A Greek experience!

I drove myself to work today and arrived at 7:26am, to find no spaces again. This was seriously annoying. How early do I have to leave to get a space? I'm not leaving before 7:00am! The small car park opposite our office was also full, so I had to try the car park in front of the maternity unit. I managed to squeeze into a space, but I was worried that when I returned after work, I wouldn't be able to get back into the car.

When I arrived at the office, Sara said she had taken the last space in our usual car park and had arrived just before me. This is the first time since we moved to the new office that I've had such trouble parking, and I could understand it if it were about 9:00am, but 7:30am? 

This put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day, and I was so annoyed, I resolved to look for another job when we come back from Paris next week. I have never, in all my working life, had to look for a parking space!

In the afternoon, things were very quiet in our office, as only three of us were working. Sara had taken her usual half-day, and Nicola was on holiday. I decided to tidy up the box I'd brought with me from our other office, put some papers out for shredding, and start writing the answers for the FAQs for Bob. 

We had a late phone call asking whether the swimming lessons were on at one of our pools, and we all groaned as this school is notorious for cancelling lessons at the last minute. As it's (almost) on my way home, I said I would go and check. This was a big mistake, as the traffic going there was horrendous! I began to wish I hadn't bothered! The gates were open when I drove past, so it looked like everything was running as normal. I couldn't have done anything anyway!

The three of us were looking forward to going to our local pub this evening for a Greek Night, and our table was booked for 8:00pm, giving us a chance to relax at home before the meal. When Sophie arrived home, we sat in the garden with a small glass of wine and chatted about our days at work. It was lovely and warm in the early evening sunshine, and Mooney came out to accompany us. He amused himself by chasing bees, and then got caught on the fence when he heard some birds chirping. Just as we were about to rescue him, he jumped down, looking embarrassed.

 

7:45pm saw us at the pub, and feeling a bit shell-shocked by the loud Greek music! The bar staff couldn't hear what we were saying! Our table wasn't ready, so we stood at the bar with our drinks and tried to have a conversation... impossible!

We were eventually taken upstairs, where it was a little quieter, and we could chat! My former work colleague, Amanda, was at the next table with her partner, so I said hello and that we'd catch up later. The night's menu was on the table, and we were sharing starters of bread, hummus, tzatziki, stuffed vine leaves, and spanakopita. There was a choice of main courses; Keith and I chose the mixed (chicken and lamb) souvlaki, while Sophie opted for the chicken. 

The starters were delicious, and we fell on them as by now we were very hungry, ordering some more bread to go with the delicious dips! The main courses were good, but my salad had been sprinkled with thyme, I think, a herb I'm not that keen on!

At times, with the warm night air outside and the music, it did feel like we were in Greece! It was a hectic night, though, and we felt the atmosphere was a little lacking upstairs. Before our desserts arrived, I chatted with Amanda about what was happening with work. She had been automatically TUPEd over to Everyone Active but seemed to be enjoying her job role with them.

Our desserts were very sweet - baklava and kadaifi - but delicious. I would have loved a good dollop of vanilla ice cream to detract from the sweetness. I'd asked about a Greek wine to accompany our meal, but there was none, so Sophie and I had enjoyed a bottle of South African Chenin Blanc, which went well with the meal.

We paid the bill and returned home to watch an episode of Amanda and Alan in Sicily. It was a lovely end to a very busy day!