Back in Plakias

Just a short post to let you all know that I'm still here. So many stories to tell, but then again I'll probably not tell them. We said goodbye to Maureen, Julie, Deb & John this morning. It was quite sad, but Janine & I have another week on Crete, where we'll be catching up with Annie & Dave, & hopefully Inge & Willem. The Battle of Crete commemorations were excellent, especially Galatas Village pary was awesome. Got to sit at the top table among the top brass, & caught up with many Cretan friends. Sorry - but so much has happened & all of it memorable, that it's impossible for me to put into words. As the memories surface I might post more.

Santorini

Arrived in awesome Santorini this afternoon & discovered that we wouldn't be staying in my usual 'rooms' here. Instead we are staying at George's brother Panos's place. Fantastic site looking out towards the sea, & we have had a cool swim in the lovely pool, & also tried the lovely white wine. The rest of the crew got through about 4 bottles of red wine on the ferry crossing, so no need to describe the chaos on disembarking. I had my first totally sleepless night on the trip last night, so I wasn't up to the imbibing. For those of you who know George & Dina, you'll be pleased to know that they have a gorgeous son now. Artemis is 8 months old & is a real cutey. Not sure what we'll be doing tonight, but it will be totally random as usual. We have had some fantastic meals while in Athens, most of them as a result of trusting our judgement on our evening rambles.

Athens

Hello from a very warm Athens. 23 degrees at 6.30pm. Maureen & Co are very impressed with the Greek experience so far - they're big fans of eating fab Greek food outdoors. We walked up to the Acropolis this morning & checked out the Agora. Julie & Deb bought fresh bread, feta, pastormo & lots of other goodies for our picnic on the slopes of the Acropolis. The poppy display this year is the best I've seen, thanks to the cool, wet weather previously. Tonight we're off on more adventures, before we find another great place to eat. Julie has been a smash hit wherever we've been.

Singapore

The Mamas & the Papa have just had a fun ride on the Duck tour, then we're off to Little India. Hotel here is a disappointment affter Bangkok, but we're only here for the one night. Still having problems with my internet check in, seems like another stuff up from the NZ end. Janine & I were up at 3.00am to 5.00am this morning making a cuppa & repacking our bags. Some of us might go on the huge ferris wheel later. Much bigger than the London eye, & moves at a snail's pace.

The Mamas & Papa go to Greece

It's been so long since I've posted anything here, that I've almost forgotten what to do. After some very stressful weeks of planning I'm beginning to wind down before the start of our trip to Greece on Wednesday. The neighbours joined Bunny, Janine & I for dinner tonight. Real nice to have a bit of time together. Kerry called in yesterday on her way to Taupo to look after Philip while Mum's away. The time was too short, but at least we had a bit of catch up. Bunny will be driving Janine & I to Tauranga tomorrow, where we'll be staying overnight at Maureen's, so that we can be ready for our early morning shuttle to Auckland. I know that all the Mamas will be able to relax at last once we're on the road. I'm sure there will be plenty of good 'copy' to post over the next few weeks.