Fourth week of this year's road trip. Cisternino, wine tasting in Locorotondo, Bari for a day, Ciao Puglia, Ciao Italia. Ferry to Durres, "Pershendetjie" Albania, a night in Kukës, stop off in Prizren - Kosovo, onto North Macedonia, discovering Skopje and so to Greece.

Nea Iraklitsa, Kavala, Greece Sunday 2nd June.

Arriving in Durres (Durazzo), Albania, from Bari, Italy, on Tuesday morning

Kalimera everyone and thank you for reading today's blog post and for following our travels. We have now been on the road since 4th May, nearly a month. Wow and what a lot we have seen so far.  It seems like every day we moved to or went through a new country. One day we had breakfast in Albania, coffee in Kosovo and lunch and dinner in North Macedonia. 

Today we are in a small coastal village called Nea Iraklitsa about 11km from  Kavala, 155km to the east of Thessalonika and staying at an apartment by the beach. This is it.  I found out yesterday we are on the Sea of Thrace or Thracian Sea. We like it so much we are spending tonight here too. It's great to have pool and beach time and a rest from so much history and culture, as well as a rest from driving. 

Last Sunday marked the end of our stay in Puglia, in our lovely "trullo" house in the Valle d'Itria. We still had one picturesque village to see and it was Cisternino. And that is where we went. Funnily enough, it rained a little so you will see me wearing a coat in the pictures. No worries, though as later the sun came out. How could it not in beautiful Puglia?

We wandered into the main square. It's another one named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first King of Italy after the reunification in 1870. There is always a Via Roma and squares named after this King, as well as Garibaldi and Dante. Figures right? 

Showing you the Vittorio Emanuele II square in Cisternino

There is no big Duomo, as Cisternino is much smaller than its sister towns, Alberebello and Locorotondo or even Ostuni, but the streets are white, cute and often full of flowers. Again the streets are lined with enticing boutiques with rip off prices which I largely ignored. 

The quaint and mostly white streets of Cisternino

As we wandered around the quaint streets, we heard music. It was coming from a brass band and we followed the sound. Oh what a concert we were given that day.

The brass band playing last Sunday in Cisternino

I saw a close up of a badge from one of the uniforms and learned that the band is called Orchestra di Fiati Cisternino, Vitino Zizzi. Of course I had to take a video to upload to my YouTube channel; another lovely memory of this year's road trip. 

We followed them around the small streets of the "centro storico" until they came to the main square. There we had our cappuccino and latte and enjoyed a marvelous outdoor concert. What a moment; one of my favourites on this trip so far. 

Coffee in Vittorio Emanuele II square in Cisternino last Sunday - to the sound of the very good quality local brass brand; Orchestra di Fiati Cisternino Vitino Zizzo. Loved it. 

There wasn't much else to see in Cisternino, so I suggested to Eladio that we drive to Locorotondo to a place I had spied there the week before. I had seen a bar right in the middle of a vineyard and all week I had been thinking about it. So we went and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. It really was a superb experience although, no way could we finish the 3 glasses we were given to taste.

Tasting local wine from Locorotondo in an actual vineyard. What a moment. 

The wine bar in a vineyard is owned by Azienda Agricola Bufano. It's somewhere I shall always remember.  We then went and bought some of their wine, Prosecco and Primitivo but from a local supermarket where the price was a lot lower as you can imagine. 

At the same supermarket (Csette+7) we got some lamb - local speciality- and more provisions for our onward journey.  Once home, I cooked it with tiny potatoes and we had a veritable feast which included Charantes type melons and fresh strawberries from the market in Ostuni. I knew I was going to miss fresh Italian produce when we embarked on the next leg of our journey to the Western Balkans.

The rest of the day was spent just chilling out as on Monday we had a long day ahead of us. We had to vacate our beautiful trullo house at 10 am and drive to Bari. Bari is only an hour away so great. The only problem was we had to spend the whole day there until our ferry to Durres, Albania, that night. 

Here we are leaving.

Leaving our lovely "trullo" in Valle d'Itria, Puglia.

We left as late as possible and drove slowly to the big Italian port which has ferries that go to Greece, Croatia and Albania of course . Although Bari has something to offer in terms of culture, we just didn't bother. Our minds were not on visiting another "chiesa" or "duomo". Instead we sat and had our last cappuccino and latte machiato  just off the  main square, Piazza Mercantile. 

We then went in search of lunch and to do so walked through the centro storico which is by the sea. The place reminded me a bit of Alicante except I didn't see any beach. But it had that atmosphere.

In Bari on Monday where we spent all day there

Instead of being ripped off for lunch in the centre, we walked away from the tourist area. It took a while but we found a wonderful place where only Italians were eating and we were charged just 20 euros! Says something right?

We also had our last gelato in Bari until we are back in Italy. We sat outside and ate it and rested until we had to go and get the car at around 6.30.  It was the moment I realised we were leaving Italy - ciao Italia - what a wonderful 3 weeks we had spent there. But we will be back. Now we were embarking on the next stage of this year's road trip: So exciting,.....

Check in time at the port was from 7 pm and we were one of the first. It was quite exciting for us to go on a ferry with our car and sleep in a cabin/berth. We haven 't done that since the girls were tiny and we used to take the ferry from Santander to Plymouth. Everything went quite smoothly. Here is  a glimpse of our 2000 capacity ship/boat called AF Francesca and run by Adria ferries. We had to go up that ramp and then follow instructions from the crew members on where and how to park. 

Embarking on AF Francesca

We had overnight luggage and provisions for dinner (panini) and even breakfast which made for heavy carrying. A youngish looking Albanian took pity on me and carried my bag. He turned out to be a journalist and mentioned being the correspondent for The Daily Express in Tirana. I told him it was a horrible paper and he agreed. I asked what topics he covered to which he added, mostly emigration. Well, of course. 

He took us to reception where we got our keys for our private berth. The ferry is very old and will stop serving this year. The berth  was disappointing, not the Titanic my friends but then I wouldn't want to go on the Titanic.  However, it was passable and we had our own space, loo, etc. For sleeping there were  bunk beds and guess who slept where, haha. We only had mobile coverage while in the port and only one socket in the bathroom for all our plugs. We soon realised we had left Eladio's hearing aid charger in our Trullo which was rather a dampener but we refused to let it affect us. This was, after all, another adventure on our road trip, one we would not forget. Once ready, we headed for the deck to see the ferry depart from the port, always an exciting moment. 

On the deck on Monday evening. 

We were joined by an Albanian family who live in Pisa and who were a bit upset we hadn't visited the Leaning Tower. We got talking and their 3 daughters spoke excellent English and were delighted to talk to us. One of the girls was also learning Spanish. What a nice family. They were so friendly. From our experiences last year and this, the bad name Albanians have abroad is unjust. Before we parted, I took a photo to remember them and sent it to Mira, one of the daughters who has now become another blog reader. Mira, it was great to meet you.

Meeting an Albanian family on board AF Francesca

Before we said goodbye, the daughters taught me a few Albanian words. These are: Thank you: Falemenderit, Hello: Pershendetjie, Goodbye: Mirupafshim and Yes (Po) and No (Io). I since used some of them to surprise Albanians at hotels, shops and petrol stations. When I did, they put their hand on their hearts in thanks. So sweet. It's not an effort. It's fun. 

Funnily enough we slept quite well although we did take  seasickness pill just in case. Eladio is a terrible sailor and needed one. We were in luck though as the Adriatic sea was very calm that night. I woke up at about 6  am, 2 hours till arrival at the port of Durres or Durrazo as it is called in Albanian. With my trusty travel kettle I made some filter coffee and we had breakfast: Weetabix and fruit, enough to keep us going for a while.

At around 8 am on Tuesday morning the ferry arrived at the port of Durres, the main port in Albania and very near the capital. We packed our bags, gave back the key, picked up my passport and made our way to the deck again. Here is a photo of Eladio  to remember the moment we arrived in Albania, our second time there as we were in Tirana last year and drove all the way across the country from Greece, a drive never to be forgotten. I have chosen the one he took of me as this week's feature photo.

On the AF Francesca ferry arriving at Durres port

I honestly thought it would take ages to get off the ferry but it was all very quick. A young and gorgeous looking Egyptian, a member of the crew, took my bags this time and he was an angel. He told me the ship had 250 passengers and a similar number of cars, far below its capacity. Thus little hassle getting on and off. He also told me what I already knew that Durres is popular with the tourists but is a pretty awful place. I had read that so we skipped it. 

Once off the ferry and through customs where no one asked for our Green Card or our International Driving licence, we headed for the terminal to get an all important sim card. We got one for use in the Western Balkans for 21 days which cost 34 euros. It would work in Albania, Kosovo,  North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia - basically the Balkan countries that are not in the EU.

With the local sim card we were able to get Google Maps to work. Our destination on Tuesday morning was the small and untouristy town of Kukes, in the north of the country, near the border of North Macedonia and Kosovo - yes again.  

Map of Albania with the main towns and borders: Greece, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro 

No one comes to Albania to visit Kukës. It is the poorest region in the country and has little claim to fame but it's the halfway point between Durres and Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia which we missed last year. Also on the way to the latter, we would see Prizren, Kosovo's second biggest city and supposedly a gem, compared to Pristina which was a bit of a "sh** hole!". The drive wasn't bad except it was difficult to find a petrol station which would accept payment by card. I had expected our hotel - Gjallica to be another "sh** hole" and it certainly looked like it on the outside. But our room was absolutely fine; large and clean. It was the only decent place I could find in Kukës. Its saving grace was the view of the mountain Gjallica from our terrace which is over 2400m high.

Mt. Gjallica near Kukës

We settled in leisurely and then had lunch using our little gas stove. We ate left over grilled lamb and tiny boiled potatoes we had bought and made in Puglia. Dessert were 2 delicious and juicy oranges from the Sorrento region. 

We strolled out in the afternoon to get provisions and were stumped at various so-called supermarkets as none of them accepted payment by card. In the end we got some cash from an ATM and were charged an extortionate rate. There are 1000 leks per 1 euro. Albania is certainly a very poor country. However since it got rid of the shackles of communism, it is striving to thrive and grow. You see new buildings going up everywhere; lots of them high rise blocks. Maybe not in Kukës but certainly in Tirana where we went last year.

As there was literally nothing to visit in the town, not even a main square we just headed back to our room to chill out until Wednesday morning. Breakfast was included in the booking but I took one look at my plate of fried eggs, tomato, cucumber, sausage and bread and just had the bread. I cannot face anything savoury in the morning. I never could. 

I had booked two nights at an Airbnb in Skopje for Wednesday and Thursday. On the map it looked an easy drive and was only about 150km. Oh but what a terrible road it turned out to be. However, what made that day special is that we stopped in Prizren, Kosovo's second most important town and certainly its most beautiful. We didn't have time to see it last year, so this week was our chance. Last year there was no border between Albania and its brotherly "nation" Kosovo. This year there was and this is the one we crossed shortly after leaving Kukës. 

The border into Kosovo from Albania coming from Kukës in northern Albania

So we were to visit Kosovo again, Europe's second poorest nation after Ukraine. North Macedonia and Albania come third and fourth. 

As in Albania, we saw lots of construction going on in Prizren, the country's most "touristy" town, although we saw very few tourists.  There are mosques, of course, but many Orthodox churches too, some of which we saw. The Orthodox churches are mostly Serbian, the Kosovars' arch enemy.

One of the Mosques in Prizren

What we wanted to see most though, was the "stone bridge" in the old city. Built over the River Lumëbardhi in the 15th century, it divides the town into two and plays a major role in the life of the city. There were hardly any people so taking photos was a doddle. 

The famous Stone Bridge in Prizren

On the other side I spied several attractive outdoor cafes and we sat down right by the bridge to enjoy the view. Eladio got talking (yes Eladio, not me) to the man on the next table. He only spoke Albanian but knew some German and Russian. Thus with my very limited German and smattering of Russian and with the help of Google Translate we made friends. Shaipa is a 76 year old retired teacher of physics and chemistry whose wife taught Albanian. I asked if he fought in the war against the Serbs. He did fight and his son was killed aged just 17. How sad. He fears the Serbs still but says that while NATO remains in Kosovo they are safe. We asked him what the political situation of Kosovo was like and his answer was "catastrophic", telling us his pension is jut 180 euros per month. How on earth, can a person live on so little we thought?  Shaipa wanted to treat us to our coffees but we weren't having it. He was touched and happy to have met us. We had our photos taken on the Stone Bridge to remember this lovely man on our travels. 

With Shaipa, our new "friend" in Kosovo

We then went to explore the small old town where there was lots of work going on. I took a photo of a poor donkey being used to carry bricks or whatever and felt very sorry for it. Using a donkey for these purposes these days is very backward. Kosovo will catch up though eventually, I am sure it will. 

 A donkey being used in construction in Prizren Kosovo

We didn't see much more of the town as we had to continue our journey but what we saw we liked. We met a local guide who was showing a young girl from Rumania the church where Mother Theresa's parents were either baptised or married - Pristina, Prizren and Skopje all claim her fame in some way.  We spoke to him about the fact that Spain does not recognise Kosovo because if it did, it would cause an issue with the Catalan question.  The Rumanian girl turned out to be half Syrian and married to a Palestinian who had been brought up in a refugee camp in Jordan. We also met a young woman from Tunisia taking her children to school. She was married to a local of some Turkish ethnic origin and had had to learn both languages. We then met a local who had lived in Mallorca for 24 years and was trying to get Spanish nationality. He cannot use a Kosovar passport for this purpose and it can only be Serbian. Part of the enjoyment of our road trip is meeting people like those we met in Kosovo this week.  I have gone off on a tangent - here is a photo of the old houses of Prizren, the one mainly used to promote tourism. 

Pretty and interesting Prizren

We probably left at around 11.30. Our journey to Skopje was just another 115km or so but it took forever and we got lost occasionally. Then suddenly, in the middle of nowhere was the border to North Macedonia. Here we are leaving Kosovo and below arriving in North Macedonia

Above leaving Kosovo and entering Macedonia

The Kosovar border policeman asked for our insurance and we showed him our Green Card which he said wasn't valid. I replied it didn't really matter as we were leaving and had 100 metres to get to Macedonia and there began a bit of a kerfuffle which I won. No way was I paying for more insurance when leaving the country.

Thus we found ourselves near Skopje but there was no motorway. The roads in general are pretty bad and chaotic. To get there it took us about 2.5h to drive 115km - imagine!

Branco, our Airbnb host was patiently waiting for us outside the apartment. He had parked his car to save the space for us. How kind. This is the Mini arriving. 

Arriving at our Airbnb apartment in Skopje

It was only 1.2km from Skopje's "Stone Bridge" so not far from the centre. I booked it because it ticked all my boxes: place to park, kitchen, balcony, washing machine, good reviews and good price. By then it was after 3pm and even we "Spaniards" were starving. I soon had a bowl of tuna fish salad on the table and then a load of laundry in the machine. 

Although we hadn't come far it had taken a long time and we were tired so we just chilled in the apartment. Our only excursion was to a large supermarket called Vero very near our place. It was not bad at all and very cheap.

Thursday dawned and there we were in North Macedonia, one of Europe's least known countries. Skopje's greatest claim to fame is its relationship with Alexander Magnum (336 BC) and many centuries later of Mother Theresa of Calcutta. He was not born in Skopje but in Pella (Greek Macedonia today).  But don't tell the North Macedonians that. It's a bit like telling Spaniards that Christopher Columbus was Italian and not Spanish. In any case, he was the King of Macedonia so part of their heritage. He created  a vast empire that stretched from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to part of India.  After his death it became an important region in the Roman Empire and much later was under the Ottoman Empire. 

North Macedonia as we know it today gained its independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991 and is a landlocked country that borders Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. 

Tiny landlocked Macedonia that borders with Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania and Greece

The language is Slav and is very similar to Bulgarian. It is much the same as Macedonian spoken in Greece but in the latter the Greek Alphabet is used. Another Macedonian claim to fame is that they invented the Cyrillic alphabet. Although when I read further, this claim became a bit blurred and I won't bore you with the details. 

Anyway, today this now  new country has a tiny population of under 2 million people. Most of the current population are of Slavic descent. The others are of Albanian or Turkish origin as well as Roma. In  1963  the city of Skope suffered a terrible earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 which killed over 1000 people and left 200.000 homeless. 80% of the city was destroyed. The city was then rebuilt and there are parts people like and parts people don't. There is something called Brutalist architecture (a lot of cement) which I think is ghastly. Then there are buildings that resemble 18th architecture but were actually built in the 60's. Quite a mess really. The only part that was left untouched was the old Ottoman area where the Old Bazaar is and which we were to  visit later that morning.

From our flat it was a pleasant walk along the Vardar River with some lovely bridges, like the one below with lots of statues. I think it was called the Bridge of Art.

The Bridge of Art

Equally bombastic is the next bridge with more statues, the Eye Bridge or the Bridge of Civilization with more statues - this time of Macedonians of importance in their time.

The eye bridge or the Bridge of Civilisation

Much more famous is the Bridge of Stone (another bridge of stone) which separates the new town from the old. It is said to have its origins in the 15th century. 

Stone Bridge Skopje

To the left of Stone Bridge is the most famous landmark in town, the enormous Macedonia Square with a huge statue of Alexander the Great. He only ruled for 13 years after the death of his father, Philip II but my goodness he has gone down in history as one of the most important people of all time. 

In Macedonia Square next to the huge statue and fountain of Alexander the Great

You can see how big it is in the next picture as I seem so small compared hahahaha. 

Macedonia Square

I was actually impressed and took a video to share here. 

Who really was born in Skopje  was Mother Theresa of Calcutta (1910) who was called  Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu and known as Gonxha meaning flower bud in Albanian. Her father who died when she was just 8,  was Albanian, born in Prizren (Kosovo today) and her mother was definitely from Kosovo.  They were quite a wealthy family of merchants. We had seen her revered last year in Pristina and this week in Prizren and on Thursday we were to see the Museum dedicated to her in Skopje. She returned in the 70's to her home city but never ever saw her mother or sister again because they lived in Albania which she could never visit. She did see her brother who married an Italian woman and went to live in Sicily. That is what I was told by the lovely young curator from the museum. 

The Memorial House to Mother Theresa

Her story is both amazing but also sad and along the lines of my mother' story - never returning to Bulgaria until she was an old woman and never seeing her father again. 

I have always had special feelings for Mother Theresa and it was very emotional to visit the Memorial House in Skopje. To see her handwritten letters, poems and prayers really made her feel close. I came out shedding the odd tear and asked Eladio to take a photo of me next to a statue of the now Saint who probably never wanted to be one. 

Next to the statue of Mother Theresa in Skopje, where she was born

Her museum is on Macedonia Street buzzing with life and cafes and dominated by a huge flag of the country, red and yellow - like the Spanish flag I remarked to Eladio.

Macedonia Street with the flag and the statue of Alexander Magnum in the background

We had a wonderful cappuccino and latte macchiato opposite the museum and felt happy with our visit. 

We then decided to visit the old town which is more or less made up of the Old  Bazaar. At its entrance on the other side of Stone Bridge, is another huge statue. It is of Alexander the Great's Father, King Philip II of Macedonia and impressed my husband who told me lots of stories about father and son. He loves that part of history. Visiting Macedonia, Greece and Turkey brings it alive. 

Statue of King Pilip II of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great

I had read the bazaar was the second biggest in Europe after the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul but I was disappointed. It is just a series of streets with vendors mostly selling gold and silver, very elaborate wedding dresses and not much more. But the houses in the streets were quaint.

At the so-called Old Bazaar

It was hot and we were tired of walking so decided to spend the NM Dinars we had exchanged on a lunch in town. I found the best place by accident. Called Pelister it is on Macedonia Boulevard and looked just up our street. There we had the best meal of our road trip. It was just amazing and a restaurant I will never forget. 

Coming out of Pelister restaurant, a true find in Skopje

We had a very leisurely lunch where I tried the local wine and loved it and then walked back to our Airbnb. We only stopped at Vero supermarket to get some milk which was just when it began to rain. And when we came out it had stopped. I must say we have had wonderful weather on our trip so far.

We left Skopje on Friday morning for Greece, en route to Turkey. We would split the journey with two stop offs, one near the N. Macedonian border, in Polykastro and the other here by the beach near Kavala. The alternatives were Thessalonika and Alexandropolis but we went there last year. 

The main road to Greece with signposts to Athens was quite good but annoying in that we had to stop and pay small tolls nearly every 15 minutes. We haven't included Athens in this trip as we have been a number of times before. Ditto for Istanbul. 

We stopped for coffee and petrol before we arrived at the Greek Border of Evzoni in Central Macedonia. Petrol (95) costs 1.3 euros and in Greece about 2 euros a litre. It is more expensive in Greece than it is in France or Italy. 

And here we are entering Greece from the Bogorodica border in North Macedonia. Arriving in the EU again was pleasant. You get a feeling of belonging. The Greek officials didn't even ask for the car's paperwork. Plus they have the Euro and we can use our Spanish sim cards here

Arriving at the Greek border on Friday

The first thing I did after we went through customs was to change my sim card, thanks to the girl selling local ones at a Vodafone stall. She gave me a much needed paper clip. Efaristo. 

We have been to Greece before, last year and I have to been to Athens 3 or 4 times. In England when you don't understand something you say "it is all Greek to me" - in Spanish they say it is all Chinese! But, Eladio studied Ancient Greek and I did a short course in it when I did Theology subsid at Nottingham University. Thus I can read it, still which is something. So, it's not all Greek to me. Plus I know a few basic words. Who doesn't know efaristo (thank you), parakalo (please) or kalimera (good morning)? Albanian and Turkish seem more difficult. 

Our accommodation that night was at the only place I could find in Polykastro, a border town about 15km from North Macedonia with a population of 11.000 people.  Called Park Hotel Polykastro, it wasn't much but the room and balcony were absolutely fine. Here are our belongings by the way; what we carry to and forth while on this road trip. We are traveling like gypsies  -sorry if that is not the correct term any more. Possibly it is nomads. 

All our travelling belongings

It's an hour later in Greece so we were in our spacious room on time for lunch. We used the camping gas stove to heat up some lovely take away food we got in Skopje and had a nice meal on the balcony. It was pretty warm that day, over 28ºc. Thankfully, it cooled down later.

Later we ventured out to see if there was anything to see in Polykastro. There wasn't but we found a decent enough supermarket - which did accept visa - and got fruit (cherries, strawberries, apricots and peaches) and more milk. Eladio had hoped to find Weetabix but I think we won't find it anymore on our travels, hahah. We then went for a stroll and got out some euros as we had completely run out after which we sat in a cafe in the main square and had something to drink. Stupid me, I had lemon tea and forgot the tannin would keep me awake. Here is the only other photo I took in Polykastro - a place in Greece I am very likely to forget. 

Having a drink in Polykastro

Dinner was on the balcony - oh how we love our picnic meals en route in our various places of abode. My girl guide skills come very much in handy as do Eladio's own skills from being born on a farm in a very rural area of northern Spain.

Our next stop was here on the Aegean coast which is lovely. It only took us 1.5h to get here and the landlady - this is a family run hotel - let us check in at 11.30. Brilliant. The rooms are apartments with a big balcony overlooking the pool and the sea and there are kitchen facilities. So this place ticked all the boxes and more. It was very warm so having access to a pool was a big bonus. 

The Kavala Beach Hotel Apartments

As soon as we had settled in, we drove to the nearest village which is actually 1km away. We had lunch in the port at a restaurant that ranks number 1 on TripAdvisor in Nea Iraklitsa - and there are quite a few.  I loved what I was seeing of the area. It looks like a resort for locals. There are no high rise blocks or big hotels, discos or anything related to mass tourism.

Iraklitsa port near Kavala, Greece

We loved the Stou Sarri restaurant as soon as we stepped in. We loved our waiter too who told me he had learned his English from a teacher from Manchester. The meal was delicious. I went for starters - fried zucchini, grilled prawns and octopus carpaccio. I honestly think the prawns were the best I have ever had! Eladio had a seafood risotto with too much cheese for my liking but he loved it. We were too full for a dessert but the owners wanted to treat us to one - Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit which was so kind of them. 

A wonderful meal yesterday at Stou Sarri in the port of Nea Iraklitsa

This is one of the restaurants we shall always remember from this trip - Stou Sarri (means At Sarri's). Once back, all I wanted to do was to chill out by the pool and that's what I did. Eladio took a photo of me in the water from our balcony. 

In the pool yesterday, my first bathe of the year

It was my first bathe of the year and lovely that it should be in Greece. Also lovely was having the pool to myself all afternoon until Eladio joined me. 

Today I woke up to good news. Real Madrid beat Dortmund in the final of the Champions League last night in Wembley.  That is their 15th cup. As The Guardian wrote: "they have totted up so many wins in this competition and know how to get the job done".

The real news today is that Olivia is travelling to Las Vegas. She has been asked by the World's 50 Best to be the MC for this year's edition of the 50 best restaurants after doing a stellar job last year in Valencia. It will exciting for her, a lot of work but a break from work and the kids. The event is on Wednesday 5th June at 20.25 US time and will be broadcast live on the company's YouTube channel. If you want to watch her, you can do so here. I'm very proud of her.

While she is traveling to the US, so far from us, this morning I look forward to visiting Kavala, more pool time and possibly a bathe in the sea. We leave on Monday for Turkey. Our first stop is Çanakkale, then onto Izmir and Ephseus, Miletus and finally Pamukkale and maybe other places on the way. That's going to be so exciting and hot I hear, but no hotter than in Madrid according to the weather forecast.

So I will leave you now my friends from this little village on the Thracian Sea in Greece feeling very lucky to be here.

Cheers till next Sunday from Turkey.

Masha