Back by "popular demand" well Gemma1 actually here is our blog for this year's May visit. Hope I have remembered how to size the photos. As ever the spelling will be as quirky as one sees on the menus in Greece. Here goes -
Tuesday Day 1
The day started at 06:00 with D packing. E being the sensible one had packed the day before. GreyamCat was then persuaded into his cat box and transported to his holiday accommodation for the next two weeks and on this occasion was remarkably calm about the whole adventure.
We finally got on the road at 09:30 only to have to turn back when a conversation highlighted that a very important item was missing. Thankfully we had not travelled too far. So starting out again we got to our first stopping place - Cardiff - by 13:00.
The stop in Cardiff, as well as affording us the opportunity for lunch in Yo Sushi, was necessary for D to buy a new pair of Teva sandals as he forgotten that he had left his old pair along with numerous other bits and pieces of Symi clothing for the refugees last October. After a very pleasant lunch of healthy tuna, salmon and beef teriyaki we were back on the M4 by 14:30.
Traffic was light but the rain was never far away and we experienced numerous cloud bursts that slowed us down. Wanting to avoid the M25 we headed off at J13 and cut across country going over the Hills of Surrey through some wonderful villages and countryside and by this time the sun had come out.
We reached Gatwick at 19:00 and checked into the very busy Sofitel where we always try and stay due to its proximity to the terminal building, it's cocktail bar and it's wonderful Brasserie. As Olympic had moved us from the 09:00 Germania flight onto the 05:30 EasyJet we were able to check our bags in at 20:00.
To be fair to Olympic they did offer us two alternative flights - either the early EasyJet or an afternoon Thomson flight. Wanting to give ourselves every chance of getting to Symi on the afternoon ferry and not minding early mornings we chose EasyJet.
After checking the bags in through the automated bag drop terminals - excellent use of technology and so simple, yet another example of the human being taken out of the equation - we had a couple of cocktails and then dinner in the Brasserie. The cooking here remains top notch.
D started with a trio of crab, lobster and prawns whilst E had sea trout. D then had the blackened cod in a lobster bisque on a bed of sea asparagus which could not have been better. E had chicken supreme in a peppercorn sauce. To end we shared the lightest of cheesecakes which had a ginger base, creme fraiche and fresh raspberries and blackberries that came with an amazing apple sorbet. And to mark yet another holiday to Symi we drank a half bottle of the most superb champagne - Ruinart.
And so a long day ended at 22:30