My very first cake!

Remember the cake I was talking about yesterday? I finished it. It turned out rather messy, but it tasted fine! I'm very happy. I foresee a cake filled future for me. Just as soon as I get 1. some round cake tins 2. a cake tray 3. a spatula.

ps. Notice my crazy 70s kitchen tiles! I have similar style (but blue of course) in the bathroom. Hooray for old-fashioned tiles!

I'm still alive, barely

It's been ages since I've felt up to posting. I spent most of the summer depressed, annoyed and tired. Even my holidays turned out to be a tiring and at times frustrating hike through the greek islands. I had never been to so many islands over a three-week period! I had never taken so many consecutive boats and buses during such a short period. I had never had so many things go wrong!

So when september came I was anything but rested. September and October I passed the time being largely blue.

So that's what I've been up to. Not very interesting and not much fun.

And today is my sister's birthday and I'm baking my first cake! There is so much room for thing going terribly wrong! I have so far baked the cake that looks ok, even though it's rectangular. I didn't have a round cake tin. I just realised I don't have a large dish to put my weird square cake in! I should pop to the supermarket to see if I can find anything. And then I have to glaze it! The glaze is setting in the fridge.

Cracked Amphoree in Loutraki

The week-end that past I went to Loutraki. Loutraki is a small sea-side town very near Athens famous for it's spring water (which the rest of Greece buys in bottles), it's therapeutic spas (actually I found most of them closed, what a waste!) and recently, it's casino.

I was rather disappointed. For some reason I had imagined Loutraki to be the Greek equivalent of Bath in the UK. It turned out to be more similar to Blackpool. And even then far uglier. Not a fancy hotel or old stately building in sight! Everything was tall utilitarian modern blocks...

However I had a good time. It's the company, not the location, that's most important. And I was in good company. I swam, I ate, I took photos and caught up with friends. All in all a worthwhile trip.

However, on the way to a nearby monastery I came across this little gem:



Ironic Post-Modernism in the greek countryside? It brought to mind this iconic building:

Seaside AlleyCat race

In February I mentioned taking part in a Carnival AlleyCat Race held by the team 'local'. It was so much fun that when I heard about the Seaside AlleyCat Race the Sunday that past, I had to take part in that one too!

I must say that it was exhausting! But also exhilarating. It was much harder than the Frebuary one, this time we did 36 kilometres! And took a boat to an island. If I didn't take two big breaks in the middle, I wouldn't have made it. But I did, and I have been feeling very smug and proud of myself ever since.

For those who know Athens and would like to know this times itinerary:
Start point Athens 1st Cemetary - Mets
1st checkpoint Tom's Corner - Plaka
2nd checkpoint Nea Smyrni Park - Nea Smyrni
3rd checkpoint "Freed" Beach in Elliniko (here I took a half an hour break)
4th checkpoint Faliro Square - Paleo Faliro
5th checkpoint Ticket Office for boats to Aigina - Piraeus (here we all took a one hour break
while on the boat)
Finish point Perdika Beach - Aigina

Second Athens Biennale

Sunday evening I went to a couple of free concerts held within the bounds of the second Athens Biennale. They where held along the Athens coastline of Palaio Faliro. It's an interesting part of Athens. You have the sea - and even a couple of sandy beaches where people swim -, you have pedestrian paths and cafeterias and playgrounds and marinas and you also have the tramway separating you from the littoral main road. I didn't take my bulky camera so I ended up taking photos and videos with my mobile. The turned out suitably crappy, but I'll show you them anyway.

First we saw Larry Gus, who set himself up in a children's playground in Batis and played weird electronic noise to a setting of barking dogs and young children climbing over him or stealing his toys.




Afterwards we went a little further, where St Peter gave us wings so we could go into the enclosure and see The Tree of Wisdom and The Holy Ghost (a dove) - otherwise known as My Wet Calvin. At the end of the live the enclosure was torn down and we made our way with our wings to Floisvos.
                       




At Floisvos we saw the Lumiere Brother play hunched over his keyboard, under the sparse light of a single streetlight.




The finale were The Flakes, a classic indie group with two guitars and a girl singer.

Athens Gay Pride

So on Saturday I went to the Athens Gay Pride. I have so many gay friends that it only made sense to go. When I was in Paris for two years I went to both Prides and I remember how much fun they were. A crazy multicoloured street-party. Unfortunately in Greece everything is more sedate. Comparatively it was rather boring. Very few people came - most greek gays are deep in the closet and live in fear of their parents finding out. Things however are changing. The teenagers of today are nothing like we were. In some things they are much more courageous - it certainly helps that their parents are also nothing like ours...

A lot of straight friends and aquaintances showed up that I thought wouldn't. I even saw a guy from university I alway thought was cute kissing his boyfriend. I never knew he was gay. It stands to reason that all the cute ones are.

Monday was a bank holiday

Monday was a bank holiday and the weather is hot. So I did what all reasonable Athenians do under the circumstances. I escaped – briefly – from the sweltering hell-hole that is our metropolis.

I went camping! Under the pine trees in Agkistri. It’s a sweet island, very convenient for short getaways. Only two hours from Piraeus by boat and the pine forest that is used as a free camping site is an easy walk from the port.

Unfortunately everybody always has the same idea. The place was crawling with people and campers. The seas were full of sailing boats and speed-boats.

It had been three years since I last visited the island. As usual development is an unstoppable evil. The place was amazingly more built up that I remember it. Even all the old tavernas has renovated into new chic places. It’s not that they weren’t nicely done, it’s that everyplace has ended up the same. Restaurants and cafeterias are the same whether you’re in Athens or an island. Greece or another country.

And I mustn’t forget the scourge of our islands: the permanent installation of deckchairs and umbrellas. While quite a few people like umbrellas and deck chairs on the beaches, and don’t mind paying for them, the truth remains that it’s illegal and that a large number of us do not appreciate the blatant hijacking of our public spaces. (By law in Greece all beaches are public property.) All too often we are pushed of the sandy beaches by the deck chairs of the littoral cafeterias and forced to take refuge on the rocks to lay our towels. Actually it’s better to avoid beaches with easy car access all together. If the only way to get to a beach is by a long walk and a steep climb down a cliff, chances are that it’ll be free of deck chairs and annoying dance music.

I shouldn’t complain. I needed the escape. Walking through pine forests instead of taking crowded rush hour buses. Swimming in blue seas and burning myself on hot beaches instead of counting down hours in the office.

As usual I arrived back in Athens exhausted – it’s near impossible sleeping in a camping site, one of your neighbours will invariably hold an all-night party and by nine in the morning the tent has always become a furnace, forcing you out. I also got back full of giant splotches all over my legs. Why oh why do insects insist on biting me? One of the beaches we went to was infested with horse flies and they decided to make a meal of me.

Back in Athens it’s hot hot hot. And I’m bored bored bored at my job. On the upside I have a dance class this afternoon (one of the few things I truly enjoy during my week). And the weekend is approaching again!