What to do on the last day
Nov. 29th, 2020 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ruthct21After 4 weeks of lovely sunny weather (if a little cooler as time went on) our last day in Stoupa started off grey and dull, and has progressed to rain. Instead of a calm blue sea reflecting a calm blue sky, there is an overcast sky, thick with cloud, above an energetic grey sea. There must have been quite a storm out at sea because the water is pounding towards the land, whipping up a froth of waves round every little rock or islet, and sturdy breakers reaching much further up the beach than usual. No swimming or lazing around on sun-loungers today. In fact, no-one at all is on the beach and only a handful walking or driving along the promenade. It's a bit more like Yorkshire, grumbling about the weather as you look at it through the window and making excuses for not going outside.
Mick, bless him, has spent a bit of time outside making sure all the tyres on the hire car are properly inflated for our journey back to Athens tomorrow and now he has now gone to check the oil and, if necessary, buy some. Me? No, I couldn't go. I wasn't dressed.
Our landlady summons us upstairs to settle up the absurdly low rental for this lovely little apartment, all mod cons and a super view of the bay. Of course, we have to approach this crabwise via a discussion of how it's a struggle to get everyone local on board with recycling and proper disposal of rubbish (just like home!), some exchanges of family and personal history, and a bit of food and drink (local figs and nuts to be washed down with a big glass of fresh cold water). Finally, cash changes hands and Mick urges me to come to Melissa Grill to order lunch.
While our food is being cooked (chicken souvlaki and rabbit stifado, served with potatoes, beetroot, greens and a bonus pudding of sponge cake soaked in honey) we chat with one of the owners, Nick, who is at pains to inform us that they have apartments, too - only a short walk to the prom - and they are happy to supply whatever meals we would want. The big risk is that unless we can get in really plenty of exercise alongside eating their super food, we would end up about twice the size we arrived. (And, of course, having struggled to shed kilos over the last 3 months, we know that such a fate would cost us months of starvation).
So we have nothing much to do here apart from finish packing, have a modest evening meal, fill up our kindles with more to read and make sure we get on the road as soon as possible after 6.00am tomorrow. Then slide gracefully into quarantine back home.
Mick, bless him, has spent a bit of time outside making sure all the tyres on the hire car are properly inflated for our journey back to Athens tomorrow and now he has now gone to check the oil and, if necessary, buy some. Me? No, I couldn't go. I wasn't dressed.
Our landlady summons us upstairs to settle up the absurdly low rental for this lovely little apartment, all mod cons and a super view of the bay. Of course, we have to approach this crabwise via a discussion of how it's a struggle to get everyone local on board with recycling and proper disposal of rubbish (just like home!), some exchanges of family and personal history, and a bit of food and drink (local figs and nuts to be washed down with a big glass of fresh cold water). Finally, cash changes hands and Mick urges me to come to Melissa Grill to order lunch.
While our food is being cooked (chicken souvlaki and rabbit stifado, served with potatoes, beetroot, greens and a bonus pudding of sponge cake soaked in honey) we chat with one of the owners, Nick, who is at pains to inform us that they have apartments, too - only a short walk to the prom - and they are happy to supply whatever meals we would want. The big risk is that unless we can get in really plenty of exercise alongside eating their super food, we would end up about twice the size we arrived. (And, of course, having struggled to shed kilos over the last 3 months, we know that such a fate would cost us months of starvation).
So we have nothing much to do here apart from finish packing, have a modest evening meal, fill up our kindles with more to read and make sure we get on the road as soon as possible after 6.00am tomorrow. Then slide gracefully into quarantine back home.
