The Trip — 2016: Part 9 — Villa Andonis

August 11, 2016October 8, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

The picture above shows the Villa Andonis as seen from Nissaki Harbor.

Sunday — a nice quiet morning. Trish went to the market and got a few things for lunch and dinner — this included another bottle of wine (yeah, Tricia and I basically split a liter and a half bottle of semi-sweet red wine everyday between us — and at €5.65 per bottle it was almost very good) and a loaf of fresh bread. I went down to the small harbor and scouted it out in preparation for sailing to dinner next week when the other part of Di’s family arrives.

The only real problem lies in Di’s difficulty walking. The little harbor is up and down and the flat area is a bit narrow and not quite level enough for her scooter. We’ll have to use her wheelie and have her walk up and down a half-dozen steps to get to where the boat ties up.

One of the owners visited in the late morning and it turns out that a relative of hers owns the restaurant we’ll be sailing to, so we’ll get help for Di when we arrive.

Also, unfortunately, the narrow winding roads through this area are too steep for Di’s scooter. This means that she’ll spend most of her time here at the villa. She and Trish spoke with the owner today about being able to do some shopping in the town of Corfu and were given some directions and tips about places, times and taxis. Gee, it looks, so far, like I won’t have to go shopping with them (hope, hope, hope).

Trish and Di in the pool at Villa Andonis — Trish and Di in the pool

Lunch was a fresh salad with ham and salami and wine. Trish did a load of laundry and I did a small fix on the dishwasher.

The days have all been in the 80s and 90s but there is usually a breeze and our bedrooms are air-conditioned. In the shade it is comfortable. Time to go down to the pool and have a brief swim before a(nother) glass of wine.

July 4^th passed without incident and without fireworks — just another Monday here.

July 5^th — I got up about 7 am and Di and Trish about an hour later. After Di had taken her meds and said she was OK, Trish and I walked down the hill for food, water, wine and newspapers. (Because Corfu is a favorite holiday destination for the British, all but one of the English language newspapers available here are British. The exception is the International New York Times. I’ve read a lot about Brexit and the changes in the British government since the vote.) We got most of our stuff at the further market, including two 6-packs of 1.5 liter bottles of water, still and carbonated — total weight about 40 pounds. I carried the water and she the rest.

Trish and Di at dinner at Villa Andonis — Trish and Di at dinner

The nearer market was a walk of 150 – 200 yards and as we arrived Trish says something like: “Oh, Joe, I’m sorry. We could have gotten the water here instead of you carrying it all the way.”

Anyway, she got the last of the groceries, and we trudged up the hill to our villa.

Coffee, newspapers, lunch, puzzles, reading, swimming — ahhhh . . .

The only negative note for the day was a small plastic part breaking on the toilet in Trish’s room. I was able to fix it. “Should” cost the owner about €0.50 to replace, but . . .

(to be continued)

The Trip — 2016: Part 8 — Villa Andonis

August 10, 2016October 8, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

Villa Andonis sleeps ten or eleven people in a half-dozen bedrooms with bathrooms on three levels. The bedrooms are air-conditioned — but windows and doors, interior and exterior, must be closed to turn the AC on. (Think of the magnetic switches/contacts on your doors and windows if you have a home security system.) There are two bedrooms on the ground floor; one has a double bed and the other twin beds pushed together. The first bedroom has a single step up to the loo and shower. The other room’s loo is level with the main floor — and the exterior doors open on the balcony to the east and sunrise — so we took that one.

The sisters who run the villa, Eirini and Dora, were there to greet us and show us around and, with the exception of the television, things were fine. We put away the groceries, cracked open the bottle of wine the ladies left us and began to relax. Tricia fixed a very tasty salad and pasta for dinner and later she and Di went swimming.

Charlie wore herself out, literally. When Tricia brought her into the bedroom, she immediately took to her bed and was asleep before Trish had left the room.

Villa Andonis Pool area -- Villa on left and coast is to the right. — Pool area — Villa on left and coast is to the right.

We slept until early Friday morning, a very refreshing night.

Trish walked down the hill to a nearby market with a shopping bag to do some more stocking up on food and other supplies. We had been told we could phone in an order and the market would deliver but Trish did the shopping and a gentleman from the market drove her back up to our villa. She then fixed Di a late breakfast of which I had a small portion having earlier enjoyed the cold pasta from the previous night’s dinner.

Villa Andonis -- View of living room from entry doorway. — View of living room from entry doorway.

I read my newspapers on the computer and completed some old newspaper puzzles from my computer case that I keep on hand for doctor office visits and the like.

Di and Trish enjoyed more of the sun and spent a good deal of time in the pool. I spent most of the afternoon reading and listening to the music from my iPhone playing through the villa’s small music system. Having spent so much of my youth at the beach and in the sun, I’ve grown to rather enjoy the cool shade. And so, I waited until the day had progressed sufficiently for trees on the south and west to provide shade to the pool, and went for a short swim before finishing the book I’d started yesterday and a shower.

Today was the first day I felt like I was actually on vacation and could relax. Then . . .

The late afternoon was marred only by a telephone call from the (retired) police patrol checking our house and finding the front door unlocked. It appears that the person taking care of our cats had forgotten to lock the door on her way out, but she had remembered to set the alarm. Then Di gave them alarm code, and they checked the house. The police called Mike and he came over and re-set the alarm. No harm done — just a scary phone call from half a world away.

Villa Andonis -- Pool area and sea with Albania in the background. — Pool area and sea with Albania in the background.

Went swimming for a bit in the pool — Di and Trish spent a few hours in and out of the pool and in the sun. I’ve spent so much of my life in the sun that I’ve had enough of it. I wait until the sun has gone behind the trees and the pool is mostly in shadow and then take a cool dip. Ahhhh . . .

Barbecued chicken for dinner tonight from Trish — YUM.

Googled a word tonight and got the result on Google Greece in Greek; of course, we’re in Greece on the Island of Corfu. There is a sentence on the page that asks if I want my results in English and I change to English. I also find it a bit ironic that the domain name is: www.google.gr and that the server location is Ireland.

(to be continued)

The Trip — 2016: Part 7 — On to Corfu

August 9, 2016October 8, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

The taxi (from Pryors) picked up Trish first, after he found her home and then us. Traffic was thin, and it wasn’t raining too hard, so the ride was comfortable and quick (a Mercedes E Class 220 taxi. Ian dropped us off in good time, and after Di had another cigarette, we proceeded inside.

Check-in was a breeze after a helpful chap escorted us around the not too long lines and dropped us at the Assistance desk. We stopped for stamps for Trish to mail a few letters and Di for some Twiglets and proceeded through Security — a short line that early in the morning. We could have gone to the BA lounge and sat down and had some breakfast, but, no, Di and Trish had to shop some more and I cooled my heels with our carry-ons.

Eventually they finished (and had with them still another bag to carry on the plane), and we entered the lounge. (Di and I had club class tickets and Tricia was flying coach, but the check-in attendant told us to have Tricia accompany us as Di’s “caregiver.” Who were we to question that advice?) We had a bit of breakfast and boarded the plane without trouble — Di’s scooter being stowed in cargo but leaving me with the 17-pound battery again.

The plane, a BA A-320, however, was not able to leave on time. Some passengers had not been able to fly today (reason not given), but their luggage was aboard. Therefore, their luggage had to be removed before we could depart. A “ten-minute job,” the pilot said. A “thirty-five minute job,” chuckled the ground crew. But, eventually, after the tower found us a new place in the takeoff queue, we were on our way.

The flight was smooth, and we landed in Corfu after a two hour and forty-five minute flight. We had to deplane on the tarmac and then take a bus to the terminal. Charlie had a bit of a slow climb down the stairs with Trish’s assistance from the airplane to the bus but made it with me following with too many articles of carry-on baggage.

When we got to the main terminal, there was no one to help Charlie with a wheelchair. I found one a ways off and pushed her up the, rather, steep and long ramp into the terminal. Customs was short — mine was the only passport the inspector really looked at.

Twenty minutes later we had our luggage and Charlie’s scooter had been delivered, and I’d put it together. We were off.

Our drivers were there to meet us and, after a little discussion, they, the drivers and Charlie and Trish, settled on one. It turned out to be a sixteen-passenger bus with five riders — the three of us and two other women from our flight. Just before we left the other two women figured out they were on the wrong bus, got their bag and boarded the bus next to us with the rest of their party.

Charlie had wanted to rent a car and have me drive to the villa. I convinced her not to. Boy, am I glad I did — after all, I couldn’t speak the language nor could I read the road signs — it was all Greek to me. There is no way on God’s Green Earth that I’d have been able to successfully follow the directions we had to the villa through the city and out to the north. But the driver seemed to have no trouble, and included a stop at a “supermarket” for supplies.

When we arrived at Villa Andonis, Nissaki, Corfu, Eirini and Dora were there to greet us and show us around. It’s a “nice” place. Pictures to follow.

(to be continued)

The Trip — 2016: Part 6 — Donnington Grove

August 8, 2016October 8, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

We head down the rather steep hill (Di’s sitting in her wheelie and I’m backing “up” so she doesn’t go rolling down at breakneck speed) and stop for a pot of tea (for Di) at Costa Coffee and then to the newsagent’s for magazine, candy and cigarettes. They didn’t have the cigarettes she wanted, but we got candy and her gossip rag. Then it’s back up the hill a bit to the coffee shop and the remainder of her tea.

About ten to six, I begin to push her up the hill to the bank building and it begins to rain — no, we don’t have any rain gear as we hadn’t anticipated being around so long. The doorway has a small overhang and we didn’t get too wet as the taxi was right on time. In goes Di, in goes her “wheelie” and in goes I. Fifteen or so minutes later we’re “home” again.

Gerry and I go to the local fish and chips shop and get four orders of fish, three of chips and one of “mushy” peas. The food was good although Di didn’t really like Maria’s putting the chips in the oven to crisp them up a bit — they were no longer proper “English chips” but American “French fries.”

Trip - The Donnington Hotel - Our room is in the building on the right. — The Donnington Hotel – Our room is in the building on the right.

On Wednesday it’s time to leave Maria and Gerry and head to Newbury where we will stay a night in a hotel before Heathrow and a plane to Corfu on Thursday. The same driver who brought us to Hopton picked us up about 11 am and the three-hour journey begins. Less traffic, a bit less conversation between the two ladies but a much higher volume on the radio, BBC2. Oh, what a headache.

We arrived at the Donnington Grove Hotel and Country Club. No one’s playing golf because of the rain. Our driver helps with unloading our gear, but we then find out our room is in a separate building, again uphill of the main building and reception. Another major job of moving luggage (grumble, grumble, grumble). I put Di’s scooter back together and she motors up to the room while I schlep our luggage in three or four trips.

Trip - Donnington Grove Hotel Main Entry — Donnington Grove Hotel Main Entry

She has a couple of cigarettes and I make her a pot of tea to keep her company while I take a walk — the first real exercise I’ve had in a week.

“Oh, didn’t you get enough exercise going up and down the stairs at Gerry and Maria’s or dealing with the luggage and Di’s scooter?” No. I don’t call running errands for the wife exercise.

The golf course was rather pretty, had a nice old bridge and ducks and swans aplenty so I took my camera along on the walk. I found a public footpath through the golf course and had an hour and a half walk.

Back at the hotel I enquired after a bite to eat and a drink. The whisky was good but the English make a “Canadian pour” look generous. I also brought a menu back to the room for Charlie to look at.

Oh, yeah, when I charged my drink to our room the bartender said he’d just brought my wife fresh milk and sugar for her tea.

Di’s sister, Tricia, was in the room with Di and they made dinner reservations for six o’clock. Dinner for Di and I as Tricia had to go home and get packed and ready to fly with us the next day.

Trip - Di and the finally chosen wine. — Di and the finally chosen wine.

The dinner was very good. I had a salmon Caesar salad and poached salmon while Di had a small green salad and the poached salmon with boiled new potatoes. The only snags had to do with the waitress thinking I’d ordered the pork and having to wait for my salmon and the wine.

Charlie ordered a half bottle of a sweet dessert wine and when it arrived it turned out to be not what was on the wine list, red and not very sweet or desserty. Eventually, the bartender found an acceptable wine, which Charlie liked (she had a glass or so and I finished off the rest).

Then it was off to bed to wake up at 3:30 am and picked up at 4:45 am for the trip to Heathrow and an 8:50 flight to Corfu.