Monday 17 June

After about three and a half hours sleep I managed to wake up about fifteen minutes before the alarm was die to go off at one thirty this morning. We got dressed and started to get our things together – all in silence. D is not a morning person at the best of times, so I knew that 1.30am on a Monday morning was not the time to be all joyful and full of life, even if we were about to set out on our holiday.

We managed to leave the house ahead of schedule at about 2.15. Driving down the M40 and on tot he M25 we were talking about we both like to be early in case of incidents. Just then the matrix signs on the M25 started to warn of speed limits, then lane closure and then, just before the junction for Terminal 5 at Heathrow, the whole motorway was shut, due to an accident. Luckily there was a diversion off at the junction and then back on again, so we were not delayed too long.

We found the car park without difficulty and caught the bus to the airport. After two false starts at the automated bag drop we checked in normally and went through security. Our desire to be on time now meant that we had a two hour wait before our flight was due to leave. But we spent this time people watching and hunting for a birthday card for my Mum. We found a card but there was not a stamp to be had in the whole airport. Finally the flight was called and we boarded, but were delayed slightly so took off about 30mins late. On the whole the flight was not too bad, spoilt slightly though by a number of screaming children.

The pilot obviously had her foot to the floor as, despite taking off half an hour late, we landed on time. It was a quick exit through security to then collect the hire car.

Our first view from a look out between Omodos and Platres.

Thanks to a great set of directions from Inn Travel and D’s navigation skills we made rapid progress and easily found the hotel. The notes that were provided by Inn Travel describe the Semiramis hotel as “No longer plush but still delightful” and that was certainly true. However, the manager, Jack, is a very friendly old man who showed us around the hotel and offered us the choice from a number of available rooms. We chose one on the back of the hotel that was a reasonable size but had a massive en suite bathroom.

Once settled into our room we headed into the village, down a steep concrete track around the corner from the hotel. The village of Pano Platres was very quiet with most places being either shut or empty. We walked up to the other end of the village and had a Keo each, while we admired the mountain views. Then we walked back into the village and had dinner at the Village Restaurant. This restaurant is run by Jack’s son and the meal was included in the price of the holiday. The view from the restaurant was fantastic and the food was pretty good as well. We started with dips and salad then D had Moussaka and I had Koupepia (vine leaves stuffed with mince meat and rice).

On the way back up the steep concrete track we saw a cat with three small kittens – very cute. Back at the hotel we asked the oriental girl on reception if the bar was open for Ouzo or coffee, but she thought we were asking about breakfast, so we gave up and went to bed.

Bubbles admires the view from our bedroom window.