Stag do and Greece

Next up in the O.E Part 2 is a fantastic family holiday to Greece with Gareth & Jane, which, thanks to the inadequacies of the NHS I was able to take a fuller part in than initially planned, but first a mention on Sean’s Stag Do Part 1 (I’m not even attempting Part 2 – 4 days in Bratislava on a boat/hotel/night club….!)

It’s been great getting to know Sean the last couple of visits to the UK and even more so the last few weeks. Alice has found a really special partner who clearly makes her very happy, he is great company and great with our kids and we can’t wait for next months’ wedding. 

I would love to now delve into the gory stories of Stag Do Part 1, but there weren’t really any – the major talking point of the day being the traffic jam getting into York races! Plenty was drunk and a few winners were backed, then Mickey F got himself down the front for Paloma Faith so everyone was happy. Personally  I loved being in the thick of a concert crowd, and look forward to having my kids on my shoulders at similar events in years to come. Of course, this also provided a chance to meet some of Sean’s mates for the first time prior to the upcoming celebrations. I suspect Part 2 might generate a few more stories, but as ever “what goes on tour, stays on tour!”.

The same day Holly, Gareth, Jane and the kids left for Greece. I was permitted one recovery day before travelling – budget style (4 hours of trains to Manchester, 14E hostel in Athens, and 4 hour bus to Sparta), before Gareth and Jane’s great friend James collected me for the epic drive down the cliffs to Kyparissi – Gareth and Jane’s little piece of paradise where they have been recovering from the travails of the school year for 15 years, and now had the chance to take the rest of the family – in fact this whole trip was largely billed as Gareth’s 60^th birthday present to himself!! This really is a stunning corner of the world with beautiful water, stunning scenery and relaxed atmosphere. I boldly went as far as to say “it was perfect, but not because it’s Greece”, a bold move to Gareth (something of a Greek enthusiast). Of course I’m wrong, it is intensely Greek, but there are a few places that I’ve been to that combine the scenery, climate and people to make them perfect, regardless of where they may be in the world – Kyparissi is one of these. Without any doubt the highlight of the week was pizza on the beach and an evening swim in the stunning Aegean sea – Freddie suddenly appearing about 50m out with Wallace, its fair to say both kids swimming has improved a bit. There was something lovely about answering Freddie when he asked “what are we doing tomorrow Dad?”, with “the same as yesterday Fred, beach, swimming, food (and beer)”, what holidays are all about! 

The second half of our holiday was spent in Nafplio, one of Holly’s favourite places in the world (with Wanaka), a painting of which adorns our wall, and to where she first went as a 4 year old. Its’ fair to say that she has been looking forward to her children running around the square since long before they were conceived, probably long before she met me, and it was wonderful that she was able to make this dream come true. It wasn’t the only nostalgic moment of the week for Holly, as Gareth had also arranged a surprise meeting with Athanasia and her family, whom Holly had befriended on the beach during that holiday as a 4 year old and kept in touch with ever since (but not seen for 12 years) even in the pre-social media era! Gareth’s elaborate beach side meeting worked perfectly and Holly’s face was a treat… Finally we had the pleasure of seeing Yanis and Sofia, owners of the Edwards’ favourite restaurant in Nafplio for many years, along with their family and grandchildren. A whole heap of special moments for Holly (and all of us).

Beyond this we swam, ate, followed the World Cup and relaxed. Freddie got to stay up and watch the World Cup semi-final in the bar with Gareth and I – at the time of England’s goal he was still playing football in the square but the excitement on his face when all the kids appeared to see the replay was only beaten by the tears of disappointment as he sat on my knee, desperately trying to stay awake at the end of extra-time. A special father-son night. Hopefully he doesn’t have to wait 28 years to watch them in another semi-final. Ellie’s biggest moment of the week was developing her fish fins (or becoming a mermaid like Ariel – in her words), whether kicking her way across the pool wearing an oversized face mask or ploughing through the waves on the beach, she was an absolute revelation – ready for some proper swimming lessons!!

All in all it was a wonderful holiday and we can’t thank Gareth and Jane for taking us to enjoy it with them.

As a sports nut it would be remis of me not to pass some comment on the World Cup; in short it was a fantastic tournament, benefitted from the success of the Russians and great to see the England team perform well against all but the strongest teams. Ultimately the best team won!