ISO Sunshine

I mentioned earlier that a few of our trips over the last few months have been in search of some sun.  Unfortunately, this was the worst summer in England yet.  In fact, in England, they don't actually call summer "summer" flat-out, they call it "English summer".  As-in, "Enjoying the English summer?" No, not really, thanks. 

When the temperature hits 70F for more than 2 days, they start making announcements on the Underground: "During this time of extreme heat, it is advisable to carry bottled water with you.  If you feel unwell, please do not get on board train."

Anyway, in early July as days went from grey and tepid to moderately spring-like and occasionally blue-ish, and I watched half of my wardrobe go unused again, we looked at the calendar and realised we had 5 free weekends upcoming, and so we booked a flight back to Lisbon.  We've been to Lisbon a few times, so I won't dwell on it other than to say Jason nearly cried tears of joy when he had the opportunity to get into his swimsuit and get in the Atlantic: 

Look at all that blue-ness!

Swimsuit pictures are sometimes unappreciated

Then in October, in search of a real beach vacation, we booked a bargain-basement priced end-of-season flight & lodging to Corfu, a northern Greek island situated west of Albania.  Well, we knew at booking that there was a risk was that we would be approaching the beginning of the rainy season.  Out of our 5 days, we managed to get 2 decent ones, 1 great one, and 2 wash-outs.  Still, nice to sit & read, with absolutely nothing to do.  

Corfu is not one of the more glamourous of the Greek islands, yet (perhaps owing to this?) it is a favourite of the English.  Fortunately given the season the crowds were thinner, so while we were surrounded by Brits or others, they didn't press in from all sides and we were alone most of the time - dining, hiking, boating, etc.  We spent a relaxing few days in solitude, eating lots of Feta cheese, drinking loads of wine, and getting away from it all!

Really getting away from it all

Concentrating on the Classics

So, a moderately-climated beach vacation, which was still a big improvement over the local weather. But the English summer is certainly finished here.  So at least they're not making ridiculous Tube announcements.  Well... that's a lie.  There is, after all, a good service on all London Underground lines. (Except when there's a strike, planned engineering works, signal failure, and/or an individual under a train.)

Full album links are at the right!