Home is where the heart is.

I spent three weeks home and I did not want to leave. Where is home? For first time after long time I felt like home in Greece where my family is, my parents, my grand mum, my uncles and aunts, my cousins and some closed friends.And of course zouzou, my cat!

I felt warm and safe with so much unconditional love,full of questions like do you want an orange juice, have you eaten pie, are you warm, are you ok?????

nothing bothered me, I enjoyed everything.

I could not hold my tears at the airport when I had to say goodbye to the two people I love mostly, dad and Kiki. It's those few moments before you board when you manage to say everything you want, like I love you guys, take care of yourselves,already miss you cause you are my port, my safety net no matter what!

I returned to my apartment and PJ Harvey's song, One day I know there will be a placed called home, was in my ears.....how many homes can someone have? in how many places your heart can be????? in many I guess

It's a nice day.....if you like the rain!

I could not stop laughing when the taxi driver told me that with a big smile while picking me up from the station....

words of wisdom, simple words which reflect a half full glass and not a half empty...

The last months I try to be positive but I give up very often ending up more erratic than the Irish weather.I expect too much from those who surround me, get easily disappointed, act spontaneously, regret immediately. Being impatient to achieve peace I forget which are my goals.I try to find distractions from those things who stress me, but on the other hand I do know that only when I face them I ll be again like Greek weather...sunny, smiling, warm,generous with the others, human...until then I have to say that every day is nice cause I do like the rain!!!!

Would you like a turn down????

I haven't written for more than 2 months, lack of inspiration or better lack of time!

I spent the last 2 weeks in the Hague with a small group of people,

we talked about art.53 among other things, I complained how unfriendly to high heels the Hague is, we laughed a lot and said au revoir for March.

back to the ocean view, with 3 new books, 2 new pairs of shoes while reading newspapers with coffee I cannot stop smiling thinking of the question whether I would like a turn down?????

PS. A six hour movie is waiting for me on the coffee table, a wonderful memory of a rainy day in Leiden with a young boy!

Jasmin roots

today is my name day

The biggest celebration for all the Greek Orthodox.

I'm sitting in the garden drinking a glass of cold prosecco realizing how deeply rooted I am in this part of the world. The aroma of the jasmin while closing my eyes makes me feel really blessed. Only those who were born in mediterranean can share this feeling..

the number of adios

only today I realized that the number of phone calls you make to say goodbye to people, the number of coffees you drink with them and the last minute lunches and drinks you try to schedule indicates your connection with the place you live.

I was never connected to cities apart from NY. I was always connected to situations and people.

It provided me with a sense of freedom that I consider necessary.

today though I felt a bit different, cause the number of adios made my return more tolerable.....

Bookstores as beautiful as purple butterflies

I had to kill 15 minutes to pick up a bouquet so I decided to visit an old bookstore in Galway famous for its second hand department.

I opened the door and my heart smiled.It was full of silent people, focused on book hunting in a sacred manner.

I strolled around and after 5 minutes I ended up with 6 books.

I paid and walked out surrounded by an aura of calmness.

I cannot describe the magic of bookstores, either in Thessaloniki or in NY or in Paris or in Berlin or in Istanbul. Small bookstores full of smells and silence always occupied by interesting figures.

Someone told me that the best way to get to know to a city is visiting its bookstores and more and more I realize how right he was.

Evacuation kit...

This afternoon my ceiling started leaking.

all my sandals were in dangerous distance to be ruined...panicky I removed them to the other room together with a pile of books I selected to take with me in Greece. While waiting my landlord I started thinking, what my evacuation priorities were.

I made sure that my shoes and books together with my laptop were safe. I didn't care for the clothes and the furniture.

3 years ago in NY I had to evacuate my apartment. That time I took with me my passport, wallet and my USB sticks, no coat no shoes even though it was 2 am and cold.

how indicative of the evolution of our life the evacuation kit is.......