Having met my friends at Gatwick in the early hours we had a good flight to Crete. Upon our arrival at Heraklion airport we were met by a charming driver and escorted to the taxi I had ordered through Rhonda (Elounda Star Transfers). I had never travelled in such a luxurious car before – it was a Mercedes and the drive was so comfortable that it seemed no time at all before we were at our hotel (Akris Olous) in Elounda. The cost is no more than an ordinary taxi ride. Extraordinary value.
Thursday was a busy day. I had a quick swim before breakfast before walking up to Elounda village where we caught a taxi to Plaka. Our first stop was a visit to Monique in her gift shop. Phaedra arrived whilst we were there and we moved to the Carob Tree for lunch and a chat to get to know Phaedra.
Stephie provided us with a lovely meal, as always, and then allowed us to go across the road to her other taverna where Phaedra was made up to look as if she was suffering from a nasty skin complaint on her face. We then walked down to the waterfront and photos of Phaedra were taken ready for the cover of my next book. It was a great fun afternoon. The evening was spent with friends from England at Dimitris’s Steak House where I had my favourite prawn saganaki.
The following day was a little more restful. We walked across the Causeway and went to the White House for a drink and then back to Canali for our lunch, followed by a relaxing sun bathe by the swimming pool up at the Sky Bar of the Aktis Olous.
On Saturday we caught a taxi to Kastelli to meet up with our friend who live there and have lunch at the local taverna and on Sunday we were up early to meet our friends to visit Spinalonga. This has become a traditional day where we visit the island, return to Plaka for a drink at The Pines before going for a meze lunch at The Hope in Mavrikiano. We decided that Korfus Blue, run by Panatiotis and Carol, was the venue for our evening meal as it was only a short walk from the hotel.
Monday was another relaxing day beside the pool where we were able to get out of the wind that was blowing quite strongly and in the evening it was off to Dimitris’s Steak House to meet a friend and have the prawn saganaki yet again.
Our friend Julie had booked a table for us at La Terrassa on Tuesday. The view from there across the bay is spectacular and their food is superb.
Each day I seemed to meet friends who were either staying at the Aktis Olous or were at a taverna where we wined or dined (often doing both).
To our surprise on Wednesday we woke up to a cloudy grey sky with some thunder and lightning. A few spots of rain fell and it was much cooler. Friends from England had arrived the previous day and we went to the Carob Tree at Plaka to meet them for lunch. When they returned to their apartment the consignment of books I had sent out from England had arrived but there was one box missing. Fortunately for me their daughter, Tiffany, was there and able to take photos of the missing books and send all the information through to the carriers and speak to them. I am still waiting to hear that the books have been found and have them returned to me.
Thursday evening we went to Nikos Fish Taverna for a meal. The first time I had been there as I am not a fish lover, but I certainly enjoyed everything I was served. Another visit to The Carob Tree for lunch the following day, meeting friends again for a quick drink in the evening before going to Dimitris’s. I decided I had to have a different dish and chose the chicken curry which was lovely.
Sunday we went to Olondi and were given a warm welcome by Yannis. The food did not stop coming and how we managed to clear the table I do not know.
Monday afternoon we were able to visit our friends in the Villa Loula next door to our hotel. We spent the afternoon swimming in their pool and then Vakis cooked us an enormous and very tasty BBQ. Yet again we all ate far too much.
On our final full day we were collected by Yvonne Payne who lives in Kritsa. On our way to the village we visited Panagia Kera. Once in Kritsa we toured Rodanthe’s House followed by the Flower Museum which is a new venture this season. More friends had joined us at Rodanthe’s House and we sat on the patio (courtesy of Maria the curator) and ate a delicious Victoria sponge (baked by Yvonne) accompanied by orange juice. This was followed by lunch in the village. Upon our return we once again descended on our friends in the Villa Loula and spent the evening with them. They provided us with a meze to go with our drinks and we were all thankful that the takeaway they had mentioned ordering as well did not materialize. We none of us could have done it justice.
Our final afternoon was spent taking a trip to Vrouhas and Seles on the Happy Train. A fitting end to a perfect and very busy two weeks. Now back to reality and hard work on the next book which is due out in December.