G3 -Greek Government gaffes: new episodes

After accusing taxi drivers of harming the tourist season and defaming Greece as an international destination the Greek government decided to give them a helping hand by making things worse! As from September 1 the VAT for foodstuff served in restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, fast food shops etc will go up from 13% to 23%!! [...]

Fires in Corfu are due to arson according to the local fire department

Large scale fires are raging on the island of Corfu. The Fire dpt claims that they are due to arson and the Mayor seems to agree since the fires spread from the north to the south of the island. The fire started at about 17.30 and was still going on at 20.30 while re-enforcements are [...]

Greek taxi drivers strike escalates

At a television panel on ALTER TV station the President of the taxi owners’association asked the taxi owners and drivers to refrain from any violent acts.”We follow Ghandi’s view”, he claimed. “Mr. Ragousis (Minister of infrastructure) is praying for us to cause disruption. We must keep our cool, march peacefully and make proposals.” Mr.Lyberopoulos, as [...]

Greek taxi drivers strike – ports and airports blocked all over the country

After their fruitless meeting with Greek infrastructure Minister Mr. Ragoussis the Athens taxi owners’union renewed their promise to gather outside the ministry in the center of the capital. At the same time, true to its warnings, the Greek police attacked the taxi drivers who had blocked the Heraklion airport in Crete. The skirmishes were quite [...]

Leros – lazy, lush and lingering – my Greek island of the year

Leros, one of the Dodecanese islands, lies between Kalymnos ( a tiny island famous for its spongers ) and Patmos (the island of the Apocalypse) in the South Eastern part of the Aegean. The sea trip takes from 8 to 12 hours depending on the boat and the stops it makes but it is so [...]

The heat keeps rising in Athens and I am soooo grateful to be in Leros, a Dodecanese island right next to Turkey. Not a very well known or popular one (I’ll tell you all about it in the next post) but definitely one of the most pleasing in the eye and most genuine islands I [...]

Santorini a sure winner

Santorini has always been a favourite destination. Its haunting past, its impressive location, the mystery that surrounds it added to warm, genuine people and exquisite food and wine make it a real jewel of the Aegean. This year it was voted the best island by the readers of travel + leisure magazine and its inhabitants [...]

A special night out – Lisbon via Athens

Tonight was a special night out. Miracles never cease in big cities. I heard on the radio about the MUSEUM OF GREEK FOLK musical instruments and its daily June-July concerts.Most of my friends knew of it already so I felt once more like a diaspora Greek or a plain tourist. An expected leafy yard in [...]

Sunday – ouzomezedes

Sunday has always been a special day for the majority of Greek families. Those of us who are ardent Christians do not miss church. Those of us who are not also do not miss church: we visit the church yard for a chat and in order to meet friends and go for a coffee or [...]

Summer has finally arrived to Greece

Today, Saturday, 11 June 2011, is the first day of a long weekend and the first day I actually saw people hit the beaches and celebrate the arrival of summer. The financial crisis that has hit the country cannot fight against the heat and the tempting blue sea that surrounds Athens. The Saronic gulf, from [...]