Sorry Folks I've Been Busy (Part 2)

So following my previous Part 1 report on my visit to Rome I will bring you up to date on a couple of other things.
Believe it or not we had floods on Zakynthos over Christmas & there were some homes that were unfortunately flooded. There has been a lot of very heavy rain this Winter following a very dry Winter last year. Much of the land on the flat plain around the airport area was flooded including the land where my house is to be built LOL. I have spoken to the builder & the houses are planned to be built raised up above the ground level & I also asked about the drainage of the actual land. I have been told that there will be some piping laid to help to carry away excess water. Hopefully then I will not be having to look to purchase a boat!!!!!
As far as the house is concerned it is now just a waiting game for the actual building licence to be granted before the builder can start construction & due to the backlog at the planning office it is going to be some time before anything happens so I just have to wait patiently.

My other piece of news is that I have begun a relationship with someone shortly before Christmas. I am not going to go into any details except to say he is quite a bit younger than me & although he has lived in Greece for 20+ years & speaks fluent Greek, he was not born here. It is very early days but what I can say is that I am feeling very happy, contented & cared for at this time & that has far more importance than age or origin. So fingers crossed for the future & I think that brings me pretty much up to date folks.

Sorry Folks I've Been Busy (Part 1)

Yes I am still here but I have been very bad & not updated the blog for soooooo long so it's time to put this right.
First I hope that everyone had a great Christmas & New Year - I enjoyed mine.
Just before Christmas I had a wonderful few days away in the city of Rome. I had planned this trip with Debbie a while back & so we left Zakynthos via bus & ferry firstly to Athens & then by air to Rome. As well as myself & Debbie there was Simone (Debbie's daughter) & Chris (who is Debbie's elder daughter's boyfriend - her elder daughter was away visiting family elsewhere)

On arrival in Rome we found a place to stay that was simple, clean & cheap for the 4 of us to share & included breakfast.


We were going to be in Rome for 4 days & so on our first full day we boarded one of the 'hop on hop off' buses that do a brief tour around the main sights of the City so we could finalise which sites we really wanted to visit. We had a fantastic time & I can recommend a visit to Rome for anyone that has never been. There is so much to see & it was a little like walking through the pages of your history books from school days. The first picture is of The Coliseum from the outside & the second from inside. Here are a few more photos to give you a flavour of the trip.





Here you can see me about to throw my coin over my shoulder into the Trevi Fountain & make my wish (& no I'm not telling what my wish was :-)






This is a courtyard at The Vatican - what an amazing place the Vatican is. The museums hold some wonderful treasures & we could have spent a lot longer in them but we were a little rushed at the end as they were closing & we had to hurry to get to see the Sistine Chapel which is truly not to be missed.



Here is just one of the breathtaking painted ceilings in the Vatican museums.














Here I am by the fountain in St Peter's Square.



















St Peter's Basilica & Square








We decided to take the option to climb to the very top of the cupola of St Peter's Basilica. A lift takes you halfway & then it is steps the rest of the way. As you climb the steps are quite narrow & the higher you get, the walls begin to curve in toward you which feels very strange. On reaching the top & stepping out the hard work to get there is suddenly all worthwhile. The views across the City of Rome are spectacular as I hope you can see from the photo I have posted taken from the top.

After visiting The Vatican we went on to visit Castel Sant'Angelo which is close by. The photo of me with St Peter's Basilica in the distance is taken from the upper terrace of the Castel.
A fabulous 4 days spent in a very interesting City with so much to see.