Athens and back

Hello again, we’re back! I thought I’d just let you know, put up a few photos over the next couple of days and then get back to the regular routine from Monday. We arrived back on the Blue Star Patmos at 5.30 on Wednesday morning after a pleasant journey. I had to admit though, it wasn’t the best night’s sleep for me. I forgot to put my earplugs in. The cabins are comfortable enough, though small if you’re going ‘internal’, but they have everything you need. It’s the vibration of the boat as it turns corners and docks, and the announcements out in the corridors (you can have them in your room as well if you want) that disturbed me. I am a light sleeper, Neil had no trouble, so it’s an individual thing.

We got up to all kinds of shopping in Athens, a fair amount of walking around Monastiraki and Ermou Street and some exploration of Thissio where we were staying. I’d booked a hotel for three nights, but there was a problem with the first night. I suspect an overbooking as I booked through Booking.com and have heard stories where the hotel doesn’t get the correct info from that site. It happened to us in Romania once and there we were upgraded for the full three nights to the Presidential Suite. Last week, though, I was taxied to a sister hotel one kilometre away. What a difference that short distance made. Thissio is a lovely area with a wide, open pedestrian street lined with craft stalls, the view is directly across the ancient Agora to the Acropolis, and the main street is lined with cafes. Where I ended up for the first night was closer to Omonia, and although the hotel had a great view of the Acropolis from the roof, it was on a busy street with a few unsavoury characters milling about.

One of them tried to distract me while I was having a drink right outside the hotel front (on the street but against the glass wall). After ‘spilling’ something on the back of my new jacket he was hoping I’d be so confused that I’d take my mind off my phone or my bag so he could spirit them away while pretending to help me sort out the mess he’d just squirted on me. He didn’t get what he was after and almost got himself punched on the nose, but luckily the waitress from the hotel had seen and stopped me while sending him away. Anyway… the hotel itself was fine, but I did rename it from the Crystal City Hotel to the Chrystal Meth Hotel – don’t tell them, it wasn’t their fault.

The next morning, they taxied us back to the right place which was fantastic and only one of two hotels on the main street of Apastolou Pavlou. We stayed at the Hotel Phidias (recommended) which was lovely and, when we left, they gave us a bottle of wine to say thank you for staying.

I’m sure there will be more tales to tell over the next few posts unless I get distracted by something else, which is possible. Meanwhile, there will be a few more random shots from my most recent trip. These photos were taken on my phone, so the quality isn’t always wonderful.

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And off again

Here we go again, back on the boat and his time towards Athens. I’ll be back next week sometime and after that, should be back into the more usual routine of six updates per week. I’ll aim to start again around Thursday and see how it goes.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a set of random images from the last few months to scroll through. (Some are from Rhodes.)

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Routine few days

Back to the old routine for a few days now, well, yesterday, today and tomorrow – until the evening. I found out that a lot of the roadworks going on are to do with the phone provider, Ote, but the lane we live on is, by the looks of it, stone replacement. It’s good to see that stones are being re-laid in the old style and we haven’t been tarmacked over.

I did my walk up the hill yesterday, and very pleasant it was, but from the sound of it, we’re in for bad weather at the weekend. That won’t worry me as I won’t be here, but it might if I have to sail through it. If the weather is really bad, there may not be a boat at all. I’m just checking the forecasts…

Windfinder tells me it will be up to force five and no rain, so that’s okay. Accuweather tells me there will be rain on Saturday and Sunday, but it’s a slow, clunky site that I don’t find very user-friendly and don’t trust. Weather.gr shows winds 4 to 5 Bf on Thursday dying down on Friday with thunderstorms on Saturday through to Monday with winds only up to five, and Poseidon.hcmr.gr, the one I trust, shows me winds across the Aegean between 3 and 5 Bf all weekend (very windy near Corfu), and a little rain down here on Sunday. The best forecast, still, is to look out of the window at the time or ask a Symi farmer.

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Dig it?

I am back from my long weekend and have arrived home to find the road to the house blocked to traffic. There had been work going on before I left, so I wasn’t surprised. If you’re on foot, you can take the steps behind the village square. It looks like there are to be improvements to the slippery corner, which can only be a good thing.

Meanwhile, the road from Georgio’s to Sotiris supermarket is also being worked on, again, not too sure what it is for, I will ask Yianni later when I go down that way next. Meanwhile, meanwhile, Lefteris’ kafeneion is having a makeover too with drilling and ripping out and a concrete mixer going.

While all that has been going on, there has been a meeting for those non-Greeks living here who are not on the electoral register. There is a council/mayoral election in May, and if you want to vote (as you should), then you should be on that register. If you’re not following this story on Facebook, I will put up information when I can and when I hear it. We’ve been on the register for years. No-one is sure what will happen with this Brexit farce/tragedy but even if you think it’s not worth registering, it is, because if the B word is delayed or, even better, scrapped, you will be able to vote for your local council and European elections.

Okay, and now back to the washing and the shopping and those 101 other things that pop up when you’ve not been at home for a few days.

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Symi

I’m writing this yesterday, Panormitis Festival main day, and it’s so quiet out there… Hardly anyone has gone past the house, there have been a few bells sounding, a couple of cars up and down the hill, but no boats coming or going from Yialos (except the Blue Star), and everywhere is shut, I assume. I’ve not left the house yet. I am about to head off for a few days. I may get to a blog on Wednesday, possibly sooner as I think I’ll take my laptop with me so I can work while I am away. But if you don’t hear from me, you’ll know why. In the meantime, here’s a reminder that now’s the perfect time to order your Symi Dream Calendar for 2019. This might be the last time Neil produces one of these, so make sure you have yours for posterity. Follow the link, change the Lulu Store to your nearest country or your currency and away you go.

And, to send me on my way, I thought I’d put up some random shots that I’ve not used yet. Have a good weekend/week, and I will see you when I get back. Remember, if you use Facebook, there’s a Symi Dream page there where I post interesting links about Symi, or Greece, even when there’s no blog.

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