Milton Keynes - 31st May to 1st June 2008

One of our friends from New Zealand, Sarah, was over to England (where she is from originally) for her 40th, so we caught up with her and her friends and family for a get together in Milton Keynes, about 40 minutes north of London by train. Milton Keynes is known for its roundabouts and its concrete cows, so we made sure we checked them out! Overall a fun weekend and good to catch up with Sarah and see where she grew up.

Devon (England) - 25th to 26th May 2008

We flew into London on the 23rd of May, the Friday before a long weekend. My sister and her fiance were making the most of the long weekend by doing a roadie west, to Devon, so we tagged along. Devon is true English countryside with small lanes and thatched cottages everywhere! We had a real pub lunch on Sunday before heading out to "the English Reviera" - Torquay, Paignton & Brixham for a walk along the beach and along the pier on our way to Exeter where we stayed the night. Unfortunately (perhaps not surprisingly) the weather caved in on us on the Monday, so we were stuck inside the car for most of the day, getting back to London around 6.

Athens - 22nd to 23rd of May 2008

Our trip back to Athen from Mykonos was a five hour ferry to the port of Rafina, then an hour bus into the centre of Athens. It was a little bit strange being back in a place we have been before! We wanted to make the most of Greek food since we love it so much, so we made sure we had a typical Greek dinner of tzatziki and bread, Greek salad, a mixed souvlaki plate and half a kg of wine (yes thats right, a "kg")!

We didn't do the Acropolis last time we were here so that was the only real thing we wanted to do on the last day of our holiday before heading out to the airport. The Acropolis was impressive and offers a great view over Athens, but after all the remains we have seen this trip it didn't have the same wow factor as it otherwise might. It was still very enjoyable and well worth the climb up the hill.

Mykonos - 18th to 22nd of May 2008

Another quick 40 minute ferry ride north to Mykonos, our designated "wind down" leg after almost three months on the go. We wanted to make sure Warren went back to work nice and relaxed! So we did exactly that, we had a place right on the beach, and spent between 6 and 8 hours a day doing nothing but reading our books and chilling out on the beach. Was the perfect way to help Warren get over his sickness but unfortunately Ange then got sick so she spent one whole day in bed. One of our nights we partied late at a full moon party right on our beach, we knew we were in trouble when we had to wait up until midnight for it to even start!

Paros - 17th to 18th of May 2008

Paros is very close to Naxos, only a 45 minute ferry ride to the west. We stayed in the second biggest town in Paros, Naoussa, which is built around a very cute little fishing port. We hired a scooter and visited a few different beaches. It was a tough afternoon of sightseeing though, a bike ride for half an hour, sit on a beach for an hour, then repeat. By now we were totally getting used to the beach lifestyle!!

Naxos - 14th to 17th of May 2008

Naxos is one of the bigger islands in the Cyclades. Once again we had a place right on the beach so we spent a couple of afternoons working on our tans. We were ready to explore again though, so hired a car and did a loop of most of the island which is quite mountainous but also has some spectacular beaches. We were only planning on spending two nights in Naxos but Warren got sick and had to spend a whole day in bed, but it certainly wasn't the worst place to spend a day in bed with the view over the sea!

Ios - 12th to 14th of May 2008

An hour's ferry north from Santorini is Ios, known as the party island of the Cyclades. The place we stayed at was right on the beach and had a cool pool so we lazed by the pool/beach during the days and went into Ios town to party at night. It is not a big place and all the bars are within one little square so it was very cool. Ios is a popular island for Contiki groups so there was lots of young people around, although you can imagine how much more in peak season (July-August). Ange bumped into friends of friends from NZ on one of the Contiki groups and we bar hopped with them one night.

Santorini - 11th to 12th of May 2008

Santorini is a two hour ferry ride north from Iraklion (Crete). It is a reasonably small island so we hired a small car and were able to drive around all of it in one afternoon (including a two hour pitstop to watch the F1). Santorini is extremely volcanic, and around most of the island sheer cliffs drop straight into the sea. There are only a couple of beaches, and to make Ange feel at home they are even black sand beaches!

Notice Warren driving on the wrong side:

Iraklion (Crete) - 10th to 11th of May 2008

Also known as Heraklion, Iraklion is another two hours east of Rethmynon. It is the capital of Crete and quite a big city, but not particularly attractive and not a lot to see so we jumped on a bus to the southern beach of Matala (two hours each way). The weather wasn't great and with that much travelling it was a bit of a quick stop, but we still managed some good r&r on the beach before heading back to Iraklion.

Here is Ange with our staple Greek diet of the "Pita Gyros", which comprises of a pita filled with chicken or pork, and tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, and french fries. Mmmm... On average we have had about one a day while in Greece!

Us leaving Iraklion the following day:

Rethymnon (Crete) - 9th to 10th of May 2008

One and a half hour bus east from Hania lies Rethymnon, a city built around a very nice beach. Our afternoon in Rethmynon consisted of lying on the beach followed by more lying on the beach. And after exactly 40 days Warren was back swimming in the ocean, albeit a much colder ocean than the one surrounding Thailand!

Along with seemingly all of Crete, Rethymnon has a Venetian fortress. Unfortunately it was closed the day we were there, so we just had to make do with walking around the outside, but not a bad wee walk!