More sightseeing

So I said I may not update the blog today however I have got back in time to do so. I have another huge number of pictures to sort through, having stolen some from my dad as well but I am going to try and keep it relatively short if possible; I'm pretty exhausted right now.

Power tool mad

We slept well last night and this morning, as it was a holiday, I let A have a lie in and took the puppies out and let the birds loose. It was nice to do this for a change and I think I will continue this over this break. We went back to bed for a while as well after which was awesome and then went onto the balcony to enjoy a brew in the sun and were joined by the parents who sadly had not slept as well. After a nice relaxing cuppa I dragged myself into action and took A with me to go and get on with chopping wood and parceling up the twigs. First of all I attacked a few things with the axe and got a pile of stuff for A to process and then I got the chainsaw going again and cut up quite a lot more wood before stopping to rest my ears and breathing from the fumes.

Swinging a mean axe

A was cracking on as well with the axe and together we got quite a lot done this morning. I did go back to the chainsaw a bit later but it ran out of fuel and I could not be bothered to refuel it just for a ten minute session so that will wait for the next time. I picked the axe up again and did what I could with that and we have about doubled our collection of cut wood drying on the bank.

Mum helping with the glass battle

It wasn't only me and A working away this morning. My mum came out onto the front patio and recommenced her epic task from last year; the glass pick. She got a fair way along before we all decided that enough was enough and went inside. I had a lovely shower (the hot water really does work well) and then made cooked breakfast for everyone which we ate on the balcony; bacon, eggs, fried tomatoes and toast for everyone but A who just had a bacon and egg butty. The new bacon is working out well, so long as I fry it for long enough.

After eating our breakfast and relaxing for a few minutes to let it down we headed into town with my Dad driving to go to the market. It was absolutely rammed and we only just got a parking space. We had a lovely time walking around and got a gift for Harry as well as a rug for outside the bathroom and hats for my parents. We stopped in the village at the bottom of the hill on the way back up for eggs and bread and then, very thirsty, got home and had a brew. We had left the puppies at home for this trip however for the next one they would be joining us.

A pretty cool scale model

Fresh water from a hole in the ground

We were heading over to Tatul today which is a Bronze Age site not far away. I drove us so we had to make do with open windows as air conditioning but it wasn't actually all that bad on the way there; I did go quite fast and I think it was Louise who threw up when she got out of the car. They are pretty bumpy roads to be fair. We paid our entrance fee and walked down very well maintained paths. Before we got anywhere near Tatul we found a miniature Trebuchet at the side of the path next to a manual well. We took pictures of the siege engine and pulled up some water to sip and it was lovely, but then we were off again towards the target.

What scenery, what an idiot

The scenery was lovely and A had the camera (as I was laden with water bottles after the mistakes of yesterday) so she snapped a fair few. I'm too tired now to process them all however so you'll just have to enjoy this one where I photobombed it again, this time with a flying Louise. There was an interesting board up at the bottom of the hill explaining how long the place has been here (at least 4000 years) and just how important it was (according to legend the grave of Orpheus is located here).

Louise having great fun trespassing

A enjoying her exploration

Enjoying the view, with a photobomb from a huge butterfly

A jumped into this grave very quickly

We walked up and all around the monument and spent a fair while there, checking out the views and all the amazing stonework again demonstrating just how excellent these people were at building with basic materials. The puppies did their usual thing and we met a couple of people including one lady who spoke a little English. They were all charmed by the girls. The views were amazing but there were some seriously steep drops which I kept away from and I ensured the puppies didn't go too close too either, though they are so sure on their feet they probably wouldn't have had a problem.

Teeny tiny ant

Heading back to the car

We sat down after exploring and rested for a bit in the shade, enjoying the views still and the heat but liking being out of the sun. The girls had loved it as per usual but they were hot and appreciated having water to drink. So did I, and I glugged a fair amount while we were exploring. While we sat down A found the smallest ant in the world and I got a picture of it on macro setting then we decided to make a move as a few more people were turning up (we'd had it to ourselves largely) and we headed back to the car. It was a lovely trip, shorter than Perperikon but still just as interesting. It's awesome to be in such a historic location.

Looking back across to Tatul

From here we didn't go home but headed over to SandS's for a dinner date. The drive was via a new road I've never been on before and we really enjoyed the scenery as we drove. At one point we could see Tatul across the valley and you can see just what a prominent position it holds around the surrounding country.

S's awesome loom

It was lovely to see SandS and to show my parents their school and the amazing things they have done with it. They were mostly pleased to see the girls again I think and they are looking forward to puppy-sitting in September when we are away for a few days. We did the grand tour before going onto the balcony for a bit but it was actually too hot so we headed inside and sat and talked until dinner was ready which was just outstanding. Really lovely cream potatoes, chicken skewers on the BBQ and amazing olives from Komatini were my highlights but really it was all good.

A floating frog having escaped into the water

After this we decided that a short walk would be in order around their village and so off we all trotted up the lane. It was a lovely walk, though a little longer than any of us expected though certainly not too long. We saw some stunning views down the valley from how high up they are, and also a load of quite tumbled down houses which you see a lot of around here. We also went past another pond and my dad got to play around taking pictures of the frogs once more.

Amazing sunset once again

When we got back to SandS's we were gasping so we had some lovely Christmas Tea (not the season for it, but still so tasty) before we were all dozing off and we decided to head back, which is why I've been able to write this update. It was brews all round and then a doze for my parents, a few chores for A (who has now retired to the balcony with a well earned beer) and me tied to my desk other than just now when I roused my dad and got him onto the balcony to capture the sunset which was stunning. I had been up just before and this is my attempt.

Our original plan had been to go to Greece tomorrow however in the car I decided to offer refusal to my parents if they wanted a quieter day tomorrow after our two super busy days and I was pleased when they agreed and we have now decided that Thursday will be Greece day and tomorrow will be a quiet day with a little bit of work around the wiring but not much else. I'm going to leave this now so I can go and drink beer on the balcony with A and my parents.