Kefalonia Diary - Days 1 & 2
Sometimes holidays don’t begin the way you expect.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about travelling, it’s that things don’t always go according to plan.
Our journey to Kefalonia certainly didn’t.
The day began with a 3 a.m. alarm, followed by a delayed flight because of air traffic. As if that wasn’t enough, halfway through the journey a young woman became seriously unwell. Thankfully, there happened to be a doctor on board who stepped in immediately to help, and the emergency services were waiting when we landed.
It wasn’t exactly the start we’d had in mind. But sometimes that’s the funny thing about travelling. A difficult journey makes you appreciate the destination even more.
Once we’d picked up our hire car and arrived at our accommodation, everything seemed to slow down.
Lunch at a little taverna just round the corner. A quiet afternoon by the pool. An evening stroll around Argostoli.
Nothing particularly extraordinary and yet exactly what we needed after such an early start.
There’s a lovely expression in English: to slow the pace.
It means to deliberately do things more slowly and enjoy the moment instead of constantly rushing from one place to another.
I think that’s exactly what holidays should be about.
The following morning felt like the holiday had properly begun.
While Giulio caught up on some much-needed sleep after a restless night, Vittoria and I decided to lace up our trainers and head down to the beach.
Eight kilometres later, we’d already discovered one of my favourite things about Kefalonia.
Its quietness. There were hardly any people around.
Just the sound of the sea.
The rest of the day was wonderfully simple.
We popped into the local mini market to pick up a few bits for lunch, spent some time planning the rest of the week, and later stumbled upon Paliolinos Beach, a beautiful little cove only ten minutes from our apartment.
Those are often the places I remember the most. Not the famous ones. The unexpected ones.
In the evening we drove up to St George’s Castle, only to discover it was already closed.
Slightly disappointing? Maybe.
But it gave us the perfect excuse to have dinner at a nearby restaurant instead.
Sometimes the best parts of travelling aren’t the things you’ve carefully planned.
They’re the happy accidents along the way.
And after just two days, I had the feeling this holiday was going to be full of them.
British English Corner 🇬🇧
One of the things I love about sharing these travel diaries is that they’re full of the sort of English people actually use every day. Here are a few expressions from today’s story.
Things don’t always go according to plan
Things don’t happen the way you expected.
“Our journey didn’t exactly go according to plan.”
To step in
To become involved in order to help.
“A doctor stepped in to help.”
Not exactly the start we’d had in mind
A very natural way to say something wasn’t what you expected.
“The delayed flight wasn’t exactly the start we’d had in mind.”
To slow the pace
To deliberately live or do something more slowly.
“We wanted to slow the pace after such a busy journey.”
To catch up on some sleep
To sleep after not getting enough rest.
“Giulio stayed behind to catch up on some sleep.”
To lace up your trainers
A lovely, very British way of saying to put your trainers on before going for a walk or run.
“We laced up our trainers and headed for the beach.”
To pop into
To go somewhere briefly.
“We popped into the local mini market.”
To pick up a few bits
A very common British expression meaning to buy a few small things.
“We picked up a few bits for lunch.”
To stumble upon
To find something unexpectedly.
“We stumbled upon a beautiful little beach.”