For our summer holiday this year we took a week in late September at the Sani Beach Club in Halkidiki, on the Kassandra peninsula. It's a 5* resort and was a great place to wind down and relax, although our time there felt much too short in the end! The weather was lovely the whole time even though it was late in the season. We did hear distant thunder and see some lightening one evening, but it never rained where we were. Here are some of our holiday snaps...
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Cast of a production of "Starlight Express" at our resort - note how the one on the left has fallen over!
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Ruth quickly found a small kitten hiding in a flowerbed...
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...then had a little rest having exhausted herself by stroking it!
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Me sampling some Greek wine at a wine tasting in the Beach Club... Sampling 10 wines before dinner is the way forward!
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Trying to convince Ruth to come into the pool. She thought it was cold!
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Lunch at the Sani Beach Hotel.
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Bemused at the Sani Beach Hotel.
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I believe that the lettering says "Emergency Vegetation". Why? I don't know.
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View from the watchtower on the point back towards the Sani Beach Club where we were staying.
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The watchtower on the point, now the backfrop for a stage.
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Wave!
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The view towards the watchtower from Sani Beach Club...
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... and the lovely clear sea.
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Ruth shopping, again. The three rooms in the foreground were apparently shops, in the ancient Greek town of Olynthos.
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Mosaic at Olynthos.
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Ruth found another small cat in the village of Afitos...
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...venue for a rather delicious lunch (I had the best Moussaka in the world here!)
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Our hire car, a Renalt Megane. Not bad actually, comfortable and practical.
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Ruth collecting pebbles on a beach, somewhere on the Kassandra Peninsula.
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Ruth at Nea Fokea.
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Sunset reflecting off the sea.
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We went to a bingo night at the club (there was a bar there, so I was happy), and Ruth won a Cocktail.
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Beautiful secluded beach somewhere on Sithonia.
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The beach was steeply sloping in places, making a natural sun-lounger for Ruth!
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Ruth samples the water, with hundreds of little fish swimming around her.
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I frighten the fish off.
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There are millions of fish in all shapes and sizes around the rocks, so I went for a swim to look down on them.
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Exploring some villages in the Sithonian mountains...
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...if you look closely, there's a ruined house under all that greenery!
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We took a cruise along the shores of Mount Athos, home to many spectacular monasteries.
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I won't name them all...
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The entire peninsula is under religious administration...
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...and is closed to women, even female animals!
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Apparently the only exception is female cats, because they're better at catching mice.
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The monastries are crazy, brightly coloured constructions.
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Watchtower in Ouranopolis, the last secular town before you enter Mount Athos.
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Nearby, someone had built a miniature Stonehenge on the beach!
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Ruth.
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Clear water and a gently sloping beach at the Sani Beach Club - you can go out 50m and still stand up easily!
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If you stand still, these little fish come and swim around your feet.
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Sani Beach Club
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View towards Sani Beach Hotel from the Beach Club
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Dinner. I look better cooked than the food!
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Sani Beach Hotel by night, from the Beach Club bar.
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Home time!
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