Autumn in England

We spent October in England and Wales and for a change we had pretty good autumn weather without any rain! We stayed with the London Greenfields and spent fun times with the twins. Leonie organised a cool party for Charles' birthday at an Indian bar in the city and we all danced the night away Bollywood style! Paul lent us a cute little sports car and we tootled around catching up with mates wherever we went. We spent a day driving and walking around our old neighbourhood in Rudgwick,West Sussex and stayed with Paul in Peterborough, Antoinette in Sunninghill, Greg and Sarah in Tonbridge, Geoff and Patty in Marlborough, Nick and Kerry in Cardiff and Mylene and Coenraad in Harpendon. We did a little side trip to the Welsh coastal town of Tenby with Nick and Kerry,too.We have had an awesome year visiting so many friends and family all over the world. We are truly blessed with fantastic friendships and have been bowled over by the fabulous hospitality of everyone. This is my heaven on earth - good friends, good food and good times. Give me your kitchen to cook in and a glass of wine in my hand and as long as you keep me company,I need no further challenges in life. Oh, and when Neil puts on the DJ hat and supplies the musical entertainment for the evening, all the better!

Italy and Oktoberfest

We arrived by ferry in Ancona and headed north towards Arezzo. We met up with Carol and Jane at the campsite in the Florence and spent three busy days sight seeing.This was our first visit to the Uffuzi Gallery too. Of course there is so much great food in Florence.We all shared the famous Steak Florentine and tried local specialities in an historic canteen called Narbone, at a local market. Carol bravely ordered the Tripe which turned out to be delicious.Florence is a great city for wandering around on foot and the campsite is very well located within walking distance of the centre of town.We then visited Bologna and Ravenna before making our way to Venice again; one of our favourite European cities.We sat in a cafe on St. Mark's Square and had very pricey drinks but you do have to be a tourist sometimes.We visited Ostaria on Merano again; just the best little local restaurant in all of Venice.The owner kept on giving us titbits to try; including a dessert of almond biscuits dipped into white wine. We attended the 2011 Biennale. Some of the art was really awesome but the installation stuff was mostly a bit beyond our level of appreciation. We then all headed back to Munich via a stopover in Austria. Oktoberfest time!!- and the campsite was a bun fight as usual. We managed the Fest for four straight days running and met up with quite a few friends along the way. Carol and Jane were first timers and Justine, Arjen and Mylene joined us from Switzerland too.Camping for Oktoberfest is the best way to live like you're 22 again!

Santorini

This island is just to photogenic to pick only 1 photo,so the pictures have to be featured separately.

Island Thumbnails

KYTHOS It's a local island with the best grilled octypus Neil has ever tasted and very friendly people.It helps when the restaurant is right on the shore and your feet are in the sand while you eat.It was too windy the day we were there to enjoy the beach.
KEA Many wealthy Athenians are buying property here. We stayed in a very nice BnB with great views over the sea that make for a lengthy breakfast and a leisurely read.Tony loved chatting to our driver/guide who showed us the island and even took us to meet his elderly parents on their little farm.
HYDRA No cars here; only donkeys for transport. The harbour is pretty but the island is a bit touristy. You need to visit with a local; we did with Tony and Antoinette on a previous visit and discovered great dining spots just a few streets away from the hub-bub.
SPETSES Getting around is best on a scooter. This island is popular with yachties and has a great fishing harbour.
SANTORINI We stayed in Fira, in a wondeful apartment with an awesome view of the ocean and the caldera. The sunsets here and in Ia are magnificent. What spoils Santorini are the thousands of day trippers off the cruise ships traipsing around.The Santorini wines are good and we visited a winery to taste the unique Assytiko varietal.We found a few great eating places filled with locals not tourists and spent a lot of time in the Highlander Bar watching World Cup Rugby very early in the morning and US Open Tennis very late at night.
IOS This is the party island for the 18 to 25's. We decided we had to visit and check it out seeing as we never got to visit as young backpackers. The summer party season is very short, so we only caught the tail end of it; which is probably just as well.
NAXOS A nice family island with good beaches.
PAXOS Another great island with good beaches and a great waterfront area. We loved the food and really enjoyed the grilled pork neck roll stuffed with red peppers and feta cheese. We also found a great cocktail bar where the owner had a brilliant and eclectic taste in music.Even the evenings are hot, so sitting at an outdoor bar in a vine covered square is a real treat.