Day 106...

The weather has cooled quite a bit and the swimming pool temperature has dropped so this morning it was an oh so bracing 78 degrees which took a bit of getting used to - we are going to have to make sure we cover it and find some way of dumping any extra hot water we have so that our visitors can take a dip without any of their bits dropping off!!

We had a quiet morning as we were expecting Mum and Dad up for lunch.  I realised it was Alkisti and Christos's 25th wedding anniversary today so I needed to get a card sorted for them.  I also wanted to print off a couple of photographs I had taken from their daughters wedding and transfer the remainder of the photographs onto a cd for them.  For some reason the printer was playing up and wouldnt feed through the photo paper I had purchased which was doing my head in!

Mum and Dad came for lunch - nothing fancy just some pittas with lounza and halloumi and salad.  I managed to persuade Mum to get into the pool because by lunch time it had warmed up to a more respectable 81 degrees but with the strong breeze even that felt a little chilly.

They left mid afternoon and I was just trying to make an anniversary card when we heard voices outside and had a visit from Philippos and our neighbours Gregory and Theodora.  Gregory and Theodora had phoned earlier in the day to invite us to have lunch with them at the Akamas Spa (Latchi Panorama) but we were in the middle of our pitta lunch with Mum and Dad.  This was a missed opportunity to check out the rather swish and expensive restaurant but as they are back at the villa next weekend I have a feeling we may get asked again.

They invited us round to have a drink at their Villa - John thinks it was to soften him up so that Gregory could ask him if he fancied looking after their swimming pool and one or two other jobs that they want done before they either keep the villa on for themselves as a holiday home or try and let it out.  We get commission if we find someone for them to rent it but you know that we will be picky as we want nice neighbours.  If Theodora gets her way she will persuade Gregory to keep it as a holiday home and we think we would prefer that.

We stayed round theirs rather longer than we had expected and decided to go down to see Alkisti and Christos with their card and photographs and have something to eat there.  Dont know what happened but somehow my external drive has become corrupted so as it housed all our old photographs in the words of Philippos we are both pissed.  I will have to spend tomorrow trying to find a way of sorting it out and retrieving what I can - wish me luck.

We had a fantastic meal tonight.  Alkisti and Christos were so touched that we had remembered their anniversary and that we had brought photographs of the wedding because they have yet to see any as their daughter is still on her month-long honeymoon in the States.  It was good to see their Taverna full tonight and they had fresh lamb souvla on the go.

We started off with a greek salad, fresh bread and home-made tsatsiki which was yummy.  We then had a 'taster' of freshly made pastichio which was the size of an adult main course.  This was followed by huge plates of lamb souvla and fresh hand cut chips.  Groaning because we were so full they then produced plates of fresh home grown figs, grapes and melon - enough to feed about four people.  When Alkisi asked if we wanted coffee we had to hold up a white flag and say enough was enough!!!  She was quite disappointed that we wouldnt have a coffee on the house with her but we just couldnt take in anymore. 

To say thank you for remembering them and for the photographs she gave John and I a man-sized portion of the pastichio to take home with us and Christos gave us a bag of about two kilos of fresh figs.  We will take both of this down to Mum and Dad's on Thursday so that we can share it.

We are really made to feel very welcome in that Taverna and may well take a quick trip down there with Simon, Lou and the kids when they call in tomorrow on their way to find their holiday villa in Polis - that is if they have time.

Anyway you might be interested in the cost of our mega-meal which included two large bottle of Keo - €33! as Dad would say "a good shout" and now as Zebedee would say "time for bed".