” . . . . the ones who are most obsessed by the selfie in Santorini are the Chinese who are flocking here in unprecedented numbers.
“The Chinese have a lot of wedding competitions and if you win, the prize is often a trip to Santorini,” says Haris, my guide for the day.
He’s happy for the upturn in business too since he sells properties and with the Greek economy reeling on the verge of the Grexit ( leaving the Euro) it’s hard to persuade Europeans that it is safe to invest in Greece when their euros may become devalued drachmas.
The Chinese don’t care so much about the Grexit because they are not investing for capital gain or even rental returns; all they want is a Residency Permit which, thanks to a new law passed in 2013, can be acquired by spending around £200,000 on a property. The permit gives them free movement across to all the Schengen treaty countries of Europe. . . . . ”
To be writing regularly, oh, I find it is not so easy to get around to it at all times. I always intend to write, write, write. I seem to have lots of things to write about in my head but somehow before I have a chance to write it down, it is gone again. Maybe I should at least take some notes, that is, get into the habit to write some notes down. Maybe, what is a bit of a diary to me, is, when I take some pictures of persons and places. Looking at the pictures, it is easier to remember some of the things in my life.
Recently we have been visiting Benalla in Victoria. Unfortunately, because of bad eyesight, I cannot drive anymore. So Peter had to drive to Benalla and back all by himself. We were driving to Benalla to visit our son Martin and to see his new place. Door to door it was about 600 km only, whereas when the son lived in Melbourne (Essendon) the distance was about 800 km.
Since we are in the midst of winter now here in Australia, daylight hours are only about for ten hours, namely from ca. 7 am to 5 pm. Well, Peter had no problem driving the distance within daylight hours. However, I suggested that on the way back we could stay in a motel in Holbrook for one night to interrupt the journey, and that would give us the chance to look around a bit and familiarize us again with some things in the area. But oh no, Peter insisted on driving straight home. I like to call it ‘homeritis’!
On our last day in Benalla, a Saturday, all of us went for lunch to the Art Gallery Cafe. We were very happy that our Grandson and his wife and two daughters could meet us there.
On the way to the CafeHere grandson Tristan arrives with his family to meet all of us.
Son Martin having a rest in the park.
On the terrace outside the cafe.
Martin took a picture of his parents.
Son Martin took these pictures of Peter and me on the terrace of the Cafe.
View from the cafe’s terrace
It was a bit too cold to sit out there. It was better to have lunch inside.
Here is some of the food that we had.
This is grandson Tristan.
KiaJaki
After lunch we had a look at some of the pictures in the Art Gallery.
It was lovely to see great-granddaughters Kia and Jaki again as well as Tris and Steph. And now I include some more pictures from another park nearby that we took on another day.
AuntyUta 