Isle of Wight

Fri July 21, 2006
Needing an escape from busy London and desperate to get to our Greece holiday in August, Alkis, Angelina and myself decided to compromise and break up the monotony by relaxing on the Isle of Wight for a couple of days. Little did we realise just HOW relaxing it was going to be... whilst there is certainly some quaint scenery, everything is slow paced primarily due to the average age of the population there and most of it was disappointingly tacky. While I completely understand the British mindset of requiring casinos and arcades along the beachfront and piers to ensure visitors are entertained during the inevitable bad weather, it just seems to take away from the "beach" experience a little. As I sat enjoying a glass of wine at a Sandown beachside cafe in the evenings, looking out to the horizon and watching the water gently lap the sand, I was bathed in a glow of neon pink from the enormous kitsch building front of the casino behind me... no cute little cafes with subtle lighting to suit the scene.. no interesting bars to sit in and watch out over the water...

Thankfully Shanklin's old village of thatched roof buildings and beaches lined with brightly coloured beachhuts was a little more interesting and visiting Ventnor's small harbour for lunch in one of the cafes that overlook it was worth the short visit. Cowes was also worthwhile as it is the yachting centre of the island (and arguably the world). Unfortunately it was a bit quiet while we were there and we just missed the busiest and best time to go apparently... which is Cowes Week, in the early part of August. None-the-less, we got to see some yachts, explore some of the narrow streets and do a spot of shopping (well, some specialised and pricey boat paint for Colin at work!).

The break was relaxing, albeit a little boring and disappointing... but there are still some cute photos from the trip and it was nice to spend some time with A&A... again!