The Tenth Week

Day 68 - Friday 6.6.14

22.3 deg at Midday - 28 deg at 2pm. Lynne called to say goodbye as they are going home today - poor Gary is still not well and she is hoping he is not sick at the airport before they board the plane.  Dot took Poppy for a walk this morning but by the time she got to Brouklis - Poppy had had three squats and it wasn't wee. So she had to bring her home, hopefully now she has had a clear out she will feel better. Still very lethargic, but drinking plenty.
We drove over to San Stefanos to a restaurant Bill and Dot used to visit quite a bit called '2 Star'. Yannis the owner is a lovely man, we had a nice lunch. Then we went for a wander round and visited 'Hippopots' they have some very unusual items in there - I am looking forward to making something to take home. We called in at a swish handbag shop to say hello to an English girl who works in there, she went to the same university as Dot's grandson - they had a good catchup.

George and Dot

 On the way back to Arillas we called in to see George, he was Dot's landlord when she had the apartment under his. We invited him to join us for dinner at Portofino tonight. He was in the Merchant Navy, so he and Phil have a lot in common.

View from the balcony

We called at the Marvel to say goodbye to Joy and Cliff they are going home tonight then we walked down to Portofino. On the way were stopped by a lady called Ann, to say how much she is enjoying reading the blog - thanks for taking the time to say hello - we are amazed how many people have done this - complete strangers saying they are reading the blog.  We had a great evening, George is such an interesting guy - was great for Phil to reminisce about all the places they have sailed to. George has even been to Grimsby and Immingham.

Dot, Me, Grace, Chris and Phil

We called into the Coconut for a drink and had a chat to Grace and Chris who arrived today. Was great to meet them at long last. I also met Glenda Routledge and her hubby for the first time, sat in Geordie corner.









Day 69 - Saturday 7.6.14  
 

Our beautiful grand daughter, Emily is 9 years old today. I was really organised before I left home, I sent her card and money.











 It is a hot one today - 25 deg at 11am. 28 deg by 1pm . We went down to Sharons for lunch, and for Poppy to have a swim. There was a lovely breeze so it wasn't too hot. Grace came and had a drink with us and a chat.

We went to Kostas on the beach for our meal tonight it was delicious. I mentioned in an earlier blog about the bench on the jetty and how it came about - this is written on their menu:-

Learn a little Greek

Day 70 - Sunday 8.6.14

Dot took Poppy for a walk down the front and for her swim this morning. Then we all went to Rainbow for a full English breakfast. Dot went to watch the Tennis this afternoon, Phil and I had a lazy afternoon reading, the temperature was 31 deg at 3pm I laid on the bed in the cool as my feet are swollen again. Dot went out to dinner with friends. We ate at home and then Phil went to the Marvel to watch the Grand Prix from Canada tonight. It was still 26 deg at 11pm.

           This is the forecast for next week!

Day 71 - Monday 9.6.14

Dot took Poppy for a swim first thing. Then Dot and I went to Sidari to the pharmacy only to find it is a Bank holiday and it was closed. We did manage to get some presents for Spiros 60th birthday on Wednesday though. When we came back we walked down to the front, had a snack in Sharons then went in the sea for a swim. After our meal, Phil and I went over to meet our grand daughter Larissa and her friend Emma who arrived tonight. After they had settled into their room, they came to say hello to Poppy then we all walked down to the front. We had one drink in Portofino, then moved on to the Coconut.

A friend who lives in Arillas said tonight's sunset was the most spectacular she has seen in all the years she has lived here.

Day 72 - Tuesday 10.6.14

25 deg at 10am. Larissa and Emma went down to the beach and had a swim. We all went to Seamonkeys in Sidari for lunch, after calling at the pharmacy. The girls and I went for a swim, then spent a pleasant afternoon watching the world go by. Poppy loves it there as Andy and Fiona's dog Toffee has lots of toys which she shares. I think Poppy overdid all the running and swimming today as she is limping a bit. We came home, for showers etc. then Dot went off with some friends to a Quiz - their team won. The girls, Phil and I had a meal in the Marvel, then walked down to listen to the band in the Coconut. While we were there we learned that Hannah had a baby girl at 10am. this morning. I am so pleased for them as they have been trying for about 15 years.

We met Christine and Steve in there, they asked us to go to Portofino as the staff were giving Spiros his birthday cake at midnight. It was a good laugh - he liked his cake with a naked lady on it.

It was really hot tonight - first time we have needed the aircon on. There was also another beautiful sunset.












Day 73 - Wednesday 11.6.14

22 deg this morning and 28 deg by 2pm.  Leisurely morning for us and then Quiz at Sharons this afternoon. Was good fun but we were rubbish. We took Poppy swimming but were told by Pedros that 'dogs on the beach are not allowed' apparently it is the law and the police are now patrolling and fining people 500€. We are very upset about this as she has been on the beach almost every day since the beginning of April. She does not run amok like some of the stray dogs, and on the two occasions she has 'been' on the beach we have picked up.
We went to Portofino for a meal tonight and to give Spiro his cards and presents - he loved his T-shirt - and wore it straight away. Great evening! There were 18 of us altogether including, Dot, Larissa, Emma, George, Christine, and Steve.

Another Cake everyone gets a 69th
cake at Portofino

New T shirt

Laissa, George
and Emma

Larissa, Spiros the waiter and Emma

Day 74 - Thursday 12.6.14

We all went to Akrotiri for lunch today - we just love the food there, and the amazing view. It was 30 deg this afternoon.
























At 4pm the girls went off on a coach with Dot to explore Corfu town. We stayed in and had a siesta. Another day another birthday, we went to Vinceremo this evening as our friend Brenda was celebrating her birthday there. Phil and I had a lovely Meze, then the girls joined us when they got back from Corfu. We moved on to the Coconut for just one drink. We left Larissa and Emma in there with Brenda's son Jody.

Another week over - time is going so quickly now!

The Ninth week.

Day 61 - Friday 30.5.14

Lovely day after last night's rain. Went to the Marvel to meet Lee Clements and his wife and children, they loved Poppy.

 We had a photo taken in memory of Steven Sutton. His family requested that people gave him a thumbs up during his vigil.









We went down to the beach for Poppy to have a swim, we sat and had a drink at Sharons Phil had his new drink of choice - Local Ginger beer.











Then we went back to the Marvel to say goodbye to Gill and Nigel. We sat and had a chat with Lynne, Gary, Joy and Cliff. They went off to go to eat - we came home and had homemade Chicken curry. Relaxing evening and early to bed for me.

Day 62 - Saturday 30.5.14






We went to the beach Poppy had a  swim with her lovely new stick.

Then we visited Sharons for lunch, we were joined by Joan, John, Lynne and Gary. Spent a lovely couple of hours chatting and people watching. Janis called by briefly after her walk up to Akrotiri. We met her lovely daughter Rachel and family, Poppy loved the boys as they played with her.

 This afternoon in the Coconut Perry's daughter Katerina and her dancing class friends gave a show - we missed it, but we did see them practicing one afternoon last week.

When we got back to the apartment Vasso was cleaning, so we had to go over to the Marvel for a drink - it's a hard life. This evening - The Worried Men were playing at Armourada. We went with Joy, Cliff, Lynne and Gary  - we had such a laugh. I was telling them about Leon drawing the size of the Saganaki on the tablecloth so we all started writing - there must have been about 20 silly comments written on it.

Day 63 - Sunday 1.6.14

20deg at 10am. It is 131 days today since I had a cigarette - well done me! I walked down to the Mirage to meet Christine and Bob. They had just arrived and she had brought Poppy some of her home made dog biscuits yum yum. I took Poppy for a swim while Phil watched the Rugby. This evening we went for a meal with Lynne, Gary, Joy and Cliff, to the new Quattro restaurant in San Stefanos NW - the food was superb and very reasonably priced. It is run by four friends, the chef makes all their pasta. The Tiramisu was home made - and to die for.  We could not fault anything, everything was excellent - food, wine, presentation and friendly, attentive but discreet staff. Will certainly be going back.

Tiramisu

Wine 

There were some amazing cloud formations tonight.

Day 64 - Monday 2.6.14

20 deg this morning - temperature is pretty consistent now. Had a lazy morning, Joy came for coffee and we had a good chat. We went to the Rainbow and met up with Paul and Denise (from the Grosvenor in Cleethorpes). We also met Marie Crawford and her husband - what a small world it is - they live in the same street that we did in Southampton 33 years ago. Then we walked down to meet up with Janice and her family as they are leaving today. Her grandsons took Poppy on the beach - she had a wonderful time. Also Joan and John are going home today.

5 Ladies having a lazy afternoon

 Lynne and Gary bought Poppy a squeaky, light up ball. Think she was a bit miffed when I made her sit for the photo.

We walked back up and decided to stay in tonight - we had a Pizza delivered, and it was delicious. There was an amazing sunset tonight.

Day 65 - Tuesday 3.6.14

22.8 deg at 12 o'clock.

 We have a White Oleander tree outside the kitchen window, the perfume wafting in is gorgeous. I didn't know it is very poisonous to humans and animals.











. I have taken some more photos in our garden - can you remember the tiny pomegranate from when we first came - well this is it now.

 We have the most beautiful rose arch leading into the garden. It has very small double flowers on it - I think I will try to take a cutting from it













Poppy is not too well today so we stayed in. She didn't eat her dinner and is lethargic.

       

                                     



  Tonight's unusual sunset - a straight line of clouds.

Portofino for dinner tonight and then called in at Coconut for 'just the one' - as if! The Splinter Band were playing again.








Day 66 -  Wednesday 4.6.14  
         
One year ago today since Phil had his heart by-pass. So pleased we have been able to make this journey.

Gorgeous hot, sunny day to welcome Dot - she is staying with us. Our friends Sheila and Keith picked her up from the airport. I did lunch for us when they got here. Then we walked down to the beach for Poppy to have a swim and for Dot to say hello to some friends. We stopped for a fresh orange juice in Ammos. Then back home for Dot to have a siesta as she has been up since 6am yesterday morning.

A few words about the Arillas community spirit
(and why we keep coming back)   (Taken from www.arillas.com)

The Arillas Business Association together with the local Councillors and people of Arillas have achieved to have the beach-front and the rest of the village in a good state before the season started .
In the winter months meetings and small conferences were taking place in order to keep everyone informed and able to contribute with their own opinions and ideas.
Having taken seriously under consideration the results of the Arillas Survey form 2012-13, we followed the rule to improve but not spoil our Arillas by choosing  carefully all actions and necessary developments.
The community spirit within the Arillas business-people is a vital fact that has to be kept going for the next years.
The work that this year has been done by the business-owners is:
Repairing and improving the look of the beach-front lights.
Creation of a wooden pedestrian at the left part of the beach-street.
Tiding up some of the private and public signs in order to give a good example of how signs should be.
Creation of more rubbish-bin-housings.
Planting more native trees, flowers and plants at the beach front. (These trees used to grow naturaly in Arillas beach before the hotels and bars where build.)
Creation and placement of 10 wooden small litter bins  at the beach that the business owners of the front would be caring for them.
Repairing the surface of the pier.
Repairing the beach Showers.
Maintenance of the Arillas trail.
All these actions have been initiated by the community spirit of the Arillas people who live and work in this area. It was the ultimate move to respond to the loyalty of all of you that keep coming year by year and to welcome the newcomers with respect.
We are trying to keep your holiday destination clean and tidy with our basic resources and very little help from the governmental services. I must say It WAS NOT EASY....
 It is important that more and more local business-owners should take part in this actions in the future. Our aim is to keep Arillas  AS IT IS .
The identity of our Arillas as a holiday destination is based on :
Our natural environment
The sea and sun
Family-run accommodation
Quality restaurants and good Greek food
Quality of the beach
High rate of repeating visitors
The hospitality of the local people
Beach quality
Recommendation from friends and family
The use of social media
The organisation of local events.
In order to keep this spirit going, it would be very nice of you to keep mentioning to every establishment that you visit in Arillas and the surrounding areas about the good impact that these initiatives have to your holidays.
Have a good time in Arillas!

Tonight we decided to stay home and have a pizza delivered, lots of wine, chatting and looking at photos.

Day 67 - Thursday 5.6.14

21.3 deg at Midday - We walked down to the beach, stopping to chat to Dimitri, Dr. Yanni,  everyone at Armourada including Verena and baby Angelos.and Yiota in her shop. Then we went to Portofino and had a drink with Spiros, while we were there Gary and Lynne arrived to say goodbye to Spiros as they go home tomorrow. Also Christine, Steve and friends came as they had just arrived. Poppy went for her swim and then we joined the 4 o'clock club at Sharons. I sat with Tracey and we chatted about our journey and her bringing her dog out at some point.

Tonight we went to Thalassa with Joy and Cliff for their last supper. Then one drink in Portofino, one drink in the Coconut.

Dot's 'apartment' she is loving her bed in the campervan. She says she is sleeping better and for longer than she does at home.










The end of another beautiful week - where does the time go?

The Eighth Week

Day 54 - Friday 23.5.14

We were late up today as we didn't go to bed until 4am.

We drove to Sidari for lunch. Our friends Andy and Fiona own the beach bar Seamonkeys, it is a beautiful location and Poppy went for a swim - I wished I had put my cossie on as the water looked so inviting. Andy has said that we can park the campervan on their grass next to the bar one night and stay over - sounds like a plan!











Phil was delighted to find a Pukka Steak and Kidney pie on the menu. Not traditional Greek food, but he has not had one for three months.








We came back to the Marvel to say goodbye to Kes, Kath, Paul, Tracey and Arthur as they are all leaving tonight. Lynne and Gary arrived and we had a lovely chat with them. 21.1 deg at 9pm. Early night tonight!

Day 55 - Saturday 24.5.14

I took Poppy to the beach for a swim, booked a table for the Greek night tonight and said goodbye to Anne Byrne who is going home today. We went to the Marvel for lunch and to welcome Gill and Nigel who arrived this afternoon. Today has been hot and sunny, after a cloudy start.

 Tonight we went to the Marina for the Greek night with Gill and Nigel. We saw our friends, Wendy, Stuart, Janis, Charlotte, Darrell and Izzy there too.
















 The dancing was fantastic and tonight was Telis son's first night of dancing in public - he is a star in the making and I am sure he will be as good a dancer as his father before too long.

 I had Garlic prawns.












Gill and I Doing what we do best!









We called at the Nut on the way up and had a lovely chat with Joan and John. Then back to the Marvel to say goodnight to Ann, John, Gill, Nigel and Kostas. It was 20deg at 9pm.

Day 56 - Sunday 25.5.14

It was 20deg at 9am. We went over to the Marvel for a late breakfast so Phil would be there to watch the Monaco Grand Prix. Our friends (who we met in Italy) messaged us to say they were coming to see us. Terry stayed with Phil to watch the Grand Prix and Loretta and I walked to the beach with Poppy. She loved throwing the stick into the sea for Poppy. Then we went over to the Pool Bar for 4 o'clock drinks.
We all went to Brouklis Taverna tonight the fellers had Spit Roast Lamb as Terry has been wanting this since April. I had Pumpkin pie and Loretta had a lovely white fish with a lemon sauce. We were so busy chatting we forgot to take photos.     21 deg at 9pm.

Day 57 - Monday 26.5.14

Still 21 deg at 9am. We took Lynne and Gary to Sidari with us and went for lunch to Seamonkeys again.

Andy had just got back from Athens, where he had been for the Greek open darts championship and he and his partner won the Doubles. Here he is with his trophy.









Lynne and Gary went off walking, Poppy had a swim and then we came back to Arillas after buying some flowers. We went to the 4 o'clock club and Poppy had another swim. More friends Peter and Tracey arrived today.

 Our friends Joy and Cliff arrive tonight, it was their second wedding anniversary yesterday and Cliff had asked me to get some roses for her, for when they arrive.













Two more friends Karen and Ian arrived today - on their 30th Wedding anniversary. Karen loves writing in the sand so we did this for them. It took several attempts as Poppy kept walking over it - you can just see her paw prints, bottom right, I think she wanted to sign it!






This evening we said goodbye to our lovely neighbours Ann and John, then we walked down to have a drink with Karen and Ian to toast their anniversary. Then back to the Marvel to wait for Joy and Cliff. It was lovely to see them as we had not seen them since last summer when they came to stay with us in Grimsby for a weekend.

Day 58 - Tuesday 27.5.14

Gorgeous sunshine today 20 deg at 9am. Today is our friend Gary's 60th birthday! He wanted to keep it hush hush and no one to know. Well with a wife like Lynne and friends like us - that was never going to happen. We had a normal day, walking and swimming for Poppy, chatting and vino for us.

Then we went to the Marvel for Gary's surprise party!

Kostas arranged for Gary's cake - it had a naked lady on it! He loved it as you can see,

We went to the Coconut after the Party as there was a live band on.











 Gary had a flashing 60 badge but was too embarrassed to wear it so I wore it for him. I was quite flattered really as people thought it was my 60th - I wish!














Our lovely friends Lynne and Gary












We danced the night away!










Day 59 - Wednesday 28.5.14

20 deg at 9am. Lovely and sunny today.


 We went down to the beach Poppy had a swim and play with Gill.









Then we went for lunch and another Quiz at Sharon's pool bar. This week they raised over 100
euros for the Animal charity.












It was a good turnout. The Quizmaster was Dave Smith again, he did an excellent job - even if he was pedantic!





Tonight Phil and I went to Armourada for a friendly Darts knock out. I did rather well even if I do say it myself. I think they were all impressed - I got through to the final, might be because I had a good partner in Pete. While we were there I had the most amazing Moussaka, it is the best one I have ever tasted.

Day 60 Thursday 29.5.14 

'Today the 29th of May there will be this year’s first  festival in Arillas.
It takes place near the local Church and old school of Arillas village which is about one and a half km from the beach on the way to Magoulades on the main road.
The local church is dedicated to the The Ascension of Jesus, which was when the resurrected Jesus was taken up to heaven in his resurrected body, (Acts 1:9-11) in the presence of eleven of his Apostles, occurring 40 days after the resurrection.
The church on Analipsi "Ανάληψη" (Ascension) was build during the 50’s by the volunteer help and donations of the people of Arillas. Since then, we established the Arillas Analipseos Festival which is always on a Thursday 39 days after the Greek Easter Sunday.
The event starts at about 20:00  until late in the night.
 The Festival is organized by non profitable organizations based in Arillas those who are responsible for the Wine Festival in September and the Music festival in July or August. The Arillas Folklore dancing club is consisted by over 60 members from the ages of 5 to 60 years old . Every time they dance you can experience these different traditional Greek dances performed by this mixture of ages all with the same pride, something that we do not see any more in many countries.
The music from the Traditional  Live Band is combined with some BBQ with souvlakis , wine and loads of our Local Corfu Beer from our unique Microbrewery'. This information was taken from www.arillas.com.

19 deg at 9am. This morning Joy and Cliff came to visit us for a coffee and we decided to go to Akrotari for lunch - unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and it started raining while we were there so no photos were taken. It continued to rain for the rest of the afternoon. This evening Cliff and Joy invited us to join them for dinner - another perfect Arillas evening! Rounded off by having drinks with Gill and Nigel too. The rain continued quite heavily and Kostas told me the Festival was cancelled.

This was some Sand Art on Arillas beach today. Someone has lots of patience.



The end of our eighth week - time is flying by so fast now!