Annecy

 November 2019

After a number of train transfers and a brain-hurting but fun conversation in French with my train seat neighbor, I arrived in Annecy. It was all so painfully familiar, in a strange way it was like coming home. I had lived here for 6 months once, and it had always stuck with me.

My friend Emily had come all the way from Paris, and my friend Jennifer and her husband Sebastien were the ones putting us up, so it felt like the old gang all together again, which was really special. With all the snow, they took us straight up the mountains, which was breathtaking. 

I borrowed a waterproof jacket, but my jeans and sport shoes were hilariously unprepared for snow. It didn't matter though, we ran around in it anyway. 

The only regret was they had forgotten to put their toboggans in the boot! One day I will tick tobogganing off my bucket list, but clearly not today. 

Sebastien cooked us snails that night, which were just as delicious as I remembered. They refused to let us pay for any of the food and wine they bought from the supermarket which was so generous considering they were also letting us stay in their house! 

To make up for it, Emily and I took them out to dinner at one of our favourite restaurants the next night, L'Etage, where they do excellent fondue and racelette - perfect winter fare!

Walking around the old town at night with friends felt surreal, I was finally back! Annecy is one of my favourite places that I ever been, and being there made me dream of living there again.

The next day they were kind enough to take us on a driving trip around the lake, it was a misty, chilly day, but that only added to the atmosphere. We tried to go up the mountain again, this time with toboggans in hand, but the snowfall became too heavy, especially without snow chains on the car, so we had to turn around. Thwarted again!

We ended the day with homemade raclette around the table, as they had a nifty home racelette grill. It was delicious and I ate my weight in cheese. 

The weekend over, we bid farewell to Emily, who had to return to work in Paris, and Jennifer and Sebastien also had to go to work (it being a Monday).

 I was therefore left alone for the day, and decided to walk through the old town again, for a trip down memory lane. 

It was almost surreal how little had changed, my favourite bar was gone, but that was about it. Aside from that, no time could have passed at all. I walked past my old street (Rue de la Poste) and stared up at my apartment building. I walked along the lake, and admired the views, unchanged.

And then it was time to take my bus across the border to Geneva, where I would be flying out in the morning back to London. One last long wistful look at the lake, and I was gone. 

A Trip to France

 November 2019

Before we knew it, November had hit, and it was time for us to bid Cardiff goodbye. It had been a wonderful experience and we would miss the city terribly (although towards the end the incessant rain had gotten us down a tad).

 We were off for some family visits before we would finally be heading back to New Zealand. We had no idea how long we would stay, just that we were ready for a change. 

First stop was a quick visit to see dad in France, where we were picked up from the airport and driven through the Gorges du Verdon, which have absolutely stunning scenery. 

We popped into Frejús for lunch, a port town on the Côte d'Azur where I very excitedly ordered Moules frites, something I hadn't had in years. Mopping up the sauce with crusty bread was exactly as delicious as I remembered, and Ben was a quick convert too. I do love France!

We popped to Aix-en-Provence the next day, which was awesome as I hadn't been there before. Playing tourists with family was fun, especially when we stopped for beer and fries!

Ben was heading back to the UK a week before me to spend some quality time with his family in Bristol before we headed to New Zealand, so we dropped him off at the airport, and said our goodbyes. Our next stop was Marseille!

I can never decide if I like Marseille, it's a far cry from my favourite type of French town, which lies more along the lines of Toulouse or Aix-en-Provence. 

Marseille has grit, and maybe a bit too much of it for me. 

The Notre-Dame de la Garde is worth a visit however!

The days had gone far too quickly as always, and I was soon headed for the train station, with a ticket to Annecy. I had decided since I was so close, I might as well spend a few days in my old town, especially as I still had friends living there who had kindly offered to put me up. 

We ran into a spot of bother as the train was delayed hours due to snowfall, but it eventually arrived, and dad waved me off. I was very sad to be leaving (thanks for the lovely holiday dad!) But also excited to see my friends, it had been years!

A Welsh Day Trip

 October 2019

In the last few days of October, knowing our time in Cardiff was slowly coming to a close, we tried to do some more sight-seeing. One of the places recommended to me over and over again was the open air museum St Fagans. A museum showcasing mainly rural life in past times, its set across the grounds of St Fagens Castle, a 16th century manor house.

The grounds were stunning, and the day sunny and beautiful, which made exploring the extensive gardens wonderful. Even better, we had it almost to ourselves. 

The museum has more than forty buildings, including things like a blacksmith forge and watermills. It was a fascinating way to showcase Welsh history.

One of my favorites was the row of workers cottages with furnishings ranging from 1800-1985. One had a museum staff dressed in traditional working clothes, tending to a peat fire. If you haven't smelled a peat fire before, it's unique, sort of earthy. 

We had an amusing exchange with a security guard who was nervously watching the Rugby World Cup game, Wales vs. South Africa on his phone. We all cheered on Wales, and then headed home. Unfortunately Wales lost the match, but it was fun comradery. We distracted ourselves from the sad loss (and really we weren't that sad because a few days later NZ trounced Wales) by carving pumpkins for Halloween. If it's not obvious, mine is supposed to be an owl!

Corfu Part II

 October 2019

Being so close to Kassiopi, (a five minute drive) we decided to try dining out at one of the restaurants there. I had found a couple online I thought might be worth trying, but upon turning up, discovered they had all closed for the season.

 All was not lost however, as we simply tried the nearest likely looking place which didn't resemble a tourist trap. 'Thraka Greek BBQ' wasn't exactly an inspiring name (and in fact I only found it out thanks to google maps later, as it had no name sign we could see) but it wasn't full of tourists, only Greek families, and looked rather non-descript, which I have actually found to be a good thing a lot of the time.

 We weren't disappointed, oregano chips, delicious tzatziki, and gyros - rotisserie meat stuffed with salad and tzatziki and wrapped in a soft pita - everything was delicious. Including the house wine!

We were soon packing up and moving to our next Airbnb, still in the north, in an area called Nisaki. We were avoiding the south like a plague, as whilst beautiful, it was also full of the English resorts which we wanted to avoid. The plus side is outside of those resorts, few tourists bother to go.

 Our second Airbnb was nicer than our first, and very close to both a little supermarket, and a tiny beach we could simply walk to.

It also had a lovely outside area, which had been the main selling point for me.

The local beach (Nisaki Beach) was absolutely tiny, so not much good for sunbathing, but it was perfect when you wanted a quick dip close by, which was exactly how we used it. 

Overlooking the little beach sat the lovely beach bar Alymra Beach Bar Nisaki (what a mouthful) with a huge garden full of chairs and hammocks, the perfect place for an ice cold drink!

It was whilst staying here that we discovered our favourite beach of all. We decided to check out the nearby Agni Beach, upon which the cute Taverna Agni sat, perfect for those lunching needs.

I loved how it was right on the beach, and we tried all manner of interesting dishes, washed down with cold rosé. 

The beach itself was nice, but a little crowded. We noticed a trail near the left-hand end of the beach, seeming to lead into woodland over a hill. It looked like an interesting walk so we decided to explore. It quickly came out of the scrub and led us around the cliff, with incredible views.

With a bit of scrambling, we were suddenly greeted by another beach, and this one we had all to ourselves. A secret beach!!

This became our go to place, where we would largely spend our days, often bringing a cold beverage with us! We could then pop to the taverna on the other beach if we became peckish, or drive home to hang out in our garden, bliss!

On my birthday, we rented kayaks for an hour and explored the ridiculously clear water, then drove back to Agni Taverna where I had a delicious pasta dish for a change, washed down with more wine of course.

Then a few hours sunbathing and having multiple dips in the ocean perfectly capped off the day. What a perfect birthday!

We were incredibly sad to leave, and I can't wait to one day return! Greece really is my favourite place on earth.

Corfu Part I

 October 2019

Touching down at Corfu airport, we took the shuttle bus to Corfu Town, arriving on a blindingly blue day. We couldn't check into the Airbnb for a few hours, but luckily we only had carryon luggage, so we hefted our little backpacks, and went to explore. 

Did you know Prince Philip was born here? And that the Venetian's ruled Corfu for about 400 years? And that it's the only place in Greece where cricket is popular (thanks to the British). It's an interesting mash of cultures and history, and although heavily bombed in World War II, much of its architecture still survives. 

Feeling the heat, we popped into the cafe Puppet for some icy refreshing juice, the atmosphere was awesome and it was super tiny and cute - apparently it's a fantastic bar at night. We were getting hungry however, so went wandering for food. 

There were so many touristy places, we were struggling to find somewhere and ended up picking a place at random on the waterfront. It proved to be an excellent choice, serving up my favourite 'Corfu Red' beer, along with delicious fried saganaki cheese, and the real showstopper, octopus in vinegar. 

Once we were able to check into our Airbnb, we did so and rested for a while, tired from the hot day and travel. Once evening began to fall and the temperature cooled, we walked the thirty minutes into town, and then meandered the seafront until we were far enough away to look back on the fortress with a good view. Sunsets in Greece are a thing of wonder, the light is golden, the water dark and mysterious, and the sky filled with dusky pinks and purples. Far off in the distance, the mountains of Albania loomed, looking like something out of a fantasy novel. 

We ate at a restaurant called Stazei Meli, admiring the way the old town looked by night. The restaurant only served Loukoumades, a traditional Corfiot dish sort of like donuts, but both sweet and savoury. we tried ones stuffed with feta and accompanied with fresh tomatoes and a yogurt dill sauce, followed by milk chocolate stuffed ones, drizzled in white chocolate. Heaven.

The next morning I tried the very strange Fish Spa, something very popular in Corfu town. A fish 'pedicure', you pop your feet into a tub and tiny fish nibble the dead skin away. It was a totally bizarre sensation and whilst fun to try, was just a little too strange for me to get on board with! Also it tickled something terrible. 

We checked out of our Airbnb and met up with the company renting us a car for the rest of our trip. Typically Greek, there were no real checks or explanations, he handed us over the keys, waved and drove off. Nervously, we got into the tiny automobile, and Ben soon had a crash course on learning to drive on the right. We then headed north, towards our next airbnb, stopping only for a paddle at Ipsos, a beach I had fond memories of from my previous trip. 

We were staying just past Kassiopi, a fishing village on the northeastern coast. We didn't know the exact house number, having just been told where to park on the road, and then to call the owner. Which is all well and good until our phones - which worked perfectly in Greece, France and most of Europe, decided we were actually in Albania (you know, the country ACROSS the ocean?) and therefore wouldn't work at all. 

Panicked, we drove back along the main road until we found the first bar we could see, asked if they had Wi-Fi (thus fulfilling the terrible stereotype of annoying tourists desperate for internet) and were so grateful we ordered 2 giant beers which I then had to drink most of both myself rather quickly as Ben was driving, and we were about to be late! 

Luckily we were able to use the Wi-Fi to message the Airbnb host who quickly responded, so we were in business! The Airbnb was small and simple, but the balcony and view were out of this world.

Going to Corfu so late in the year had both benefits and drawbacks. The flights were cheap, and our car rental was heavily discounted. There were barely any tourists about either, however some restaurants had already closed up for the season, and the afternoons became cool much earlier than I was used to. A positive of this however was that nights were cool and pleasant, not the sticky unbearably hot hellish things I was used to in Greek summer. 

We had 3 days at this housesit, and 3 days at another one, so we set about making use of our base to explore the local area. We spent a couple of mornings sunbathing at the nearest beach at Kassiopi, but it wasn't the nicest for swimming.

We therefore decided to explore further afield, on one of the days making the trip up north to the Canal d'Amore, where the cliffs have been carved away into sea channels, with perfectly clear water. According to various legends, if a couple swims there they will either be in love forever, or get married very soon (which to me seem rather different things!).

 It's also horribly busy with tourists, so we admired it for a few photos, and then walked around the corner to a much quieter area (pictured below) for a swim.

We also ventured up to Loggas which had beautiful views and amazing white cliffs. We had wanted to eat lunch at the restaurant on the cliffs, as I had done so years before with Dad, but it was sadly closed for the season. We explored the beach for a while instead, so all was not lost.

Birthday Celebrations

 October 2019

My birthday this year was excellent. We celebrated the weekend before, and on the Friday I came home from work to a homemade sponge cake, champagne, chocolate and flowers!

The next morning I was taken out to Brava Cafe, just around the corner from our house, which we had been meaning to try for ages. They made a mean eggs benne and mocha!

After a lovely day, we headed out to the Dough Thrower, an Italian restaurant that was known for excellent pizza. And was it ever! As usual, I stuck with my margherita, and was very happy. 

We didn't bother with dessert, as we had the cake back home! Having it with champagne wasn't bad either.

It was a wonderful celebration, but the best was yet to come. 

The reason we hadn't celebrated on my actual birthday was because we would be celebrating for a whole week in Greece! Talk about birthday of the decade!