Kefalonia (II)

For months before we left J talked about renting a boat. And on Tuesday, we rented a boat to cruise around Kefalonia and over to Ithaca. Although our instructions from the boat owner were minimal, it was surprisingly easy. We had a few stressful moments, mostly parking related, but we got ourselves and the boat back in one piece.

At first we headed down the coast of Kefalonia but then cruised across to Ithaca, where we found ourselves on Polis beach. We put down our anchor, hoped for the best, and jumped off the boat to find lunch. On the beach, there was a sign about the Loizos caves. The caves are now underwater, but they were the site of an ancient temple. I loved finding even the sign because my dad always speaks fondly about happening upon ancient culture in Greece. And there it was!

There was also a beach cafe, where we ordered calamari, chicken souvlaki and greek salad. Everything was great (sorry I have no idea what the name of the cafe was), but we left shortly after lunch to see more of the islands from the water.

After lunch we went back across to Kefalonia and found a quiet inlet with the bluest water. We spent our last hour or so there and only almost ran into an Italian mega-yacht once (ok, maybe twice), but the important thing is that we didn’t.

Pictures:

If Andrew Wyeth ever went to Greece, he would have painted this island.

Ithaca

Polis beach, where we had lunch

A fisherman

 

Kefalonia (I)

Kefalonia, Greece

July 2014

Me and J

1 Week away

By Thomas Cook

Stayed at The Emelisse Hotel (highly recommend)

What I read:

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P by Adelle Waldman, The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth, PORTER Magazine

The gist of it:

J asked me earlier this year if we could have a week of vacation this summer, which was just relaxing. Staying in one hot place and enjoying doing very little! I tend to plan vacations with lots of activities, but I am so glad we went to Greece for a very low key week.

We stayed on the island of Kefalonia in the Ionian sea. Our hotel was around the corner from the town of Fiskardo and looked out over the neighboring islands Ithaca and Lefkada.

The view from the hotel was constantly changing but always beautiful. The hotel itself was also just what we wanted and I would recommend it to everyone. The hotel was on top of cliffs, which you could swim off of into the sea and there was also a stony beach around the corner.

Every night for dinner we headed into Fiskardo, which had a selection of restaurants and a constantly changing fleet of fishing boats and mega-yachts. The food at the hotel was great and in Fiskardo we had particularly good meals at Elli’s, Roula’s Grill House and Lord Nelson. Lord Nelson served Thai food but it was actually a nice change later in the week.

Pictures:

These are mostly to give you a feel for the hotel, the beach around the corner and Fiskardo.

Our dweeby rent a car, which I adored for it’s horrible golden color, but I think J resented the distinct lack of acceleration.

The view from our hotel – it never got old.

The rocks below our hotel which you could swim off of

The hotel pool (instagram filtered)

After all those years of swim team, all I have to show for it is this dive.

Emplysi Beach

Yes, my bikini has fringe!

Fiskardo

24 Hours in Roma

On the way home, we had 24 hours in Rome. My parents stayed for another day and W two more, but E, J and I had to get back to London.

We walked through Rome. All over Rome. W is pretty sure he saw almost every corner of Rome on foot. But I only made it to the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona.  We also ate very well and I would recommend all of the restaurants and bars we sampled.

For dinner on Saturday night we went to Roscioli and then for drinks we went to a wine bar called Il Vinaietto and a beer bar called Open Baladin. Il Vinaiettio was very relaxed and inexpensive but Open Baladin took itself quite seriously.

The next day we walked through the Forum and down to the Pyramid of Cestius and went to Eatily. I had already been to the Eatily in New York, but Rome’s has a very different energy. It’s kind of like an upscale, Italian food, mega mall – in a good way. We had lunch there and then bought loads of goodies.  Then said goodbye to each other and to Italy…

Pictures:

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

A weird picture of Fiumi Fountain

Open Baladin – those are all bottles of beer

Even gladiators need a rest.
The forum (obligatory).

Ciao Roma (instagram filtered…)