A most un-orthodox Easter… part two

April 3, 2018.Reading time 30 minutes.

I’m really in need of a ‘Fix’ after making it back in one piece, after that awesome trek along the side of the mountain, and the terrace at Pauvlo’s Taverna is the perfect spot to have it ….. icey cold and goes down a treat….. not even touching the sides…… just as well that not […]

A most un-orthodox Easter… part one.

April 3, 2018.Reading time 23 minutes.

Ever heard of Loutro? no, I didn’t think so. It’s a very small, some would say tiny, laid back village on the south coast of Crete. The only way to get here is by boat, unless you are very adventurous….. or very stupid….when you will arrive here on foot…..by walking about 7 kilometres from the […]

AUSSIE BLOGGER ARRESTED IN CRETE

April 2, 2018.Reading time 9 minutes.

Breaking News. Aussie Blogger Arrested in Crete. By Xania Xpress reporter, Vasilis Katsikisaki Well known and widely followed Australian Blogger, TomTwice, was arrested and detained two days ago whilst at Chania Airport in Crete and charged with one count of trying to enter the country illegally and four counts of smuggling prohibited articles. According […]

If you Fail to Prepare….Prepare to Fail !

April 8, 2017.Reading time 19 minutes.

If you fail to prepare …. prepare to fail !!! I’m told that it was the famous swimmer Mark Spitz who said that, but what would he really know about failure. It would be more believable if the saying was attributed to say, Ross Lyons, the coach of the Fremantle Dockers AFL team…… now theres a […]

To Hel and Back…

March 27, 2017.Reading time 16 minutes.

Καλός Ορίσετε στην Ελλάδα ……..or Welcome to Greece. It’s been just over a week now, since Yineka-mou and I arrived in Greece, and probably about time to start this years first blog update. Last year, when we flew to Athens, we used Etihad Airlines for the first time, and although cheaper than either Qatar or […]

Oh, The Grand Old Duke Of York….

September 11, 2016.Reading time 23 minutes.

Oh, the grand old Duke of York, He had ten thousand men, He marched them up to the top of the hill, And he marched them down again. And when they were up, they were up, And when they were down they were down, And when they were only half way up, They were neither […]

Would you like Raki with that?

April 15, 2016.Reading time 23 minutes.

Well it’s now been over two weeks since Yineka-Mou and I arrived in Crete, and I haven’t written a word since…. just too busy! Doing what I hear you ask, and to tell you the truth I’m not really sure. A couple of days a week I go to language school, and YM has joined […]

TomTom Takes Off

March 20, 2016.Reading time 14 minutes.

Yes, it’s true, Tom Tom Takes Off ….. and apologies to those readers who may have misread it as TomTom takes it off…sorry! It’s that time of year again which I consider to be the ideal time to take off to Greece. If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you’ll remember that […]

Mesón de la Guitarra

May 10, 2015.Reading time 1 minute.

Originally posted on Tapas Talk:
Located in a sort of cave under the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, El Mesón de la Guitarra may just be the perfect little bar to have some sangria, some tapas and listen to some authentic live guitar playing that is not for show, or only for tourists but for ambience,…

Freedom or Death?

March 26, 2015.Reading time 20 minutes.

“Freedom or death” were the words uttered by the Bishop of Patras on March 25, 1821, as he raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese, and these words became the motto of the War of Greek Independance against the almost 400 year rule by the Ottoman Turks. Today […]

Rio? No, Rethymnon

February 23, 2015.Reading time 24 minutes.

In Greece it’s called ‘Apokries’ and it’s the 3 week period before Lent, with many different customary events taking place. It culminates in a carnival of street parades on the Sunday before ‘Clean Monday’, the start of Lent. We have heard that the best Carnival in Crete will be in the old Venetian port town […]

What’s in a Name?

February 20, 2015.Reading time 11 minutes.

Is it Chania, Hania or Xania? Lets start with the Italians, or to be more precise, the Venetians….but before they got here in 1252 , the place was ruled by the Minoans, (this was in 3000 BC!!!!) then much later by the Arabs, then the Byzantines…..then the Welsh …… Anyway, right up until 1645 or […]

… it’s Majorca, but a million miles from Magaluf!

September 5, 2013.Reading time 15 minutes.

Valldemossa, Majorca. This is the main reason we are back in Europe again, to be here in Majorca for a good mates daughters wedding….which is being held at the Valldemosa Hotel in the town of same name. After a brief but very enjoyable 2 nights in Barcelona, we have now arrived on the island of […]

Who cares…?

September 3, 2013.Reading time 3 minutes.

Yineka-mou and I are on the move again! It's ten to seven in the morning and it find's us sitting in the 'Coffee Beanery' ( motto; Coffee people who care) in Doha International Airport, ( they still haven't opened the NEW airport terminal here yet…it's now over 18 months behind schedule) enjoying an overpriced cup […]

Terminal Sickness?

May 20, 2013.Reading time 9 minutes.

Terminal Sickness…. relax…it's not me that has it, at least not yet ( everything comes to those who wait!)… Driving to Perth Airport tonight with Yineka-mou to catch the Emirates flight to Dubai and then Barcelona… factually that's incorrect… we're being driven by YM's best friend AJ, who kindly offered to pick us up from […]

Γεια σου από την Κουφωνισιa. Hi from Koufi….

September 29, 2012.Reading time 16 minutes.

Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλημέρα ….. I could easily get used to this…in fact I have… Yineka Mou and I are now into our 5th day on Pano Koufonisi. (There’s also a Kato Koufonisi, Kato means lower, and Pano means higher….both islands are no more than a 15 minute caique ride away from each other.) Life here […]

Gitonia tis Irinis

September 26, 2012.Reading time 9 minutes.

Tuesday 25th September 2012 At spiti mou “Gitonia tis Irinis”. “Gitonia tis Irinis” , it means Irini’s Neighbourhood or Neighborhood of Peace, I’m not sure which, is a small complex of traditional and independent small houses characteristic of the Cycladic islands, on Koufonisi island. The peaceful houses are all built within a large courtyard […]

Paros to Koufonisia

September 24, 2012.Reading time 9 minutes.

Monday 24th September I am so far behind with this damn blog, that I’ve decided to write about today, then play a bit of catch up when we get to Koufonisia….where we may spend 5 or 6 nights… Yineka and I have just spent 2 nights in Parikia, the port town on the Cyclades island […]

Maesteg, South Wales

September 8, 2012.Reading time 12 minutes.

Friday 7th September. Just as well that that the road to Wales, the M4, is a relatively straight and fast, and easy to follow….so that even with Yineka-Mou’s instructions, I managed to find the new Severn Bridge quite easily. What a fantastic bridge it is too…it reminds me of The Rio-Antirrio bridge in Patras, Greece. […]

Arrival at Heathrow

September 7, 2012.Reading time 3 minutes.

Friday 7th September 2012 Yineka mou and I arrived at Heathrow yesterday at noon, after an uneventful, not too uncomfortable fligh from Perth, via Doha. After watching the onboard video trying to sell the charms of a stopover in Doha, and after having seen […]