Day One of Hazel's Holiday...

After a fairly late night/early morning catching up with Hazel we got up to a leisurely breakfast which we took in the conservatory which now benefits from blinds both on the roof and at the windows.  At this time of the year it makes for a much more pleasant environment as we are shielded from the blazing sun.  Having said that the weather over the last couple of days has been considerably cooler - verging on cold at night or at least Helen and I thought so on Saturday when we were at the festival but for a visitor like Hazel it is very pleasant indeed. 

We had opted for a day at home relaxing around the house and village so started out with a dip in the pool which is running at about 82 degrees and is very pleasant.  I attach the picture on the right as a salutary lesson to us all - the sun here is a demon and if you don't ask someone to help with putting suntan lotion on your back you might end up with patches where the lotion has worked and patches where it has not - a la Hazel!!  This was after only a short time in the sun and with factor 20 doing its job where it had been applied - we are going to have to make sure that (a) she gets help putting on the lotion and (b) takes it easy in the sun from now on!  Actually I do feel sorry for her as she had been so careful for her first day but got caught out.

Lunch was a pitta sandwich with dips and salad and we introduced Hazel to the delights of Halloumi cheese which she hadn't tried before and which she thoroughly enjoyed.  I had thought we had plenty in the fridge but was mistaken so John decided he would take the opportunity to go to the cheese factory of his new best friend (whom he met at the festival) and so nipped off on the moped coming back clutching a massive pot of local cheese all for the princely sum of €10 - we have yet to taste it but will let you know what it is like when we have done.  We are hoping that it is going to be a right little gem and at €10 a kilo is cheap as chips or cheap as cheese as the case may be!!!  John was invited in for coffee by the woman but declined as his best mate didn't seem to be in evidence (probably topping up his whisky intake somewhere) and having seen millions of kids running round John wasn't sure whether it was just coffee that was on offer!!

We took Hazel for a little walk around the village so that she could get an idea of where we live.  It is prime holiday time and apparently tomorrow is a bank holiday so there are lots of people in the village and houses being used that stand empty and locked up for most of the year.  We called into see Alkisti to arrange to eat there on Thursday night - she is going to cook fresh fish for us so we hope she is going to be able to find either Snapper or Sea Bream or Sea Bass and not those small boney fishy fish that you can sometimes be served.

There was much discussion about the concert in Pomos that we were planning to go to - the Zilla Project were playing again and we were keen to go although we had thought it was starting at 9.00pm and it transpired that it wouldn't start until 10.00.

In the end we decided we would still go and to hell with the late night!!!  Once again they put on a fantastic set but were hampered by the fact that there were complaints about the level of noise.  A bit of a shame really because this is a great venue for bands and was there and operating before the neighbouring houses were built.  Quite a group of us assembled to listen - our circle of friends is fast increasing as every activity introduces us to more people.  It is great and it is also great that they are so welcoming as Hazel was immediately included in the conversations.  She really enjoyed herself and we are glad as we would have hated to inflict our tastes on her!  In fact both she and I thought there was something rather sexy about the bass player in a very odd way - you had to be there - the facial expressions were something else!