Lyxplugg
Hittills har jag kommit på följande sätt:
- Läsa på balkongen medan man röker pipa och lyssnar på sin sambo som spelar lite på sin gitarr.
- Läsa i badet (gammal goding, visserligen, men kommer användas flitigt i höst också).
- Skriva uppgifter i sällskap av ett glas vin kan ibland öka fokusen och göra det värt att plugga sent på kvällarna. (Sist jag gjorde det fick jag högsta betyg och toppberöm för hemtentan jag skrivit, så bevis finns att det går att synda och lyckas samtidigt.)
- Inte lämna sängen på hela dagen, utan stanna under täcket med en kopp te och läsa sig igenom svåra texter.
Jag kommer säkerligen komma på fler sätt, att förena nytta med nöje brukar jag vara bra på. Någon som har fler tips? Det finns ju inget som säger att man måste ha tråkigt medan man gör sina uppgifter här i livet!
The Swenglish Family
Denna vecka är Kevins dotter Alice på besök, och min yngsta kusin Jonna. Liksom för att matcha vår stundtals barnsliga atmosfär. Vi spelar Wii, äter glass, ser filmer, gosar i soffan och håller om varandra på stan. Jonna döpte oss igår till "The Swenglish Family".
Hittills har vi hunnit med ett par skräckfilmer, ett par komedier, några TV-serieavsnitt, Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, två Cosmonova-filmer, minigolf, tre ton glass, kex med ost och många skratt.
Skåpprojektet jag startat har stigmatiserat till en dröm, vaknar ofta med energi men finner snart att jag inte har tid. Konstigt det där, när man är ledig har man mindre tid för saker? Att vara ledig tar ju faktiskt tid! Går dock och sneglar på garderoberna i sovrummet, tanken är att jag ska rensa kläder. Jag vet dock med mig att om jag rensar upp och försöker plocka bort det jag inte använder blir det inte mycket slängt - jag kommer hävda att jag använder i princip varenda plagg, eftersom jag rensat ut så hårt åtskilliga gånger tidigare. Så hur hård ska jag vara? Jag har konsulterat min sambo, men han är knappast överentusiastisk och menar istället att detta beslut ligger i mina händer. Ingen guidance, med andra ord. Otroligt fräckt.
Så, några tips? Känner mig nästan sugen att gå jättehårt fram och rensa ut precis allt jag inte använt speciellt ofta det senaste året, men anti-konsumenten i mig säger att man inte ska göra sig av med sådant som är fullt dugligt (med dugligt menas både helt och snyggt).
Under tiden jag funderar på detta extremt stora beslut försöker jag njuta så gott jag kan av semestern. Sommarkurserna är avklarade, jag jobbade fyra veckor i juli (vilket visserligen avslutades med en magsjuka), hade två veckor semester i Grekland i juni och behöver nu bara några plugg- och jobbfria veckor för att ladda upp inför hösten.
Kevin kallade min annalkande höst för "shitstorm". Känns mycket betryggande. Att läsa två heltidsterminer plus ytterligare en kurs känns lite skrämmande, men å andra sidan är det bara drygt 3,5 månader och med organiseringsförmåga och disciplin ska det nog gå bra. Shitstorm, bring it on.
Knepet är nog bara att (som vanligt) se till att njuta av livet emellanåt.
The Swenglish glassätande Family:
Kärleken spirar - i alla fall ett tag!
I wanna find a girl I can stay married to for a while.
Vem sa att romantiken är död?
Golden days in Greece
8 June
Arrived in Greece, very hot! We went by bus/ferry from Kavala to Thassos, and within 30 minutes of arriving at the hotel, C was in the pool and K was at the pool bar! We spent most of the afternoon there until we got ready for the included buffet. The food turned out to not be all that goods, in all honesty, but we had a lovely sunset view, good wine and great service. Afterwards we had a drink on a sofa in the main bar, before making it an early evening.
9 June
C started the day with 30 minutes in the pool before breakfast. After that we walked to Scala Prinos to get money (fancy going to Greece with no euros at all!) and on our way there we stopped on a bridge to feed dozens of hungry turtles with bread that we stole from the breakfast table. We went through a couple of shops, had a look at the restaurants and finally sat down at a garden bar for a drink under a tree that covered the whole garden. For lunch we then walked to a nearby Greek-Italian restaurant (Lauros) where we had great pasta.
Back at the hotel, we walked along the beach, laid down in the sun and ordered drinks that were served to us at our spot under a parasol. We had dinner afterwards in the buffet restaurant and a drink in the sophisticated Lagoon, with a fabulous view over the pool area.
10 June
After a 30 minute swim for C and a breakfast at the buffet restaurant, we spent the whole day by the pool making sure we burned. We had wine on the balcony after C walked (only wearing underwear and K’s shirt, which amused some of the other hotel guests) to get one of the bartenders to open the bottle for her. After dinner, we walked into Scala Prinos, had a drink at the garden bar before walking up and down a beach. Kevin insisted on checking out a back street so we ended up finding this lovely little Greek place where we had fabulous “homemade wine” served to us with a pudding that tasted like apple pie. Great prices, great atmosphere, great evening! We also met a couple from Lund with an adorable little baby.
11 June
Another day swimming and sunbathing by the pool. Gorgeous drinks to finish the day, and then a quiet night.
12 June
Woken by thunder and lightning and a day that was wet and humid. We walked into town to buy a few things, like a deck of cards. We spent the afternoon chilling in our room, watching TV-shows, playing cards, drinking wine and having a great time watching the weather! (Quite frankly, our bodies needed the rest from the sun!). We had some company from a hedgehog and a bottle of wine opened up á la Kev in Barca (coat hanger style).
13 June
C had her morning swim, we had breakfast and then some time at the pool before visiting the beach restaurant. We ordered fine Greek wine, enjoyed the view and great food! Afterwards we took a walk along the beach and found some white, smooth pebbles. Since C had burned her thighs beyond recognition we stopped by the pool bar on our way back to the room so she could cool down. Some steam rose when she dipped her ass down in the pool, and the bartenders laughed as she clung to her drink like a baby to her dummy… Ouch! We finished the day with a walk in the sunset to Scala Prinos.
14 June
We started the day by calling C2 to congratulate her on her birthday. After that, another day at the pool followed by lunch at the beach restaurant. We ordered in mussels, something C had never tried before – and she loved them! Great meal, unfortunately it ended up twice as expensive as expected since the manager of the restaurant kind of hid the fact that Kev’s fish was VERY expensive. A complaint to the reception and we moved on with the day – a lie down in one of the sunbeds at the beach bar and playing cards by the pool bar where the bartender gave us a bit of a dance show. We celebrated C2’s birthday by enjoying the atmosphere in The Lagoon with a nice bottle of Greek wine, candles and fruits.
15 June
We started the day by the pool, and struck up a conversation with a Swedish family (Charlotte and Mattias, with their 4-year old daughter Ellen and their 10-month old son Oskar). C studied for a bit, swam and then exercised. It was a lovely day, one of the warmer ones, and drinks by the pool seemed like the only sensible thing to do. The pool bar guy made sure we had drinks in our hands and crisps to eat all the time. Lovely guy (even though he didn’t acknowledge when C was half naked trying to switch bikinis, or at least pretended to ignore it/them)!
Later during the day the Swedish family accompanied us to the Greek restaurant we had found in a back street, and we had a great time. Suddenly the weather changed and the rain started pouring down, with some thunder and lightning too! That was fine while we ate, but on the way home Mattias had to run with Ellen on his shoulders and pushing the stroller – and still got absolutely soaked. As did we all! The weather didn’t spoil the evening at all though, since we all laughed it off.
16 June
We woke up and ordered a taxi from the hotel to Limenas (Thassos town). We started our day there with breakfast at a semi-English café in the harbour. C studied the guide book and then we went exploring! First we visited a museum with many impressive archeological findings from up to 6000BC such as statues and columns, coins and other artifacts. We then visited some of the sites in town and climbed the steep hills around Limenas for a few hours in the blazing sun to see some of the other really interesting sites and ruins in the area. C was extremely proud to find the Parmenon Gate (an ancient stone gateway in the town’s southern wall) on an obscure set of steps down from the hills that dated back to 500BC. We also surprised a big snake that (literally) took flight as it slithered down the slopes away from us!
After our adventure we returned to the town. We were so parched we consumed a 1.5L bottle of water almost immediately. Before lunch we did a little pre-birthday shopping that put a great smile on C’s face! Over lunch C called our friendly cab driver to take us back to the hotel where we rested for a bit before our evening.
Knowing it was “Lover’s Night” in the hotel restaurant, K had organized a table there for 21.00 with a plan that we’d eat and see-in C’s birthday by being there past midnight. We dressed for dinner and when we arrived we were shown by the hotel manager to an exclusive balcony where champagne awaited us, cooling in an ice-bucket beside the table. The meal was fabulous and was served at a leisurely pace that meant we could enjoy the evening, watch the moon rise over the hills and listen to the waterfalls in the nearby pool. After dinner we took what was left of our wine and went to the restaurant’s more public balcony where K had a cigar to round off his meal (how the manager managed to find one after midnight is still a mystery). It really was an excellent night and a great way to start C’s birthday!
17 June
The day started with a walk into town where we sat down at the Greek-Italian restaurant for a lovely lunch. Afterwards we wanted to take a taxi to Kavaziti, a mountain village a short way off from Scala Prinos, so we asked the waiter to call one for us. He simply turned around to a corner of the restaurant where a man was sitting quietly, said “Taxi?” and the man nodded. Done!
Kavaziti turned out to be a cute little village high up in the mountains with a mixture of old and contemporary houses surrounded by impossibly narrow and steep streets. We walked around for a bit but as we sat down at a café for a drink we felt so tired we almost fell asleep on the table (C actually did). You can hardly call the town lively as even the cats were having a siesta! The taxi picked us up at the arranged spot and time, and took us back to the hotel where we had a couple of hours of rest.
A nap and a shower later we once again got in a taxi, this time to visit the most southern point of the island, a place called Limenária. The taxi ride itself was amazing, watching the gorgeous sunset all the time as we were driving down the western coast. The taxi driver dropped us off in the center of Limenária. If Kavaziti was sleepy then this town was wide awake! We wandered the streets, had a drink (thanks, Joachim!) at a chic bar just by the sea and did some shopping in a street that despite the late hour (21.00-ish) was very busy! Our choice of restaurant by the sea’s edge was based on the up front style of the guy who approached us on the street as we walked by, and it proved to be a very good choice since the food and wine were great. We finished off the night with another drink (thanks, pappa!) at the chic bar while awaiting the taxi driver, who had told us we only had to call and he’d pick us up.
18 June
We spent the whole day horizontal on sunbeds on the beach. The ocean was lovely and so were the drinks! We only left the sea to have lunch with Mattias, Charlotte, Ellen and Oskar and wish them a safe trip back to Sweden. We spent the afternoon back at the beach before changing and walking into Scala Prinos for dinner.
19-21 June
More sunbathing, mostly by the sea, typically punctuated by lunch at the beach restaurant and finished very nicely by a few hands of cards over some strong cocktails at the pool bar as the sun began to set. We took walks along the beaches nearby, picked up stones and the odd animal (C picked up a lovely shell but threw it away in sudden terror as legs came out of it!). On our last night we again walked into Scala Prinos, stopping for drinks at the garden bar before dinner at “our” little place in the backstreets.
22 June
We left early in the morning but were waived off by the hotel manager who served a tray of shots just to perk us up! It was a lovely morning and we had a great view of the hills we’d climbed behind Limenas from the ferry as we listened to Greek musicians playing a selection of local hits. As the plane took off we also had great view of the western coast of Thassos including the beach resort at which we’d stayed. A nice way to end our first summer holiday together!
