Since 1987 Greece has officially been a country of thirteen regions, a slightly Balkanised version of its previous subdivision into nine. If you looked at an ancient map of the country, or at least the Hellenic area we now know as Greece, you'd see just three regions: Achaia, Thessaly, and Epirus. The latter, only integrated… Continue reading A Trip up north to Epirus
Into the Saronic
We've been in Athens now for over a month, having left Zakynthos in time to get Eoin into school here. An apartment on the top (5th) floor of an apartment block in the residential district of Panormou, a mere four metro stops from Syntagma Square, will be our home this Autumn. The routine of remote… Continue reading Into the Saronic
A Week in Sicily 2: The Greek Connection
After a long, hot four days in Palermo we hired a car; we had to see more of the biggest island in the Mediterranean. Sicily edges out Sardinia for that title, and certainly is so much larger than Zakynthos, our home for the previous three months, that, unlike Zante, we rarely felt like we were… Continue reading A Week in Sicily 2: The Greek Connection
A Week in Sicily 1: Palermo
"Another victory like that and I'm done for": King Pyrrhus of Epirus made his famous quip shortly before taking up arms in Sicily. Having just come back from the same island I'd like to make one of my own: "Another holiday like that and I'll need a break". Graffiti in Syracuse One of the advantages… Continue reading A Week in Sicily 1: Palermo
A Long-delayed return to Zante
The week before Easter we left Athens and went back to Zante for the first time in four years. I can't remember if we planned it that way, but Easter is a good time to arrive anywhere in Greece - the weather's good, and people are out and about, dressed in their finest. A burst… Continue reading A Long-delayed return to Zante
Three days in Athens
Leaving Mum on the doorstep, and stopping only to pick up a bottle of Grace O'Malley Irish whiskey in duty-free, we took ourselves to Athens for a three-day meze before Zakynthos, the main course of Project Frappé. Athens is a place we only ever hit on the run: last time we'd been there was pre-Covid,… Continue reading Three days in Athens
Ireland, after nearly four years
In the old days there were four flights; five on a bad trip. First we'd fly to Singapore or KL, wait around in a relatively decent airport for six hours or so, maybe visit the Butterfly Garden or book a hotel for a few hours if the transit was particularly long, maybe even splash out… Continue reading Ireland, after nearly four years
A New Year, a new plan
It's getting on to a full year since we bought Wyuna, our house in Barney View. We've tried to get there (we still live, just, in Upper Mount Gravatt, the suburb of Brisbane) as much as we could, spending most weekends and even occasionally full weeks, at Easter and school holidays in summer, but as… Continue reading A New Year, a new plan
Protected: Wyuna Users’ Guide
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Wyuna, the woman in the mountain
It's been sixteen years since we first moved to Upper Mount Gravatt; the house in which we live is our second one in this south Brisbane suburb. Our kids have grown up here and attend school nearby, Tina's parents live five minutes away, and most of the working days of that sixteen years I've cycled… Continue reading Wyuna, the woman in the mountain