On a cold, wet day in mid January, a message popped up asking if I fancied an all inclusive girlie holiday to the Med in the summer.
My response was unequivocally yes!
I met Jane in the summer of 1999, as I embarked on a new career path as a Finance Technician for Essex County Council. I was allocated as her ‘support person’ and a friendship grew over the years with lunches, dinners, quizzes, celebrations and retirement shared.
We have so much fun as Jane has the most wicked sense of humour and a real joie de vivre.
Jane did some searching in earnest and we agreed on Halkidiki, a peninsula in Greece.
Hotel booked, flights etc and we met to have a quick rundown of our holiday quirks and luckily we both had the same expectations to relax, lie by the pool, a dip here and there, and possibly one trip out.
Kevin dropped us off at Stansted and checkin and security were smooth. We found a place to eat and bought some snacky snacks for the journey.
The flight was good and we found our transport for what was to be a 2 hour transfer. We didn’t know about the lay-by stop to switch vehicles and be joined by four other ladies. There was also an impromptu stop the driver made to pick some broom, the fragrance filled the coach, unfortunate for one lady as she suffered with hay fever.
We arrived at our hotel in the early hours of Wednesday, and duly unpacked our luggage and fell to sleep looking forward to our time ahead.
Breakfast awaited us and we acquainted ourselves with where the pool was, the bars, the buffet and the à la carte restaurant. We decided that was enough and kept the beach, the gym and the supermarket for another day.
The hotel was lovely, staff so friendly, and the sun shone.
It did however rain one evening but we were prepared for it and it was a welcome refresh.
We booked a trip on the Sunday, and unfortunately we didn’t get the departure time right, so reception helped us to rearrange for the Monday.
We travelled by boat along the coastline where we viewed up to 20 monasteries, some described as clinging to the cliffs, and whereby we could feel the spiritual aura. A monk from one such monastery did come on board to both bless us and to sell some wares.
Tuesday was our last day and after a little confusion with the checking out time we were able to enjoy another 4 hours by the pool.
Another 2 hour transfer to the airport, and a quick, seamless process through security and passport control.
An idyllic getaway filled with lots of laughter, every day a learning day. Halkidiki has stolen a piece of my heart, as did these photos sent through whilst I was away.
Until next time
My little life 