A few relaxing days in San Stefanos followed, as Liz and Keith wound up their half-year sojourn and packed their things for the long journey back to the UK. I caught the last of Keith's gigs, basked in the final rays of the Mediterranean summer, and enjoyed some topically-themed reading: The Magus and My Family and Other Animals.
Swimming in the ocean in Greece is an entirely different experience to back home in Sydney -- the water is much warmer and calmer, and stays shallow quite far from the shore. Keith and I swam almost the whole width of the bay, and I half wished I could spend a summer out here just to start my day with a refreshing swim.
We found time to sample some of the local delights -- including places I remembered from our trip here for mum and Keith's wedding, especially Waves Taverna where the reception was held.
Before long it was time to say goodbye to San Stefanos and begin the long journey back to the UK. The Greeks are crazy: there was chaos at the ferry terminal, the ferry started to open its back doors before it had even docked and there seemed to be no order to the proceedings. However, we were soon on our way and were treated to a marvellous sunrise as we set off.
Next stop Venice -- a 9am arrival by boat is surely the way to greet this beautiful city. Simply stunning. But there was no time to wander the canals ourselves: we hot-footed it to Verona to meet up with Sheila for lunch.
After an overnight stay with Keith's sister in Milan we pressed on through the Swiss Alps towards Germany. Our journey took us through the San Gottardo tunnel, a 17-kilometre work of engineering genius, and the third longest road tunnel in the world..
We finally arrived in Heidelberg to see Paul, Milena, Liam and Antonia. After catching up with the kids, and hearing Antonia's lovely flute-playing, Paul and Milena took us out to dinner in town. I loved walking through Heidelberg again, I've been there so many times over the years and it's a beautiful place, especially the old parts of town.
One of my favourite things about Europe is the proliferation of windfarms. I think these new-style windmills are majestic and beautiful, and really add to the landscape. As we left Rotterdam harbour the sun set behind a windfarm, and we sipped our G&Ts, saying a last farewell to Europe.
My whistle-stop tour did not end there: as we docked in Hull I hot-footed it to Liverpool, for a film festival called Abandon Normal Devices. This is a festival of digital film and art, specifically things shot in innovative new formats. A friend of mine (Kate) whom I'd met in Toronto the year before received funding to run this festival in Liverpool and Manchester every other year.
I met up with Jana in Liverpool and ex-LFF-er Karen put us up in her parents' house. Jana and I saw the sights between the films, and caught up. Liverpool has changed a lot over the years since I last visited, in particular because it was European Capital of Culture a couple of years ago, and I really think it's improved vastly.
My cousin Michael has just started at Liverpool university, so happily I also got to see him. Suffering a little from 'fresher's flu', he joined us for a cooked breakfast and we chatted about how much he's enjoying uni life so far.
After a couple of days in Liverpool I caught some back-to-back trains to Paris, to see Ros, my friend who lives there with her partner Fabrice and 2 1/2-year-old daughter Chloe whom I hadn't even met yet! I spent a couple of lovely days with them, wandering round their local area, walking by the river and catching up. Then I spent a day wandering round Paris, which is always such a beautiful city.
I also popped into Angelina's, a delightful cafe near the Jardin des Tuileries where they do the most decadently delicious hot chocolate. It's so thick and rich it's practically just melted chocolate! I was also very pleased that I ordered in perfect French and the waitress answered me in French rather than switching to English! That schoolgirl French stood me in good stead...
After making my boots all dusty in the Tuileries it was time to catch the Eurostar back to London. Farewell Europe for a while at least. Next time I think I'll be a bit less ambitious about how much I can cram in to the time available!
cx
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