First week in Barcelona , Spai

Hola mis amigos, (hello my friends)

We have concluded our first week in Spain and we have loved it.

We settled into our apartment immediately, i think its because we looked at it on the Internet so many times it felt like home.( i described it as arriving to my house in Sorrento. ) everything was beautiful and we all enjoyed just living together as a family again. the kids loved that I cooked for them, they wanted an Aussie style meal even though the produce was totally different.. the apartment is gorgeous, however before i committed to the place i was told that there is a light rumbling sound as the metro is directly below.  to put it more correctly it sounds and feels more like an earthquake than a light rumbling sound (of course I'm exaggerating !!!!). but it amazingly doesn't bother us, and we have slept comfortably every night.

Our first day was spent getting unpacked and getting groceries. i went 50 mtr up the road to a department store called "el court englese"it was 3 times the size of myer and conveniently had a supermarket down in the basement. i had to choose things by looks as everything is written in Spanish. here in Spain they speak very little English and do not really care how the tourists find their way around the place. they are not arrogant about it but they just don't really care to speak English. they will help you with a lot of pointing and smiling and somehow everything works. i got what i needed and headed back home to make good old chicken schnitzels. lol lol.

The city itself is absolutely stunning!!!!! The Streets are well set out with large old tiled footpaths and wide roads. The beautiful old buildings and stunning architecture make the city look expensive and regal. It is Extremely clean and lots of law and order everywhere. ( the total opposite to Athens. ) Coming in winter is a bonus because there are less crowds but still very busy. I can only imagine what it is like in summer.

When it stopped raining we headed out for a walk to La Rambla. It did not have the same ambiance due to the rain as there were no statue people , or buskers around. We did see police pull up a conman who took €50 from a young tourist by playing a game of finding the ball under 3 different cups. it's illegal here and the commotion was very interesting. The police were in undercover clothes and pulled out there badges and all of them tried to run! Very funny!!!!
We walked all the way down to the "Columbus statue" took typical tourist photos, and bought a few souvenirs.

That same night Nic started his training at the academy . Arthur and Nic took off on the metro for their first time! All went very well except when they got there the Spanish were a bit soft and training was canceled due to rain!!!! (for all of you who know Arthur and Nic, rain , hail or shine you never miss training!!!!) lol lol . Nic still got to meet his coach and a few players, and was given his training gear
which he proudly wore on Wednesday and shone like he had been part of the team for ages, he really
made an impression and suggestions made to go up an age group-keep you posted.

Instead of Zoe and I staying home we went to the theatre and saw a flamenco dance show! The dancing and costumes were amazing and very SPANISH !

On Tuesday Nic started at the tennis academy and he absolutely loved it there. He will be doing this 3 times a week for 3 hours a day with strength work included. At the academy there are lots of foreigners  so English is spoken much much more. Lots of the kids actually live at the academy whilst studying there as well. Nic has already started dropping hints-lol!

During the first week we went to the aquarium, ( Melbourne one is much better), saw nics football team play a match on the Saturday ( they won 6-2) and walked around the city seeing where each gorgeous street would lead us too whilst eating delicious sorbet ice creams. La Rambla had the buzz again as when it dried up all the buskers came out. There were bronzed angels and gargoyles a John Wayne a Christopher Columbus! All fantastic with their make up and theatrics! Nic and Zoe both got drawings of themselves and came out so life like. They were PERFECTO! It took Zoe amazing will power to sit there for an hour without moving or talking. she only does that in her sleep. Lol lol. The shops open every day from 9 till 10 so there is always great atmosphere!

Saturday was "the big day!" Nic and Arthur (who got  uncharacteristically emotioal)  went to see their first Barca game at Camp Nou and they absolutely loved it! The bonus was a win of 4-0 and the crowd was ecstatic! What a fantastic memory for Nicholas at 11 years old! A very special day for him and his dad!

We also went to Park GUELL and saw some of Gaudi's work there. It was like being in an Alice in wonderland movie. The kids loved it and took some great photos.

So that was our first week. It was Very relaxing and as it rained most of the week we just took our time to do everything. Nothing was rushed and it was like we were home. I really relaxed this week! You'll think I'm mad but I even liked the fact that I washed my own clothes and had my own dryer and cooked my own meals without relying on anyone else. ( I'm sure I'll hate it by the end of the second week) but for now I'm very content!

So this week we are off to Milan for a Barca - Milan match and I'll tell you all about it on my next post.

Adios (bye bye)
El amore de (love from)
Katy
Xxxxxx

Final week in Athens

Well our first part of our trip ended on Monday when we took off for Spain.
our last weeks in Athens since i last posted were great as well.
once we left Larisa we reached Athens and finally slept at my aunties  apartment in Exarhia. It was a Saturday night and lots of people were partying, throughout the nights chaos outside of my room i heard 3 loud bomb like sounds as if a grenade landed just in front of my window. I shit myself ! i didn't sleep well at all , i was also the only one in the family to hear it (are they DEAF or WHAT?)!!!!  thank GOD it didn't happen again for the rest of our stay .

Arthur and i did our usual kolonaki trips and had great coffee and shopped. love that suburb, its so gorgeous. we also went to all the well known sights,  the acropolis,  the new museum, ancient stadium, little tourist train ride through plaka and down monastiraki. All the daggy touristy stuff , but the kids loved it and i actually loved seeing it all over again as well.  we went and ate souvlakia at the famous "Thanassis Psistaria" and once again we ate souvlakia!!!! i think a souvlaki has been consumed once a day since we got here!!! the exercise has been non existent. will start from scratch when i get back. ( i know!!! I'm very naughty, but its very hard to jog in Greece. not the best footpaths and roads in world!} lol

Zoe also went to 2 different theatre productions with the aunties. she went and saw Moots Plasts, a kids comedy about a girl that fell in love with a prince who had turned into a frog and when she kissed him they both lived happily ever after as frogs. lol . i asked her if she understood it and she said "yes! and when it was funny i laughed when all the other  Greek kids laughed" Clever Girl . lol lol
the second show was a musical of the "hunch back of notre dame" she absolutely fell in love with it. at the end of the show she met the performers, got autographs and kisses from the main actors. she even held the flowers given to them and was photographed holding them. very cute!

we also went to a huge shopping centre in Athens that was their version of a chadstone. it was so funny! there was a traffic jam to get to it because people go there as there Friday night/ Saturday night out! it was PACKED with families , teenagers , pensioners ......... all walks of life.
because it was raining we took the kids there. In the centre there was a lollipops meets time zone type store with every new ride and gadget you could think of for all ages. kids had a laugh.

Whilst in Greece the whole family  also took up a recreational activity called "smoking". Yep even nic and Zoe! that's secondary smoking I'm talking about. everyone here smokes and smokes and smokes. They smoke  in their homes , in their cars , in the cafes, bowling centres , shopping centres , restaurants, toilets , you name it they smoke there! EVERY WHERE!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S SOOOOOOOOOOOOO DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On that note i still very much Love Greece and i will miss its ways. however a new adventure will begin in Spain.

I'll keep you posted next from Barcelona.

miss you all
ADIOS
Katy

hi everyone,
tomorrow our trip to larisa is coming to an end. we have had the best time here. my aunt and uncles house has been the best set up. we have been living on the top floor with 2 bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen. my aunty has cooked the most amazing food every day and has washed and cleaned for us for the whole time. my uncle has driven us all around larisa like a taxi driver. they have played with the kids and taught them lots of greek words and songs. the cousins have been fantastic as well. my cousin sophie has taken us out for coffee every day and introduced us to "brunos" cafe  where we would sit and discuss every topic under the sun whilst checking out the locals walking by. the fashion in greece has been gorgeous. euro trash has gone (just a few remain) and the laid back aussie style is in. it is very similar to what we have back home. im waiting for the sales to shop big time.!!!
whilst here i went to livadi and the kids met the rest of the family and cousins. hasnt changed much and was nice to see it again after 12 years. kids also loved my grandparents very old house that still has the original kitchen . zoe refused to go to the toilet there and held on till we went back to my uncles. lol lol
we also went to meteora. it was stunning there. even though i have been before you forget how such a natural wonder came about and how unbelievable it is. we took like 100 photos there because every angle had a different beauty!
larisa was really nice because it is surrounded by pretty little villages . we went to so many places that made the kids appreciate greece and how they lived. we had a really relaxing time here!
zoe has been a classic. she has had so much attention from anna and steve she loves it. tonight she cried because we were leaving and then i started to cry! im such a sook. lol .
nic has enjoyed his cousins . he has been playing tennis here and we have been to bowling and to AELFC which is the larisa foot ball club.
miss you all and  hope the cup week end was fun for all of you!
bye from kt xxxx
ps one thing that hasnt changed is the greeks still smoke heaps , and they drive like mad men but every thing just flows. we also dont wear seatbelts cos half of them dont work anyway. lolololol
 the weather has been amazing since the day we arrived in greece. its so funny that the greeks think its cold and out side it is sunny blue skys and 17C . we walk around during the day with no jackets and they think we are freaks.lol .arthur has been in fine form eating and drinking whatever is put in front of him  and i have been just as bad. (to scared to get on the scales) Ive been for a run a hand full off times and i look like humpty dumpty!!!!!! grrrrrrrrrrr!!!! lol
hope you enjoy the pics from my  part of greece larisa and livadi!

 zoe, hristo, nic and vangeli

 my aunty and uncle koula and georgios

 uncle steve and arthur, we are having greek coffee on the verandah just like we did 12 years ago.
i love love this place and these people.

 my aunty soula and zoe at my grandparents old traditional home.

 nic and georgios (second cousins)

 old door from my grandparents home

 having a drink in a livadi cafe where we were the only females . the rest of the prehistoric minded females were home waiting for there male counterparts to come home like good little girls . lol lol

 family , lamb on the spit, tsipouro (moon shine) what else do you need??????

 first cousins from livathi

 we had to wear these skirts to enter the church. nice!!!!!!

 my dads brothers and sister

                                         

 in greece you are not a very important person you  are "VERY VERY IMPORTANT PERSON"

 larisa football stadium

 in a town called ambellakia. just a gorgeous little place!!!!!!!!!!

 more ouzo!!!!!!!

my little zoe singing a greek verse from a very old traditional song