George is in town…

Following Mr Bouras’ departure, a new George is in town. This is my cousin George and a friend of his, Chrysanthy.


Taking advantage of some Greek holidays they decided to visit London for the first time. And visit they did! In a very short while

they managed to see more things in London than I have seen in my eight years living here and even fitted in cooking a wonderful dinner for Blair and me!

During our last few trips in Greece, Blair and I have managed to miss George so this was a great opportunity to catch up. Maria and Alastair were also keen to spend some time with our cousin so this morning we decided to have brunch at Giraffe.

After consuming way too much food again, we set off for a much needed stroll in the park.

Stella Artois Championships...

Following the France & Spain road trip George arranged to stay with us for two nights before heading over to Bristol to catch up with mutual friends Jane & Colin.


As our flight arrived before midday, and knowing that George is a big tennis fan we decided to take him to the first day’s play of the Stella Artois Championships.

Unfortunately our resident pass only gave us access to the outside courts, but nevertheless there was some good tennis between J.Tipsarevic(SRB) & I.Navarro(ESP) 7-6, 6-4, it didn’t rain either, which is unusual for the English tennis season!

All and all George enjoyed the experience; hopefully we’ll have another pass next year that’s if we haven’t moved by then.

France & Spain Road Trip...Day 3

After last night’s tapas and sangria (not me of course) we decided to use our one full day to explore some sights….so we headed to the top of Monte Urgull.

Monte Urgull starts with a steep tree lined and paved walk up from the old town (Plaza de Zuloaga), topped by low castle walls and a grand statue of Christ at the summit.

The view was worth the walk, simply breathtaking across the city & beaches in the foreground, to the mountains some 22 kilometres away.

Down the mountain and it was time for lunch…except the Spanish had the same idea so this time we stayed away from the classic tapas bars for a more international bar.

Yet again we struggled with their Spanish menu

(a common theme for the trip – foreign menus) so we improvised, Leigh photographed the menu on the shop front and we handed the camera around the table before marking the Spanish menu in front of us, a hilarious sight for the waitress especially when she asked us if we wanted the English menu?!

With food to keep us happy we headed back to the hotel for a rest ahead of tomorrow’s early start back to Bordeaux.

This summed up a good (short) break with great friends…hopefully we’ll see everyone again very soon.

France & Spain Road Trip...Day 2

Today we had a long drive ahead of us to San Sebastian - Spain.

The route down to San Sebastian largely involved back tracking to Bordeaux and then heading due south along the coast to the beach, so we set the Tom Tom which said five hours to the hotel and off we went…

5 ½ hours later……we arrived at the hotel Barceló. It was a good drive with two stops for refreshments en-route and some interesting moments….a story for another time.

Once refreshed and unpacked we headed into the city centre to get a feel for the place, which is known for its long sun drenched sandy beaches. Unfortunately the sun didn’t follow us down from France; nevertheless the city centre was a great surprise between the old and new town.

Despite the lack of sun I still walked along the long beach and got my feet wet before we headed out for traditional tapas….lets hope the sun arrives tomorrow…

France & Spain Road Trip...Day 1 (Part 2)

After a mid afternoon lunch we headed 8 km south of Sarlat to Domme founded in 1283
('most beautiful village of the Dordogne area') which overlooks the Dordogne river.

http://www.francethisway.com/mbv-domme.php

Domme is located at the top of a steep hill, but the 180 degree views across the Dordogne river and surrounding valleys & villages of Beynac and La Roque Gageac were just spectacular!

As the sun came out it was time for an ice cream (one of many during this trip) and a stroll around the village streets.



From Domme we headed back towards Sarlat to the amazing village of La Roque Gageac. http://www.la-roque-gageac.com/gb/villages/RoqueGageac.htm

La Roque Gageac is built, or nestled, into the rock faces which overhang the Dordogne river. This place was a real treat to stumble upon, so we headed by foot up the paths to get a closer look of the unusual homes and views back across the valley.




By now it was early evening and time to head back to Sarlat for a good meal. We headed for the main square and found a local restaurant with a twist, you had to cook your own meat! Well not quite but the meat came out raw on a hot plate which meant we could cut and cook it to our own preferences.

It was fun experience and something which everyone enjoyed, maybe I wouldn’t recommend it to any messy eaters and those which can’t keep their elbows off the table but tonight fun was had by all!

Definitely a good start for the three days ahead...

France & Spain Road Trip...Day 1 (Part 1)

Day one of the anticipated French road trip with Leigh, Kylie and George (who was over from Melbourne) started with a rather early 8am flight from Gatwick to Bordeaux http://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com/uk/decouvrir/unesco.html still it was only 1hr 35mins so in my book a quick leap across the channel to France.

I arrived to a less than expected welcome from no one(!) and at this point started thinking that the pilot’s announcement of ‘Ladies & Gentlemen Welcome to Toulouse’ wasn’t to far from the truth…!

Anyway a quick call to the gang and I was reassured that they were on their way and not far from the airport.

From the airport we headed east inland towards the heart of France to a beautifully preserved 8th century village or ‘city’ (as the locals keep reminding us) called Sarlat.
http://www.france-for-visitors.com/dordogne/perigord-noir/sarlat.html

The exceptional number of buildings registered or classified as historical makes Sarlat the first European city in term of inheritance.

Sarlat has provided the natural decor for many movies and it became obvious why when we walked around the narrow twisting streets of the inner city.


Leigh & Kylie had arranged and planned the majority of the trip and for my first night they had selected a bed & breakfast ‘Les Cordeliars’ which overlooked the memorial square of Petit Regeaudie. http://www.hotelsarlat.com/

Already it felt like this was going to be a great trip…