Yahsu

Actually, I’m afraid it is more like goodbye than hello.  Departed lovely Rodos today at lunchtime, and after a smooth flight to Gatwick and train back to Crowthorne, I am back!  I would have to say this rates as one of the best trips I have done :0)  The tour guide was excellent (thanks Andy), the group of people on the trip were fantastic and the country was beautiful, scenic, hot and people in general all very friendly.  My travel bug is now well and truly biting and I have many great suggestions on places to visit from people I have met on the trip.. 

So, to catch-up on specifics, the last couple of days since my last post were great.

On the Monday night we did a sunset cruise.  Departing on our own yacht, we sailed to a fancy Spa, where you can indulge for 250 euro a day apparently, and then a bit of general cruising until watching the sunset.  After the cruise we went into the Old Town in Rodos and had a meal.  I tried lamb on the spit, served with..you guessed it..chips!  Also had a greek salad which meant I had no room for dessert AND they looked fantastic.  Went on to a couple of local trendy bars to check them out.  Very yuppy style, loud music and interesting to see.  A few stayed on..and had a good night ending up with a 6am swim so I hear.  I headed back to my local (Yannis) with a few others and we had drinks and chatted till about 3 am…That was my early night..NOT.

The next day (4 hours later) I did the Grand Tour, which was a coach trip around a few different highlights on the island.  This included a butterfly park (which were actually moths but as the guide said, who would visit a Moth Park..), ruins of an ancient city, wine tasting, honey and fire-water tasting, lunch at a local with the cats, ceramics potter display and a few other scenic stops along the way.  It was a full day, followed by our last meal in the restaurant and last drinks at the bar.  This morning we didn’t have to head off until 12pm, so we could have a late breaky and then just chill out, sit by the pool etc until it was time to leave.  We nearly lost one of our team (slept in), but all made it to the airport in time to fly out eventually.

 Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.  I still need to include some descriptions and upload a few more, but it is getting late and I am tired.  There are a few to look at anyway…  Sorry if there are too many!  Yamas!! 

Rodos

Just in Rhodes, or Rodos as the locals say!  Had a bit of a sleep in this morning and a late breakfast and then walked from the hotel into to Rhodes.  Took about 45 mins, pretty warm, but a very pretty walk along the waters edge.  Had a bit of a look around and bought the obligatory ‘tourist tshirt’ from a guy who was very keen to sell it to me (kept following me around the shop!).  Cut it down from 9.50 to 7.00 euro, although chances are I was still probably ripped off, but it is a nice souvenir of the trip anyway.  I then stopped off at a local cafe.  It was great, had an iced coffee and watched the locals playing card-games and chilling out with their greek coffees!  I am on the internet to try and sort out a couple of banking issue, ie money being withdrawn as overdraft from my bank account (yikes), and have to pay up-front to use the internet, so thought a quick blog was in order. 

Greek dancing last night, which was fun, some interesting moves in the dances, I have to say I hadn’t seen before, we felt like we were doing an aerobics class with pushups and allsorts.  Followed by vodka and watching Italy v Spain at Yannis.  I will miss Yanni’s pub.. Sunset cruise and dinner tonight with the group.  Looking forward to that.  Bye from now, off to ring a bank!!!! Yamas :0) 

Greece continued

Have been offline for a few days, busy travelling, sightseeing, eating and drinking.  Tried to get on yesterday but Sat arvo seemed to be a busy time for interneting.  Have had an excellent few days. Highlights include

- Trip to Lindos, exploring the ruins of acropolis and the fantastic scenery.  Walked up to the ruins in what I found out later was 41 degree heat!

- Walked in and around Rhodes old town, also very scenic and the old town was great. Had lunch at a great little local restaurant.

- Tried moussaka at a dinner out last night - went to a fancier restaurant, it was excellent and it came with chips…

- Trip to Symi today, also very scenic and a 315 stair(someone counted them..not me) to a great view vantage point, then lunch and lots of photo taking..

- Lazing on the beach, on my beach lounge, even went swimming in the sea yesterday

- Plenty of cocktails, wine and vodka.  I am now a local at Yanni’s pub, and received a free drink last night.  Have collected 9 swizel sticks..

Tonight I think it might be an early one as been on-the-go from 8 till 6,and didn’t actually get to sleep until 3 am…mmmmm…although it is greek dancing at the beach pub.  Hard to take all this.  Quiet day planned tommorrow with a sunset cruise in the evening.

Plenty more, but these are the highlights so you don’t get overwhelmed with info or hate me too much…just wait till you see the photos.  I love Greece! :0)

 

Rhodes - Greece

It didn’t take me long, to track down the internet cafe in Rhodes, Greece, right next door to the Hotel Cosmopolitan, where I am staying for the week.  Flight over was different, they ran out of meals and there was chaos as everyone had to raid the snack cart - I had chips and chocolates for lunch!  We got to the hotel around 1ish and met the guide and settled into rooms.  I am in a room which has just been finished being upgraded, and is in a new wing of the hotel. They were literally hooking up the tv as I was moving in, but it is very nice and has a nice outlook onto the pool.

Sat around the pool, relaxed and then freshened up for drinks, dinner and meeting the rest of the group in the evening. After dinner, we cruised over to the pool bar for Karaoke night.  I must say it was very multicultural, with singers from Denmark, Italy and UK.  The bar singer did 2 Aussie songs - Land Down under and Live it Up - Mental as Anything…these were my represented songs!!

I hope to have pleased two of my readers by singing (in a trio) the final song of the night - ABBA - Thankyou for the music.  Vicki and Trish, that was for you guys!  Went on around the corner…hehehe to a local bar for further drinks with some of the group and found bed at 2am. 3am start and 2am finish..yes I am a little bit tired today. Rhodes is very pretty and I have not got all that far.  People friendly and tour group is good mix of people. I went for a short walk this morning after our meeting to book up all our trips for the week and have the rest of the arvo free - it is a bit hot though - 39 degrees they are saying…well I can’t really complain now can I!!

 Well, getting close to lunch-time, so better look for some options for food.  Bye from Greece for now

Gatwick

Just a quick one from Gatwick Airport, on route to Rhodes!  At a £2 for 20mins internet, so will make it snappy!  Had to get up at 3am this morning!  Transfer to airport by 4am and somehow managed to fast-forward myself in the check-in line, so all checked in and through in 15mins!  Now have to wait 2 hours till the flight departs though.

The Menzies Chequers Hotel was a bit of a mixture.  The room was quite nice and comfy, single beds but all nice and clean.  The hotel itself was still undergoing renovation (I wasn’t quite sure of this when making the booking), but there was no noise or anything (except maybe me clomping down the passage at 3:30am to get the shuttle!  Dinner was a bit average, a steak sandwich which had a bit too much grissle and not enough steak, but the Merlot did the trick and I was asleep my 9:30pm in preparation for my early start.  Anyway, time is a ticking down and I have .85 from my £2pounds left so I better go and do a quick email check and then be off to get a coffee.

Seeya round.  Catcha soon.  Hope it is nice in Rhodes!

Quote of the Day

And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

Earl Mac Rauch, from “Buckaroo Bansai”

3 great things

As day 1 of my new contract draws to a close, as I successfully find my way home from the public transport maze, I have to tell you 3 great things about my new 3 month contract…

1. It is in London!  and I can see London from my wall to wall windows, on the 4th floor.  The view is not picturesque, but it is London, Paddington station, main road with an endless procession of buses, taxis and cars and some skyline (and today cranes). 

2.  People are great.  Everyone I met today was really nice and welcoming.  Boss is cool and the place has a good vibe so-far.  More on the work next week, cause my head is still spinning a bit on that one! 

And as for number 3.

3. Who said there was no such thing as a free lunch??!!  Well, I beg to differ.  A workers cafe and a £2.50 lunch allowance EACH DAY.  You can choose from cooked meals (changing each day), sandwiches, salad bar, drinks, desserts of the day and fruit and lollies.  You can also top-up to purchase extra coffees from the downstairs cafe, or just help yourself to the cappuccino machine.  Oh so cool!

Public transport, including walk home took me just over 1.5hrs today.  This was with a couple of flukey connections, or maybe they weren’t flukey and I just timed them well!  Only one moment of ‘crap, did I get on th right train’  One of these days, I am going to get on some express train to Wales or somewhere, but then I will have a differet story to tell.  I will be offline for a bit after this post folks.  I will be looking out for internet cafes over the next 9 days while I am travelling, but no guarantees, so till next post..  

Snoopy job hunting

Found this on this website, which looks quite interesting. Love the Cartoon! 

Getting ready

Sunday evening and I have just finished packing my big back-pack (and testing out how heavy it is) and sorting out my paperwork for the next few days.  First time doing the public transport in ‘peak hour’ tomorrow, so that will be interesting.  I have my first day of work tommorow and I am sure it will be a brain spin!  Went shopping today in Reading and spent £75 on clothes!  Whoops, wasn’t planning that much, but after a month I am a bit sick of my lot and also needed some more summery ones to enjoy the sun in greece…Did get 3 tops, 3 summer pants and a light jacket.   Also got some Euros, so good to spend in Greece!!

While I was pre-purchasing a rail ticket from the ticket guy in Reading today, we got chatting and he told me that he had a friend who had a 1 bedroom room in a unit in London that he rents out for short-term periods.  He actually rang the guy and I spoke to him and got his contact number.  The public transport costs are going to be pretty high, so maybe a short-term lease in London is worth a look.  As long as it is not dodgy.  The ticket guy liked me cause I was an Aussie!  Anyway, will think about that and maybe look into in a few weeks time.. 

Also, thanks heaps for all the comments that people have been posting, it is great to know there are people out there reading my blog :0) and it is great to hear from people, so if you feel so inclined, keep them coming.  Will let you know how Day1 goes tomorrow. 

Quote of the Day

We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.

John W. Gardner (1912 - 2002)