Week 5 – Monday July 26 – Porto Cervo

Today is a day by the pool, but that doesn't mean I have nothing to tell you about. This hotel is really lovely – tiny at only 21 rooms and all built around a swimming pool. The room is a good size, airconditioned, with french doors opening out to the pool area and a good decent sized bathroom. So why the world's smallest shower? It looks like a sci-fi work of art, a semi-circular shape, with two doors in the middle that open regally to let you enter and exit, all manner or shelves to put things on, even a seat, but it barely manages to make it into the third dimension, so once you've slid the two doors apart, entered, and closed them, there is barely enough room to turn around, let alone get your hands above your head to wash your hair. If you are the sort of person that likes to shave your legs, the only way you can do this is to turn around to face the wall, lift your foot, place it on the seat, then reach behind you, fling the doors open, then stick your bum out the door as you bend over to carry out your business. Flinging the door open was discovered as Anne's second attempt as the first attempt resulted in a perfect pressed ham against the shower doors, which was immediately followed by a bump as she hit her head against the wall. This morning, when I finished my shower, I flung the doors open and announced “Thanks for beaming me up, Scotty. Not only have I arrived, but I have been delivered clean”.

This afternoon, having spent considerable time lying by the pool, reading and swimming, I retired to our room to lie down in the cool of the room and read my book. Anne was sitting outside the open French doors and there was no one else around, so we had the place to ourselves. An hour later, still lying on the bed reading, I had my own “Man from the other end of the shower block” moment, when Anne came in and kicked me and said....... “Do you mind, there's about 20 people sitting out here”. Goodness, I thought as I emerged from the room to find that indeed the popluation levels had increased considerably and they were all sitting there reading, minding their own business – it was like the place was a library, but for the odd interuption.