R & R Corfu 2009

The Greek Island of Corfu (KerKrya) has to be one of my favourite holiday destinations. After a week in Sidari in June 2008, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to go again this October.

There's something about driving through Corfu that's relaxing, and it's certainly not the crazy Greek drivers or the mountainous roads that have almost vertical drops at the edge of the tarmac and no barriers.

As a non driver, I love being able to look down at the stunning views. The road winds it way through the green olive trees broken up only by the dotting of buildings as the mountain seems to reach down to touch the turquoise sea.

The resort of Sidari, I don't love as much as Playa del Carmen, Maya Riviera, Mexico (My #1 holiday destination). But there's something about Corfu, and Sidari, that makes me want to go back time and time again. It seems to be one strip of bars restuarants and gift shops, nestled with grocery shops supplying the locals with what they need. The beautiful thing about Sidari is that it is completely untouched by the necessities of the modern world. There are internet cafe's if you need them, there are cash machines and telephones if you need them, there's even a 1 hour laundrette and a photo shop if you need them, but there's a lack of McD's, Subway, Greggs, BK, Starbucks, etc that seems to have taken over the rest of the world. And it's this that gives Sidari that extra something special and visiting the north of Corfu has this tranquility about it that makes you instantly unwind. I slip into the relaxed pace and just start to love every moment of my holiday from start to finish.

Hotel Corfu Andromeda is amazing! It's the 2nd time I've visited this hotel and it was just as good the second time around if not better! The owner, Billy is friendly and fun, he never forgets a face and welcomed us with open arms like we were old friends. For self catering accommodation the rooms are spacious and we were provided with what we needed if we chose to eat inside our apartment. But the restaurant/bar on the complex had a great choice. We ate there for breakfast, before heading out for the mornings wandering (normally landing on either Sidari or Roda beach and ate lunch every day before enjoying the hottest part of the day around the super sparkling pool area at the andromeda. We ate dinner here 4 out of the 7 nights too. The 1st out of pure convenience and 3 because Billy's mama makes the most amazing greek food I have ever tasted. If I could have snuck her in my suitcase I'd have brought her home for the winter.

Kassioppi is a little fishing harbour and is absolutely beautiful. If you're interested in sight seeing you can walk among the ruins of Kassiopi Castle and the top ramparts offer an excellent view of the Albanian coastline.

We spent a lot of our time on Roda beach because it was nicer than Sidari beach. Corfu was badly hit by storms the week before we arrived and the sea around Sidari was murkier and there was more sea weed than there was on Roda beach. I'm cautious of not being able to see my feet in the sea and I hate the sinking feeling of sand. Normally I wouldn't go any deeper than my calves. But I was shoulder deep at one point and could still see the bottom.

Canal D'amour is just at the bottom of Sidari. Once your passed all the shops bars and restaurants and on the beach, there's a little path snuck within the hedges. The path leads to the cliffs and beautful rock formations from hundreds of years of sand stone layers and sea level changes. Most of my pictures were taken in Canal D'amour.

My writing took a back seat for a little while, and although I took my book with me I only looked at it once. I got inspiration for a poem called Warnings from Misty Mornings, but I was interrupted and never went back to it. I have my notes for it though and when the inspiration to rhyme again arrives I'm sure I'll finish it. The saddest part of any holiday is coming home, we sat on the balcony watching an amazing thunder and lightning storm roll in over the horizon and made plans to go back again next year.

Nine months to go and I can't wait!

Erin

It's All About Change

October throws me back into a time of collecting horse chestnuts for playing conkers, or throwing handfuls of sycamore seeds into the air and watching them spiral their way to the ground like little helicopters.

It’s that time of year again where we bundle up the summer blankets in favour of the thicker warmer quilts. We dig into the back of closets and pull out the winter wardrobe and we wake up the heating system from its lazy summer sleep.

It’s that time of year where the world around us begins to change day by day right before our very eyes. The skies are a hive of activity as the birds begin to gather and migrate. The deer begin the annual rutting season and the trees turn from a wash of green to a splattering of red, oranges and yellows as the temperature plummets from summer warmth to cold enough to see your breath.

It’s that time of year again where the country goes a little pink crazy in support of breast cancer awareness month and the kids are doubly spoiled not only enjoy their first holiday of the new school year but also kicking off the run up to the festive period with a little trick or a lot of treats.

Even the time changes and we gain an extra hour of precious sleep as the clocks go back to signal the end of British Summer Time. Yes, its that time of year again. It’s autumn.

For me, This October is all about change. The shortening of day light hours means I am no longer able to walk to and from work. The month starts with a change of pace from my usually hectic life with a week of R&R. I’ll also be trading in all of my additional duties at the nine to five and refocusing on my long term goals.

The biggest change for the writer in me is the move away from my current work in progress (The Bridgewater Falls Series) for the next couple of months. I have finished Life’s A Ball (Book 2) and aim to strengthen the story by taking a step back, focusing my attention elsewhere for a little while and then go back to see what problems lie beneath.

In the meantime, I will be focusing up on the National Novel Writers Month. I will be taking part in NaNoWriMo and challenging my self to write a 50,000 words (175 pages) novel within the 30 days of November. October is the chance for me to work out the plot and the characters of what is currently known as Mystic Mayhem.

You can keep up to date with my NaNoWriMo progress here.

Erin

More about Mystic Mayhem at erincawood.co.uk.