Preparation

Heather and I have been thinking about going on holiday late in the year, this year. So we've decided to head away for a week or so, although we are not too sure where. Obviously sunny weather is the attraction, and no doubt Heather would like to get in a few rounds of golf, and we don't want to travel too far. So on the list to consider are:

• Portugal - should be nice beaches and some golf, weather is a bit of an unknown quantity
  
• Canary Islands - should be sunny, etc. but not too sure about the golf
  
• Morroco - sunny no doubt, but golf and maybe safety may be an issue
  

Anyway, a friend of ours will be house-sitting either our current place or if we are fortunate in the next couple of days, our new place. Decisions, decisions...

Well, tomorrow is the start of the big trip. Been spending the last few days saying au revoir to all our good friends, and clearing up last minute details.
Vacating our apartment was a surreal experience, as our shipper had done all the packing for us. Heather was at work, so I was sitting around as an unemployed layabout watching a team of 8 scurrying round our apartment as our lives for the last 5 years were locked away.
After that it was a clean up in attempt to get our bond back (no sign of it in the bank account yet, bugger!) and goodbye to the place where we had spent the past 5 years.
Since vacating our place, we have been staying with Mike & Hazel (thanks guys) and catching up with all our friends. It's been pretty traumatic for all involved, as we have amassed a number whom we will miss (until they come visit us in London).

There is this six months of holiday first...

This was day was pretty hectic for us. It started with one of my mates (Col) arriving at around 6am. If he had chosen a more appropriate time to arrive, we would have met him at the airport- but he lucked out in that regard (sleep takes precedence, I'm afraid).

Around 10am or so, Mike and Hazel arrived - so we met them at the airport. On the same flight (and to our suprise) were our friends Neil & Liz, whom had flown from London to Athens, before catching a Greek domestic flight to Santorini. It was great to see Neil & Liz, as we had not seen them in somewhile, so we decided to arrange for us to meet up for dinner that evening. Col received an alarm call from me as well to see if he was in for it.
Heather and I ducked into one of the bars in Fira called Tropical, where we met the owner Jeannie to discuss booking it out for my 3rd stag night. Tropical is very popular with travellers to hang out in, along with the mandatory Irish bar (that every town seems to have).

Later that day, my entire family (16 people) arrived on a direct flight from Gatwick. We considered meeting them at the airport, but decided against it and opted to meet them at their hotel instead which was in Perivolos. Seeing them after 18 months apart was fantastic and hopefully they felt the same - there seemed to be an awful lot of comments about my weight (damn double-chin, although it's not all bad if I had lived in Victorian times).

After hanging around the pool with my family, Heather and I headed off to Fira to meet up with Haze & Mike, Neil & Liz and Col at another bar in Fira to watch the sun set. Then it was off to dinner at a restaurant called Nassau, which claimed to do the best moussaka in Fira.

The Sunday after we arrived was spent with our wedding planner, Tania, at our wedding and reception venue. It was nice to put a name to a face, as I had been chatting with Tania over the last few months in an attempt to sort out the wedding documentation. When Heather and I left Sydney on the Thursday, there was no real certainty that we will be able to get married due to problems with the documentation. No, I was not incredibly inefficient; I had problems with a certain Australian DFAT office. I may put it into a blog post at some time (if anyone shows any interest)...

Anyway, we met at our hotel and we were driven to the venue. We had seen photos from the venue, sent to us by Tania, so we thought we knew what to expect. Like the rest of Santorini however, the beauty of it can never be properly portrayed either on photos or video. It was (to use an overused word) awesome, with spectacular views of the caldera.

During this visit, we met the owner of the winery and had a finger of one of the desert wines that they make - very pleasant.

During this meeting with Tania, we dicussed final arrangements and she was able to confirm that the Certificate of No Impediment we needed from DFAT had been received. Woo hoo!!! We can get married...

Well, that was a pretty interesting week...

I had been starting to get a little concerned that the emails I was sending to the Travel Agency in Greece were not being responded to. Very odd, considering that I was offering them money (the balance that I owed them).

On Tuesday night (Sydney time) I dialled the twelve digit number, armed with my trusty English-Greek dictionary. The following is a transcription of what was said...

"Hello, do you speak English?" (said in Greek)
"Yes"
"I have booked a cruise with you for..."
"Not with me, you will have to speak with Miss X. Hold on please"
I waited for two minutes, then the line dropped.
"F*ck it" and I redialled.
"Hello, I spoke with you a moment ago. May I speak with Miss X, please?"
"One moment"
This time I got through...
"Hello, Miss X"
"Hello, I have a cruise booked with you: the High Plains Drifter"
"Did you not receive our email? The cruise has been cancelled."
"No I didn't."
"OK, I don't have your file now but I will resend you the email."
-- hangs up --
Needless to say, I did not receive an email - so I will let these guys sort it out, or at least my Credit Card company.
So now, I was left without a honeymoon and a potentially pissed off wife-to-be (though she would never admit to it).
After some frantic decision making we have settled on Singapore as our honeymoon.
First port of call, is two nights in the Raffles Plaza
Then five nights on a cruise...
Then back to Raffles for a night before returning home.