Some blabbering crap!

Well its time for a update and would you believe it i found lots of pics and stuff i've forgot to write about so this post is about all those things.

Over the years a few people have said to me "I find Zakynthos a bit dirty and dusty" well usually through the winter at some point the dustbin men go on strike for their pay and the rubbish gets sorted with seconds to spare before the first flight lands, also the stray cats and dogs going through bins don't help, as for the dust that really can't be helped if your somewhere thats hot and dry for 160 days out of 180 its gonna happen but just to prove that the island does have a street sweeper/washer (yes i was shocked myself when i saw it) here is a picture of it. My bar was still open at 6.30am when it was going down the Old Road, oh how we cheered as it washed and swept past Oceanic.

The street sweeper does exist.

As some of you may know i like my cake, cake with a cup of tea or a glass of milk is just thing to beat the munchies so i was honoured when lovely Lisa of Lisa, Ian, Karl and Reese brought me over a Lemon Drizzle Cake from the uk that Lisa had made, i'm dribbling at the thought of it now and being as l'm not a selfish person i shared my cake with my customers and kept a 3rd to myself, i thought this wonderful cake should get a mention and a picture on my blog but before you could say "watch out Vanessa Feltz is in your cake tin" it was all gone, so this is where it used to be.

Every year i take myself off around the island to try to find some new places i haven't seen and even after 9 years on the island i still come across new places, i did try to visit a monastry which is off the beaten track in the middle of the island when i was on my motorbike, after about 15 minutes of riding on what can only be described as a path made of boulders i decided to turn back when i got to a point where the road got really narrow, the boulders became lose and a spooky sign said " All yea who pass this point kiss thou ass goodbye!". I don't think my bikes suspension enjoyed it to much. Note to self - take a tank next time. A while later i took a turning in to the centre of the island towards the north and come across 2 lovely villages Louha and Gyri. Louha is deep in a valley that looks down towards Kilomeno and Lithakia, the view took my breath away and these pics i took do not do it any justice.

Looking at the village Louha in the valley.

Looking from the village down the valley.

This is coming out of the valley looking at Kalomeno and Lithakia ahead.

As you head down the valley you can either continue to the end of the valley or turn left and go across to Gyri, this was a very quiet tiny village with one taverna and all cobbled roads, now i was thinking of taking some pics but as i drove through the cobbled skinny winding roads heads of people started poking out of old doorways and made me feel a little uneasy as it really is in the middle of nowhere with no mobile phone signal, all that was running through my head were those films like, Psycho, Hitcher, Misery, basically films that have nutters and the innocent dumb stranger from out of town, so with a nod of my head and increase of throttle i made my way out of it as the village is at a dead end (not a good use of words considering my situation) but if there is a couple or a group going there i'd say pay a visit its so peaceful but no pics due to fear of losing my hands LOL.

As you head down the valley towards its mouth you can see the devastation that the forest fires have caused, black silouhette figures of dead trees on a charcoal grey landscape.

As your heading out of the valley you come across the Drakospilia caves, these caves aren't accessable like the Damianou caves but still a great sight to see.

Right at the mouth of the valley is a restaurant with a panoramic view that is amazing,you can see from Tsilivi right across to Lagana in one view. I have taken a panoramic picture from the restaurant but it may be a bit small so i took seperate ones from left to right so i will also show you them. The restaurant is called Vrahos Taverna.

This the panoramic picture i took it may be a bit small to see on here.

Here are 4 pics from left to right making the complete view you would get.

On one of Helens many visits to the island i decided to surprise her with lunch, well its hard to get money out of my wallet and what with having a great season i thought i'd treat myself, i mean Helen LOL. I have never had lobster and thought that if i'm going to try it it might as well be where its fresh and half the price of the UK, i asked across the road from my bar at "Roof Garden" restaurant if they did lobster to which they said yes but ordered a day in advance so its fresh, so i ordered 2 small ones for the next day at 3pm. 3pm on the dot the next day i was there and OH MY GOD what a great meal, the lobster was to perfection so Helen told me and better than she'd had in the UK, Helens a bit more classy than me she'd had lobster before where as the closest i had got to anything like a lobster was crab sticks and thats not even close but they are yummy. The lobster was huge and i asked for a small one it was that big it came on a platter you'd put a large chicken on and to top it off they brought chips on a seperate plate. I have no intention of having lobster again as that was such a special meal i want it to be a one off, plus it cost 110 euro with a bottle of wine haha.

We had 2 of these monsters.

During the season a new greek club opened in between Argassi and Zakynthos town on the coast road up on a hill, its called Manhattan. The last time this club was open 4 years ago it had the same name and was a live music rock club for the islanders not a tourist club. I got an invite to the grand opening so myself and my partner in crime Dez payed it a visit. Hmm, nice bar, good set up, What, no rock music? All they played was thump thump thump computer made, no talent, brainless dance music. We arrived at 4am so decided to stay for an hour or 3. Now if you think the resort prices are high try going to the locals clubs like myself and Dez do, 8 euro for a non brand vodka with sprite (THUD) thats the sound of Dez hitting the floor, well he is from Yorkshire and not used to paying out money, thats 8 euro for one drink. 6.30am crept up upon us and a greek song started playing that sounded like a greek version of jive bunny, as i turned and mentioned this to Dez on came the original jive bunny and the dancefloor became the fullest it had been all night. At this point it was time to drink up very quickly and depart.

This is Manhattan, you try taking a good pic at 5am after the odd vodka LOL

And so back to present day in crappy old wet, cold and grey Swansea but i did have a highlight to my day today. If any of you watched the christmas episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor (David Tennant) told Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) that he was going to die soon while they were sat in a coffee shop well i was in that coffee shop today and sat in the very same seat where David Tennants ass sat and was sat opposite the same very seat Bernard Cribbins sat in. Wow! Now i'm not a fan of Doctor Who but found it weird yet so cool that i was sat in the very seat the Doctor shed his first tear, ever. The coffee shop is called "Kardomah" and i must say had the best cappucino i've ever tasted (this does not include my starbucks caramel machiato). It was also like stepping back in time, all the waitresses had black dress uniforms on with the white collars also they push around a cakes trolley for you to chose what fresh cake you'd like, brilliant! I resisted the cake but enjoyed just being in there. If ever your in swansea please do try it.

Kardomah coffee shop where Doctor Who spent his last hours haha

Well that should keep you going for a while starting to think towards Zakynthos now so keep reading and we can get excited together for those coming over to holiday with me.