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Saturday 1 October 2016

Flora and Food (Keffalonia)

I saw the island spelled in so many ways that I took what seemed correct for the title.
We have been away for a holiday with my sister, my nephew and his wife and the new baby Henry who is 4 months old.
The Greeks love all children and babies even more. so there was a lot of joy to be had
 from all the fussing.

My first astonishing view is from the plane where you can distinctly see the curve of the earth. It never fails to astound me as we fly over Europe, the sights that can be seen if it`s clear.....the Alps still laden with snow, glistening in the sunshine and casting deep shadows across the surrounding areas.





Our villa was lovely with views to the sea in front and the mountains behind.





I even had a yoga deck to myself, where I did some practice with the heady perfume of jasmine alongside me.


(I didn`t use the ball!!)

The extensive garden was lovely with a deck at the bottom overlooking the sea, a lawn which had to be cut on one of the days, a hammock slung between trees and a barbeque deck.

In the garden we saw lizards and beetles. We heard beautiful birdsong, often absent in the previous places we have visited. And at night we marveled at the turquoise bats (pool light reflection) 
 zipping over the pool.



This airy beauty is called gaura. I have tried to grow it without much success.

I`m not sure what this climber is called.

On our short, daily walk to the beach and restaurants, we passed a banana in full flower.
It was fascinating to watch the daily changes. The petal peeled back to reveal stamens.... being busily attended by bees, flies, wasps and even butterflies.


Every day, on the way to the beach, we stepped through water running down the steep hillside, coming from the mountains and gushing down the gulleys. This is an unusual sight for me in Greece.
Because of the dampness, tiny maidenhair ferns were thrivng.
 
Plumbago in full flower...one of my favourites.


Lantana.


A type of clematis I think.

Our favourite restaurant was Klimatis, Lourdas, right on the seafront....good food, great service and nice atmosphere. And they were very welcoming to little Henry.


The best dish here, for me, was moussaka.


And the walnut cake with icecream was pretty good too.

 
On one evening we hired a personal chef to cook at our villa. Sounds a bit posh but I can tell you it was a brilliant experience and was very reasonable price-wise.
Here is Viva our chef for the evening, a lovely lady who cooked us a delicious meal.
She has built up her own successful business, spending the summer months in Greece and the rest of the year in America.
All our washing up was done and the kitchen clear, at the end.


Here is some of our food.



It was all delicious and I would most certainly recommend it.

viva@kefaloniachef.gr

We visited Argostoli, the capital.


Viva told us we could walk along the causeway there, to spot turtles.
Well I did not believe it. They are such a rarity.
However after a great lunch in one of the restaurants alongside the "lake," my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw a head come out of the water. Thinking to myself, it couldn`t possibly be a fish, no-one else took much notice of me.
Until a turtle swam right past when I went to the loo.

They came right up to the promenade for film, photos and just generally to be enjoyed
and astounded by.



Who would have believed it.

.


Loving the sentiment








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