I have been having a great time this past week! I have also been getting the rest I so badly needed, enjoying sunny beachcombing days and lunches out with Nick. Easter weekend was spent with lots of friends and frivolity, over-indulging in both food and alcohol. On Easter Saturday at midnight we all watched Judas burn in the great fire in Plaka Square, as is the usual tradition here on Crete. I wrote about it in more detail last year.
Then on Easter Sunday morning, Nick and I went for a lovely three hour walk from Plaka to Kokkino Chorio – the Red Village – where part of ‘Zorba the Greek’ was filmed. We admired the breathtaking views all along the way and the beautiful villas with their idyllic grounds, which I don’t always notice as I’m usually driving. There are definitely people who have holiday homes or live here in the Apokoronous area of Western Crete, that are seriously wealthy. My area of Crete is without doubt, the most beautiful, I think, so who can blame them for building their dream homes here?
After our walk we had a snack and a coffee at Francoise in Almyrida, where we met with other friends for leisurely chatting in the sun before moving on to Thalami restaurant for an early evening dinner.
The Small Bay at Kalami, near Kalives, where we found lots of shells!
The weather has been mostly sunny and warm although the wind has been increasing for the last 3 days, but otherwise it has been very Spring-like! This has been just the right time for me to extra enjoy my beautiful surroundings and all the lovely things and places Crete has to offer. This winter I have hardly done any beachcombing because I’ve been so busy with the decorating job and building up a good stock of Seashell Mosaics to sell this summer. So it is wonderful to finally have the time to stroll those beautiful, almost deserted beaches, paddling in the sea and picking shells for my pictures – I just love it! Nick and I have visited numerous different beaches and there was even a small bay in Kalami that I never realised had shells to pick! Also, I have to say that all of Kalives beaches are great for beachcombing too.
We had a great evening at Captain Jack’s in Almyrida on Wednesday – it was a St George’s Day Party! Held mostly in the newly furbished outside area of the Taverna, there was live music and a Barbeque and it wasn’t in the least bit cold outside because a warm south wind had been blowing all day and the temperatures remained high.
Lisa and I at Captain Jack’s St George’s Day Party
Today I am having a much-needed day at home because I must also give some attention to the website – http://www.artoncrete.me.uk -David and I share, to showcase our art. David has spent the last couple of months re-building and updating the site and I still have more pictures and details of artworks that need uploading. For the next week that Nick is here there is so much I still want to do! We were going to drive down to the south coast tomorrow but are now going to the annual exhibition of David’s art students’ work at Totem in Plaka. It will also give me a chance to catch up with David and discuss the things we still need to do.
I am planning to sell on the beach again on Monday – weather permitting – then the next few days Nick and I will go exploring different beaches again. I really just want to go beachcombing for those much-needed and sometimes illusive seashells that make my artworks so wonderful!