Last night reminded us, quite abruptly, that we are no longer 13 or 14 years old. That's good, we think, but watching Connor and Tessa snooze away in contortionist positions while we tried to turn our catnaps into some kind of REM experience just made the night longer.

Twelve hours later, found us bleary-eyed and hot and sticky as well as an hour and half late for our arrival in Corfu. Normally, this kind of thing is not a big deal but it was Sunday, which meant we'd missed the only bus to Barbati and our hotel. Ahhh!!!

Barry and Connor went to inquire about our options. In the end, we took a cab for 30 Euros to our hotel. To get our money's worth, we basically cross-examined our poor cabbie about everything we could think of and found him to be more than wonderful with all his knowledge and advice.

We are staying at the Pantokrator hotel (www.pantokratorhotel.com). It is positioned in one of the most unique parts of Corfu overlooking the gulf of Barbati. Just 18 km northeast of Corfu Town, Barbati is one of the most picturesque villages of the island. The hotel itself is beautiful, with a phenomenal pool and awesome lobby, though our room is fairly cramped. Four single beds, straight across - we have yet to see a real double mattress anywhere. The panoramic view from our balcony includes much of Corfu Island (including Corfu town, way across the bay), the Ionian Sea, and the coast of Albania. We have huge mountains rising up behind us as well. The place is actually a resort, and there are many Europeans staying here that booked the place for their all-inclusive vacations. Barry booked it at the last minute using www.hostelbookers.com, and we're staying here for under 17 Euros per person per day! For this price, we have an air-conditioned room complete with a small fridge, our own bathroom and shower, and a TV and DVD player (luxuries to us at this point). We also get a great buffet breakfast with lots of hot and cold selections, but dinner isn't included in our price.

After we checked in, we lounged around the pool, swam, and treated ourselves to a great lunch of burgers (for the kids), and Souvlaki and pita bread (for the adults). That evening, we took in the hotel's buffet dinner, which was excellent. The selections included Beef Stifado, one of Barry's favourites. The next few days will be pool time and enjoying Barbati Beach, which has been awarded the quality blue flag of the E.E.C. and is only 200m away from the hotel.