Recent Trips To The Mainland

Since I last posted I have been on 2 trips to mainland Greece with Justine and Simon. The first trip was to Patra on 18th Aug. Any trip to the mainland involves either a ferry journey or a short flight and the picture here is of Zakynthos town as we were leaving the harbour on the ferry. The ferry berthed at Kalini after a journey time of approx 1 hr 20 mins and we then drove (or more correctly Simon drove) to Patra which took approx 40 mins. The main purpose of our visit was to buy some household purchases either not available or of very limited choice in Zakynthos. In Patra there's a large shopping complex (large by Zakynthos standards) which includes a Carrefour store which was where I found much of what was on my shopping list. What I was unable to buy would be taken care of on our second trip which was to Athens (Athena as said in Greece) on the 21st Aug.

The trip to Athens involves the same ferry journey as to Patra but the drive once on the mainland takes approx 4 hrs so Simon booked us all into the Holiday Inn in Athens for one night. The photos on the left show me posing on the deck and then mother and daughter both posing on deck. The plan was that we would visit Ikea and also hopefully have time to visit the Acropolis

Justine and Simon had warned me that the last trip they made to Ikea they spent over 7 hours in the store - yes I did say 7 hours. Having now been there myself (never before having set foot in an Ikea store) I believe them. Not sure if we were in there as long but if not it was a close run thing. Needless to say the Acropolis has to wait until another day. Several Euros lighter I must say I was very pleased with my purchases, as various throws, cushions, covers, quilts, curtains etc got loaded into the car. My larger purchases &

those of Simon and Justine were too big for the car so delivery had to be arranged. I must say I was very impressed, taking account of the considerable journey they had to make to our island, that they got delivered only 2 days later. So anyone that knows me well will appreciate that it wasn't long before the hammer & screwdrivers were out and flat packs were constructed into usable pieces of furniture. My house is becoming more homely each day and is starting to feel very cosy. I will try to take a few indoor photos some time to post here.

I have 2 things that I am really looking forward to coming up shortly. Firstly my good friend Jan will be coming to Zakynthos to stay with me for a week from the 11th Sept and on 1st Oct my mum is also coming out for a week. I am so looking forward to seeing them both & sharing my new home with them. I hope that in time I will see many more of my friends and family out here.