Some photos from the weekend and the last few days.

These tiles were in the forest. Honestly.

"Key Clinic" or maybe "Key doctor"

Lydia’s tavern in Kaisariani, Athens

"Vraziliana" in Petralona, Athens

"Kappari" in Petralona, Athens

At "Rakaki" in Kaisariani, Athens. It was M’s birthday

Your Hand in Mine: An amazing greek band. Listen to them here.

Monika: She is really lovely, also Greek. Listen to her here.

The recession? Does it scare you? It scares me seeing people losing jobs and homes. Here’s a song I thought very appropriate.

Before the fiddlers have fled
Before they ask us to pay the bill
And while we still have the chance
Let’s face the music and dance

The Doric temple of Hephaestus, Agora of Athens

You know what this is

Temple of Hephaestus

Stoa (arcade) of Attalos, Athenian Agora

Byzantine church of Holy Apostles in the Agora. More than 10 centuries old and still standing.

Thisseio area

The cafe in Monastiraki had great music and 100 different kinds of coffee. Also, the kindest waitress ever.

My son was mortified because I bought this parasol and kept parading it around. Everybody carried one on Sunday, the weather was so hot and the parasols were so cheap.

There is a little store in Monastiraki that sells beads. I bought a couple and made this in the car, on the way home.

I got some old postcards too. My son bought some old German banknotes and now we are rich.

 The unavoidable flower

The main reason I decided to post my Sunday walk photos was that last night a fear of imminent death came upon me and the first thought in my head was: " If I die tonight my last post will have been the one about James McAvoy. I am going to be remembered as the girl who had a crush on an Scottish actor. " So I posted the pictures. I don’t know what is worse; Fear of death or internet angst.

It’s the Carnival season and my son found this nice outfit on ebay

We went out to lunch with his best friend. I am really sick and tired of hearing jokes about willies and butts from both of them.

Thankfully, they kept painting throughout lunch (scenes from Star Wars)

At some point I was quite bored so I took a photo of M’s shoes.

This is a nice italian restaurant with handmade pasta.

I am proud to report I didn’t have one bite of this. My nutritionist shakes my hand every time I am good, so I expect a lot of handshaking this Tuesday.

This is in my neighbourhood.

This is our street. It is unrecognizable.

This is the tree I see from my balcony

Anakin Skywalker looks a bit cross. I’d be too if I had to walk in the snow. The one left behind wasn’t as lucky though.

When it snows in Athens you have to read lots of comics to spend the weekend. And that’s what my son did.

This is the shopping bag we made for the magazine I work for.

I made some spanakorizo. That’s spinach rice. You eat it with feta cheese.

I bought these new plates for 1 Euro each.

The Snow

You have to forgive the millions of boring snow photos, but you must understand my excitement. We see snow every 3 to 4 years in Athens, at least in the southern suburbs where I live. I was watching the people walking in the street with a big smile on their faces. Even my grumpy neighbours went out to play with the snow.

The computer

Well, the computer died. It was a long awaited death. I am writing this on M’s laptop. I didn’t have an internet connection for a week because I couldn’t configure the router’s settings. Finally I called the help desk and they DIDN’T help at all. I did the opposite of what they had told me to do and it worked.

The translations

I have been working for a history project since September, essentially translating from Greek to English, hundreds of interviews from people who experienced certain events that are important in modern greek history. And it ends in late February, so I have neglected everything else. Most days, all I do is translate. Sometimes it is boring, but other times, what I have to translate is moving and well written and it brings tears to my eyes.

The house

We have been looking for a house. This brings tears to my eyes too. Tears of laughter. Why do people who sell their houses believe they are selling you the key to heaven? Along with St. Peter, 2 in one?

This is quince with leeks and plums, it’s a special food that smells of cinnamon, very exotic.

I don’t actually eat pink feathers, they  are my crazy boudoir decor

This is called bougiourdi, it’s baked feta and fresh tomato sauce and red hot pepper

There were many more around there, the lens is not big enough

Regular post tomorrow: Drama, taxi drivers, deadlines, all you’ve come to expect and more

These are some of the photos I took this weekend in Old Athens. I was glad to find a favourite cafe open again, the weather was good and it was nice to be outside. You can see more photos on my Flickr stream . I am going to post some more tomorrow along with good old food porn.

Someone bit off her chocolate hands

Do not smile. I am going to eat you up. I went to this food show on Sunday with my sister. You could actually try all these things. You could ask for a tartlet and they’d give it to you for free. Afterwards, they’d ask if you have a bakery or pastry shop, and you’d lie and say you work for a chef, so they’d give you some more. Replace "you" with "I".