Last week marked the 60th anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) of The Queen’s current reign of Great Britain.
As part of these celebrations, Her Royal Majesty bestowed upon her loyal subjects two extra public holidays. The Jubilee week was therefore a fitting time for celebration and merriment of everything British.
So... an absolutely perfect time for our annual visit....
to GREECE!
Greece is a stunningly beautiful country, and for those who come to visit— it is famous for its thousands of wonderful islands. The most popular being Santorini, Mykonos, Paxos, Kefalonia, Crete, etc.
However, parts of the mainland are just as beautiful— and often times much less crowded.
This year would take us back to the Macedonian / Northern Greece region... it’s most famous former resident a certain Alexander the Great.
More specifically we would be going to the Halkidiki region, onto Kassandra (one of the ‘three-fingered’ land masses—the others being Sithonia and Athos). See arrow above.
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Leaving from London’s Gatwick Airport:
Arriving at Thessaloniki Airport (Greece’s second largest city)
We managed to catch a fantastic tail-wind—so flight time from London only 2.75 hours. Followed by a 45 minute drive down south... and here we are by the pool ready for a week of much needed R&R.
Yes, an Aquatimer or Yacht Club would have been much more fitting for a brief sun-trip... but oh well, maybe some other day (not sure about you, but I've got a long IWC wish-list!).
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Time to dig into some Greek delicacies:
Halloumi Cheese & Calamari
Shrimps in a Feta Cheese & Tomato Sauce
Moussaka (an aubergine (eggplant) dish with minced meat, bechamel sauce, potatoes, peppers, onions)
Swordfish Steaks
The nearby marina had lots of fancy yachts...
including an American one from Delaware... now that's a long trip!
Sorry folks, no visit to any IWC ADs here...
But there were these watches being sold in a shop. I think they were having a 2-for-1 special... LOL...
Greece is all about the beaches, so many to choose from:
Who says we weren’t thinking of the Queen during her jubilee?...
Beautiful scenery/greenery:
Okay, a week of Greek cuisine (or any cuisine) can get a bit monotonous. Thankfully there was some nearby Italian.
And also some decent Japanese:
My favourite Japanese dessert is their ice cream flavour ‘matcha’ or green-tea...
It’s this dessert which makes me have a great affinity for Nelson's Zegg & Cerlati Big Pilot — look at the matcha powder on the ice cream above... it's a perfect colour match!!!
Anyways back to the pool
and then lunch on the beach
(well, my wife's lunch... as I'm a 'grass is for cows' type of guy) LOL...
Heading to the bar for some sunset drinks.
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Final photo...
enjoying the glorious Greek sunset with my Big Pilot...
And that’s it folks. Sorry no landmark / touristy shots (and there are certainly numerous sites / monasteries to see not too far away...) this trip was all about relaxing (and eating as you can see!). =)
Thanks for viewing. Hope your summers have started off well too.
Regards,
Thang
