't go quite as planned but glad you made the best of it, safe journey back to you both and hope you get all the assistance promised.
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Post by katet on Sept 24, 2021 12:13:53 GMT
You don’t see a lot of orzo. You do if you order giouvetsi - lovely!
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Post by katet on Sept 24, 2021 12:20:56 GMT
You're probably well on the way back now, Dennis. Hope it all goes smoothly and I look forwards to meeting you again next September. I've loved your honest and down-to-earth reports!
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Post by cariad23 on Sept 24, 2021 13:46:33 GMT
Just watched you land safely Dennis
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Post by kelso on Sept 25, 2021 10:36:16 GMT
I hope that all went well with your requested assistance at both airports. It was great to read your reports and to see how you made the most of things after Vera’s trip. I hope she makes a speedy recovery now that you are home. Bob
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Post by yorkshiremouth on Sept 25, 2021 12:39:41 GMT
Hope the flight went well, and that from the airport onwards you got the treatment you deserved, rather than the shoddy treatment you appear to have experienced from TUI.
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Post by dennisn on Sept 25, 2021 18:27:15 GMT
Here we are, safe and sound. Interesting journey. The taxi arrived bang on time 9:35. 2 big suitcases, two cabin cases and the Zimmer all loaded into the boot, but the Zimmer was sticking up so much that he tied the boot with bungee cord. At the airport I grabbed a baggage trolley - free, none of these money-grabbing machines praying on tired or frail passengers. Inside Departures we came together with TUI reps and one took charge to check us in immediately. Then handed us over to the checkin young lady, who took us to the front of the security queue. Vera had been put into a wheelchair and the whole machine had a hissy fit of course. She was searched quite closely and at length until a security man called a halt! The nice young lady wheeled us through (opening a route which took us through passport control and in to the departure gate - we got there first and she placed us right at the door where we stayed until loaded. The gate place filled up, all the seats when a couple came along and dropped their bags against the desk and stood right at the front. They were English, but obviously qualified for foreigners who haven’t learned queuing!! We were loaded first by a lifty thing, seats 1A and B, shielded from the front door by a bulkhead, but with my window viewing when the first coachload began to board. I was able to at the queue jumpers, who obviously had jumped out first on the coach but got trapped by the sardines and climbed the stairs a very long way behind the leaders. Justice! The captain performed a long comedy routine, the like of which we’ve not heard before. He gabbled it so quickly that I missed a lot, but one thing he said was he’d love to come round the cabin to shake all our hands, but due to the Covid virus, he and the first officer were working from home today. All the non-grumps laughed. And they applauded when he eventually finished. No doubt he will feel encouraged to do repeat performances on his next passengers. This was two first flights for me - first sitting on the port side and first time sitting just behind the pilot. I have long believed that turbulence has greater effect at the four corners, front back, left and right wing tips, whilst the middle suffers least. So I sat down in some dread for the journey. But it turned out enjoyable, no turbulence and views far more interesting than fro starboard, the only (slight) downer was the sun. We landed at Bristol on time and the queue jumpers fought to get out first and into the bus. Which couldn’t move because the second bus parked in front of it. More justice! We had to wait until everybody else had debarked, then the lifty thing people came along. They had brought it to the rear door, so Vera had to there and when we got there, the lifty thing didn’t get high enough and there was such a big drop they had to lift her down and, indeed, help me down too. Whereupon I realised I’d left my iPad in the pocket in front of me, so they had to go back for it. We were registered as Assistance X2 so I had a bit of a job to persuade them I didn’t need a wheelchair! A nice young man wheeled us through passports and into baggage reclaim, grabbed our suitcases (next last off as usual) and wheeled us and them past the £2 a throw trolleys right to the coach car park stop, then got the driver who moved everybody away from the disabled seats for us. At the car park, driver asked where I was parked - I couldn’t tell him a grid reference, but I said I planned to leave Vera there with the suitcases while I fetched the van. He warned me another bus would be along soon so better get out of the bus only road pretty quick. The next bus did arrive just as I finished getting Vera in and he gave me several gestures despite me waving the Zimmer at him. So we came home and you can blame Vera’s accident for my literary diarrhoea - which I was only able to do for lack of anything better. We rang Angela and thanked her again for helping to make our holiday such a success, especially the second week, when she seemed greatly relaxed. THE END
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Post by balddave on Sept 25, 2021 19:29:03 GMT
Great to hear you got home safe and sound, I totally agree with you about some numpties attitude, total lack of respect for others. As I’ve previously posted jet2 policy of leaking people disembark row by row works, no panic or queue jumping, probably far safer than the normal crush
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