Tummy Tuesday.

Here is the most important picture, my tummy for Tuesday.

We know what mum is like for getting things done and it will probably take her a month of Sundays to start her holiday photos blog so we have let her put a few up again today.

This is our dad after the Island Night deck party.

The atrium was decorated for Halloween.


Our mum and dad went to the Halloween party after dinner. She couldn't get the timer to work (probably too many niptinis) so had to take the photo in the mirror.

Easy Like Sunday and more pics.

Eric: It's Sunday so I don't mind what you do, but I am going to lie here all day unless you want to feed me treats.

Flynn: I don't think I will be doing anything either so we may as well let mum have the blog again to show the rest of her photos.

Thanks boys. We stayed in a farmhouse Bed and Breakfast but all the rooms had gone, so the owner said we could have the complete middle floor of his self catering cottage for the same price.It is a converted stone barn which sleeps 14 people and is only a few yards from the main farmhouse where we went for our breakfast every morning. This is part of the huge lounge we had sole use of. The french windows lead onto a patio area with picnic tables and a barbecue.

This is part of the patio with views of Exmoor beyond the fields.

From the front of the house we could watch the horses grazing in the fields.

The fish pond below the farmhouse.

This is the main farmhouse where the B and B rooms are. Breakfast was in the conservatory every morning. On the right is the covered swimming pool.

This is the converted barn we stayed in. On the bottom floor are two large four poster bedrooms. The top floor is built into the roof of the barn and has another two large double bedrooms. There is also an open studio type room with four single beds suitable for children but big enough for adults. The floor we were on had one double bedroom a huge lounge, a dining room with table to seat sixteen people and a large fully fitted kitchen with another table to seat six people.

After breakfast the next day we went to Porlock Weir.

We went over a little steel bridge to have a look at this picturesque house. We didn't know until we got over to it that the piece of land it is on is called Turkey Island. We don't know why it was called that though.

On the way back into the village we saw this sign on the chimney which made us laugh.

There are lots of lovely old cottages here too.

Then we drove back across Exmoor to our B and B.

Two deer ran across the road in front of us. One jumped straight over the hedge before I had chance to get a photo, the other doubled back across the moor, then when she thought she was a safe distance, stopped and turned to look at us which gave me chance to get a somewhat distant photo.
I hope you have enjoyed the photos. The boys can have their blog back again now.

Holiday Pics.

We are giving up our blog today to let mum post some of the pictures from their short break on Exmoor last week.

This is the River Lyn which runs from the high ground of Exmoor down to the sea at Lynmouth.

This is the water powered funicular cliff railway that goes up the very steep cliff from Lynmouth to Lynton. It was built in 1890.

The views are beautiful from up there.


There were flowers all the way along the walls from the railway to the town.

Going back down with the other carriage on it's way up. You can see how steep it is.

Back down in Lynmouth harbour.

There are lots of lovely old pubs , houses and cafes.

Leaving Lynmouth we headed into the Valley of the Rocks where the goats run freely. They seemed to be hiding that day though.

Then we took the private coastal toll road which runs along the edge of the cliffs.

Hopefully I will be allowed to post the rest of the photos soon.
A quick update about myself. I am doing very well. I went back to the hospital two weeks ago for a check up and the infection had gone at last and the wound is now healed. I am doing most things I did before but no heavy lifting yet, and the boys are getting me walking further and further, although I still have a bit of trouble with a painful pulling feeling going up and down hill. Thank you to everyone for thinking of me.

Watching and Waiting and Athens Photos.

Mum is showing more of her photos so I will sit here and watch this mouse hole. Wake me up when she's finished.

Our next stop was Athens, the Greek capital, and of course the Acropolis. We had always thought of the famous building at the top of the hill being the Acropolis, but Acropolis in fact means city.


When we got right to the top we could look down into the Theatre of Herodes Atticus which was built in 161AD and is still used for festivals and concerts.

We could look across and see the Temple of Hephaestus which was built in 449BC. It is the best preserved Ancient Greek temple in the world.

Then we got to the Parthenon which we had always thought of as the Acropolis. It is undergoing restoration to preserve it for future generations. If you look carefully you can see parts of the pillars are lighter than the rest, particularly at the top. This is done deliberately to show what is original and what is restored.

The ancient Agora. This was a very important gathering place for justice and commerce, and also for athletic and theatrical performances.

More of the Agora.

The old Royal Palace now known as the Presidential Mansion.

The Changing of the guards is held every hour.

Very different to the Buckingham Palace changing of the guards.

The Panathinaiko Olympic stadium built for the first modern Olympic Games of 1896. It is built entirely of white marble. (Even the toilets are all marble!!)

The Running Man built entirely from sheets of glass to represent the Marathon runners.

Tummy Tuesday and Mykonos.

It has turned a lot colder now but at least the rain has stopped. It was good to get out and have a lovely roll in the dirt. Over to mum.


Our next stop was the island of Mykonos. No ancient sites to visit, just chance to stroll around the pretty Greek island town. All the streets are very narrow with very little room for the cars.

They get even narrower........

and the alleyways narrower still.

The windmills of Mykonos.

Looking between the windmills, our ship can be seen in the distance.

I have seen this unusual looking church in photos before but did not know the story of it. Below, I have copied some text from the Greek tourist site which describes it.

The special thing about this church is that it actually consists of five small churches that were built one on top or next to the other. The church of Agios Efstathios is the centre of this complex, surrounded by the churches of Agios Anargyros, Agios Sozon and Agia Anastasia. On top of these four churches, there is the church of Virgin Mary, which looks like a dome.
The five churches were not contructed at once, but gradually along centuries. The oldest church is Agios Anargyros, which was built in late 14th century. The other churches were built in the 16th and the 17th century, while there were renovations till 1920.