We’re staying at the Skiathos Premier Hotel again. It’s a twenty room self-catering place in Troulos near bus stop 18 and run by two Greek sisters. One of them has a daughter who was christened yesterday. There was a princess theme which explains why guests are given a pink bundle of chocolates and a pink marzipan crown this morning. This is typical of the sisters’ attitude towards their hotel guests and it does seem to me that the locals of Troulos are genuinely friendly people.
I’m still in bed. Siggy crashes into the room and shows me the gifts. I respond accordingly. Siggy goes back to the pool. I eat the crown for breakfast. Somehow it tastes of pink.
The pool area feels deserted when I finally emerge from the room. After a couple of hours under the parasol and the usual cracker based lunch I can’t settle and go for a walk with my iPhone. Troulos is a great place but not the most photogenic unless you go up high or go to the beach. I do a circuit that includes wandering down to the beach and taking various fish-eye lens snaps most of which I delete once I can see them properly. Another one of those thin green lizards whizzes across the road as I walk towards Victoria, but it’s way too quick for me to photograph. Back at the hotel bearded barman George reckons that poolside is so empty today because a lot of people went on a boat trip today.
I decide to give Siggy a break from football and ditch off watching a match in favour of going to bus stop 16 and finding a taverna we went to last year called Calma. There’s a last minute change of plan and we instead go to Stathis Taverna near bus stop 13.
Siggy’s been reading her guidebook again but there’s some confusion when we get there because the supposed view of the sea doesn’t exist. The surroundings are quite pleasant and it seems very calm even though it’s quite close to the main road.
Stathis sounds like a character from Game of Thrones, another show I have been enjoying immensely. Dessert consists of delicious honey covered dough balls almost identical to the Indian delicacy gulab jamun and according to our Polish waitress there’s also a Polish equivalent. They are marvellous and accompanied by my dietary staple – vanilla ice cream. Funny how some foodstuffs are mirrored across nations.
There’s an American couple sitting drinking wine around the corner away from the main table area. I figure that the man is someone famous, Tommy Hilfiger perhaps. We’ve been told he is on the island somewhere and the guy is dressed in Tommy Hilfiger clothing. I take a mental image of his face and check on my iPhone. It isn’t him.
It is a cool night so we walk back to the hotel for their cocktail night. We have a nice chat with Andy and his wife Helen at the bar. Back in our room I squeeze in the first half of the Germany versus Algeria game while Siggy fannies around and falls asleep. Next door scrape and bang about while I watch the TV with the sound muted. There are no goals and I can’t stay awake for the second half.
couchmagpie 