I could, if I wished, talk about what I did yesterday, which was lovely. Alternatively, I could write something I’ve been planning about staying in the hostal, but, it turns out, I feel more like going into the sunshine… so that is what I shall do :)

Ok, so, let’s tackle Greece then shall we, because Peru is a mighty tome in and of itself.

I arrived in Athens completely exhausted but managed to drag myself round the usual touristic suspects. I bullet-pointed (hmmmm, verb!) my impressions:

• Romania – appears to be the primary source of immigrants (at least in the neighbourhood I was staying)
• Flashing lights – lots of them – on escalators – and nobody follows escalator etiquette.
• Somewhat like Madrid, but white, and with old stuff.
• Drinking water – a plentiful (free) supply to be found (and greatly appreciated) at all historic sites.
• Entry prices – beautifully low.
• Open shirts – nice.
• Zoo in a public park – thought these things weren’t ok anymore (does Hampstead Heath still have one? (Yes.))
• Conservation City – is there anything which isn’t conserved and restored to shining concrete luminosity?
• Translations – unlike Spain, really rather good English translations of everything (most common mistake – over use of the 3rd-person singular neuter pronoun (that’s what wikipedia calls it… I think I’d go for 3rd-person singular impersonal pronoun)).

Then I went to Antiparos – a little island right next to (obviously) Paros.

After spending a few days enjoying wandering into and out of the sea I got ill and the doctor told me to avoid sun and water – which is difficult when those are the two things to occupy your time with. I did indeed get a bit bored, but I used my time wisely and devoted myself to a study of cocktails – the clear favourites being ‘Shy’ (mint, apricot, ginger, vodka, cinnamon) and Espresso Martinis (recipe varies, I was mainly having – Espresso Coffee, Vodka, Kahlua, Martini). I also read a lot of books, including (and search me on why), the parents will approve, a whole stack of Len Deighton (the downside of this being that by the time I came back my bag weighed a ton), and wrote poems. This was part of the plan all along actually – I got 42 written – some complete, some fragmentary – and many of them will go towards my ridiculously long-term project ‘Adventures in Cities’ (Which I estimate will take a year more to complete – I am not a fast worker). I even wrote a couple in Spanish… which is something of an experiment, my Spanish probably isn’t really good enough, but it’s something I’ve wanted to try for a while.
And then I came back via another day in Athens during which I lolled, and a night in Athens airport, the less said about the better. And now I’m here with delightfully little to do before I start moving in on Monday.

Here is a bit of a poem, it’s very Greek

Plosh and glug
Of boats named Maria,
Or Amalia, or Marilena
Eclipsed by
Motorcycle death rattle
And wonder where
Boys with boats
Find girls with boat-names
To name their vessels after…

P.S. Sorry about the lack of photos so far… this is waiting really for me to have a laptop and reliable internet connection again.

I was going to write about how I wouldn’t be writing the boring details of my search for a flat and instead start recounting Greece, but in the end I found a flat, so that’s all done with… I’m having second thoughts but money’s changed hands – so that’s that.
More details later I think, probably when I move in, which will be Monday.

I’m glad it’s over and done with… I hope I won’t regret the decision.

So – flat hunting. It’s a barrel of monkeys (for me this phrase is only reminiscent of that game which was a plastic barrel of plastic monkeys), isn’t it?

Before starting my rounds I met Petros (an ex-bathian Greek now too a guest citizen in this our city) and his workmates for lunch. The post-pizza on the house digestif set me up nicely in a kind of dazed mood ready for looking at places.

I saw four today.

The first was inhabited by a couple who (and this could just be a latent streak of racism emerging) only made me think of Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (if you haven’t seen it then I suggest you bone up on New German Cinema – it will come in handy from time to time on this blog). But they had cats, so no.

The second was nice but not exactly where I wanted (I can’t decide how picky I should be on this one) and competition is so hot you’ve got to snap it up then and there or it’s gone.

The third was very nice, good location and lovely people too, but the room was minuscule – and I need at least a desk to work at – or do I? It’s very hard to know where to compromise.

And the fourth was in a part of the city I’ve not been to before, and a part which, it appears, has more than its fair share of junkies – also it was living with a family, which wasn’t obvious from the ad, and which I think I’ll steer clear of for the time being.

Better luck tomorrow, ei?

Hello again folks.

Well, I am back from my travels at last. The last month and a half, or however long it’s been, has consisted of a rather overwhelming string of experiences.

It was a decade ago that I climbed on that first plane – ten hours to São Paulo.
Now I feel the need for a sit down with a rather strong cup of tea while I read my holiday diary and look over my thousands of photos and try to work out what actually happened and what I did.

That will have to wait, however, while I try to find a place to live. I am holed up in a 7 bed dorm (and paying far too much for it) and doing the mad, horrendous flail that is flat hunting.

I’m not quite back with you yet.

Just thought I’d give a quick check in from Athens, as I’m half way through my holidays.

Peru was lovely, great fun. I took approximately 3100 photos, but they’re all inaccessible for the moment, I’ll get them out there probably around September time, when I’m reunited with my laptop.

Right now I’m feeling a bit traveled out, and not particularly ready for humping round Athens, in a few days I’ll be heading for beaches and relaxation and also, hopefully, writing.

Anyway, peace to you all, lots of love.

J.