Day 13 Kefalonia - Food & Fingerbobs

For those of you that know me it will come as no surprise that somewhere in this blog I will have to mention food.

The fare here is not bad with a good selection to keep everyone happy. It is just that after 13 days of tzatziki, chicken or pork souvlaki followed by various pastries dripping in honey and nuts, our palates were craving something different. So off to the A La Carte we went and were quite stunned at the quality we found.

This is my starter, black risotto with seafood. The flavour of the rice was good in itself but when coupled with the richness of the butter and parmesan it was outstanding. So much so that Mrs CT ate half of it.

The centre piece was a large dismembered langoustine whose head portion stood proudly pointing to the stars, his longest feeler adorned with gold leaf! I kid you not. Needless to say, after we had finished this course, I just wanted to play fingerbobs along the edge of the table with aforementioned body part. The look coming at me from you know who said that my life could be in danger if I proceeded. I thought best not then.

Main course of medium rare T-bone finished off with choccy fondant that oozed from the middle completed our dining.

The result of all this is that we are returning tonight so that Mrs CT can have her own portion of risotto. Don't worry our first visit was a couple of days ago.

Oh well 13 nights gone only one to go. Better get up extra early to maximise the sunshine hours - yeah right, some hope!

Day 11 Kefalonia - The Perils of Lunchtime Booze & Cat Plants

It is always tempting, when on holiday to have a little tipple with or after lunch. Fortunately I have stuck to the odd beer, which due to my partial immunity has little effect.

Mrs CT on the other hand had a Piña Colada the other day which induced sleep by 14:30 and lasted until 18.00

Today however she surpassed herself by guzzling a cold red wine (not advisable in the UK climate). This time she did not even make it to bed, instead choosing an elegant pose on the pool sofa!..…and before anyone thinks I am brave for posting that, Mrs CT gave her permission.

Mrs CT's debut editorial......
For some reason Mr T developed writer's block when I asked him to include 2 pussies in his blog, cannot think why? Anyway, I've asked him to find me a tree like this one so that I can grow my own - awwwww

Day 10 Kefalonia - Goodbye & Eating Habits of the Young

Today we said goodbye to quite a few acquaintances we have made over last week or so. The sad thing is they are leaving behind almost perfect weather to return to, so I read, almost typhoon conditions in the UK.

It was with one of these couples that I had my embarrassing moment of the holiday. During my Ouzo affliction of the other night I repeated a joke that a friend of mine had recently posted on Facebook to his daughter -

What grades do you need to get into Liverpool University? Straight 'A's. A A A A A A A.

I don't think I need to tell you where this lovely couple are from. Oops!

One thing I have noticed whilst being such a multi-national hotel is the eating habits of the youth which is quite bizarre. This is with the exception of the Brits I am pleased to say.

Like most big hotels dinner is served semi self-service from a hot and cold buffet. The preferred scenario is that you are welcomed to the restaurant, shown to a table of your choosing where a waiter will take your drinks order. He/she will then offer 2 choices of soup and serve your preference from a steaming hot turin. See above for my choice of Cauliflower soup from the other night, yum, yum. The rest of your dining is down to you.

But not for some of the younger Spainish & Italians. They will come rolling into the restaurant, past the tables and straight to the buffet. They will then proceed to load (for which read pyramid high) several plates each with and arrangement of salads, hot dishes and even dessert.

They then return to the tables doing some sort of circus plate balancing act whilst trying to locate somewhere to sit.

What follows is not pleasant. Chicken fillets followed by watermelon followed by tzatziki folllowed by ice cream. And I am talking mouthfuls here not separate dishes. The only thing that interupts this eating from the trough is the lighting of a fag every 10 mins only to be followed by more gorging.

Three points:-

This is not Macy Ds and you CAN find a table before getting your food.

This is not Pizza Hut and you are allowed more the one visit to the salad bar.

Don't mix your courses. We didn't rule half the globe at some stage to see you lot with barbarian eating habits.

Oh and one more point, put your knife and fork down now and then and breathe.

I feel that after insulting the Scousers and half of Western Europe it is time to stop typing!

Day 9 Kefalonia - Green Tea & White Guinness?

It is now a day on from my Ouzo poisoning and I am feeling decidedly better. Mrs CT has no sympathy and has threatened me with all sorts if I repeat the incident. Best behaviour from now!

My 7 o'clock friends are please to see that I am still alive including my barman for tonight, Dina.

The bottle on the left contains something that should never be allowed on a bar, Greek or British - Pomegranate Green Tea - yuk!

On the other hand describing Guinness as an "imported white beer" is interesting. Have they ever opened one?

Cannot beat a drop of Mythos, bottled or draught. The only reason I am drinking a bottle in this picture is that the barrel had run out and my Greek friends were worried that I might pass out if I had to wait 5 minutes for another pint. It's down to the heat and all that. Now that's what I call service!

Day 8 Kefalonia - Ouzo

I have just one thing to say about Ouzo - don't. Well no more than 4 or 5 in one sitting.

Nearly 24 hours later and I am still suffering. And yes it is true, just one glass of water the next day and you feel drunk again.

I think I will stick to the beer & wine from now.

Nothing else really to say due to the fact I have done nothing today!

Day 7 Kefalonia - Greek Wine & Mobile Saunas

I have been coming to Greece and her islands for the best part of 30 years. I can remember that in the beginning Greek Wine was something of an acquired taste. Either Retsina, freshly distilled from the nearest pine tree and donkey pi$$ or a range of wines called Demestica (effectionaly known by the Brits as killing 99% of all known germs).

Wine making in Greece has come along way since then with several of their wines winning international awards.

The lady in the picture above owns and runs a winery in deepest Kefalonia by the name of Gentilini which was started by her father 30 years ago.

Her niche is to produce organically certified wines made from the rarest of grapes only to be found on the island. Ranging from a very decent white at €10 to big bold reds of €60.

Needless to say Mrs CT and I took the opportunity to buy a few samples direct from Gabrielle. The chilled white being drunk around the pool at the moment is their gold medal award winning Robola.

The forerunner to all of this wine based frivolity was the mini bus journey from hell.

Air temperature at 15:00 outside the bus +37c, temperature inside the bus +54c! Reason broken air-con and no opening windows. Why would you want opening windows if you have air-con?

After 1hr 45mins we were all fit to drop. Some people were actually tipping water over themselves as well as drinking it.

Needless to say Mrs CT and I made the return journey by air conditioned Merc E class. (Bizarrely with the Head of Family medicine from Athens Hospital who was on holiday and a friend of the taxi driver). This was after I promised the Olympic rep that he would be getting the bill after allowing a sub-standard vehicle to be used. Harsh? No.

I forgot to mention that during the whole outgoing bus journey a large red light was illuminated on the dashboard. On closer inspection it was the one for the brakes "stop immediately and seek attention". For those of you that have been to Kefalonia you will know that good brakes are a good recommendation for the 1:5 hills!

Watch out Olympic / CBR you haven't heard the last of this.

Day 5 Kefelonia - Chauffer Driven & Mini-bars

After my small complaint yesterday re the elevation above our apartment that the restaurants are, I have discovered that our "private suite" status comes with more perks than I first envisaged.

A quick call to 0 will summon forth the previously mentioned Georgi and his Club Car buggy. Destination - anywhere we want on the complex. Oh yes, no more hill climbing for me in search of sustenance.

On a roll from this discovery I enquired about the status of the fully stocked mini-bars (yes really 2, one in the lounge and one in the bedroom for when you really cannot be arsed to walk to the first one). "As you are in a private suite, the contents of the mini-bars are yours to enjoy as part of the package". Sod being 30m from the pool bar I now have beer at the end of the bed!

Perhaps I should now enquire as to why there isn't also a bar in the bathroom. Or is that just taking it too far?