Thursday 9 May 2013

Cloud, Rain and Sun (All At Once) on Symi

As forecast, a cloudy start to the day, and a lot cooler - I didn't succumb to the lure of a sweatshirt but many people we saw today did.
A very pretty flower in the gardens around the apartments we are staying in. 
On our way out, we saw this cat perched on a stack of planks and watching us very warily.
Spotted this allotment patch last year, and pleased to see that it is doing very well at the moment, with courgettes, potatoes and onions on the go. 
A very well behaved oleander plant. 
Symi is full of opportunities to spot flaking, rusting, decaying paintwork of all varieties, as well as lots of brand spanking new paint jobs. 
We had planned to have lunch at the Olive Tree, but we'd forgotten that they had a wedding party there this afternoon - we were granted a peek at the cake though. Glad that icing that Su carried over from the UK in her suitcase proved so useful!
Haven't noticed this plant before - it's very pretty and umbellifer-like.
Splat! Paint job that went wrong?
Spotted a pair of very decorative lampshades - this one had a seahorse on. 
This one had an octopus
 What was I saying about paintwork?
We walked down to Yialos, had a leisurely lunch followed by a leisurely coffee, then some shopping. Stopped to talk to Claire at Silk then slowly made our way back up to the Horio. Su pointed out a stand of giant seed heads (this remaining semicircle was about 8"in diameter).
Spotted another lampshade - this one like a cameo of a woman's face. This is about the limit of my iPhone camera's resolution - I don't use the (digital zoom), but crop photographs afterwards for best effect.
A nice new shiny doorknocker on the Kalistrata. 
I like the detail on this pediment. 
Stopped for a beer at the Rainbow as a reward for our climb, and talked to James and Neil, Allan & Julie, stopped of at Sotiris' for some shopping and made our way back to the apartment. The skies brightened up.
And then it started raining while the sun was shining, giving rise to this beautiful double (just) rainbow across the valley. George has already posted his view of it  from a different part of the valley on Facebook :-)
This day a year ago, we drove from Molivos up into the mountains through beautiful forest and river scenery, serenaded by continuous birdsong all the way to Andissa, where we stopped for a coffee and admired their grand old trees in the square.
Su's news story of the day (BBC website - click on the title for the full story):

Elderly nun convicted in US nuclear site break-in

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