And so we decided to take the kiddies for a little foreign holiday. We decided to go to Kefalonia because, firstly we could fly from our home airport (Luton) so it meant less hassle getting to the airport etc., and it was a fairly short flight time and we had no idea how our 2 and a half year old toddler was going to behave, so we didn't want to do more than about 3 hours. Also, the weather was still reasonably warm for October, so we could still go in the sea and the pool.

We booked the holiday through James Villas. A nice self-catering villa with a pool, near the town of Fiskardo in the north of the island. I just don't know how people can manage with a hotel room with young kids - they're in bed by 7pm which means you have to take it in turns sitting in the dark with them while the other one goes to dinner. That doesn't sound like much fun to me. So a villa it was for us, which meant we could put the kids to bed and then we still had the run of the house and pool for the rest of the evening. The one disadavntage is that you might end up doing some cooking on holiday, but as long as you eat out as much as possible, that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

So we got up about 5:30am on the morning of the flight to get the last minute bits sorted out. We got the kids up at the last minute so as not to disturb them too much and got into a taxi to the airport. The taxi driver was amazingly rude, and didn't help with any of the luggage, and just kep asking if we were ready to go. So that was a great start to the holiday! Eventually we got loaded up and made it to the airport. Check-in was already open so we went straight there and checked in for our TUI flight. Our oldest was already getting restless and wandering off while we were in the queue, so one of us had to keep chasing him around. This was clearly going to be the shape of things to come! Oh joy!

After checking-in, we went straight through to departures so we could get some breakfast. The new terminal at Luton is nothing special. They've just basically built on top of the old one. Although it's all nice and new and that, it's pretty small and there's not much there. So we just sat down and got some cereals for the kiddies and some grub for us. By the time we'd finished that, our flight was already being called and so we headed straight for the gate. It was absolute chaos when we got there - the entrances to the gates are in this tiny little corridor, and every flight due out that morning seemed to be queueing up at the same time, so it was absolutely packed. But we made it to the gate, and eventually got sat down in our seats. After a short delay for some unknown reason, we were off, and our holiday was really beginning...

We managed to keep our oldest sat down and playing with toys and stuff for about 60-90 minutes, but then that was it - he wanted to be up and wandering about. Thankfully, they can't stray too far away when on a plane, so most of the time I let him wander up and down the aisle on his own, but I also followed him a bit, too. Needless to say, our 9 month old was fine. He just slept and ate and sat with his mum. Not a peep!

As we got nearer to our destination, it started getting a bit bumpy so I thought it wise to strap us all in. Oh dear - this provoked a huge paddy. I mean, a BIG one. Serious mawking and whinging, almost to the time we landed (about half an hour later). Trust me, I tried everything - all the possible distractions etc. Nothing worked. So I just closed my eyes and pretended I wasn't there. That worked for a bit! But all in all, it was pretty horrendous and wouldn't wish it on anybody. Still, we were here now and things would be better!

Or maybe not! We were herded into the totally inadequate baggage reclaim area at Kefalonia airport. This consists of one tiny room with a baggage belt in it and no baggage trolleys. Very helpful when we had 2 kids (each in a pushchair), stacks of luggage and a baby's car seat! I did manage to find a trolley in the end - they were just outside the baggage reclaim area, but once you'd stepped outside it, you weren't really allowed to go back in, so we had to somehow struggle with our cases til we got out the other side.

We were met by a rep who gave us a bit of basic info and where to go to pick up our hire car. It was only 100m up the road so I wandered up the road and sorted that out in peace by myself! It turned out to be some Daihatsu saloon or other. Reasonable enough car, although it did all feel a bit flimsy! We JUST managed to squeeze our luggage in the back and we set off to find our villa. We decided to stop off at a supermarket on route, as we weren't sure what there would be in the north of the island. On the main road going south east out of the capital Argostoli, there's a couple of reasonable sized supermarkets, including a LIDL. We decided on the Carrefour supermarket as we were warned by the guy in the ca rental place that the LIDL was a bit "dirty"! It was tiny by UK standards, but a decent enough size to get everything you could need - even Pampers nappies (we'd brought enough for both kids for the whole trip just in case we couldn't get any!). It turns out this was a good plan, as Fiskardo itself only has a few tiny little mini-markets where you'd struggle to get a decent supply of nappies and stuff.

So, after getting lost a few times in the back streets of Argostoli, we eventually found the road up to Fiskardo and off we went. It's quite a nice little drive, hugging the coast for a lot of the way. It's fairly twisty in places, but there are no huge hills to climb or any hairpin turns. There's just a few bits of it where you're on the edge of a cliff, but it's not as bad as it sounds. They actually have crash barriers, so you'd struggle to drive off!

After about an hour and a half we made it to the villa and were very impressed. It's built on a hill, overlooking the sea, with a very inviting-looking pool! It's all on one level (i.e. no upstairs) with all rooms having high ceilings to help keep it cool.

Sadly, the first couple of days were a bit of a washout. The weather was pretty poor - fairly chilly (about 15-17 degrees C), wet and stormy. So there wasn't a lot we could do. In between the showers we tried to nip into Fiskardo to have a look around. And we also made it to Myrtos Beach on one day (very pretty!) even though it was drizzling. Thankfully, half way through the week, the weather improved and we started getting out more. Unfortunately, the way the kids naps work out, we tended to spend most of the morning til about 2pm in the villa while one or the other of them is in bed, and then we went out for lunch. The idea was that in this time we would sit in and around the pool, but the pool was FREEZING! By this time it was getting into the mid 20s degrees C during the day, but the pool was just not warming up at all. You really do need to get an outdoor pool heated, whatever the time of year and we would've happily paid extra had this been an option, but it wasn't, sadly.
However, I did brave it on a couple of occasions and it was pretty icy initially, but once you got into it, you kinda got used to it. We also took a dip in the sea a few times. It was actually warmer than the pool bizarrely enough. We had a dip both at Myrtos and also at the local Emblisi Beach just outside Fiskardo - not as picturesque a backdrop on this beach, compared to Myrtos, but the water is still crystal clear and great for a swim. And it was dead quiet when we were there, too, although this might have something to do with the time of year rather than the location.

One place we did visit which I found quite charming was Assos. It's a little town on a peninsular, not far from Myrtos beach. It has a lovely little town square facing onto a very sheltered, small bay. We had some lunch in a taverna right on the water's edge which was very pleasant. Again, nobody much about at all.

Another taverna worth a visit was the Panorama, on the road back out of Fiskardo, before you get to the turning for the beach. It's a very small place, just run by a couple of blokes on their own, by the looks of it. The main man spoke very good English (with a slight American accent, I may add) and was happy to chat away. The food was pretty decent, but the main reason for going is the view (hence the name!). If you sit out on the terrace, you get a lovely view out over part of Fiskardo and beyond - if only slightly spoilt by an electricity pylon to one side.

On the last day we had a bit of time to kill before going to the airport, so we went into the capital, Argostoli, to have a browse around and buy a few last minute bakery items for on the plane. We parked up right on the seafront (you have to buy a parking pass to be able to park here - 50 cents for an hour, available from most of the shops along the front). As we strolled along the seafront we spotted a huge turtle swimming along. I'd heard they are known to nest on the island, but I wasn't expecting to see any. So that was pleasant. Nothing much more to see here, really.

...and that was pretty much that. Checking in for the flight was horrendous - it took about 3 hours. Just what you need with small kids! There was only 1 check-in desk and the queue started outside the 'terminal' because it would be just too crowded otherwise. We also got allocated the worst seats on the flight - the ones at the back of the first section which don't recline. Great when you've got a baby on your lap. The people in front did offer to swap, but as long as they didn't put their seats back, it was ok.
The flight back was worse than going out. Our lovely toddler sat still for about 20 minutes, and the rest of the flight was spent messing around in the toilets, opening and closing the doors and generally being a pain in the backside. Off course, major paddies ensued every time I tried to stop him so it was a toss up between whinging or getting in the way. Exhausting.... Never again!

We made it back to Luton pretty much on time I think. Baggage reclaim seemed to take forever and we'd already called the taxi which was by now waiting outside for us. Following the rudeness of the outward taxi we would've used another company, but it was the only number I had in my phone so I just used them again. The experience couldn't have been more different. He was happy to wait while my wife waited for the baggage and didn't charge us any extra. It was a good 15 minutes before we finally left, and he only charged us a fiver to get back to the house - less then the rude driver we'd got on the way out!

And I think that's it. If I think of anything else, I'll add it!