Santorini

As I mentioned in my last blog, I recently got back from a holiday in Greece. I absolutely love Greece - it’s got great weather, great beaches, great food and most of all great people! I’ve visited quite a few of the islands in the past, and a few places on the mainland - most notably Athens, Thessaloniki, Giannitsa and Pella. I even did some walking in the foothills of Mount Olympus when I was young(er) and more adventurous. I didn’t see any gods but I could see why the ancient Greeks thought it was the home of their gods – much of the scenery was divine!

Speaking of divine scenery, my latest holiday was on the island of Santorini (Thira) in the southern Aegean, probably the most beautiful Greek island I’ve ever visited. It was created by volcanic activity thousands of years ago and the landscape is absolutely stunning, with: steep cliffs, lovely beaches, a striking blue caldera and clear warm waters. And among all this are gorgeous blue and white buildings. It really is a place of great beauty.  

The only negatives I can think of are as follows. First, it was quite windy (in my experience, the islands in the Aegean are all quite windy) so it’s worth hiring a wind break for the beach.

Second, when you wade out into the sea you have to walk on volcanic rock, which can be quite hard on the feet, so it’s a good idea to wear some foot protection when you do this.

Third, if you arrive by boat the bus ride from the harbour to the main settlement involves snaking up a steep cliff face, which is quite hair raising. Fortunately, the island has an airport which makes it possible to arrive by air. Next time I think I’ll do that and forget about visiting Athens first.

Finally, the island is a little on the expensive side. For example, in one of the clothing shops in the main settlement I found some Ben Sherman polo shirts that were exactly the same as the ones worn by my boys at the time and they were on sale for the equivalent off roughly £32 each – about £12 more than I paid! 

Anyway, all in all Santorini is a wonderful place that is well worth visiting. 

     

INCHworm Trainers - Update

Just got back from a great holiday in Greece. I’ll tell you all about it in my next blog. In this blog I just want to give you a quick update on something I wrote about in one of my first blogs.

Back in October 2013 I wrote a blog about a new type of trainers that I bought for my kids called INCHworm trainers. They looked really cool, but the thing that attracted me to them the most was that they could be adjusted to grow with my children’s feet and so (hopefully) last a lot longer than normal trainers. (They could be extended by 1 full size in 2 half size increments.)  I wrote that I liked them, but had a worry that if they aged like normal footwear and lasted a lot longer than normal footwear, then my kids would be running around in tatty looking trainers, which I wasn’t keen on.

Well, before the holiday I had a clear out of my kids’ wardrobes and came across the trainers. All the kids had grown out of them (which was no surprise as they had had them for over a year and a half), but they got a lot of use out of them and I have to say that the trainers had all worn very well. In fact, none of them looked tatty at all. 

I ended my previous blog on these trainers with the following words:

“… I think that the idea of adjustable trainers is a great idea, especially for kids with one foot bigger than the other (which thankfully none of my children have) but I’m not sure that these are the trainers for me … or my kids! Only time will tell.”

Well, time did tell and I’m happy to report that INCHworm Trainers passed the test of time!