Tag: holiday

Weeknotes #91: holiday and a previously unvisited country

Enjoyable experiences in Paleokastritsa and crime dramas explored.

Week commencing Monday, 14 October 2024

Greek and Romain ruins at Butrint National Park, Albania
Butrint National Park
Inside the Old Fortress, Corfu
Old Fortress, Corfu
Sunshine over one of the bays at Paleokastritsa, Corfu, with shimmering blue sea and mountains on either side.
Paleokastritsa, Corfu
Sunset over the Paleokastritsa bay, Corfu
Paleokastritsa Sunset

Quantified Self

  • This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 7/7 and Move 7/7. (100%). No office days as I am on vacation. Total steps: 92,938

Life

  • A week in Paleokastritsa. The hotel might be dated, but the weather was hotter than expected; the food was great and the view wonderful.
  • Corfu Town was a comfortable bus ride away. The Old Town has been a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2007. We were served a kumquat liqueur at the end of the meal: a strong-flavoured, sweet orange-coloured drink which we both thought was delicious.
  • The donkey trail was very hard going, but the view from the top was worth the pain. Down was a lot easier than I imagined.
  • A day trip to Albania ticked off another country. The National Park of Butrint was amazing. Another UNESCO World Heritage site.
  • On Friday, the waters were too choppy for a boat but lovely views. Around 4pm we set off for the climb to Paleokastritsa Monastery. It’s on a cliff at the end of the bay. We saw a cross in the distance on the edge of the cliff. We decided to take a look and made our way along the path. I feel modern health and safety rules would have the path improved and add railings. The view was lovely but debatable if it was worth the effort.
  • The bar on Saturday afternoon was a hundred steps down to a rocky outcrop. The beer was nice, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d drop something over the edge.
  • The Sunday morning minibus had pickups in some lovely areas down winding roads. They felt a bit cut off to me.
  • The return flight was late, but home before 5pm meant we had an evening. We kept the holiday vibe with a kebab.

Media

Thanksgiving 2004

Happy thanksgiving to those passing by.

I trust all my American friends and colleagues enjoyed their Thanksgiving. In previous years I have looked at what Thanksgiving really is all about (see here) but this year I thought I would look how you were all celebrating by checking the Flickr tags. All the tags representing Thanksgiving seem to be about food or family – which I think seems like a pretty good notion to me.

Happy Thanksgiving

In some parts of the world, today is a holiday.

I’ve worked for American companies for a few years and never really grasped what the thanksgiving holiday was all about (apart from some very obvious things). This year I actually started to look it up:

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated between the Pilgrims and the Indians in 1621. That first feast was a three day affair. Life for the early settlers was difficult. The fall harvest was time for celebration. It was also a time of prayer, thanking God for a good crop. The Pilgrims and the Indians created a huge feast including a wide variety of animals and fowl, as well as fruits and vegetables from the fall harvest. This early celebration was the start of today’s holiday celebration. Like then, we celebrate with a huge feast. [Source: holidayinsights.com]

I would like to wish anybody passing by a very happy holiday.

Of course there is always an alternative view.