Collared Flycatcher

There was just time for a couple of morning walks in the vicinity of the hotel before we left for the airport. It had rained heavily overnight and was incredibly windy. Initially I headed off on my own, but after breakfast I had a second walk with Phil, who pointed out this very smart Collared Flycatcher in a Lemon tree. 

We arrived at the airport in good time, though it was very busy so took a while to drop our baggage. The plane was delayed because of issues with the luggage - there were two Easyjet flights leaving close together and we think some of the bags were put in the wrong plane! We were then told the flight would take longer than scheduled as air-traffic controllers in France were on strike.  

As it happened, the time flew by. I sat next to two charming and erudite men, and the three of us conversed solidly for the whole of the five hour flight. We covered so many topics - environmental matters, Brexit, living abroad, languages, music, family. We were all quite sad when it came to an end with a very bumpy landing! 

I finally arrived home just before eleven o'clock. Pete was waiting up for me and fed me a delicious beef and pepper casserole. Despite the fact that I'd been awake for over nineteen hours I found it hard to get to sleep, happy to be home but sad to have left the friends I'd made on my week away.