The Irinis Apartment, Kassiopi and our home for the next 6 nights.
I choose this specific apartment because literally, just across the road from our accommodation, was this spot. The perfect place for Jeff to take his morning swim. We don't need a pool if we're right by the sea and it's just the two of us, which opens up so many other choices.
We spent the afternoon walking around the town, finding all the beaches and bits we'd not found during our previous visits. We did however find our cove.....
....but needed Sophie to send over photo's from our photo albums, just to make sure!!
Our first holiday together 28 years ago!
And celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary in August this year.
We should of gone to Kassiopi for our honeymoon but thought we should go somewhere else.
We honeymooned in Majorca instead but went back the following year x
The resort was as we'd remembered, the memory sparking back into life. It was a lot quieter though but that was due to Covid and all the travel restrictions. I will say though, that it all felt very safe. There was individual hand sanitiser on every table, everyone serving you wore masks, you wore a mask if going to the loo or going into a shop or when on the bus and in the taxi
I'm so glad we went ahead and went. Jeff did all the paperwork, booked tests etc as I was working up until the day before. Knowing what I know now, I would have felt cheated out of this wonderful experience if we'd decided not to go. As long as you stick to the rules, keep yourself safe and respect those around you, test as asked, travel can go ahead.
So on our first full day in Kassiopi, we went back to the coves we'd gone to before.
We started off the morning as we did every day, I showered whilst Jeff swam in the sea.
I got up early and sat on the balcony waiting to see if we'd get a sun rise
We always did the bakery run together and either had breakfast at the apartment or on the beach, once set up for the day, depending on the time. So we went back to the coves, not the one we used to go to, as it was smaller than we remembered and there was now access to a cove further along the path, a path that wasn't there before. You used to have to scramble over the rocks, which we're pretty sure made this cove inaccessible.
It was beautiful, a stunning way to spend the day.
It was so good, we even had pud!
The days are starting to go by too quickly now.
Day 11 and we headed over to the other side and this little cove.....
....which you accessed through the trees.
It was lovely and quiet to start with.....
....but got busy in the afternoon and we ended up in a bit more shade than we wanted, so we packed up a little earlier than we had been and headed to.....
... the castle! We didn't even know Kassiopi had a castle!!
There wasn't much to it but you did get fantastic views out across the town.
So I made a rookie error and booked a restaurant for that evening because it would be the perfect place to see the sun set but didn't look at the menu. Sat down, got given the menu and realised it was fine dining! Not us! But the food was absolutely delicious, so much flavour.....
.....and the sun set wasn't too bad either x
After a slightly uncomfortable day the day before,
we decided to treat ourselves to only our second day of sun loungers......
......on Bataria Beach
Felt like a little bit of luxury when you didn't get them every day.
Another lovely meal along the harbour front and Jeff looking suitably impressed at what he'd ordered!!
Time is ticking, we don't want to go home!
A slightly different start to the day today.
We went to the bakery as normal.....
....but the night before I'd witnessed swifts and swallows flying in under the veranda.
We'd been every morning before and I hadn't noticed they were all nesting under the bakery entrance veranda. Incredible! This of course would not be allowed in the UK for all the Health and Safety reasons. That's one of the reasons I love to travel, you get to see fabulous sights like this and the swifts and swallows flying out over the bay in Corfu Town. Wonderful moments in life x
We also had to get our Antigen tests done, which were required to be taken before we could fly home. I don't know why I was so nervous, the results were as expected, negative, although I'd have happily stayed out there for longer.
So we were late getting to the beach but as you can see....
....we had a good choice of sun loungers left to choose from. This was on Pipitos beach, just across from the more popular Bataria beach from yesterday.
We had a wander in the evening, taking more photo's....
....before finding this lovely, traditional Taverna down a side street.
The food was absolutely delicious.
Day 14 and our final full day!
We headed back to Bataria beach as Jeff liked the swimming there....
...and I wanted a sun lounger for our final day.
The sea all around the coast has been stunning and wonderful to swim in.
We spent our last evening having a wander around the town....
...taking more pictures.....
....and went back to the taverna with the good food.
Although tonight we didn't buy a pud, we got given one on the house!!
Day 15 and our final morning. We got up early to see the sun rise. Went to the bakery for breakfast and lunch bits, was so early the supermarket wasn't even open yet.
...and back into the harbour.
Would we go back?
Yes, because it's such a lovely place but not sure it would be very soon, given there are so many other places I'd love to travel too and so many Greek islands to see.
It's would be no fault of our wonderful host. This lady lived in the bit below us and every morning and evening we would speak a few words. Whilst waiting for our taxi to come and take us to the airport, she invited us to sit with her in the shade of her terrace. Again another reason why I like to travel, meeting lovely people along the way x
The taxi was on time and the airport was a breeze, with Jeff's efficiency with all the documentation etc.
The plane, at a guess was a third full. Regular tannoys went out reminding passengers to wear masks at all times but as we know, some are better doing it than others but it did feel safe and everyone reasonably distanced. And once in the UK, we whizzed through everything so had to wait for Sophie, who kindly came and taxied us home (payback for all the past lifts)
So all good things come to an end, the holiday I mean, Jeff and I are still on speaking terms!!
I set Jeff the challenge at the start of our holiday, to find a heart shaped pebble.
He found the perfect one on day 8, on Agni beach.
In fact we found quite a few hearts during our time away.
A sign it was meant to be.
I know I've been very lucky to have enjoyed this time away and I'm very thankful and feel very grateful that we got to experience the past two weeks. If the opportunity arises and it feels safe to do so, I would travel again without hesitation. We do have two trips together booked to Palma and Naples, as we had vouchers to use from our cancelled holiday last year and my sister and I still have our trip to Florence booked for a third time, to look forward to. It's good to have something to look forward to.
It was also good to spend some quality time together, without all the noise and distractions of our busy lives at home. It's not until you stop and take some out, that you reaslise how much you needed it. Work had really got me down, I felt exhausted and Jeff had had a slog of a term, with very little to look forward to. We, like lots of you, just needed 'something' and we were so lucky to have had this wonderful time away.
We went out expecting to isolate on our return. My work had been great to facilitate me doing so. However, whilst away the rules changed, no isolation needed, so it's back to work for me on Sunday. Not gonna lie, would have happily spent 10 days at home with no distractions, but that's not to be. Does mean I can have a day out with Sophie on Saturday and hopefully try and visit my Granny when I can.
xxx
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