The Trip — 2016: Part 10 — Shopping and Books

August 12, 2016October 8, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

P1000165blursmall — Villa Andonis – Center-Left

July 7 — Well, today was the big shopping day. Di still wanted me to come along; she’d buy me dinner. Let’s see: long taxi ride, a couple of hours of watching Di and her sister shop, dinner, a long taxi ride . . . hmmm. No, I’m still staying at the villa.

Showed Trish how to fold and unfold Di’s Tzora battery-powered scooter. She and I did it together several times. This to enable Trish to unfold the scooter after leaving the taxi and how to fold it when they got back in.

The taxi arrived around 5 pm, and we loaded Di and the scooter without any problems. The girls were off and a glass of wine for me.

I went for a swim in the pool and read for a couple of hours. Feeling hungry I finished the bread and hard cheese and another glass of wine or two.

At around ten the girls returned, the same taxi having brought them back from Corfu city. Surprise — they hadn’t had dinner but had spent the entire time shopping. It turns out that my staying at the villa was the correct decision — I avoided four hours of following around two women shopping. Of course, they had to show me what they had purchased . . .

They had also stopped at a market on their return, so, fresh food.

Cruise ship sailing between Corfu and Albania — . . . we see a cruise ship . . .

Today, Dora came in to do some cleaning and replace a couple of burnt out light bulbs (she only had one spare of the right size here and will get another replacement next week).

Di and Trish also picked up a HDMI cable on their excursion, and we connected it to Trish’s computer and the LG TV this morning. Excellent picture from the PC but we were unable to get live free Wimbledon for Di to watch. Now, however, I can log into Netflix at any time for her to watch movies and videos as well as our iTunes movies on my Mac PowerBook. And, of course, there is always YouTube on either computer.

I finished another book on my computer today (Gust Front by John Ringo) and started Agent of Change by Miller and Lee both of which I’d read previously. I’m reading free on-line stories from Baen Books’ Free Library as I only have one more unread book remaining in my suitcase and Di’s remaining books do not appeal to me.

The book I finished reading yesterday, A Study in Sable by Mercedes Lackey, was quite good. Di loves Mercedes Lackey stories and this one showed up on our doorstep the day it came out — she saved, wonder of wonders, it for the trip rather than devouring it immediately.

It’s a fantasy “Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson” story with Holmes and Watson as minor characters. But part of the story occurs in the village/town of Sevenoaks in Kent southeast England. Di was raised in that area and we were married there. When I first visited England (December 1987- January 1988), her parents were living just a block and up a hill from the Sevenoaks train station. I spent many hours walking Sevenoaks’ streets and the grounds of Knole House during the three weeks I was there (wet and rainy as it was).

. . . ply the strait between Corfu and Albania/mainland Greece.

As an aside, I was teaching in Orange at the time and had two weeks off at Christmas. We needed an extra week. I requested an unpaid week off specifically so I could get married in England. The district refused. I took the week off. When I returned, I was informed that I was going to be docked a week’s pay because I took an unauthorized leave. Duhhhhhh . . . I mean get real folks . . .

(to be continued)

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 1

August 3, 2016October 8, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

Two years ago my wife, Diana (Di or Charlie), set out on planning “The Trip”. Where? To Corfu. Corfu? Yes, Corfu. Why? Well, because one of the authors (Gerald Durrell) she enjoys spent time growing up there and wrote about it. She also planned to spend time with her family in England and invited them, and some American friends, to spend time with us at the villa she was renting on the Greek island of Corfu.

Along the way there have been a few bumps in the road. First, her British passport expired and she had to renew it — by mail. Eventually, she got her new passport and then another bump appeared.

Because she is a British citizen she needs a “green card” to live in the United States. She’s had one for some forty years — yes, she is a legal Permanent Resident of the United States. These cards are good for ten years and must then be renewed. The last two renewals were difficult and involved crowds and standing (and/or sitting) in long lines.

Owing to her medical problems of the last few years (and her forced retirement) neither of us realized that her card had passed its expiration date. She was still a legal resident but not having the card would bring about problems traveling out of the country and then trying to re-enter.

We filed for renewal of her card online but had a great deal of difficulty using the government’s site. The customer service phone help people were quite good in helping us navigate its foibles, but we had to use them each time we went to the site as it refused to recognize her username and password.

She paid her renewal fee online without any problem, but we then found out that it would require up to nine months for her to receive her new card — that would be long after we would have returned from our travels. So, we would have to set up an appointment with Immigration to get her passport stamped with an extension.

We arrived at the appointed Immigration facility a few minutes early for her appointment and were pleasantly surprised that there were only three other people in the office. Our appointment with the Immigration clerk (?) went quickly and twenty minutes later we left with my wife’s passport properly stamped and signed with a nine-month extension (to her green card) so she could travel out of the country and re-enter with a minimum of hassle.

The nine-month extension was because replacing her Permanent Resident card could take up to nine months.

A week or two later we received a letter from Immigration informing us that we now had another scheduled appointment at another building for “biometrics” processing. This appointment was for two days before our departure for the UK.

We again arrived a few minutes early and found a couple of dozen people sitting and waiting for their appointments. However, luck and kindness made things a bit easier. After filling out an appointment paper — name, nationality, etc. — the gentleman in charge moved us to the front of the queue as my wife was in her wheel-chair.

Twenty or so minutes later, her picture and fingerprints taken, we were set to go. Immigration also updated her now-expired Permanent Resident card with the new information and a new nine-month extension. (Although her new card will still require not arrive for about another nine months.)

Legally we were now set to leave and re-enter the United States.

(to be continued)