under another sun

A supremely lazy day mainly lounging on our balcony and looking at the view. I got some bread and water and then mainly loafed. The day slightly overcast, but the temperature still lovely. As Lorraine worked  cross-stitching tiny ornate squares and I fiddled with a new poem about moths. We both slept in the afternoon too.   In the evening we sauntered down the path where the little lizard zooms, down to Thomas's taverna. The sky tonight unbelievably pink in the east, and it turned the sea purple. People from the taverna, including the staff, popping out to photograph the phenomenon. Utterly beautiful. Thomas himself came and talked to us, saying he had his taverna for 37 years, and the sweet natured woman who served us was his daughter.  Lorraine and I shared a Greek salad, and Lorraine ate chicken souvlaki and I had spaghetti with a vegetable sauce and lots of grated cheese, and then we both had orange cake. Lovely stuff.  Happily sauntering home. Below the purple e...

Already tired, we had a patchy night's sleep, up at a hideous 4.30 am, we were out of the house at 5 and Lorraine drove us off to Gatwick for a week of holiday. The motorway from Ashford busy at such an ungodly hour and was deeply impressed with Lorraine being able to stay awake, let alone negotiate the trucking traffic. Amazing out of term experience... Through check in and security in minutes. Lengthy lurking about and breakfast before boarding the Polish based Enterair Boeing 737 on time. Lorraine and I had been given either side of aisle seats, but as there were few passengers  we were soon on a row together and I had the window seat so could, by sheer force of will, could avert disaster. Lorraine got busy with Suduko -- without trying to teach me it again as she did once to distract me from bucking and plunging on a plane once. Over the Alps the cloud cover below began to break up, and there was an excellent view of the mountains and Italy as we few down it then nipped across ...

To Paxos then. A reasonable trip on a Germania plane, a small but reassuringly German airline. The familiar sensation of stepping from the plane into the Greek sun, walking across the concrete of Corfu airport like walking into an oven. Then a short coach ride to Benitses harbour where we were put aboard the Vicky B, a small charter ferry. Sat on the top deck drinking a can or two of cold mythos beer as we travelled south down the channel between Corfu and the mountainous Greek mainland. The islands and headlands like watercolour washes of blue.  Eventually we neared Paxos, looking mysterious in its heat haze. August is of course the time of year when Italians also take their break, and Corfu being a short sail from Southern Italy. When we arrived at Gaios Harbour in Paxos, a huge Italian motor yacht was harboured where the ferry was to moor. The Captain of the ferry employed his loudspeaker and addressed the Italian as malaka (wanker). The affronted Italian (an arrogant cazzo...