Keith's Parents Visit

Keith’s parents arrived in Corfu the day after we flew back to the UK. So we had arranged for them to be collected from the airport and to stay at the Athina hotel in San Stefanos. They had stayed there 2 years ago when we got married so we knew they would be well looked after and made to feel at home.
On the Saturday night there was an earthquake 5.8 on the Richter scale but apparently no damage done, Norman and Marjorie were in bed at the time and they felt the earth move, possibly for the first time in quite some time!

When we returned to Corfu on the Monday, we collected them to come and stay with us for their 2nd week. They fell in love with where we are living, with the mixture of Greek life & a holiday location, also quite important for mobility, all on one level (sea level).

We’ve done some of the tourist locations with them, the picturesque towns of Paliokastritsa and Kassiopi. We took a trip into the mountains, to an ancient crumbling village called Ano Perithia, a small, uninhabited place, but still with 4 tavernas and 3 olive wood shops for the tourists but with 30 to 40 derelict properties. There are references to life there going back over 150 years in some of the taverna’s blurb. The tavernas were full of German tourists & a fleet of 4x4’s were parked up for off road experiences in the surrounding wilderness of the mountain.

We have spent a couple of days on the beach and managed to get my Mum to go in the sea twice, & they even braved coming to 2 of my gigs (there is always a price to pay, even for a free holiday.) We finally christened the small BBQ we bought. Toula gave us a large water bottle full of olive oil, some lemons and a big bunch of oregano from her garden to use to marinade our pork chops, great meal, you know how much I like to BBQ so I think we will be doing this again throughout the summer.

Tuesday 10th July, Norman and Marjorie are flying home tonight, so we took them on a trip round the streets of Corfu town in the evening on the way to the airport. It is such a contrast to the villages round where we are living in the North. It’s bustling and very hot and noisy, this is where the “beautiful people” hang out. The buildings are beautiful, with a Venetian influence in appearance, very weather worn on the outside but apparently very elegant on the inside. I love the way the stone pavements are so shiny and worn.

So we are home alone again for a couple of weeks until Liz’s niece, Sammie and her friend arrive on 23rd. They are Greek island hopping for the summer so they have booked an internal flight to Corfu to stay with us but also to see some friends in Kavos.

Thanks to you guys who have sent comments to the blog, it’s really appreciated, keep them coming. It’s good to know you are reading it!

Bye for now…….. Don’t start work til 10pm…….. So off to the beach………again xxx