Birthday Blues

Well, we’re back from Skiathos. Decided it was too expensive to get to Thessaloniki and stay in a nice hotel so we opted for Skiathos, which is much cheaper to get to, and spend the money on a great hotel. And what a hotel! If you’re visiting Skiathos (on route to Skopelos of course) then try and stay in the Skiathos Princess http://www.skiathosprincess.com/. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the presidential suite, which we had our hearts set on, as the owner of the hotel had parked himself in it for the duration and wouldn’t even move after being told it was my birthday! Strange. So we got the next best suite which was pretty damned good I have to say. Junior went in to hyper mode the minute she got in, bouncing on the bed, hiding behind the curtains, turning the lights on and off and Sean and I weren’t much better! The place was great: living room; bedroom; two bathrooms; hallway and double balcony with views of the sea and the gardens.

The main reason for choosing Skiathos though was the curry so we set off into Skiathos town for my birthday meal………………only to find the place was shut…………and I don’t just mean merely resting in between openings……………..I mean shut, locked, deserted. I can’t describe the disappointment. I’d already been planning what I was going to eat (as had Sean but he does that with every meal anyway). We wandered around all forlorn until finally alighting on a pleasant looking taverna called Polikratis where the meeter and greeter was wearing a Winnie the Pooh tie which got juniors seal of approval straight away. The food was nice as were the staff but it wasn’t a curry.
Never mind, the hotel was brilliant and junior loved running around the gardens and the beach. We got some funny looks though from the other clientele which might have something to do with the fact they were lazing around the pool in swimming costumes whilst Sean and I were reclining on a lounger wearing jumpers and jackets. It wasn’t warm enough for cossies but it was pleasant in a woolly. Do you think we’re acclimatising?
On another note, there are currently strikes involving truck drivers meaning that things are not moving around the country as they should be. On a personal note that means that I didn’t receive birthday cards sent from friends and relatives (apart from one sent by my sister who likes to do things before anyone else!) and probably won’t do for the foreseeable future. It also means the supermarkets may start to look a bit bare and petrol may become scarce. We filled up the car before we left Skopelos although the petrol station owner assured Sean that he’d be fine as he had his own tanker (this was before he started to fill up our rather large beast of a vehicle – couple more visits from that and he’d be empty!). Oh well, the joys of island living.