It's not quite summer until the plane is landing in Athens. The trip was a long one, filled with little children (ours) crying, running, playing, and laughing. We were fortunate to share the KL to Doha flight with our friends Matt and Cat and their little son Jonathon. He loves Irini and Irini loves him, so the two (and sometimes three) of them spent a good deal of time yelling from one window seat to the other "Jonny!" or "Rini!" across the wide body jet. We were in the same row, but opposite sides. Happily for us, the middle section of four seats only had two people in it, a beautiful and very happy girl (around 10) named Oomia (meaning wish in Sudanese we were told) and her mother who fell in love with Amalia. They were happy to allow the onslaught of toddlers to run back and forth throughout the 7 hour flight and this made all the difference for us.
Once in Doha, we were whisked away from our friends (who had a four hour lay over in wait for the flight to London) by the ground crew and thrust onto our next flight. We were on the ground for probably no more than 25 minutes or so. The second flight was smooth as can be (happily for Laurence) and after lunch we all promptly fell asleep for the final hour and a half of the flight. Laurence woke up, of course, to watch the Greek islands appear below as the plane descended and, just as always happens, watching the Aegean below brought a sudden - and much welcomed - sense of tranquility and 'home' to him.
The arrival was uneventful apart from poor Irini trying to walk up the jetway and into the terminal. For the first time we didn't bring a stroller, meaning that she had to walk but, having been sleeping the last leg of the journey, she found it difficult to do so. She swayed this way and that while other passengers patiently waited behind us. She was, as always, adorable.
After a short taxi ride (the roads were empty and the taxi driver was going 150 km/hr ) we got home just in time to meet the chatter of a Greek apartment building evening. Is seemed like all the families were out on the balcony overlooking the park and Laurence found great sense of belonging instantly. This is the stuff he had been missing. The dry relatively cool (27 degrees) evening was upon them and it was the perfect time for an arrival. As they got to the apartment they found it empty, of course, for the first time ever. Irini asked where "pappou" was and was told that he was in Sweden (our next stop) but yes, this was his apartment. She was later heard explaining this to Amalia who had, apparently, missed it the first time. :-)
An empty apartment, though peaceful, means no food. So off we all went down the back streets of Marousi to find an Evga (a corner store). It was Sunday afternoon. Would it be open? It was! The woman inside was friendly as can be and immediately moved conversation to where her family is from, the content of the products that she sells (and recommends to us since we have children), the concerns about industrially manufactures products, where we were from and how she has a sister-in-law from Bogotá also that loves living in Preveza, where she is from. How wonderful for Laurence to be in this environment! That was probably the longest conversation he has had with a stranger in at least six months, AND in Greek!
The walk from the store to our local little souvlaki shop took only five minutes, but we stopped three times, once to look at the purple flowers (Irini's favorite color), once to smell the pines and once to look at the dogs passing by. It was a delightful evening with a 'nip' in the air that would prompt Irini to ask for her sweater. We are tropical beings these days. The souvlakia were ordered and devoured with a side order of french fries and tzatziki, of course, and the girls took the time to walk around sidewalk and sit with their mother on the steps and chat and look and feel the place out. Laurence sat alone to finish his meal (and the left overs) and took the opportunity to chat with the restaurant owner about the day's events and the Greek economic situation. It seems that the arrival day also marked the largest peaceful demonstration in Greek history since the demonstrations against the junta in 1974. Over 200,000 people were downtown in front of the parliament as Laurence, Natalia, Irini and Amalia flew in and took their walk in the quiet Marousi streets. The souvlaki place owner joked about everyone heading down there just to welcome us with some peace and quiet.
It was the kind of evening that Laurence has so much missed. It was the kind of evening he wants to give his daughters time and time again. It was the kind of experience that makes Greece such a major part of him and - he hopes - of them as well. Home again. Summer has begun.
The arrival was uneventful apart from poor Irini trying to walk up the jetway and into the terminal. For the first time we didn't bring a stroller, meaning that she had to walk but, having been sleeping the last leg of the journey, she found it difficult to do so. She swayed this way and that while other passengers patiently waited behind us. She was, as always, adorable.
After a short taxi ride (the roads were empty and the taxi driver was going 150 km/hr ) we got home just in time to meet the chatter of a Greek apartment building evening. Is seemed like all the families were out on the balcony overlooking the park and Laurence found great sense of belonging instantly. This is the stuff he had been missing. The dry relatively cool (27 degrees) evening was upon them and it was the perfect time for an arrival. As they got to the apartment they found it empty, of course, for the first time ever. Irini asked where "pappou" was and was told that he was in Sweden (our next stop) but yes, this was his apartment. She was later heard explaining this to Amalia who had, apparently, missed it the first time. :-)
An empty apartment, though peaceful, means no food. So off we all went down the back streets of Marousi to find an Evga (a corner store). It was Sunday afternoon. Would it be open? It was! The woman inside was friendly as can be and immediately moved conversation to where her family is from, the content of the products that she sells (and recommends to us since we have children), the concerns about industrially manufactures products, where we were from and how she has a sister-in-law from Bogotá also that loves living in Preveza, where she is from. How wonderful for Laurence to be in this environment! That was probably the longest conversation he has had with a stranger in at least six months, AND in Greek!
The walk from the store to our local little souvlaki shop took only five minutes, but we stopped three times, once to look at the purple flowers (Irini's favorite color), once to smell the pines and once to look at the dogs passing by. It was a delightful evening with a 'nip' in the air that would prompt Irini to ask for her sweater. We are tropical beings these days. The souvlakia were ordered and devoured with a side order of french fries and tzatziki, of course, and the girls took the time to walk around sidewalk and sit with their mother on the steps and chat and look and feel the place out. Laurence sat alone to finish his meal (and the left overs) and took the opportunity to chat with the restaurant owner about the day's events and the Greek economic situation. It seems that the arrival day also marked the largest peaceful demonstration in Greek history since the demonstrations against the junta in 1974. Over 200,000 people were downtown in front of the parliament as Laurence, Natalia, Irini and Amalia flew in and took their walk in the quiet Marousi streets. The souvlaki place owner joked about everyone heading down there just to welcome us with some peace and quiet.
It was the kind of evening that Laurence has so much missed. It was the kind of evening he wants to give his daughters time and time again. It was the kind of experience that makes Greece such a major part of him and - he hopes - of them as well. Home again. Summer has begun.
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