They say it is better to be lucky than rich. Well, I am certainly not rich but I do consider myself lucky.
I had an invitation from Vakkis Zergos and Tiffany Martin to spend two weeks at their fabulous Villa LouLa in Elounda at the end of February. How could I possibly refuse? Tiffany made all the arrangements so I was able to sit back and relax without having to worry about travelling via Athens and finding the correct gate for my departure to Heraklion.
Vakkis met us at the airport and we drove down to Elounda and unloaded ourselves and our luggage early in the evening. I was given a large bedroom with a balcony overlooking the bay with Spinalonga in the distance. I even had my own magnificent bathroom.
It was not ‘warm’ when we first arrived but the efficient heating system kept us all cosy and as the days progressed the temperature rose until it had reached twenty degrees on the day we had to leave. After the terrible weather that England had experienced during that time I was extremely thankful that I was in Crete.
Elounda is very different out of season and I really appreciated seeing the village without tourists. The gift shops were closed down and also most of the tavernas whilst they were being refurbished ready for the summer season.
The “Imperia” was open and we went there on a number of occasions for an excellent meze meal. Dimitris’s Steak House opened just before we left and we obviously ate there – the usual excellent food – and admired their new lighting and general decor. A visit to “The Hope” was a must and we had a superb meze lunch there the day it opened. Congratulations to Amelie and Dimitris on the birth of their son.
Vakkis and Tiffany said I could invite my local friends to the Villa LouLa and I did this on two occasions. Vakkis cooked a magnificent barbecue and the weather was kind enough for us to be able to sit outside in sunshine. We visited Agios Nikolaos where Poppi and Manolis joined us for a meal and on another occasion we were invited to Yannis’s farm. That was an amazing evening as he had also invited many of his friends and the food and drink did not stop coming. I do not think I have ever seen so much variety and of course, it was all delicious.
One evening a local family, who have been friends with them for many years, came for a meal at the Villa LouLa. Vakkis cooked beautiful stuffed peppers and tomatoes one of my favourite dishes. It was lovely to be able to talk to Maria and her daughter Tina in a family atmosphere. I do wish my Greek was half as good as their English.
Whilst we were there Vakkis worked hard outside erecting some fencing around the barbecue area to give more privacy when entertaining out there. I have to admit that I did nothing except take the rubbish along to the bin each day and sweep the front steps down once.
To my delight Vakkis agreed to be on the cover of my next book. I did have a lap top with me, but I did very little writing whilst I was there, the time seemed to fly past. I now have to work hard to complete “Theo” having had two weeks of living in untold luxury and being totally spoilt.
Definitely better to be lucky than rich.
Beryl
I had an invitation from Vakkis Zergos and Tiffany Martin to spend two weeks at their fabulous Villa LouLa in Elounda at the end of February. How could I possibly refuse? Tiffany made all the arrangements so I was able to sit back and relax without having to worry about travelling via Athens and finding the correct gate for my departure to Heraklion.
Vakkis met us at the airport and we drove down to Elounda and unloaded ourselves and our luggage early in the evening. I was given a large bedroom with a balcony overlooking the bay with Spinalonga in the distance. I even had my own magnificent bathroom.
It was not ‘warm’ when we first arrived but the efficient heating system kept us all cosy and as the days progressed the temperature rose until it had reached twenty degrees on the day we had to leave. After the terrible weather that England had experienced during that time I was extremely thankful that I was in Crete.
Elounda is very different out of season and I really appreciated seeing the village without tourists. The gift shops were closed down and also most of the tavernas whilst they were being refurbished ready for the summer season.
The “Imperia” was open and we went there on a number of occasions for an excellent meze meal. Dimitris’s Steak House opened just before we left and we obviously ate there – the usual excellent food – and admired their new lighting and general decor. A visit to “The Hope” was a must and we had a superb meze lunch there the day it opened. Congratulations to Amelie and Dimitris on the birth of their son.
Vakkis and Tiffany said I could invite my local friends to the Villa LouLa and I did this on two occasions. Vakkis cooked a magnificent barbecue and the weather was kind enough for us to be able to sit outside in sunshine. We visited Agios Nikolaos where Poppi and Manolis joined us for a meal and on another occasion we were invited to Yannis’s farm. That was an amazing evening as he had also invited many of his friends and the food and drink did not stop coming. I do not think I have ever seen so much variety and of course, it was all delicious.
One evening a local family, who have been friends with them for many years, came for a meal at the Villa LouLa. Vakkis cooked beautiful stuffed peppers and tomatoes one of my favourite dishes. It was lovely to be able to talk to Maria and her daughter Tina in a family atmosphere. I do wish my Greek was half as good as their English.
Whilst we were there Vakkis worked hard outside erecting some fencing around the barbecue area to give more privacy when entertaining out there. I have to admit that I did nothing except take the rubbish along to the bin each day and sweep the front steps down once.
To my delight Vakkis agreed to be on the cover of my next book. I did have a lap top with me, but I did very little writing whilst I was there, the time seemed to fly past. I now have to work hard to complete “Theo” having had two weeks of living in untold luxury and being totally spoilt.
Definitely better to be lucky than rich.
Beryl
Photo courtesy of Lynne McDonald
