Greece # 2: The island

Yay, we make it to Naxos early Thursday May 6, just a few hours late is all - our first breakfast at left at 10.30 once we got up.
Sam says: "Then we arrived at Naxos the man who owned the camp came and picked us up. When we arrived there it was 6 oclock (a.m) an dwe went to sleep immediately. The apartment was very nice, it hasd 6 beds and 2 bathrooms but the pool was never open the whole time. They managed to clean it though."

Ellie: "We went to Naxos one of the islands.It was very hot so we went to the beach every day." At right, on 7km long Plaka Beach (if you look real hard you might see the German guy wandering starkers up and down, up and down - quite a bit of that on Plaka actually) about 200 metres from our 'studio' (2 rooms with Breakfast - needless to say our largest meal of the day - for 55 euros, but that's cos we were early; the season picks up from mid May, and by July-Aug you're paying 70-100 euro for EACH of those 2 rooms)

At right, we promptly turn the resort into a chinese laundry.

Shopping in Hora, the main town, for local olives and cheese, bettered only by the local yoghurt.

A winding alley in the Kastro, stronghold of the Venetian Catholics who overcame the Greeks 800 years ago. The kids were also overcome, by the incline, so we never got to see the museum at the top.

Looking back at Hora from the wee temple promontory

Sam: "We also went looking at fish at these old greek ruins next to the temple of apollo. There were lots of sea urchins all around the coast."
The doorway at right is all that's left of the temple, called the Portara.

Ellie: "We went goggling (ed: snorkelling without the snorkels and with swimming pool goggles) at the ruins of old Naxos town and when we went in the hire car there was sheep all lying on the road"
The ruins are meant to be submerged but they looked pretty much like old rocks to me.

At right, amazing how interesting cartoons in Greek can be.



Sam: "we saw quite a lot of lizards and one day me and dad climbed a mountain and saw a big lizard and a barn owl." The climb made more hazardous by justified fear of extremely spiky plants and irrational fear of poisonous adder snakes.

Sam: "On the beach it was very fun, it was hot and the rocks had lots of fishes you could look at them. One afternoon we went swimming in our clothes, it was really warm cos it had been heated by the sun all day."

Old windmills minus cloth on their vanes which dot the extremely hilly interior - Naxos almost makes Wellington look flat.

Left, THE best taverna-in-the town-square we saw all trip, and about the only one we sat down in for coffee, beer and iceblocks (8 euro the lot) in Chalki, the tiny ceramic and textile arts capital of Naxos.

Sam: "We went to the cave of Zeus but it was slippery and we didn’t have a torch and it was very dark in this little tunnel you have to go down so we had to stay in the main part. "

The entry to the cave, which involved quite a scramble to get to, though more tricky still the one lane 2km long mountain cul-de-sac without a turning circle and with a ruinous fall on one side that led to the track. Below, Sam in the cave.

Below the cave some local Greeks and Germans who live there shared their dolmades, pizza and home-made and v strong wine with us - everyone loved the kids, except on the Athens tube.

My Big Fat Greek Lunch Party.

Chilling out in the northernmost town of Appollonas, all whitewashed tavernas and rocks.

Ellie: "We went out for tea one night, I had grilled chicken with coca cola, and had a yummy breakfeast every day." Food was fab though Greece ain't cheap anymore - eating out cost 55 euro for a main and a drink each. (PS if anyone thinks the ed is hung up on costs, yeh, well .... nah, just trying to make it interesting in case you want to join us some time)

Break-in underway at Naxos' main Orthodox church.

More swimming at the submerged ruins.

Bye bye Naxos.

Sam: "The ferry getting back was very nice."
(The beauty of gruelling days is it makes everything that comes after appear rosy).

UK week 13

Above, at the V&A museum beside the brass-rubbing knight - it's free to do brass rubbing here versus paying for it elsewhere eg at St Martin in the Fields church.

With our friend John from Geneva who came to the V&A on a turned-chilly sunday arvo in early May. And Sam dresses up in genuine props from some West End show.

More brass rubbing.

Lara: "We went to the hand-on place. I liked the gold ship that had salt inside it."

the kids and their aunt Jen on the Tube, happy as larry.

Sam with an armoured glove at the V&A

Mimicking a carved face from a few centuries ago.

Some of the oldest money round, at the British Museum.

A genuine bit of doric or ionisn column from a Greek temple which the Brits robbed to fill the British Museum.

More robbed stuff - a week after this we saw the frieze of the Parthenon that Lord Elgar pulled these off of, and the copies the Greeks are having to make do with at the Acropolis Museum meantime

In Russell Square.

A show at the Planetarium at the Royal Observatory - OK but not worth the dosh, should've gone to the earlier Sun show.

Ellie: "We went to the royal Observatory, it's a musem thats really run. We went to the Planetarium. At the Planetarium we watchted a movie called We are Astrononmers."
Rosa - "we went to the moon show."

A computerised cannon firing game at the Naval museum, Greenwich.
Sam: "We went to the national maritime museum were we drove a ship and shoot a cannon."

Bits and bos of gold church stuff at the V&A

The biggest hit apart from the cannon game, loading a freighter at the Naval museum.

Sam navigates his ship on a computer simulated Bridge

The Transport blog

Travelling in London - it's a love-hate thing

Waiting to go down to get on the tube; and at Bounds Green temporary/permanent bus stop.

Above, responsible parental supervision is of course what it's all about; and the view from the front of the Docklands Light Rail winding down from above ground to the underground Bank station.

Our mate John on a visit from Geneva came to the V&A museum for Sunday arvo, as did Jac's aunt Jen, below.

Lotsa reading

Lotsa waiting

And lotsa people. The view inside the Russell Square tube station lift going down.

Going up and going down. Rosa's graduated from holding our hand to get on the escalator to attempting leaps on to the farthest step down she can make.