Saturday - Simon's 42nd...

Today we had been invited to celebrate Simon's 42nd birthday with a lunch at Viklari - The Last Castle.  We haven't been there yet this year so it was lovely to be invited to join Simon, Melanie, Jasmine, Frances and Aunty CC (Caroline, Melanie's sister).

We took Kenny to checkout the state of the road via Peyia main road way and then back cross country with a view to seeing whether we could take the Pug in the future should we need to.  Initially we said Yes but the nearer we got to the roads less-traveled the less confident we were.

We had the prime spot table and the view was as stunning as always - the menu never changes so there are no surprises - they stick to what they do best - souvla and chunky chips with salad and if you notify them in advance they will provide a vegetarian dish and if it is their fasoulia it is fabulous.



We spent a very pleasant couple of hours over lunch but it was quite cool and windy on the eating side - the carpark and the approach were roasting hot but I was glad that I had taken a denim jacket with me.

Simon is a very keen runner and we have sponsored him on his next big run which takes place in Cornwall and will actually take him through Portholland and past the memorial bench which marks the passing of various members of our family.  He says he will stop there for a while or at least slow down and pay his respects to Dad.

In his last race he came second and won a voucher for a meal for two at the WaterMill in Steni and Melanie gave it to us so that John and I could have a nice quiet meal together just the two of us.  We were so touched by that really kind gesture.

We took the scenic route home - it didn't take much longer than going via the main road but in places the road was quite bad.  We decided to stop off to catch up with Di and Rob over a coffee in the garden - such good friends - we are so lucky to have them close by even though we don't see them everyday we know that they are there for us when we need them.

Finally we had a surprise text today informing us that Horatiu, who I used to work with at Porters, is on the island with his girlfriend Raluca staying at the Azia.  We have invited them upon Monday afternoon.  I haven't seen him for 7 years so it will be fabulous to catch up and, having recently seen Gemma and been to Porter Dodson to have a look around, we will have a lot to talk about.