Tzust one filachi sou yia valsamo

Clubbing in Crete. Forget a condom dispenser, I mean who is gonna get any action with vomit breath? Ta daaaaa for only 1 euro you too can disguise your drunkeness and pretend you never made a call on the porcelain telephone! A toothbrush with toothpaste, no water needed?....genius!

Hello Hello?

I bought a vivodi card to call home and went to my yiayia's house to use her landline. *blink* oh my word she still has an old rotary dialler phone (bet you didnt know what it was called... yes I'm a legend). So I assumed it must just be for show, I picked up the receiver and there was a dial tone *shock horror* how am I supposed to use the vivodi card if it can only work with tone dialling?!? I felt like I had been sucked into a time warp and transported back to 1983! After a brief panic I found another 'normal' phone, turns out the funky old one is linked to an extension.

*pring pring*
*connecting xorio to JHB*
"Hello?"
"Hello! Do you know yiayia has one of those really old phones were you stick your finger in the hole and turn it to dial a number? And it actually works!"

My name has gone down in the history books

On a family trip to Greece in 1988 my sisters and I painted my yiayia's balcony, not with Plascon Wall & All but with cheapo kids paint. We covered the entire balcony with pictures of flowers and trees and other garden stuff, we must have decided that living on a mountain an hour away from civilisation was grounds for a play-play garden. 21 years later all that is left of our painted garden is my name in one of the corners, what can I say..... I'm a legend

Holy Moley

The Greeks refuse to demolish any church. So instead of tearing this little church in Athens down they simply built over and around it

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Hello Africa, tell me how you doing?

*SIGH* as of 26 October 2009 I am back home in South Africa. Unfortunately. I had the best time ever in Greece and met the most amazing people. The men I met were Greek Gods. My family spoilt me rotten. I wish I was still in Greece. As I sort through the photos of my trip I will update this blog accordingly..... hopefully my next blog will be titled mylifeingreece!

Its a good day

Friday is the best day to have your coffee cup read, apparently if its read on a Friday then anything found in your cup will come true.

Its also said that people born on a Saturday have the power of making what they say come true... watch your step... I am Savato-yenimeni! I was born on a Saturday

You can take them out of the bush....

I joined the geriatrics of the xorio for a day trip to Kastoria. Along the way there is a little church on an island; there is a 1km (rough estimate) bridge that joins the island to the mainland, the island is uninhabited and has some interesting ruins on it. While walking to one of the ruins someone spotted a tree with bright berries, to my shock and horror they all flocked to the tree and started eating the berries! We were on an uninhabited island, they could have been poisonous! I flapped my arms about and squealed we taught in school that the more pretty/ bright anything is in nature the more poisonous it is! They ignored me and tried to find out what the berries were, how you ask? By asking the next person who came along if they knew, and without fail each next person who came along popped a berry in their mouths to investigate!! I can only flap so much so I told them they were all going to die and walked off without looking back... god helps those who help themselves!

One thing I am definitely going to miss about Greece is the public transport system in Athens. You can get anywhere you need to be in less than an hour. You really dont need your own car here



*cant think of anything funny to say about the metro... dammit I'm losing my touch!*

Lost in Translation

- Have a cookie. Its peanuts *heavy greek accent*
*a green cookie? maybe he means pistachios*
- ok, thanks *takes a bite*, *swallows hard*
- oh...... you mean its spinach

its peanuts = its speanuts = eets speenats = its spinach

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I love a man in uniform!

Nikki and I were in our hotel room in Hydra, we heard a marching band and of course had to investigate. We looked out the window and to my delight saw a whole lot of sailor boys passing right under our window. "Heeellllllooooooooooo Boys! Room 103!! Bring your friends!". We ran out the room to follow them and see what was going on. We were in the getting-ready-to-go-out phase and happened to be knickerless, we ran as fast as we could cackling all the way about how we are gonna call every Nicholas we know Knickerless! It turns out there was some or other church celebration they were involved in. Oh happy day we were on a little island filled with sailor boys, this is the life! We went out and drank to the Greek Navy!
so I was having me some steamy sailor dreams when I was woken up by the frikken marching band, at the crack of dawn!!! No no its not on at this time of the morning, people are trying to sleep!! *slams the window open and swears like a sailor* At that time of the morning you can shove your uniform up your bum! No actually you can shove your stupid little music instruments and your whole ship up your bum!

Night crawlers

Nikki and I were in Hydra and noticed that the tree trunks were painted white on the bottom half. But why? Nikki's reasoning? So drunk people dont walk into them at night!

It must be a sign

So uncle George and I had polished off the usual 5 bottles of wine and stumbled home in the wee hours of the morning. There is a table outside the front door, which happened to have a little tomato on it. George was convinced it was a sign and that there was some meaning to the little tomato... Who put it there? Why did they put it there? What are they trying to tell us? What is the meaning of it? It must be a sign or secret code... Damn that wine was good!

Syntagma Hot Spot

Syntagma has free wifi, with excellent signal strength by the metro, perfect for wasting time while waiting for the metro or while having coffee

The Martini side of my family is full of alcoholics

In Greece you need to turn the geyser (Thermosifono) on before you have a bath, I doubt many South Africans even know what a geyser looks like! Tsipouro is the local version of Mampoer.

So early one morning (7 frikken am early), I am upstairs and shout downstairs to Uncle George:
Me: "must I switch off the Thermosifono?"
George: "what? you want Tsipouro?"......... at 7 frikken am in the morning!!

Stamati & Grigori

Back in the day when my parents generation left the village to find work in Athens and beyond they werent given much but they were given some good advice. Bear in mind that most villages in those days didnt have luxuries such as electricity and running water. So to avoid a whole lot of village kids being squashed by cars they explained the phenomenon of traffic lights in a very simple way: the red man is called Stamati (stamata in greek means stop), and the green man is called Grigori (grigora in greek means quickly)

Love is blind. Not deaf

Aekara!

I have no idea why this soccer team is playing basketball, but hey what do I know about sports? This chant is hilarious, have a look at the translation. I am really starting to like this soccer story


Translation of the chant:

the chant has been created to curse and mock the fans of olympiakos..it says(not exactly but i ll try)

aaaaall of you are informants(spies:it means that they talk to the cops that are friends of them)
(both of you) young and old since you were chlidren
all of gate7 is "filled up" with "builders"(builder is the nickname of a spy in gate7)
your mothers pussy
GAMO TO PIREA(Fuck piraeus)

OOOloi roufianoi
Mikroi megaloi apo paidia
Gemise me oikodomous oli i 7
to mouni tis manas sas
GAMW TON PEIRAIA

PAS ole ole!

PAS Ioannina is (according to wikipedia) probably best known among Greek football spectators for its fervent support and the anti-establishment attitude of many of its fans... those mother fluffers are crazy! PAS Ioannina vs A.E.K was my first soccer match ever, the crowds craziness is definitely addictive, had a blast!


Watch the famous greek PAS Giannina fans jumping and chanting, even if their team was 2 goals behind AEL and the game was lost. Apei Rotan Ioannina (gamw thn trela mas)



PAS GIANNINA agains olympiacos.
Great victory for PAS.
mad fans are singing all the time

Hanging with the Brady Brunch

Every afternoon at the xorio all the old people (read parents) have a nap and the kids hang around. One day the xorio kids asked me if I wanted to go for a walk with them. A "walk", ooh count me in! So I skipped along the road sure we were gonna get up to no good, no parental supervision and a 5km walk into the mountain, not a soul nearby to see what we were up to, I was about to have the most fun I'd had in ages! We walked 5km off the road, into the forest, and finally stopped at a hole full of water (dont know what its actually called, I'm not much of an outdoorsy person). I eagerly awaited the alcohol and weed to be pulled out of a secret hiding place and for underage snogging to begin..any minute now...we stood around the hole, staring at it, some boys threw stones in it, then we left. We walked all this way and no one is getting drunk or stoned???? Bring a couple of South African teenagers here and they will turn the mountain upside down! Seriously felt like I was in the twilight zone

Brolly Good

Its been raining for a week. I've been stuck indoors for days because I use public transport and dont own an umbrella. Today I met up with my cousin Ioanna for coffee, I got caught in the rain on the way (yes sure of course its romantic, thats what all the straight-haired bitches say), so I refused to go home until we bought an umbrella. Thank the lord for sidewalk sellers, I bought a fab flashy red umbrella for 3 euros, decided red was the best colour as I still dont know from which direction traffic comes at me!

The Best series on Greek TV

H polykatoikia.

Typical Greek neighbours, typical Greek humour, I am going to miss the Polykatoikia when I leave!!! Glykeria has been given strict instructions to buy the entire series as soon as it comes out on DVD

The WORST ad on greek tv

Our neighbour Thomas is the Financial Director for a very prominent cold meat company in Greece.... here is their latest ad....

Thomas you need to throw way more money into the advertising budget!

Lost in Translation

On sale now... Ta sagonia tou karxaria *said in a scary loud voice*

More movie madness:
* Ta kaka paidia =........ Bad Boys!
* Vlepo to thanato sou =.......Final Destination!
* I agapi thelei to xrono tis = ........ Love Happens!
* Oi maxites ton dromon = ....... Fast and Furious!
* Psila ston ourano = .......Up!
* Srek = ....... Shrek!
* Mini praktores = ........Spy kids!
* O yiatros ksanatrelathike = ...... Dr Dolittle 2
and my two favourites:
* I Maria i asximi = ..... Ugly Betty!
* Baboulas AE = ......... Monsters Inc

Pita!!!!

On a rainy day Glykeria and I decided to play Trivial Pursuit, the Greek version. I officially know nothing about Greek Geography, Entertainment, History, Arts & Literature, Science & Nature or Sports & Leisure. Actually I know nothing about any European country in those categories. All I know is that Liverpool Football Club's stadium (?) is in Anfield. The rule was she had to speak English and I had to speak Greek, and no I still didnt know the answers. Glykeria kept giving me clues and extra turns, I bet she was wondering if we really are related and thinking 'didnt they teach you anything at school?!?'

Let there be light

Light switches in Greece are upside down. In South Africa you flick the switch down to turn it on and flick it up to turn it off, its the opposite in Greece. In Greek you 'open' and 'close' the light, you dont 'switch it on or off'. Bedrooms in Greece have two (sometimes 3) light switches for the same light but in different spots, how handy? No more arguing over who has to get out of the cosy bed to switch off the light cause there is one conveniently placed above the headboard!

Milate Anglika?

Athens Deejay is a radio station that plays only English music, yay! High repetition of songs but they play good music so its alright. http://www.athensdeejay.gr/

Cheerio!...... Manoli

At the xorio there is nothing to do but drink....when in Rome! Uncle Vangeli (my dad's sister's husband) and Uncle George (my mom's brother)are the best drinking partners. They refuse to let you pay for drinks and keep refilling your glass before you manage to finish it! Every single night I spent at the xorio was accompanied by at least 5 bottles of wine between the 3 of us. Good times

Where in the world have i been?

So I have neglected my blog for a little while, mainly due to ultra slow connections speeds in the village. I make notes on my cellphone of anything blogworthy, and alas my cellphone died in Hydra (thats the second cellphone of mine to die there is less than a month!!!), all my notes are gone gone gone... the next few posts wont be in date order but I need to get you all up to date with where I've been and what I've done

Enviromentally not-so-friendly

Theoyefiro is a natural phenomenon found close to the xorio, translated as God's bridge or Bridge made by God. On a bench at Theoyefiro I found 3 messages; the bottom two politely asking us to hug trees and what not, the message at the top says "stick your cigarette butts in your butt!"

Forbidden Video

At the Byzantine Monastery of Panayia Mavriotissa in Kastoria you arent allowed to use a video camera inside the church, but you are allowed to take as many photos as you like *shrugs her shoulders*. Of course when you are FORBIDDEN to do something your inner 5 year old kicks in and you really really really want to do it. The priest was talking to the people outside, I took the gap and snuck into the church, I was about to take a sneaky video clip but chickened out...... maybe Jesus CAN see me? I dont want the Pearly Gates slammed in my face for a few seconds of youtube fame. So I took a video clip of the sign instead, how naughty am I?

I love Crete!

Greek Style

If you flush toilet paper down the toilet beware the trident of Poseidon!

Look what followed us home

Train disruptions, metro closures. Lady Luck sent us an American Greek! As we made our way to the port (Nikki and I went to Hydra for the weekend) via a series of public transport disasters good ol James asked for directions and took us where we needed to be. James. James who travels in his sleeping bag so he can pull it over his head and be in his own nest. James who brushes his teeth in McDonalds. James who promised me a tour of Athens that got rained on. Good ol crazy James who tried to trick me with a chocolate chip cookie, that aint no dagga cookie James! I planned to eat it to prove he was lying but the Albanian bitches who cleaned our room in Hydra stole it.....!

Edward Maya - Stereo Love

George you're a legend!!!

I'll just have a glass of water thanks

In Greece, it is assumed that you know what you want to order without having had a look at the menu. Requests for a menu are met by a grumble and followed by crappy service from that point on. How the flip am I supposed to know what I want to order if I dont know what you serve?!?
*menu arrives*

Huh? What is Water Ice? That's like saying Hot Cold or Up Down... aah dont you just love Greek Engrish? Good thing I can read greek, poor tourists. *stares blankly at the greek writing* So a Water Ice is a granite? erm, what? Turns out its actually a Slush Puppie *shrugs her shoulders*

A sign of Civilisation!

I've been staying at the xorio (my parents village). It's the land of all things creepy - spiders, scorpions, parktown prawn looking grasshoppers, big black bugs with fangs *shudders*. The xorio is tucked away on a mountain (its a 1.4km walk to the main road), 45 mins drive either way to a big town. Its in the middle of nowhere. The internet connection here is slooooooooooow. Everyone has their own vegetable garden. The 'restaurant' serves chickens from the priests garden. The doctor only visits once a week. The man who delivers bread only visits once a week.
Anyhoo, I decided to be homely this morning and fry some eggs (okay fine my mom left and I was starving). I tried not to think about the fact that tonight I may very well be eating the chickens bum that laid the eggs. I opened the fridge, what's that?! Stamped eggs?? Stamped eggs!! There is a God and he knows where our xorio is! Stamped eggs = fat chickens I wont be eating + washed eggs + expiry date + no trace of villageness

Sexy Love

This song is rocking my world!

No thanks, I'll walk

WTF?? Is this the tug-boat for Noah's Ark?

Ploutarxos - Eisai uperoxi

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If I had a rock...

KAZAAAAAAAM!! The ducks are fucked

Jesus was a black man

At the Byzantine Monastery of Panayia Mavriotissa in Kastoria there is an icon depicting Mother Mary and Jesus with dark skin, also called the Black Madonna. Erm thats pretty much all I learnt about churchy stuff today, I got distracted by a big tree while the priest was explaining

Nikki and Niko

My lovely friend Nikki is coming to visit me from London, we decided to spend the weekend in Hydra. Nikki is one of those people who needs to be organised and wants to have everything in order way in advance. She has been nagging me to get a confirmation letter (for visa purposes) from the hotel we will be staying at (www.hydroussahotel.gr), but I've had limited internet access for the last two weeks so it hasnt gotten done yet. Spoke to Niko today and asked him to mail Nikki what she needs, he asked if he could play a little joke on her, "Nikki will kill me!!!!"

I soon received an e-mail from a very flustered Nikki in response to the mail Niko had sent her:

Dear Mrs. Botha,

We would like to inform you that your booking is confirmed.
We reserve a room for the dates 15th of August until 19th of August.
Everything will be as you asked.
On the airport, you will have transport service. A car of our company with a couple of extremely professional strippers will make your way to the port more convenient.
Arriving at Hydra, be careful cause a coloured man will be waiting for you...he will accompany you at the hotel singing all the time Bob Marley.
At the hotel, your "Godfather" will be in his office where you can give him all the guns, the bombs and the drugs he ordered, don't forget to give him also a t-shirt from London.

We will be at your disposal for any further information or request.

Kind regards,

Nikos Karabikas
Hydroussa hotel, resort and spa

p.s. a couple of nice bikini photos could easily make your stay more convenient.

Niko is a Good Boy!!!

Greek Engrish and oh-so-gay shirts

All the boys are wearing sparkly shirts, not just a sparkle here and there, really really ridiculously sparkly shirts! I may be wrong but I just dont see straight South African boys following this trend (I hope I'm wrong, the clubbing scene here is so fabulous, sparkly shirts dancing all around, its like a disco ball on steroids!)

Computer Wizardry

So my ultra portable fab laptop has suffered quite a bit in Greece, maybe its the change of scenery but I've had non stop hassles with it since I got here. Its been in for repairs on a regular basis.


Maybe I shouldnt let wives of cousins remove stuck memory cards with a knife.....

Bat outta hell

*flapping noises*
Me: "whats that?"
Thoma: "a butterfly" *said in a heavy greek accent while picking up a tennis racquet (not actually a real tennis racquet, its for killing bugs, you press a button and the strings are charged with an electrical current, same principle as those purple light things that zap bugs, pretty nifty)*
*squints eyes to get a better look*
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!
Me: "thats not a butterfly its a BAT!!! omg omg kill it!"
*swoosh swoosh swoosh*
Thoma: swearing in greek*
Thoma: “Maybe it can see me coming? But its supposed to be blind!!”
*swoosh swoosh thud*

VICTORY!!! And let that be a warning to the other bats out there who have even the slightest thought about entering my brave cousin’s house


Did you know? If a bat gets caught in your hair its almost impossible to remove it? The more it flaps about the more tangled it gets *wildly shakes her head and tries to get the imaginary bat out of her hair* Heebie Jeebies!

A sign that Greece doesn't like tourists

So ALL those words mean 'Centre'? Nai malaka they all mean Centre. I have no idea how non greek speaking tourists survive in this country

Greek Engrish

Pool rules at the Nicopolis Club, I nearly died laughing!

You're doing it wrong

We were at the Nicopolis Club (beach bar and water park) and getting ready to leave when a couple arrived. It was 6:30pm, pointless time to arrive at the pool but hey. Boyfriend is lily white. Girlfriend spends 5 minutes rubbing sunscreen on boyfriends face. Girlfriend spends 5 minutes rubbing sunscreen on boyfriends back. Boyfriend spends 5 minutes rubbing sunscreen on his stomach (nothing to look at unfortunately). Then boyfriend finds the perfect spot... under the umbrella!!! The only part of him getting any sun was his one calf, and note he didnt apply any sunscreen there! You're doing it wrong! And then a big fat guy came along and washed all the sunscreen off!

Frappe is so last year

For years Frappe was all the rage in Greece. I've been here for over a month and havent seen one person drinking Frappe, everyone is drinking Freddo. At all the coffee shops there are constant orders for "Kapoutsino Freddo" (for you english folk thats Cappuccino!)

I'm a Giant

Greeks in South Africa are short. Greeks in Greece are midgets *hmmm maybe that will get the Twin here*
I am 1,65m tall (well, not tall, but you know what I mean), most people I know are at least a head taller than me. In Greece most people are a head shorter than me! The average height of the girls here is 1,58m (according to them, when I find a measuring tape I will prove that 1,28 is NOT the same as 1,58!!!) Discussed this with Glykeria, I said "I feel like a giant here", she said "YOU ARE!!!"

The Music scene in Greece

Athens is most definitely on the map in terms of music, some of the names that have concerts lined up this month: Tiesto, The Killers, Placebo, Duffy, Joss Stone, Santana, Scorpions, Michael Bolton (hey, my mom and her friends think he’s a star)

Remixed 80’s music is big here, perfect for drinking and dancing *longs for the Tiger Tiger days, no wait, Night Fever!!!*

Athens is obsessed with Lady Gaga, even more than Johannesburg is! Oh and of course Michael Jackson’s death is still big news

Eurovision songs are also a big hit here

Glykeria and Choleva always have either Rythmos (http://www.e-radio.gr/player/player.asp?btID=1&sID=215&cID=undefined&rID=undefined&partnerID=undefined) or Sfera (http://www.e-radio.gr/player/player.asp?btID=1&sID=143&cID=undefined&rID=undefined&partnerID=undefined) playing in their cars

Songs that are ranked high on the playlists here and that will always remind me of Summer in Greece 2009:
- I know you want me (Pitbull), practically the national anthem of this summer

- Change (Daniel Merriweather), cant find the original video so here’s the lyrics version
- Tha 'Mai Allios (Elena Paparizou), also a juice ad
- Fonazo (Giannis Ploutarxos)
- Pano ap’ola (Miron Stratis)

- Varethika (Nikos Vertis), heart wrenching sad break up song, reminds me of Glykeria and Katerina’s messed up relationships!
- Ti Na Mas Kanei i Nixta (G. Sampanis & Stereo Mike)

Okay yes their music videos do need some work!

Things I need to get used to in Greece - Part 2

- There is a pharmacy on every street corner, how many sick people are there here? *sprays herself with swine flu preventing stuff*. Pharmacies are like petrol stations, they aren’t open all the time or even until late. They work on a rotational basis – if your pharmacy is closed it will have a notice on the door letting you know which pharmacy in the area is open (please note you get an address not directions so for emergencies go straight to the hospital, do not pass the pharmacy and do not collect R200)
- The shops aren’t open all day every day. Mondays and Wednesdays they close at 3pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays they close at 9pm but are closed during siesta time between 2pm and 5pm, Saturdays they close at 3pm, and they don’t open on Sundays, even most supermarkets are closed on Sundays!


- 80% of people don’t wear helmets when riding a motorbike or scooter (I have a feeling it’s a Kool Kid thing), 10% ride them with their helmets hanging on their arm (I don’t get it either). Quad bikes are also allowed on the road. It’s the norm to see more than one person on a bike at a time, even 3 is not unusual (I saw a family on a bike, dad in front, mom at the back and little kid squished in the middle, yip just like that e-mail you saw once)
- Most robots have poor people waiting to wash yo
ur windscreen, all you need to do is shake your head or finger once, only once, and they will go away. No need to scream NO NO NO and put the windscreen wipers on as a deterrent. And I haven’t seen any pamphlet people, imagine stopping at a robot and not having a pamphlet shoved in your face!
- The effing dustbin collectors (in Galatsi) wake me up at 05:50am every morning, they make so much noise that it sounds like they are demolishing the building next door! This white south african girl has a little heart attack every morning at 05:50am
- I’ve been here for a month and I still worry that someone will have broken into the apartment while I was out, I still worry that someone will break into the apartment during the night, I still get a bit panicky when I hear strange noises…. But I do feel a lot braver here *lifts her fists and starts weaving* bring it on motherfuckers! *said in her best gangsta voice*
- Most people park their cars on the road at night, and find them there in the morning! In SA I parked my car outside for half an hour and it got broken into. I parked my car inside, activated the beams and the alarm, and it got broken into!
- Greek rap. Enough said
- Paying 11 euros for a cocktail. R130 for one freaking cocktail! And no, not a lethal concoction that will have you dancing with your arms in the air shouting how much you looooooove this song after a few sips….. just a plain old mojito. When you say you’re going out for a drink you really mean just ‘A’ drink. When I get back to SA I am going to throw alcohol down my throat until the cows come home, until then guess who is going to be nursing a couple of bottles of cheap vino before going out? Oh and no one dances here….. no wonder, cause they’re all sober!!!
- Restaurants, coffee shops, clubs etc serve the entire table water as soon as you sit down, even if you don’t ask for it, and they keep refilling the glasses even if you don’t ask them to.
- At a coffee shop or bar, as soon as you order a drink the waiter brings you the bill, which does seem just a tad bit rude but apparently you aren't actually expected to pay it right away. When you are ready to leave you add up each bill from each round, no such thing as running a tab here
- The showers are tiny. I’m not just saying that because my daddy built us the mother of all showers. In hotels, if you stand in the shower and close the shower curtain it touches one whole side of your body (the feeling of a wet cold shower curtain clinging to your body is enough to make you see the merits of a Portuguese bath. Not? Just think how many thousands of random bodies that same shower curtain clings to each holiday season). In homes, the shower head is attached to the taps in the bath with a pipe just long enough to lift it over your head, there is no hook on the wall to hang it from, try washing your hair with one hand and holding the shower head in the other! When I get home I am gonna shower 5 times a day *thinks of her fabulous shower back home and imagines she is featuring in a Timotei ad*
- The lift (elevator) door doesn’t automatically open when you reach your floor, you actually need to push it open. The lifts are roughly the same size as most showers, not unusual for a lift to only fit two people at a time (and it’s a tight squeeze, shoulder to shoulder)

I love The Mall

Most of the shops in Greece are found along the sidewalks, imagine during rainy season. Yianna (Aunt Fevronia’s daughter) took me to The Mall in Marousi, I am in love. Great big air-conditioned shopping centre with every store you could wish for! Reminds me a lot of Menlyn, I love Menlyn. The Mall doesn’t follow the ridiculous working hours that normal stores do(none of that closing at lunchtime for siesta nonsense) its open every day, weekdays from 9am until 9pm, but closes earlier on Saturdays at 8pm, how fab! Lucky little me can take the Proastiako (suburban railway) from Glykeria’s house in Vrillissia and two stops later I’m at The Mall *kisses her euros goodbye* http://www.themallathens.gr/

Crepa-Crepa

Pronounced crapper-crapper but no you cant flush the toilet paper in their store.
Savoury, sweet, ethnic, vegetarian. Pancakes with any combination of filling that your greedy little self could ever wish for! My choice was a Papageno - nutella, white chocolate and biscuits.
"one Papageno please"
The kind sir pours some batter onto a round *searches her non existent cooking vocab for the word* hot plate(?), after a minute or so he slides a spatula under the pancake and flips it. When it is a golden brown colour and the sweet smell of deliciousness fills the air, he folds the pancake in half. Out comes a supersize bottle of nutella (its huge! the size of 3 of ours!), he covers one half with nutella and the other half with melted white chocolate, then he sprinkles broken bits of biscuits all over the pancake. Then he takes the pointy sides of the semi-cirle pancake and folds them up to the middle of the circle part (is this making sense?), he folds it in half again so the nutella side and white chocolate side are now facing each other,he folds the bottom up so it doesnt drip out the bottom like an ice cream cone (really smart!), he folds it in half again so it becomes a triangle, he pops it into wrap paper and hands it to you (this part feels like ultra slow motion). You take the first bite and your mouth is filled with warm gooey chocolate, bliss! The store in Halandri even delivers to our house in Vrillissia! *fast forward 3 months to my disbelief at how much weight I picked up while in Greece*

Athens in One Day Cruise

Niko (the travel agent, www.passepartout-tours.gr) organised the cruise for me. Its supposed to be a one day cruise but of course Niko has a connection on one of the islands who owns a hotel (www.hydroussahotel.gr) so I stayed over for a night (yes of course his friend is also called Niko).
First stop, Hydra, an island that doesnt have any cars or motorbikes - the only means of transportation is by foot or donkey, I'll walk thanks. Spent the evening is Hydra and absolutely loved it. Hydra is a stunning island and my favourite of the three we visited.


Next stop Poros, pretty much the same as any other island, lots of coffee shops and restaurants. Apparently there is some or other navy base on Poros, I didnt see a single boy in uniform *sigh*

Our last stop was Aegina, famous for pistachio nuts, Agio Nektarios church and the Temple of Afaia. The pistachio ice cream isnt all that, dont waste 4 euros


Thanks to Niko and Niko for a fabulous trip! mwaaah!

The New Acropolis Museum

Glykeria and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the new Acropolis Musuem (yes of course a Niko organised them for us, standard). I am not an avid museum-goer but this museum is definitely worth seeing, the layout and structure are phenomenal, all the pieces are displayed openly (not in those tacky glass boxes - but you arent allowed to touch them), and the view of the Acropolis in the background is stunning. Each level has glass tiles so you can see the levels below, the third floor is definitely not for those with a fear of heights - we'll just walk on the frosted tiles.
There's a huge fuss about pieces that are in the British Museum. They were stolen long ago and up until now the Brits have refused to give them back claiming that Greece had no facilities to properly display them, so the Greeks got rid of the small old museum and built the fab new give-the-Brits-the finger museum.... they are now insisting on the return of the missing pieces. There are spaces open in the museum for these pieces and plaster casts of the British originals are very noticeably placed next to Greek originals. Will the pieces be returned? So far the Brits are keeping mum

Open Air Cinema

Glykeria and I went to the movies, totally different to movies in South Africa! The rooftop of an apartment block has been converted into an open air cinema, the difference is not only that its an open air cinema, the difference is there are tables between the chairs and you can drink and smoke while you watch the movie... yes alcohol! the kiosk sells a variety of beers and Bacardi Breezer type drinks, and not only do you get popcorn but nachos with cheese too!
We saw Burning Plains which was translated as The Horizons of Loneliness *shrugs her shoulders*. The movies in Greece arent dubbed but they have Greek subtitles, perfect for us English speaking folk who think its great to be able to knock a few back while watching the movie and not have to struggle with subtitles!

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O Nikos einai Kalo Paidi - Niko is a Good Boy

I love every Niko I have met in Greece.

- Niko Marmari: has a connection who got a real good price for the hotel room in Marmari,he drove us around the island whenever we needed a lift, and he squeezes lemons real good. He also looks after us when he is in Monastiraki and we are hungry, the best souvlaki in monastiraki!
- Niko Travel Agent: owns a travel agency (www.passepartout-tours.gr)and arranged my Athens in One Day cruise at a fraction of the price, also organised for me to at stay a friends hotel (Hydroussa) in Hydra free of charge
- Niko Hydroussa: owns the Hydroussa hotel (www.hydroussahotel.gr), organised me a sweet room free of charge and gave me advice on the best spots in Hydra
- Niko Radio Taxi: organises taxis at half the rate, and also let us sign an internet on-the-go contract on his name so I can have a stable internet connection while I am here, did I mention I'm only paying half the rate for the internet too?

The sea hates me too

I spent a day in Hydra and decided to catch some rays while I was there. I couldn’t find a beach but all around the waterfront are ladders (just like a swimming pool) leading straight into the sea, there are small pebble beaches (the beaches are small not the pebbles) and concrete slabs (how comfy!).
I found myself a sweet little spot and spent an hour suntanning the front, I lay there thinking maybe its the sand that I don’t like about the sea and not actually the sea (sand gets everywhere!!) then went for a dip (stood on a slimy rock full of moss, shuddered and quickly swam deeper where I wouldn’t have to stand on any slimy crap, wait whats this crap floating around me? Eeeeuuuw seaweed!!! and yes we have conclusive proof that I definitely don’t like the sea!). I hightailed it out of the sea back to my sweet spot in the sun, undid my bikini strap and starting working on tanning the back.
After about 15 minutes a boat came past and disturbed the water (there are no waves in the sea here), a wave came crashing onto the slab and reached my knees, I looked back and saw the second wave coming…… I leapt to save my Nine West Shopper (yes I know its not a beach bag!!!!) containing my cellphones, ipod and camera, and yes my bikini was still undone and the crowd received an x-rated Baywatch moment, and no I didn’t save the HTC but the rest are all still working.
After walking back to the hotel with all my belongings drenched, my once fabulous Nine West shopper now has stains from the Marie Claire towel (more free stuff! Buy this months issue and get a free beach towel) and from my sarong. I’m now sitting at a beach bar sipping on a Screaming Orgasm (vodka, baileys, amaretto, kahlua)….. after baring my bosom to all and sundry I think I deserve a screaming orgasm!

Why I dont like the sea

- Have you never seen the movie Jaws???
- I have frizzy hair, beaches are not GHD friendly
- Children wee in the sea
- Adults wee in the sea
- Fish wee in the sea
- Birds flying over the sea wee in it (okay that might not be a fact)
- Fish shit in the sea
- Children shit in the sea (of course thats a fact!)
- All sorts of things live and die and mate (possibly why its so salty) in the sea

Give me a pool with tons of wee neutralising chlorine any day! Glykeria and her friends were astounded that I chose the hotel pool over the sea. Since they swam in the sea Glykeria's ear has been sore and she is going to the doctor tomorrow, I bet if he sent a sample to the lab they would find some DNA that would be a perfect match with an Air France passenger

Clubbing in Athens

I am finally certain that I am Greek. Went clubbing last night and for the first time ever I was ready to go out on time; my hair was straight, I had a full face of makeup, my nails were painted, I was wearing jewellery, I had my shoes on and was sipping on a glass of vino waiting for the girls to pick me up. Lets view the same scenario in South Africa: girls are hooting for the umpteenth time, I'm trying to finish doing my hair, no time for makeup so just slap on some eyeliner and mascara, screw it no time to put any jewellery on, girls hoot again, I run to the door with my shoes in my hands and smudge my nailpolish. Whats the difference? The south african girls arranged to fetch me at 8:30pm but they are 15 minutes early, the greek girls arranged to fetch me at 11:30pm and they are 15 minutes late!!! I'm definitely greek.
Its Choleva's birthday (thats her surname, but there are so many Katerina's in the social circle that they get distinguished by their surname) and we are at Delano Club in Glyfada. It's a summer club, has no roof and overlooks the sea, really nice couches and fancy bars. In order to sit on the couches you need to book a table (which means pay for a bottle of alcohol that the people around the table will share, yes athens alcohol prices), if you dont book and buy a bottle you aint sitting. Four girls and a bottle of Amaretto, this is going to be a good night! One of the girls assumes the role of fancy barlady..... rubs a slice of lemon around the top of the glass, swirls it in some sugar, pops the lemon in the glass, adds a few ice cubes, pours a generous amount of Amaretto but then dilutes it with way too much lemon juice (which tastes more like lemonade and is the first sign that we are not going to get out of hand). I teach the first glass a quick lesson and am about to pour myself another one when more ice cubes and lemon juice fill my glass... two drops of already diluted Amaretto, more ice cubes and lemon juice just aint gonna cut it, let me get drunk girls!!!
So we're sitting on the couches drinking Oros when the remixed 80's music starts (very big in greece... almost as big as big in japaaaaaan), the crowd goes wild, the girls jump up to dance (around the table cause there is no dancefloor), hold on, i'm way too sober to 'want somebody to daaaaaance' *sung in my best Whitney voice*. this is the kind of music they play at Tight Beaver at 5am to get people to go home, but of course when you have had enough to drink you just loooooooove the song thats playing and you're loving all the free space on the dancefloor to show off your new old moves, the only way to get you to stop is to suggest breakfast at bimbo's. This kind of music sober is really not the same, oh and lets not forget the chorus (the only part the crowd knows) is sung with a heavy greek accent * i tzust wunt sumbudy too dans*
I spot some familiar faces in the crowd.. .the couple that needs to get a room (the Helleniko Hotel is rumoured to be just the place), the skinny girls that definitely dont throw bimbos down their throats at any time of the day or night, the ugly girl who has demolished her eyebrows in the hope that it will make her beautiful (yes i kept staring at her eyebrows), the boy who thinks he is the shit (fists up under his chin, elbows pushed out, bopping up and down and lifting his knees high, with each bop he pushes his chest and hips out, yeah i know you've seen him all over fourways too). No talent in the crowd tonight (thinking I might have to lower the standards or I'll never fulfill Liezl's 10 rule), at least in SA we could drink the boys pretty
A lot of boys are wearing shirts with rhinetones (yes i know sparkly shirts are for girls), slightly disturbing to see the boys with sparkles jumping around singing Brother Louis Louis Louis (if i was drunk i would be in heaven, a haze of sparkles and cheesy music!)
No one mingles with people they dont know, each group sits around their table the whole night. Long live dancefloors and cheap alcohol in SA where you squeeze your way through the crowd, get smooched along the way by some random hottie and make a new best friend forever in the bathroom (the girls here dont go in groups, everyone goes alone, i know!!!!!)
All in all a good night, would have been the best night ever if we had enough alcohol in our systems to looooove every song, dance with our hands over our heads all night, stumble out the club while the sun rises, munch on greasy food from bimbo's, our voices croakey from all the singing. erm i sound like an alcoholic

Don't talk to strangers

I made a friend on the bus. I was bitching about the rude bus driver in English to my cousin on my cellphone, when the bus reached my stop some random said “this is yourrr stahp sweetie”
“erm, thanks” *knows the rule – don’t talk to strangers!*
“Sooo arrre you frahm England?”
“No, from South Africa”
*walks faster*
“Sooouth Aaafrrrica! Whaht arrre you doing heeerrre?”
“Holiday”
“I’m frrrahm Flaaaaaahrrrrida, in Ameeeerrrica, have you hearrrd of Flaaaaahrrrida?”
*fast walk turns into a trot*
“Who hasn’t heard of Florida?”
“give me yourrr numberrr, maybeeee we’ll go forrr vaycaaaaayshun”
“I just got to Greece, I don’t know my cellphone number”
“Miiissed caaahll me”
*has no back up plan and remembers Liezl’s 10 rule (although he is most certainly not a worthy candidate)*
*dials the random’s number knowing full well that she will regret it*
*gets missed calls from the random all weekend long*
*regrets dialling the randoms number*

The First Good Boy a.k.a The First Attempt at Getting me off the Shelf

My laptop has been broken for a few days, it doesn’t connect to the internet at all (I know! How the flip am I supposed to survive without internet access?? Feels like I’ve been living on another planet for months). So Dimitri (Marianna’s husband) arranged for a friend of his (who knows all about computers) to come fix it.
Dimitri: “You’ll be here on Wednesday at 8:30pm”
Me: “of course! I need the laptop to be fixed pronto”
Dimitri: “Vasili is a good boy”
Me: “…………………………….” *fabulous, just fabulous, he’s trying to marry me off*
So Wednesday comes around and we gather at Dimitri’s house for dinner and to have the laptop sorted out
Dimitri: “Stavroula, sit here next to Vasili”
*rolls her eyelids and sits next to the good boy*
Dimitri: “Stavroula, have some pizza”
*gets up to get herself a slice of pizza*
Dimitri: “Vasili, do you want pizza?”
Vasili: “okay I’ll have some”
Dimitri: “Stavroula, give Vasili some pizza”
*rolls eyes and serves the good boy a slice of pizza just like a good greek girl should*
*Dimitri spots Vasili’s car keys on the table*
Dimitri: “who’s keys are these?”* turns the key over to inspect the badge* “aaah Vasili you have a really good car” *looks at me for a reaction*
*no reaction from me*
Dimitri: “ Stavroula, see this key ring, its from Switzerland, Vasili goes there to ski”
*I remain unphased*
The rest of the evening continued as above, it was a long evening…..
Me: “thanks everyone for a lovely evening, Vasili thank you for fixing the laptop, goodnight”
Dimitri: “Vasili will you walk Stavroula home? You must make sure she gets home safe, she cant walk all that way alone at this time of night, no no it wont do, you must walk with her”
- Please note that I walk home alone every night and it is completely safe to do so, the walk to my house is less than 20 seconds, its literally half a block away

So the good boy is indeed a good boy, but I didn’t come here to meet good boys *makes a note to meet some good girls to introduce the good boy to, and makes special note to get cracking on Liezl's 10 rule*

Things I am loving about Greece

- The shoes here are to die for!!! I popped into Bershka and Zara quickly the other day; the shoes were calling my name and begging to come home with me! Its times like this I wish I had a husband to fight with….
Me:”You’re sleeping on the couch!”
*door slams*
*door opens*
Me: “I hate you!”
*door slams*
*door opens*
Me: “My mother was right about you!”
*door slams*
*two days of silent treatment pass*
Him:”Baby I was wrong, I’m sorry, how can I make it up to you?”
Me:” Weeeeeeeeell we could always go past Bershka and see if they have any new shoes, and then maybe past Zara too”
- I am far from domesticated. I have learnt (on more than one occasion) that washing reds and whites together equals a lot of pink socks. Greece has a wonderful, marvelous, miraculous product called Colour Catcher – it’s a piece of paper that you put in the washing machine with your clothes, it somehow catches the colour, no more sorting clothes before washing them… I told you it’s wonderful, marvelous, miraculous! *makes a note to re-steal the red Captain Morgan t-shirt from Tyrone’s house*. And the washing powder smells so divine…….I swear I have been going out and not just doing laundry!
- I love free stuff. And glitter. If you covered a piece of poo in glitter I would buy it. If you covered a piece of poo in glitter and gave it to me for free I would be your best friend forever! The supermarkets here give you something free every time you buy something; one trip to the supermarket got me a shampoo (plus free conditioner), shower gel (plus free face wipes), magazine (plus free beach bag). The free stuff isn’t just small samples, full sizes people! ……..I swear I have been going out and not just doing laundry and grocery shopping!
- Johnson & Johnson (what do you mean its called Johnson’s now?) has the best shower gel in the world, its called Dreamy Skin, and it really makes your skin, well, dreamy
- Dove shampoo. It smells just like Dove soap and makes your hair look and feel like the girls hair in the Organics Good Hair Day ad
- Vanilla Happy Hippos. They are made by Kinder; chocolate and wafer shaped like hippos. They make me happy *swears she can feel her ass growing*
 Movie Moment: - “Luben, you need to be appy, like ze ippo”
“My name, is RUBEN not Luben, I’m going to kill you!!!!!”
- The Periptero (garage shop on steroids). You will find a periptero on pretty much every corner; from any periptero you can see at least another three. Its basically a small wendy house with a person sitting inside it, the outside (all four sides) is covered in rows of bubble gum, sweets, magazines, ice cream fridges, coodrink fridges, airtime etc etc. They are open 24 hours a day and its completely safe to walk to one at any time of the night to get that strawberry milkshake you are craving (I’m sure I could convince the shoe-buying husband to go while I keep the bed warm). The amazing part is that the person sitting inside cannot see the outside at all and yet no one steals anything!


- Internet access is super cheap. 50 Euros (approx R570) a month for unlimited internet access, and the Greeks think that is expensive!
The mobile phone packages are also brilliant. For 5 Euro (approx R57) a month you get 600 free minutes to talk to friends on the same package. For prepaid users if you run out of airtime you can still recharge your account via sms and the amount gets deducted from the next voucher you buy, you can never run out of airtime!
- Public transport is fairly cheap, easily accessible and readily available. A ticket costs 1 Euro, is valid for all means of public transport (bus, trolley, tram, metro) and is valid for an hour and a half. For example, you can take a bus to from Galatsi to Syntagma (about 30 mins) then take the metro from Syntagma to Glyfada (about 10 mins), say hi and bye then go back the way you came, the ticket is valid for the last leg of your trip even if you exceed the hour and a half, you just need to punch it again before the time is up – and you can do all that with one ticket.

Things I am not liking so much about Greece

- There is graffiti everywhere. And no its not art. Its not the impressive kind of graffiti that really is art, its just scribbles and swear words...... although some graffitti is quite funny

- You don’t have the option of prepaid internet, you need to sign a 12 month contract. At the moment I only have internet access when the neighbours with unsecured networks are online, not very reliable and as you can imagine very frustrating, I am feeling cut off from the world!
- You cant flush toilet paper. You are supposed to throw all toilet paper (yes number 1 and 2) into the dustbin provided (yip I know you just vomited a little bit in your mouth), its got something to do with the plumbing system not being good at all. Ek kan dit NIE doen nie, hulle dink ek doen maar ek KANNIE! *googles ‘plumber + athens’*
- Fanta Blue (its not actually blue, its orange, blue is just the name). Our Fanta is not the same as the Fanta here, they have a bunch of flavours, most of them are pretty good, most of them. After a particularly hot day and extensive trip on the bus I decided to try a Fanta blue to quench my thirst and cool me down*cue slow motion opening of can and droplets spraying, girl lifts can to her mouth, tilts her head back and awaits the sweet taste of relief from the summer heat* BLEEEEEEEGH!!!! Its flat!!!! Flat Fanta! *gets the grills just thinking about it (Afrikaans word not cooking equipment). Its selling point is the fact that its not carbonated. I’m sure Fanta Blue is used to wash the mouth of children who swear and backchat their mothers
- My aunt nags me more than my mother does! she is trying desperately to convince me to get married

Things I need to get used to in Greece

- Traffic comes towards you from the opposite way, very useful info for crossing the road!
- Petrol stations close at night...only one or two stay open but that works on a rotational basis. What do you do if you need petrol late at night???? oh and they call petrol benzine and benzine petrol
- 7pm is considered afternoon, dinner time is around 11pm
- No one likes the sun.... curtains and doors are closed and people stay indoors when the sun is shining. They think I am weird cause I contort my body to get every possible ray of sunshine on me
- Electrical wall sockets dont have on/off switches, you simply plug in an appliance and uplug it, freaks me out every time!
- People switch off their geysers when not in use, you need to remember to switch it on before you shower.... and you need to wait for it to heat up *yawn* and you best remember to switch it off when you are done!
- Women really stay home to cook and clean and look after the children... all the coffee shops are full of groups of men, not a housewife in sight..... Long Live being Single and having people to cook and clean for you!
- Socialising is expensive... a coffee costs 4 euros (apprx R11.50 x 4) and a waffle costs 8 euros. Everyone orders one coffee and sips it real slow
- The apartment blocks are extremely close together (hear-your-neighbour-fart-close)... and everyones mom lives with them... there must be a hellavuh lot of sexually frustrated people running around - no one wonder the people here are so rude!
- People eat way too much here, think supersize at each meal! And its offensive to not eat....I'm going to be as big as a house soon

My Living Arrangements

25 Argostoliou, Galatsi – Kosmeria’s Apartment

My cousin Marianna (Kosmeria’s daughter) lives at 11 Argostoliou, its literally half a block away from number 25. Kosmeria lives with Marianna to help her with her babies, so 25 Argostoliou is all mine! First floor apartment with all the bells and whistles I could wish for. My favourite feature is the balcony, perfect for catching some rays in the afternoon while painting your nails, and for being nosy and seeing what the neighbours are up to (I haven’t actually seen anyone from my building, haven’t heard anyone, starting to think I don’t actually have neighbours , but the neighbours across the road will do….) There are shutters on the windows that let the air in but keep the sunlight out, allows me to sleep in as much as I like (I know I know I should be looking for a job not sleeping all day and painting my nails the rest of the time… work is overrated *puts a 2nd coat of nail polish on*)

11 Argostoliou, Galatsi – Marianna’s Apartment

People living there:
Marianna (very sweet cousin who goes out of her way for me)
Dimitri (Marianna’s husband – very sweet , we like him– gave me a full size bottle of Dolce & Gabbana The One and the matching golden shimmer lotion, we really really like him
Marianna’s kids: Vangeli and Angelina, both very good children (when Angelina is not pinching me! The kid pinches me everytime she sees me!)
Kosmeria: My aunt (my dad’s sister), and the former tenant of my apartment. She is also the babysitter and the chef . As soon as food is ready she phones me to come eat, then I go have a nap then she calls me when the food is ready, then I go have a nap
The best feature at 11 Argostoliou is the neighbour with the unsecured wireless network!!

28 Oktobriou, 44, Vrilissia - Glykeria’s apartment (this is where I’ll be living when I’m not at Kosmero’s apartment)

Really fab apartment, divine bathroom with a spa bath…. I wish Denis was here, he has the best bath parties *makes a mental note to make friends soon*
Glykeria is a crazy cousin from my dad’s side, the biggest party animal you will ever meet, very witty, we are gonna have a blast living together! Everything is going to be suuuuppppeeerrr! The only thing I don’t like is the neighbours pool….. huge bright blue pool in full view from our balcony, you can hear people splashing in it while you roast at 37 degrees Celsius…… we need to make friends with someone who lives in the apartment block next door, I’m prepared to swim and tan topless! Make Greece beautiful :-)

Arriving in Athens

Always carry coins with you.

I arrived at the airport in Athens at 05:30 and had to walk about a kilometre to Baggage Claim, dragging my 10kg hand luggage and 9kg hand bag and 7kg cat along with me (yes I know it should have been less than 7kg in total but I need my stuff!) Really going to wear comfy shoes on the next flight and wont give a shit if they dont match my nailpolish!

My luggage arrived in one piece, hallelujah! Really glad I have a silver makeup kit and bright pink suitcase, spotting them was a breeze. You need to pay 1 euro for a trolley, the smallest denomination I had was a 10 euro note and the machine doesnt accept anything bigger than 5 euro notes - and of course the foreign exchange desk wasnt open (despite the man sitting behind the counter not seeming productive at all). I hung around for about 15 minutes until a very kind lady gave me one of her coins. Always carry coins with you!

Proceeded to Customs... not a soul in sight..... I walked straight through Customs and out of the airport *note to self: smuggle drugs at 05:30am*

Leaving South Africa

So of course I hadnt packed and of course I was running late, story of my life. My mom wailed her head off - bear in mind her flight to Greece is a week after mine and she will be here for two of the four months.....

Said sad goodbyes to everyone and rushed off to get the cat, half way there Hellen asked if I had the injection for the cat.....FAAAAAARK! had to go all the way home to get it, got to the airport extremely late. Rushed to check in to find out that I had 2kg excess baggage, the cat was an extra 7kgs, rushed off to pay for it but the speedpoint kept giving a communication failure..... so between my oh-so-fabulous-life-saving friends we managed to put together R2500, R475 short. The kind man from Olympic eventually let us have a discount, the plane was ready to leave and I hadnt checked in yet!

Rushed to the boarding gates with Hellen squealing and stressing me out, kiss kiss cry cry bye bye....then the Twin got down on one knee and opened a pretty little box....'oh my god you are crazy'.....slipped the ring on my finger, perfect fit, kiss kiss cry cry.... I looked up and saw Hellen, Marianna and Denis gobsmacked.....'k i've got to go bye love you all will miss you all!'

*beep beep* *sms from Denis* 'so are you engaged?'
*beep beep* *sms from Marianna* 'oh my god Stavs thats the most beautiful thing i've ever seen! so are you engaged?'
*beep beep* *sms from Hellen* 'what the hell was that? are you engaged?*
Erm no we're not engaged, its a Twin thing, its kinda an open invitation for when and if either of us grows up and decides to be responsible - no chance of that happening so lets all take a chill pill!

for the record, i love the ring... of course i kept it!!!

enough about my play play engagement.... where were we? oh right, at the boarding gates....
"athens, athens"
"i'm coming!"
"Mam you need to run"
"I cant run with the cat!!!"
"Mam you need to run, you are the last passenger and the plane is ready for take off"
"fuck fuck fuck"
*makes a mental note to never wear pretty heels when there is even the slightest possibility that you may need to run through an airport carrying a 7kg cat*

the flight was pretty good, had 3 seats to myself cause the old man sitting next to me bolted when he saw the cat! slept most of the way and the cat behaved herself