Off to warmer climes

3:40pm Thursday 31st July 2008

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I’M in a really, really good mood at the moment.

Because, in about a month’s time, I’ll be jetting off for a week’s holiday in Crete.

It’ll be my first foreign holida for four years and I’m counting down the days. I can’t wait.

For some reason, I only really wind down completely when I get away from this country. While I love my holidays in Wales, I always find myself thinking about home at least once or twice.

My first foreign holiday - alone - was to Corfu and it was one of those Club 18-30 packages.

Me and my mate Tom went expecting to find ourselves in the middle of something resembling a Roman orgy, as these holidays had a reputation for rampant promiscuity back in the 80s.

The reality was very different - many of my fellow holidaymakers were in couples. But boy, did we drink.

Every excursion revolved around booze and I must have supped nearly 80 pints during the fortnight.

Then there was what was laughingly called wine and Tom and I used to breakfast on ham and cheese toasties and Ouzo. But we were 20 and “breakfast” was really a bar snack eaten at around 11am!

If I had to pick a favourite holiday destination it would probably be a toss up between Turkey and Greece, for the people, the food, and, of course, the weather.

Waking up to a clear blue sky every morning just makes you feel so much better and I love Turkish and Greek cooking.

I’m a dyed in the wool carnivore and I just love the way they cook their meat. Simply writing about it sends my salivary glands into overdrive.

I’ve also been struck by how hospitable these people are. On my first trip to Turkey we stayed in an appartment block run by a lovely Turkish family and we were sitting at the pool bar one night and the family were having tea outside.

A British couple stopped and asked them what they were eating and George, the husband and dad, actually offered him his plate so he could try some of the food.

Somehow I couldn’t imagine that sort of thing happening in this country, could you?