The Weather is Messing with our Minds!

I feel the need to do what all English people do best apart from apologising, and that is to talk about the weather. Frankly the weather is messing with our minds. Having spent most of yesterday on the beach, swimming and soaking up the sun (28 degrees) we awoke last night to hear the winds whistling around the house, unable to get back to sleep for the deafening sounds, we got up and shut each window in turn in a desparate bid for a bit of shut eye, but, for each whistle eliminated a new noise was born. We eventually gave up on the one that sounded like a plastic bucket being kicked around downstairs. Weary, and late to rise this morning, I staggered bleary eyed, downstairs to make a pot of tea. I could see through the window the shrubs in the garden swaying violently in the wind. It looked like one of those days when given the choice you would easily plump for staying in and curling up by a blazing log fire with a mug full of hot chocolate and a cheese sandwich and watching your favourite "feelgood" DVD. However, on opening the patio door to let the cat out, I strolled out into the garden. It felt rather like walking into a deserted hair salon,where everyone had gone for a tea break, but they'd left every dryer in the place on hot and full strength, amazing!

When I got back to the bedroom, armed with a tray of tea, Roger explained that the wind was coming from Africa..........from the south, (howcome all blokes know these things?) then, to add insult to injury, he indicates which direction south is. Think I must be directionly dyslexic or somesuch as I can't tell my east from my elbow!! Roger says:I thought you were an East before you were a Singer?!

Off to catch up on some sleep now, at the beach, as the wind is barely a breeze and the bay is but a mill pond.

What a Week!

What a week that was!! we arrived this morning a week ago and stayed with friends while looking at rentals - but those friends have asked us to stay, mainly to look after the cats, while she returns to the UK, cats = house, so here we are.

But that's only half of it! We've accepted an offer on our house in the UK!! how weird is that - go away after having it on the market for months and months, and within days it sells! AND we managed to find a little ground floor flat in the Willows, Caversham, between Waitrose and the river.

We've been looking there for 4 years and this is the first one we've seen. It needs a complete re-furb, actually it needs turning round! the front door opens into the living room and the bedroom overlooks the nice little garden – but we want to put a small conservatory on the back so need to reverse the rooms. However that means moving the front door to the side of the house, where there is a window at present, see pic – the window on the side will become the front door. Then the wall between the (then) living room and kitchen needs to come down. It needs a new bathroom, kitchen and heating system. It's going to be fun doing it all from here!

Weather has been mixed, couple of good days followed by rain albeit warm rain, and today dry and very pleasantly warm. Have been for a dip in the sea today....Lovely!

Went to a quiz last night and teamed up with a very nice couple who are here for a few months too. It was at a lovely little bar round the corner from us called Bicorner Bar, with a sweet little courtyard sitting area. We had a great time, and our score was respectable. We feel we can hold our heads up in Plaka, this week anyway! Sadly next week is the last for a while, as the lass organising it is off to Borneo for a few weeks - how dare she!!!

Bye for now!

Arrival!!

Well were here!! We arrived at our temporary lodgings at 7:30am (Tuesday 5th Oct).

The second ferry wasn't a patch on the earlier one, poky little cabin and when you took a shower the excess water ran under the door and soaked the carpet!!

Getting off was a pain as ANEK was bereft of any signage to were we were parked in the depths of the hold on deck 1 – below was water!! however getting there was guess work. - anyway we're here, and it was indeed 'Zanne & Rog's Big Adventure'.

Later we are looking at possible digs – will keep you posted!

Sunday - day 6

Quiet day today, nice breckie - bacon and eggs! then lounging on the sun deck.

Stopped to un-load/load at Igoumenitsa and Corfu, and are now on our way to Patras arriving about 10pm and staying at - Member of STAR HOTELS > Porto Rio Spa & Health Club looks nice.

We don't have to rush away tomorrow, we only have a 3 hour 130m) drive and don't need to board till 7pm - it gets in to Chania (Souda) at 5am Tuesday and we are staying half-an-hour away. So won't blog again till we've surfaced on Tuesday.

Time to eat - again! The special meal last night was great - thank you all very much!

Saturday 2nd - day 5

A leisurely start today. Breakfast in the ornate hotel dining room & then pottered into the port to check in. Yes we did get both crossings for the money, and not on the towed Banana boat!! but in a very nice cabin, larger than we expected, with a window and en-suite! see pic. Reminds us of a visit around Royal Yacht Brittania when last in Edinburgh.

We cruised down the 'Grand Canal' and took loads of pics - will upload more as soon as I can.

A huge thankyou to those who contributed to our "bugger off" collection. We will start on it tonight, with a special celebratory meal in the very salubrious a la carte dining room and drink your health.........R with Coca cola........S with something a tad stronger!!

We are now 2 hours ahead.

Oct 1st. day 4 Friday

We saw Venice, well Marghera (just far enough out to get safe parking, the car is full of stuff - but a bus ride to the centre) by 11:30am (132 miles). Our hotel is really old and Venitian though I haven't seen anyone with a guide dog yet!!

Having settled in we took the bus (1.20 euros) to Venice proper, shame it's a bit drizzly, we were here last in June - years ago - but it was very hot! & crowded.

We found the booking place for the ferry but it was all closed up for the day - they work 7am till 2pm, still we know where to go tomorrow. We got a monorail, like the Docklands Light Railway (1 euro) back to town and found a great little bistro for lunch, Fettucine Con vedure and a Coke.

Off to find somewhere to eat in a bit.

Our "hero" speaks to the natives s l o w l y & c l e a r l y but in English!! He has now started to tell them his usual jokes (which don't really translate - they got me through 15 years of dde courses!!) and are not really funny in English either.

The Italians are a little baffled by him to say the least, just as well we leave these shores tomorrow!!