We got back from Athens yesterday on an EasyJet flight blessed with a senior cabin crewman who clearly had ambitions as a stand up comedian and had the English speaking passengers laughing through much of the flight.
Athens itself was OK, but not really my sort of place. Hotter than I like (even at this time of year), dirty and smelly. However the archaeological sites are spectacular (fascinating to see the buildings on the Acropolis in mid-reconstruction), the food is great, and they have a nice, shiny new metro system.
We spent a day on a cruise around three nearby islands: Poros, Hydra and Aegina. A great day out, benefiting from the fact that the captain of the cruise ship was the husband of a friend of our friend, F. This meant we were invited onto the bridge and generally looked after. We even met the unofficial deputy captain, who was a guy with what the captain described as "a problem", who was convinced that he was a qualified captain and pilot. The crew had adopted him as a kind of mascot and allowed him to give orders and press the button for the horn.
Another great highlight was watching the changing of the guard at the Ministry of Silly Walks, which is actually a really nice ritual, with a lot of reverence paid to the nearby monument to the unknown soldier.
Glad to be back though. I am one of the tiny minority of people who actually like the British climate.
News this morning of three explosions in Athens. <3 exchanged SMS with F, who says that the bombs are minor and not even getting news coverage in Greece. It seems the international community is getting jittery.
