Hey! Ho! Let's Go - Packing For Greece

The harbour, Corfu Town - June 2017

They say that time flies when you're having fun and that's certainly been the case since I last published a blog post. The weather's been glorious and, other than several forays to the charity shops and a crazy all-dayer in 'Spoons on Monday, I've mostly spent the past week in a bikini, pottering around the garden, basking in the late summer sunshine and unplugging from the World Wide Web. There has been a bit of other stuff to attend to as well though, in a few days time we're off to Greece and, in my world, packing is serious business.

The toiletries - Once a day sun screen for body and face plus after sun; fully recyclable bamboo toothbrushes*, biodegradable cornstarch dental floss in a refillable canister* and Truthpaste*; Lush* solid shampoo, conditioner and facial moisturiser; His 'n' hers razors; Tangle Teezer hairbrush; Travel soap* (which can also be used as deodorant, laundry and shaving), Konjac sponge; Biodegradable wet wipes; Nadarra* lip balm. 

First Aid stuff - bamboo plasters, anti-histamine cream and painkillers

*Linking 'cos I love - all products bought with my own hard-earned cash!

I'm treating myself to eyelash extensions so this is all the makeup I'm taking: Sleek creme blush, Barry M lip colour, nail paint & black waterproof eyeliner, tweezers, Lush's Sikkim Girls solid perfume and a pencil sharpener. I've also packed hairbands and hair screws.

My (mostly vintage) travel gear: India Imports block printed halterneck maxi dress, Spinney cheesecloth maxi dress with cape sleeves, Dollyrockers maxi dress, Indian hooded kaftan, Anokhi block printed sundress, Mexican cotton maxi dress, gingham midi skirt and 2 x white cotton off-the-shoulder tops (I'll travel in one of these with the India Imports of Rhode Island block printed maxi skirt). 

My Mexican straw hat that I got from a trade-of with our lovely neighbours at End of the Road, sunglasses, Birkenstocks, Clarks' cushioned Artisan sandals (75% off in their clearance sale earlier this year) and Lotta from Stockholm "highwood" clogs plus a vintage straw basket (which I'll use for hand luggage), 1970s Greek souvenir bag and Moroccan raffia clutch bag (all the bags are charity shop finds). 

Vintage chazza shopped crochet shawl for chilly nights, a couple of bikinis and a sarong. I've just got my jewellery to pop in at the last minute.

 Jon's (mostly secondhand) travel wardrobe: Black linen trousers which he's travelling in (along with a vintage denim shirt, not pictured), stripy short sleeved cotton shirt, Diesel linen shirt, 1950s leisure shirt, 3 x tailored shorts, Cotton Cottage Indian block printed shirt, striped granddad shirt and Ted Baker ribbed cotton shirt.

Turkish cotton sarong, 2 x swim shorts, 3 x tee shirts, 2 x sandals, 1 x desert boots (he's since swapped this pair for a navy pair), vintage army rucksack, cotton cap and sunglasses. Also taking but not pictured, a leather belt, another hat and a second pair of sunnies.

Also taking but not pictured - E readers, torch, mosquito plug-in, beach blanket, travel kettle and enamel cups, travel plug, chargers, camera, travel guide and map, Indian army knife, MP3 player and padlocks.

Paleokastritsa - June, 2017

So where are we going? We're returning to Corfu, the island I fell in love with after reading Gerald Durrell's My Family and other Animals as an eleven-year old schoolgirl which we visited for the first time in 2017 (see HERE). As you know, we're not bucket list travellers, if we find a place we love we're happy to return. We travel for ourselves, not to impress anyone.

Taken on the climb up to Paleokastritsa Monastery, June 2017

Gradually the magic of the island settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen. Each day had a tranquility, a timelessness, about it so that you wished it would never end. But then the dark skin of night would peel off and there would be a fresh day waiting for us, glossy and colourful as a child's transfer and with the same tinge of unreality. - Gerald Durrell on Corfu, My Family and Other Animals

Remote mountain village, North Corfu - June 2017

Halfway up the slope, guarded by a group of tall, slim, cypress-trees, nestled a small strawberry-pink villa, like some exotic fruit lying in the greenery. The cypress-trees undulated gently in the breeze, as if they were busily painting the sky a still brighter blue for our arrival.The villa was small and square, standing in its tiny garden with an air of pink-faced determination. Its shutters had been faded by the sun to a delicate creamy-green, cracked and bubbled in places. The warm air was thick with the scent of a hundred dying flowers, and full of the gentle, soothing whisper and murmur of insects. - Gerald Durrell, My Family and Other Animals 

  

The White House, Lawrence Durrell's Corfu home, June 2017

Other countries may offer you discoveries in manners or lore or landscape; Greece offers you something harder—the discovery of yourself.  ― Lawrence Durrell, Prospero's Cell

Kerkyra, June 2017

The air of the islands, she believed, was different than the air of other regions of the world. It engulfed her now, carrying with it flavors of sun-drenched soil and foam-flecked sea, aromas of virgin woods and naked rocks, its tang of citrus trees and its fizz of foreign wine-misted lips. It carried in its pockets the sounds of children's laughter, the clatter of drunken brawls, the mandolin music thrumming sensually from decades-old cassette tapes in the colorful souvenir shops where old ladies and young women waved at passersby. It came from near and far, rebounding off the blue-white flag strapped to ferry masts rearing above the sparkling waters, glinting in the brown-eyed winks and twirled moustaches of the locals.”― Angela Panayotopulos, The Wake Up

Village square, Magoulades - Corfu, 2017

On a summer night, I have sat on the balcony drinking Ouzo, watching the ghosts of Greek Heroes sailing past, listening to the rustle of their sail cloths and the gentle lapping of their oars.   - Phil Simkin

Sunset over Paleokastritsa , June 2017

There's still a few days till we leave and in the meantime,  I've got an exciting day out with a friend planned for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll pop back and report on our adventures before we go.

See you soon!