Last minute escape

               

Summertime is running out and we fιnd ourselves alone

 at home as our daughter accepted the kind invitation

of her aunt to stay at her country house for a few days.

  A short escape to Spetses incognito! What a great idea!

If you don’t know this island, it’s included in the islands

 of the Saronic Gulf. From where we live, we need only an hour

 to reach the coast where we leave the car

 as vehicles aren’t allowed on the island.

Through the pebble path that leads to our hotel

Beautiful entrances of the old whitewashed houses 

We have visited this wonderful historical island so many times 

but since we have discovered its accommodation, the destination 

comes second! It happens sometimes that you choose a place

 for its hotels?…This is  our case. “Zoe’s club” 

An amazing retreat where everybody and everything is there 

to help you relax you and make you feel comfortable.

What else could you ask for? 

Luxury sleep comfort on the Duxiana mattresses.

The pool area is really so inviting

Hi sweetheart!

The scent of sweet basil everywhere

                                    A delicious, top quality breakfast.

Ibiscus all around the garden

Our little private terrace 

The magical view from the hotel

The first impressive building every visitor distinguishes 

during the 10 minutes boat trip to Spetses, is Poseidonion, 

a five star hotel with a rich history, recently renovated.

The coffee and reading corner of the hotel Poseidonion 

where we liked to spent the warm hours after lunch.

From the balcony of the Poseidonion hotel...

You can see the statue of Laskarina Bouboulina, a”pirate queen” , 

a Greek heroine who lived there. Through her organisation skills 

and financial support, the island was able to hold back 

the Turks during the war of Independence started in 1821.

The old mansion of the Greek benefactor of Spetses, 

Sotirios Anargyrou

I hope that you’ve got a little fresh air from this wonderful island,

that you are still enjoying late summer….

Let’s hope that this fall will be better than others, 

that everyone can maintain hope and strength in the heart.

Until next post!

O

Vagelis Papathanasiou " Absolute happiness"
Enjoy!

Austria, a love affair

Τhe idea of fixing a padlock to the Salzburg bridge and 

then tossing the key into the water crossed my mind 

but not to prove my devotion to my loved one, 

just to express my love to the country 

I have visited for the tenth time!

Austria!

This is real love story my friends!

I don’t know where to begin and what show you first!

I 've spent many summer holidays during my teenage years 

in this beautiful land of which I hold fond memories.

Austria won once again this summer as we hesitated between it 

and Scotland. But as we intended to rent a car and drive through 

the countryside, it was definitely intimidating for us to drive 

on the left-hand side and exceed our sense of adventure. 

Scotland remains a forthcoming travel plan.

If you ask me what is Austria I’ll tell you FLOWERS,

wooden chalets  which still looks great even after centuries

balconies filled with every colour imaginable.

Endless geranium plants in wooden boxes.

Apricot tree climbing up a house in Tulfes

Beautiful façades 

This time we were truly determined to avoid museums, big cities 

and crowds of tourists, to experience the beauty of the 

mountains and take advantage of the wonderful warm 

weather we were so lucky to have. 

We didn’t regret it!

Lovely hidden gardens 

beautifully decorated entrances of the houses

Looking over a wooden fence in full bloom 

to a grassy field on the outskirts of a village.

Flower street markets everywhere!

Flower stalls 

Decorative wreaths made from wild alpine flowers 

in the flea market of Kitzbuhel.

Cute garden items

We had a delightful holiday time full of sightseeing, 

hiking, discovering, and relaxing!

The most exciting experience? 

 Climbing up to the heart of the Alps but 

it will be another post for this.

Until then, cheers!

Wherever you are, I hope you had  a wonderful summer too

and thank you so much for stopping by!

Ο