Wednesday 29^th August, 2018 1730

On arrival at Zhongchuan airport I bought a train ticket but afterwards noticed I had to wait two hours for the next one! To hell with that, lost some money in returning it and buying a ticket for the bus which costs more to start with but at least I know now where to get off and take a taxi home. Ten hours from start to finish and by then I was overtired but in need of cold liquids. It was the wee hours before I went to bed and frustratingly I was up yesterday at 0545, still knackered.

I only went out for my usual at the jing jo shop, the rest of the day was spent doing the huge pile of laundry that had accumulated. I don't know if I pulled a muscle lifting my suitcase (at 25kg I would have laughed at it when I was on the trucks) but the painkillers never cut the mustard last night. I did get to sleep but awoke in the dark due to pain and try as I might I could not find a painless position. At 0545 (again) I got up, fired up the laptop and then hunted for one of my remaining remedeine tablets from the UK. Well out of date of course but they still work. I waited until it had kicked in and returned to bed for a couple of hours.

Today I went to BHG and also a chemist for some ibuprofen. Hard to find here, they sold me medicine in a box with no English and only later did I realise it was diclofenac – I take that already! So, when I got back I had to walk to the local chemist. That was a trial, both hips and my side are almost crippling me. I took the precaution of finding out how to say “painkiller” in Chinese (zhitong yao) but it took four assistants to understand simple Chinese!

Once I got through to them they also tried to flog me diclofenac so I demonstrated that I didn't want anything for my joints, just pain. To do this I whacked my hand with my phone, let out a loud aaahhh!!! and indicated I wanted tablets for just such a thing. No idea what I have but Mr Jing Jo seemed to think they were right. I'll find out later.

Stephanie says she brought a load from the Peace Corps stash so at least I will not be completely bereft. They've already got her hard at it, with meetings, classes, planning etc and it appears the only weekday night she is free for our western meals is Monday. I'm pretty sure it will be good for me (I get my timetable on Saturday) and I hope it's ok for Annie and Alice. Of course it they weren't all young we could do it at the weekend but then I was young once – even though it seems a century ago now.

So tomorrow I hope to drag my sorry carcase out of the flat and carry out a cigar sortie, if nothing else it will keep me in their minds. I don't think I can blame the shops for not getting enough, I do think the government decides what they get and how many.

Monday 27^th August, 2018 1330

China Eastern VIP Lounge, PVG

The weekend in Shanghai passed in a giddy whirl and a blur.

Kevin was already in the hotel by the time I awoke on Saturday so the first thing we did after not having seen each other for three years was.........go downstairs for a smoke. The hotel was a non-smoking throughout job which basically means you end up puffing out of the room window and blowing or brushing any ash that gets on the windowsill off!

Saturday evening was the “biggie” with our party numbering eight – Roland and TJ his son, Joanna and Sean, Kevin and Vivi, Rinka and me. Initially the plan had been to eat in the White Horse but apparently it was deemed too noisy (our carload arrived later as Joanna went to get me some painkillers from a chemist) and so we ended up in the Cambridge, I think the area is called Thumb Plaza, there're an unbelievable number of bars and clubs jostling for business, cheek by jowl.

Good western food and between us we consumed two burgers, lasagne, two steak and ale pies, fish and chips, cottage pie etc. Having eaten sod all on Friday night I managed to eat two thirds of my pie, impressive!

After the meal things went rapidly downhill. TJ (being 14) had to go home, as did Joanna, Sean and Rinka due to their distances, Kevin and Vivi left because he was tired after travelling from the Phillipines. That left the two diehard old salts – or should that be “soaks”?

Across the road to the Irishman's Pub for one, sitting outside and taking in the dubious pleasures of all the music from all the bands in the clubs all together. Next it was upstairs to the Blue Marlin, where the live band were performing purely for the staff – they had absolutely no customers on a Saturday night!

Much to my embarrassment we left without sitting (I would have had one drink and left) and decamped to the White Horse, which by then had become less crowded, still had a decent band playing. Time for pool and I shall not embarrass anyone by revealing the result. We were gearing up to leave when a Surrey girl and a Kiwi came in, clearly in the same line of work I am in but we never revealed that until later. They had been in China precisely two weeks and they were, to put it kindly, pissed.

At 0250 the owner advised us that he was closing at three (bloody cheek, it's not often I stay out late) but we were welcome to order drinks and take them outside. We did. So there were two girls, two cousins (one about 65, the other 25 – true!) and us, sitting at a table shooting the breeze and it was only when the White Horse staff actually turned the lights off, locked up and gave us two battery-powered table lamps to see by that I noticed the entire area, which had been heaving with lights previously, was in complete darkness. Not even a streetlamp.

Roland dropped me off at the hotel at 0345 and just under an hour later I went to bed. Amazingly, I got up just after ten and on switching my phone on received a text from Kevin, sent an hour before, informing me that they were going for breakfast if I wanted to join them. No chance!!!

At lunchtime I took the pair to the Flying Fox, where the three of us nearly finished the cheese platter (same as I had on Thursday night – well the dog got more than me) and two bottles of wine. Then it was time to head back to the hotel to get Kevin's bag and for them to go to the train station, thence Huangshan. He has threatened to come to Lanzhou during Golden Week (early October) and I hope he does. We may be a thousand miles apart in the same country but three years is a long time.

Last night we went for an Indian, just the four of us. The chardonnay was particularly nice and all was going spiffingly until the main courses arrived. Admittedly it's not on the menu but they have made it for me before, I ordered a prawn and mushroom balti/bhoona (didn't matter which as long as it never blew my head off) which, when it arrived, was cunningly disguised as mutton curry. How they hoped I wouldn't notice – even blind drunk – is beyond me. I may not even have complained had they substituted chicken but they chose the one meat I hate. And I am weird, once something confrontational happens, my appetite exits stage left. Yet again a night spent watching others dine.

This morning I had intended to go down for breakfast. Given the hassle of getting snot-side-up fried eggs on Saturday, chicken sausages and no bacon, it would at best have been a couple of bowls of cornflakes. In the event I never bothered, instead going to the tobacconist to see if he had new stock of my cigars. He didn't, they are coming tomorrow, I shall be in Lanzhou. However there was madness in my method. I had previously seen full coronas in the same brand (20y for 10) so they were my fall-back. They make me cough at first but I cleared him out of those too, fifty of them were all he had. I have about a fortnight to scour Lanzhou for my smokes before panicking.

Can't recall if I mentioned this but the Maglev tickets appeared to be 60y (discounted from 70y on production of boarding pass) for a single OR a return. Roland harboured suspicions the return part was only valid for the same day (yes, around 1730 each day the thing is cranked up to 435km/h for tourists, who do nothing more than go to the airport and back without leaving the train. It worked. No time limit. I must remember next time I visit.

Oh! Long way off I know but Joanna and Sean plan to marry in two years time. Putting the fact it will break my heart aside (silly old fool's dreams), they have accorded me the highest honour in their gift. I am to be the host at their wedding. I think it's best man, father of the bride, groom (I wish!) and ushers all in one job. Need to do my research.

So barring this last flight, my holiday is over. More hectic than intended even though I personally did nothing but I have to say I got it the right way around. This “Shanghai” has been the best ever and I wish I could do it every month. You don't actually get many real friends in life but I met up with three of them this weekend.

Friday 24^th August, 2018 1845

By the standards of my travels, this summer had been going remarkably well up until yesterday, only two more short flights to take and I would really have had nothing to whinge about.

I was treating Alice to her first flight turning left at the top of the gangway instead of right and we arrived at the airport in good time. Got to the business check-in and it all went predictably, horribly wrong. They wouldn't check Alice in. Why? My autofill (which admittedly some time ago I must have input) had transposed the first letters of her Christian and surnames.

The only solution was to call Ctrip who could only cancel the ticket (at a fee of 300y) and we then had to buy a fresh one at the counter. Luckily a) the flight was still a similar price, it had shot up to treble the day before and b) I had enough money on me to pay for a new ticket whilst the waiting for the refund to appear in my account. I had visions of her flying in economy! She plaintively suggested that perhaps I should go alone and she forget it. Whilst I clearly made the error, she compounded it by not checking her details when I emailed her the e-ticket. She thought I had only sent it for her info!

All was well in the end and I was pleased that for once in China the plane (a 787) had the proper seats that turn into beds, not just bigger versions of cattle class. Alice seemed to think the plane was a cocktail bar and tried ordering a mojito! I blame my sister for that...... And to date no luggage has gone missing.

The Holiday Inn Express that is my home for the next four days is a far cry from HI in Guangzhou, a bit like going from Harrods to Lidl. But at least the a/c freezes you and the bed is comfy.

Alice and I were joined by Joanna, Roland and Angel his amah along with his son who is at that age where he thinks he knows absolutely everything and his old man and I are complete dunderheads. I suppose on the subject of “white collar boxing”and grudge matches between two so-called YouTube celebrities he is the expert, I only knew vaguely about one of the combatants and a video he posted filmed at a Japanese suicide site recently. But then, I get my news from world media, not social.

Thankfully being a weeknight none of us (me because of a tiring day) had the appetite to stay out too late, indeed after Alice went home this morning I found cigars (only a week's worth though, all he had) and later needed a siesta. My intercostal pain has now migrated from the side to the back and renders me almost useless until mid-afternoon. It will pass in time though.

So I have been sitting in the garden of the Flying Fox in Pudong (with a large Tiger) typing this. Roland can't come out to play, he is working furiously on a report involving a multi-million dollar VLCC accident (I must ask him if he gets commission!) and so it will be Joanna and her workmate (best girl in her team) who will join me for dinner here, then we shall move to the Big Bamboo for cocktails and a game of pool. Joanna seems to like me choosing them for her, trouble is, I don't know that many!

Wednesday 22^nd August, 2018 1230

We took to the air more or less on time for Dubai. My maiden flight with Emirates and I must say they are good, I would love to fly business with them, if only to see what goes on up those stairs leading to the dizzy heights aboard. The A380 may be touted as the epitome of technology and fuel economy but I can't say I thought it noticeably quieter than other aircraft and despite the size it still gets buffeted by CAT.

The six hour layover in Dubai? Never again. At least, if I do, I will book one of those places you can go to have a shower and a bed for a sleep.

On the second flight, despite my asking when we checked in at Athens for an aisle seat, the best they could do was a window for me and a middle for Alice. I have absolutely no idea how she knew but a hostess came to me once we were settled and said she had found someone in an aisle seat who really wanted a window seat, would I swap? Well that meant leaving Alice but perhaps she was happy to be rid of me, for she urged me to do so. A woman in a burqa was very happy to leave her aisle seat just behind a bulkhead, I was fine until mealtime, when I discovered the fold out table cut my belly in two! Lesson learnt.

Although she nonetheless did it for me, as I was directly aft of the for'ard galley I didn't need her to ask for wine with each meal. I was chatting with all the girls and they kept bringing me bottles without my having to ask!

We arrived in Guangzhou airspace on time but were prevented from landing. You could see the violent thunderstorms sweeping across the city, so we were sent into a holding pattern, the result of which delayed us for an hour.

That hour meant we missed the deadline for the hotel shuttle bus (which was midnight) and had to take a taxi which cost 110 yuan and, once he'd spotted it, the 10 Euro note the young driver was intrigued by and wanted for a souvenir!

The Holiday Inn here is impressive. I paid for executive benefits and we have a very large pad, described by Alice as 'So luxury!” The only black mark so far was that after midnight (we arrived at about 0100) the 24 hour room service is closed! I couldn't get a beer to slake my thirst before turning in to the superbly comfortable bed. Luckily I still had a little jing jo left but I wasn't very impressed – what if we had been starving hungry? Eat the complimentary pomegranate, apple or dragon fruit??

Alice has decamped for the day, she left after breakfast to take extraneous gear to her dorm and collect stuff for home. Oddly, to get to her school she needed to take a bus back to the airport and the subway from there, a three hour trip each way so she won't be back until perhaps 2100, by which time free drinks will probably have stopped and I will be in the room again. I don't care, I am just relaxing and will get a catch-up kip in a while, try as I might I could never really drop off on the flight, which door to door took about 22 hours.

No lie in tomorrow, breakfast and then off to the airport for the final portion of the summer holiday – in Shanghai.

Sunday 19^th August, 2018 1300 Athens Select hotel

After praising the efficiency of the ferries here I jinxed it. We arrived back in Piraeus at 2015, half an hour later than scheduled. George the driver was there (Anyone thinking of going to Athens and needing a taxi that is reliable and won't rip you off, just ask, I have his email address) and after negotiating the disembarkation traffic jam it didn't take long to get to the hotel.

The hotel is pretty modern and decent and the rooftop bar gives a superb view of the Acropolis. It will likely be the only view I will get. Alice was forewarned that I might not be the best company for a young, energetic person due to my aversion to walking but after my latest antics I am twice as bad. The good thing is, she has the video camera so I will still get footage of “our” sightseeing!

She went straight off after breakfast (I never bothered eating, needed my ribcage to settle down) and she said she will eschew the hop'n'stoppa because all the places she wants to see are within easy walking distance of the hotel - easy for her, a Parthenon too far for this old wreck! I may pluck up the energy to leave the hotel tonight to find a cafe for dinner.

Monday 20^th 1045

There's an area not far from the hotel which is liberally sprinkled with cafes. We only discovered it after we had eaten dinner. Whereas the place we ate at was merely busy, the other ones were positively crammed. We made the better choice even if some selections weren't available. And a half a litre of a pretty decent white for €3 was a clincher.

Also, had we not eaten where we did, we would not have met Flavia.

When Alice went to the loo, a young girl plonked herself down on the next table. She was clearly waiting for mum and dad (and it turned out, two older twin sisters) but she looked across at me and smiled, so I asked if she wanted to sit on our table. I was surprised when she said “yes”, rose and came over, asking “why are you speaking

English?”

She was a delightfully precocious eight year old, fluent in English, Greek, French and a smattering of Mandarin. Indeed the rest of the family arrived and sat a bit further up the pavement, Flavia stayed with us until the family meal was brought out. Just one of life's little encounters that make the world seem a nicer place.

Today, faced with checking out at noon and the car coming for us at 2000, I didn't fancy kicking my heels somewhere for eight hours, so asked if we could have a late checkout. The hotel is at maximum occupancy so the answer was no, however two new bookings had just come in, there was one room left, did I want it but I would need to pay the whole day? I paid. Should have booked it in the first place really but never thought. At least we can take an afternoon nap (the flight's not until 2310) although I now need to go and find an ATM to withdraw another ton, having used virtually all the cash I had on settling the hotel bill.

Tomorrow night we'll be back in China.........

Saturday 18^th August 1615 At sea MV Blue Star Paros

Last night we had seafood. Alice had tiger prawns, I went for the jumbo “shrimp” which consisted of just the one prawn. I was curious. And yes, it WAS a huge specimen. Pity the flesh turned out to be tough, never mind.

Alice bought some Dior perfume and was delighted to find it was half the price of buying it on Taobao in China. I bought a box of 20 small cigars for the “bargain” price of 15.9 Euros!

In the room, Alice as always went to bed first while I stayed online. Later I noticed she hadn't drawn the curtains fully, meaning come dawn the room would be floodlit. I decided to pull them closed.

I am not entirely sure what happened next (and had it been due to drunkenness I suspect the outcome would have been far more favourable) but I was rather ill-advisedly still wearing socks. The room floor was polished wood. You can guess I am sure but what I think happened was one of my feet caught in the cloth chair cover. You can definitely guess the rest.

Straight down with a smack, once again bang on the ribs which not long ago took a beating (why can I not fall and at least cushion it by having my arm at my side instead of aloft a la Superman about to take off?) and it knocked me bandy.

Alice leapt out of bed like a scalded cat and came to help. I could hardly breathe and all I could say was “leave me, leave me”, I needed time to recover a little. It had crossed my mind fleetingly that I had returned to my Eden only to die there!

This morning of course I was in agony, breakfast for me at least was out of the question. I asked Alice to find a chemist and buy the strongest painkillers they had. She returned with medication and instructions on dosages. Diclofenac. I already take twice the amount they stipulated every day for arthritis so that was scant help. Much later she sourced Ibuprofen which, whilst not 100% effective, at least took the jagged edge off it.

It was enough to make my queasiness disappear and to try lunch before we left. Alice had Greek meatballs in tomato sauce with rice, I had stuffed squid. Alice's was lovely, mine had been cooked a tad too long, rendering it tough. But who cared?

And so we have bade adieu to Syros, next stop Athens proper within sight of the Acropolis. I really, really want to return to Syros for a week – soon!

Friday 17^th August, 2018 1215 Ermoupoli

Sadly our only full day on this jewel in the Aegean.

Last night I really wanted to show Alice pita bread, not something you get in China and this trip has really been all about new and magical experiences for her.

I seriously wanted pita pockets a la doner kebab but stuffed with chicken, olives, salad etc but sadly they don't appear to serve them the Arabic way. Instead we had them wrapped around chicken and meatballs (and CHIPS! - which did not gel) but at least she's had pita.

So far I have done precisely what I said I would – absolutely nothing. My idea of a holiday these days, sunshine and beer with a little food thrown in on the odd occasion. I think she is starting to lean more towards relaxing instead of haring around everywhere because this morning she expressed doubt as to whether she really wanted to go to the beach for dinner tonight. Secretly I am hoping she opts to stay here and dine at one of the (maybe) fifty restaurants within 200 yards of our hotel.

She has however set off on her own now to visit the iconic church atop the hill (not a mountain, maybe 600 feet high) from where she should get a breathtaking view of the Aegean. Me? Outside a cafe with an ice cold beer and a cigar, watching boats and ships and wallowing in nostalgia.

2330

Yep, we leave on the 1600 ferry tomorrow. I really don't want to. If I could jump ship so to speak it would cross my mind. But then I have a contract and I do not break them.

We have had the battle of the superyachts here, ever larger ones coming in. Tonight a real beauty, The Amore Mio2. I am not a celebrity hunter but as it was flying the red duster I tried to find out who owned it. Security at the gangway “were not at liberty” to tell me who owned it. I only wanted to know whose it was, not go aboard for the party!

Turns out it is a Greek tycoon – register your superyacht in London yet you are Greek?

Final dinner here, Alice had the smaller prawns (5 to a plate but still big buggers) but I couldn't resist trying the Jumbo – one massive prawn for 22 euros.

An error of monumental proportions because it was tough but it made for a good photo.

I am going to be so, so sad to leave here tomorrow, far more than I could ever have imagined.

Thursday 16^th August, 2018 0810

At sea, MV Blue Star Paros

0450 seemed an ungodly hour to get up this morning but only just early enough for both of us to ablute and check out at six before going for breakfast. Breakfast was ok but the sausages, although edible, were not “proper” bangers. They did however have lovely Greek yoghurt.

A short courtesy bus ride to the ferry terminal, leave your cases on the car deck and then (this shows how things have changed since I was a salt!) escalators to get up to 6 deck.

For her maiden voyage I suggested Alice should go out on deck as sailing time approached. For me and I suspect many others who spent life at sea, sailing was always the best part. Your home (the ship) was free of strangers, it was just you and your shipmates, bound for new horizons.

The VIP/business section up for'ard is very nice and unlike the economy and air seat sections, no desperate search for somewhere to sit. We have a table overlooking the fo'c'sle but You Know Who has decamped and there are currently large Zs floating up from behind a sofa.

We should arrive in Ermopouli at 1115.

1000

Very pleased with the cleanliness of the ferry and nicely surprised to find a half-litre of Greek beer is 5.1 euros. After rip-off Paris, that seems positively cheap!

Madam woke and decided she would go outside and up top for ages. Being Chinese she is of course terrified of going remotely brown so she knows about sunburn but I'm not sure she is aware of windburn which can be equally as painful. And it IS windy out there. The sea state may only be a 2 but we are moving along at a decent 24 knots.

1630 Ermoupolis, Syros Island

As we rounded the headland for the approach to the harbour it was great to hear the churches still ringing their bells to welcome the ferry after all these years. The place didn't look much different either but of course some things have changed.

Instead of one ferry a day there are more and instead of no tourists there are quite a few. The main change I noticed was that whereas in 1979 the numerous cafes had minimal pavement to plonk their tables and chairs outside, now it seems land has been reclaimed from the sea, the road moved further out and very large outside cafe areas have sprung up to accommodate the tourist trade.

Other than that, I am so pleased that it remains largely unspoilt and remains today my favourite place on the planet.

Our hotel is in a building dating from 1834 so no lift and a half spiral staircase to get to our room. Said staircase frightens me due to being steep but there is a brute of a boy (maybe the son of the owners) who carried our suitcases up for us. 40Kg, half each side, and at once! It would have taken me an hour just to get mine up!

I lucked in with regards to the laundry, there's a dry cleaners not far away so everything was put in a bag and we went to find it. I had a shirt for tomorrow, socks but no boxers. We couldn't locate it at first so went into a shop to ask. They knew where it was, the old lady struggled with English so gestured to a young assistant to show us. She also struggled with English but, on seeing Alice, she asked if she was Chinese.

Who the hell would think that I could come to a small island in the cyclades and need a Chinese interpreter???!!! Oh yes, they yabbered away quite happily.

It worked, laundry will be done in the morning. That left me needing to buy boxers. Where better to try than the helpful shop? They only had ones with no pee hole but they did have socks. I bought a dozen pairs. Next shop, again a Chinese girl! Bought half a dozen pairs of proper boxers. All shopping now done and one happy Teddy here.

Taking a breather now before the sun gets lower and we go out for a relaxing dinner with drinks at sensible prices. She's having a nap, I won't but I just hope I don't cave in too early – although breakfast is included here so maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

VIP/Business lounge on the ferry

Just as I remember from 39 years ago

New extended cafe pavement spaces

How the other half live

If only!

Wednesday 15^th August, 2018 1500

Despite my plan to retire at around midnight last night and sleep until eight then go for a leisurely breakfast at nine, someone in our party decided they needed their bed at 2130! On holiday! It's not as if we had anything to get up early for, there's been enough of that as it is. Eventually I tired of sitting at the laptop and just after 2300 capitulated. I was awake at seven.

It was not long after sunrise and the sun shone golden across the bay, already the day was warm. In fact, now it is a decidedly balmy 37C which, after two years of de-climatising in Lanzhou, saw my forehead break into a sweat after a bit of walking.

If I was a breakfast person I could easily have had a sumptuous couple of plates but I am not, they didn't have pork breakfast sausages and worse, we're in Greece for God's sake, no Greek yoghurt! Not that I was particularly hungry but I could have managed a litre of that.

They did however have a tame taxi firm which quoted fixed prices to their customers. Having been warned Piraeus was 40-50 minutes drive and at my age and mobility at present (I saw bugger all of Paris!), with a normal commuter bus being out of the question I leapt at the quoted price of €57. I do believe we have found our Greek driver for our return from Syros to the Acropolis Select hotel and the airport run at the end.

We are staying at Piraeus Port hotel for one night only (probably 99% of the customers are thus, simply in preparation for a ferry to the cyclades). The room is very nice indeed, if a trifle on the small side. No smoking but there's a balcony and if we buy breakfast in the morning they will run us to the ferry! It's a ten minute walk but lugging 20kg of suitcase (even on wheels), a laptop bag and a shoulder bag? At 0630? I'd rather pay for a breakfast and not eat than do that. Apparently (so the receptionist thinks) they do have pork bangers for their English breakfast, in which case I may become a breakfast person, even if it is just to take a bread roll with sausages away with me!

I didn't fancy battling possible early morning queues to obtain our boarding passes – the ferry sails at 0730 and they ask you to be there waiting to board by seven – so after checking in we toddled off armed with the helpful map and directions from the receptionist. I think we went into five Blue Star Ferries offices before we found the right place! And that of course was the very last building in the port. I should have guessed.

By that time we were both thirsty so went in search of a snack for Alice and a cold one for me. Found a corner cafe selling both and she had a rather tasteless cheese puff/pasty which she wasn't keen on (probably because you could neither like nor dislike it due to its blandness) and I forced down two beers. I could have stayed for more because it was the cheapest place I had found since leaving China! At last the moneydrain may ease up a little. It's not as if we are dining on lobster and caviar every night, in fact considering I am visiting some of the best places in the world for food I am eating woefully small amounts.

Anyway, the shops were on their three hour siesta so any thought of buying socks and boxers evaporated. Later after Madam has napped yes and before we go for dinner or, more accurately she goes for dinner and I get a drink.

1815

It wasn't a siesta. Only I could schedule a one-day visit to Piraeus for my first time here for the celebration of the death of the Virgin Mary, one of the three biggest holidays in the Greek calendar. Shops, restaurants – everything is closed. So it is to be a quiet night in the hotel, thankfully they do a meal deal with a choice of three menus for two for 24 euros and surprisingly the hotel bar is very reasonably priced. What the hell, plenty of excitement tomorrow and hopefully I can buy my socks and boxers on Syros. And I need to find somewhere that will do laundry – urgently!

Tuesday 14^th August, 2018 2100

The car arrived slightly early this morning. We had been disappointed to get up at six in order to go and get a breakfast for Alice only to find that the cafes were open yet their kitchens weren't until too late, so all you could get was coffee.

We arrived in plenty of time at T1 CDG and to my surprise and relief, although there was a huge check-in queue I learnt it was for a Thai flight. Aegean took a mere five minutes to queue and dump our cases. Usual problems at security, ended up sans belt and so forth and a first, explosives swabs of the hands. Yet they never took my lighter from me even though without thinking I slung it in the tray with my other belongings. And you could buy lighters in the airport shops. No smoking booth to be found though. Didn't have the bottle to try sneaking a few crafty puffs in the loo though!

This was my first time with Aegean, the aircraft being an A321. Very happy with the seat width and legroom, food nothing special but perfectly ok and very good stewardesses. Definitely a decent outfit to fly with.

Another fortune on a taxi to tonight's hotel but the view from our upgraded deluxe room balcony is to die for. Alice decided that, far from being lachrymose over leaving Paris, this was even better!

We've been down to the sea for a beer on the beach, stayed for a little while watching the antics of two groups of French package holidaymakers being organised by their tour reps for activities and are now in the room relaxing. I just hope the planned beach discotheque is not audible way up here seeing as it starts at eleven.

Sadly just the one night here, tomorrow we move to Piraeus in preparation for an early morning ferry to Syros on Thursday. As these things so often do, this tour is whizzing by far too swiftly – almost as fast as my money!

Monday 13^th August, 2018 1240

Yesterday we all went to our “local” the Bistro Dupleix on the Blvd De Grenelle. The girls had petit dejeuner Anglais, a white beer ticked my box instead. I was still somewhat fatigued so stuck to the plan of getting rid of them so Sis could take Alice to see the important sights. I knew I would need an afternoon nap and it was agreed we would meet back at the cafe at 1700.

So far I haven't used the camcorder but Alice has been giving it a good spanking. At some point when time permits I hope to upload to YouTube.

In the evening I gave the choice of dinner at an Italian or Chinese restaurant. Before she left China Alice had stated by the time we met up in Paris she would be missing Chinese food so I fully expected her to opt for a Chinese dinner.

“No, I don't want Chinese!”

She loves European cuisine. Italian it was. Sarah had tortelloni followed by crème brulee, Alice a veal cutlet and a banana split. I managed half a lasagne and a bottle of valpolicella. The girls were all in from traipsing all over town for hours so it was back to our hotel for a relatively early night. Alice and I at least made it to bed, sis lay on the bed fully clothed, lights and TV on and woke up in the small hours!

This morning I awoke feeling markedly queasy, a feeling that thankfully has almost dissipated now. Again they had breakfast, nothing for me and for some reason today they wouldn't serve alcohol until 1100. The girls have now gone off to do some shopping, most importantly I hope they find me ten pairs of black socks – I was on my last clean pair this morning so Alice kindly hand-washed my others. The shirts/underwear situation will be fine until Greece, where I hope to find a laundrette.

Also, yesterday I bought all the souvenirs I need to take back to China. I didn't buy tat, I bought ten marquetry jewelry boxes with an inlaid Eiffel Tower on the lid. All identical so nobody can complain in respect of favouritism. I did negotiate a bulk discount and got them for €15 apiece.

1520

And all too soon, my sister has gone.

Alice went with her in the taxi to the tower, from where Sarah will take the airport bus and Alice is going hunting for bookshops, books will be the souvenirs she takes back.

When she gets back we will dine here before having a reasonably early night – the car will pick us up at 0900 but I will take Alice for breakfast before then. They did get me three pairs of socks because they worried if they bought more they might not fit, being listed only in European sizes. I can always try to buy more in Greece.

Personally, although I have not ventured any further than 200 yards from the hotel, I have thoroughly enjoyed being here. It has cost an arm and a leg but then the same will be said of Shanghai at the end of the trip. I am hoping that Greece will be a hell of a lot less expensive.

So next stop, Athens!