Catching up with Horatiu and Raluca

A normal Monday with art at Sheila and Klaus's - John dropped me off at the top gate of the cemetery so I could walk through and finish at Dad's.  His is still the last grave and it is still relatively tidy and weed free and the little pots of flowers still have some colour to them even though at times they have been severely over-watered.  I had a chat with Dad and then I made my way to Art.

I have started a new picture another flower and glass vase ensemble but this time the flowers are poppies.  A much simpler study that the last time, no books and no china cup of tea to contend with.

It was a lovely morning chatting with Sheila and Klaus before I wandered down to the Hotel to meet John.  We had arranged to meet Horatiu and Raluca there - they were travelling up from the Azia in Paphos.

I cannot believe that H hasn't changed one iota in the seven years it has been since I last saw him and it was just lovely to see him and Raluca (even though I had only met Raluca once or twice when she was in the UK).  There was no awkwardness and the conversation flowed.

We stayed at the hotel for a while enjoying the views before taking them to our home so we could sit on the roof terrace and chat and drink.  We had had a phonecall from Rabia asking for a lift to Polis if we were going and as we had planned a trip to Latchi were happy to oblige.

We parked up at La Plage and slowly walked along the coastal path taking an obligatory photograph at the old ship before ending up at Yiallos for a meal - this proved to be a sensible move as the harbour was hectic with the celebrations for Kataklysmos.

We had a lovely meal - my Chicken Caesar salad was absolutely fabulous and it was so lovely catching up and we had so much to catch up on.  John and I were fascinated by Raluca's smoking paraphernalia - to begin with we thought she was vaping but then it transpired she was using HEETS which are specially rolled 'cigarettes' which are inserted into a machine which heats the tobacco but they don't burn.

We wandered back stopping to watch the greasy pole competition at the harbour then called via Polis to pick up Rabia before returning to Villa 10b where we sat out in the cool of the garden still chatting away and passing on ideas as to places Horatiu can take Raluca for her birthday on Wednesday.

Finally, and sadly, it was time to say goodbye which was accompanied with many hugs and kisses and promises to keep in touch.  We hope that when they return to the island for a wedding next year they may come and stay with us - the only trouble is that Raluca doesn't particularly like cats which in turn meant they all LOVED her and wanted to cuddle up to her.

It had been a lovely day - it is always a worry that you might not find anything to talk about but we didn't have any trouble on that score.

Bucharest obviously suits Horatiu and Raluca and thanks to the marvels of social media we have been able to bridge that distance..

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