The Christmas festivities have begun here on Symi with a week or more of events in Yialos, including concerts on the stage, a Christmas market, and celebrations. Yesterday, I watched and heard a brass band parade play Jungle Bells all the way from the clock tower until they were out of sight, though still playing. I took a short and distant video from the balcony which you can find on the Symi Dream Facebook page. (I can’t upload videos here, because I’ve never worked out how.)
Up here in the village, things are quieter… Until you’re invited to a party or gathering, and we’ve been to two over the weekend, including a birthday dinner at Georgio’s. On the way there, we stopped to say hello to Yiannis at Rainbow, and again, admired the fridge.
Giorgio’s is only using its inside for tables at the moment, but still, I reckon you can get around 30 people in there if not more, and it was just about full on Saturday night, which was good to see. Passing it on Sunday early evening on the way to the great Woodhall Lightshow Extravaganza, I noticed that the tables were again all laid and arranged as if more large parties had booked in. Also good to see, but it does make me think if you’re planning to go there it’s worth booking.
We’re still keeping an eye on the Blue Star booking pages to see if/when the rest of their usual journeys will come online. We need to get a boat back from Athens in 18 days’ time, and the expected sailing isn’t yet showing. Apparently, the company will be sailing, but it’s waiting for some authority or paperwork, or something, before it can start selling tickets. My only concern is that the cabins get snapped up before I get a chance to book a couple, and we end up camping on deck on the way home. That wouldn’t be so much of an issue for our party, I’m thinking more of the safety of other passengers. The last time was all sailed back together, we had a three-hour picnic on the stern deck. Imagine if that went on all night.
I’m heading off into the week now, and it’s a week where I have told myself I am winding down before taking two weeks of work. A few things to type up, some chapters to write, some housework to get done, a piano lesson, a concert rehearsal (for my pupil’s first recital), some singing, the oldest godson is cooking for us one evening later in the week, and coming to do some chocolate tempering with Neil on another afternoon (or some other mystery of the kitchen), and there’s one awkwardly shaped present to wrap… and I think that’s me done.
