My Mediterranean summer. First part: the Greek bliss Chapter II: Across the Aegean

On the day I left Antiparos I was very sad but I was also worried since the winds were so strong that the sea was really rocky. I hade to reach the Dodecanesus islands in order to meet a very good friend of mine who was travelling around there. There actually was a ferry which reached the island of Kalymnos from Paros but it was cancelled so I had to take a catamaran to Santorini, spend the night there and then leave the next day by night ferry to Kos and then another catamaran to Kalymnos. On the way to Santorini I thought my stomach had reached my ears but once we started approaching the island it became better. I had been in Santorini about twenty years before and I remember the Kaldera at sunset while approaching the port with all the pink and red lights of the sun . Now, Santorini is unbelievably beautiful but I HATE IT. I hated it at the time and if possible I hated it even more now. I am sorry but I think that as far as landscape is concerned it is stunning. But the rest: traffic like being in Milan at the rush hour, trash shops and people, noises, lights etc. No that's not for me. The beaches are black because of the volcanic origin and to be honest not that nice. Plus the wind is so strong that until the afternoon you can't possibily stay in the sun or in the sea. Fira the capital is a mixture of trash,noise,lights,bars, discos , cheap restaurants, and loads of people. Oia which is the most beautiful place on the island is famous for the sunset so all the tourists (literally)of the island go there every day to watch it. Same thing: marvellous but in order to see it you have to push your way through backpackes, baby strollers, cameras of all types, and of course a lot of people... Fira by night Oia I was staying close to the black beach of Perivalos in a small not so nice hotel of which I don't remember the name. Most of the time I was cursing and the rest I was travelling around the island by bus. There are a lot of buses connecting all the places all the locations on the island which are crowded to the limit and most of the time you end up standing up for the whole duration of the journey. In one of this journeys I was basically molested by one of the ticket controllers who was stading behind me until a young Turkish woman came to my rescue. Well, what I forgot to say in addition to all the things I have said so far, is that like in most of the touristic islands locals tend to be rude and unfriendly. No I definitively won't go back to Santorini ever again . While I was waiting for the bus to take me to the ferry I had one of this fish pedicures that are very popular on the island. Another experience I probably won't try again . Not unpleasant but not one of those things you absolutely have to do once in your life. I took one of those luxury ferries to Rhodes where I spent the night on an air seat like the ones you find on the plane. I was there with 50 chinese people who were sound asleep nothwitstanding the light, the noises and two Greek couples talking from one side of the room to the other.Needless to say I didn't sleep at all and when I got to Kos I had to wait five hours before the other catamaran to Kalymnos. I didn't see much of Kos but I didn't like it either. I got there at 6 a.m. and people where just coming out of the disco, totally wasted and drunk. I waited until the bars opened to have some breakfast and then walked around for three hours in order to avoid to fall asleep on a bench. Dodecanesus islands are very different from the Cyclades and because of their Venetian origin they have lovely buildings and architecture in that style.However Kos is not my cup of tea as the English who populate the island would say. So finally after another 45 dreadful minutes of catamaran on the rockiest sea ever I finally got to Kalymnos. Not bad right? It's a lovely place famous for the natural sponges industry. Two things though. First of all as I said Greek islands are not as they used to be before, in terms of crowds and traffic. Yes traffic. Even in Kalymnos there were so many cars... I stayed in a little studio by the sea close to Massouri, the most frequented part of the island and I went every day to meet my friends in the village at night, risking to get run over by cars and motorcycles all the time. Secondo problem is that there is a not so pleasant smell in the area because of the sewage system and also sometimes you get some suprises in your bathroom i.e. giant cockroaches coming from the sewer into the shower.. One evening I found two and I ran yelling outside in my underwear.Then I realized it was not proper and got hold of my jeans to ask for help to Alexis the owner of the restaurant next door. He came into my room and basically stomped on them and threw them in the toilet. I admit I wouldn't have been able. Bugs terrify me but maybe I would have just kicked them out... Apart from this Kalimnos is a beautiful and calm island for relaxing holidays. Amongst the places I tried for dinner I found this lovely place called Aegean Tavern, which in a few words can be summed up as : great food , great atmosphere, beautiful ambiance, excellent service and good prices. What else would you want ? After these three relaxing days in Kalymnos with my Turkish friends it was time to cross the border and go to beautiful Turkey for a few days so we got ready to set sail again ... (to be continued)

My mediterranean summer. First part: The Greek bliss. Chapter 1 The discrete beauty of Antiparos

http://youtu.be/Q3WJvaEjAlU I chose Mediterraneo's trailer because it's a wonderful movie and gives you exactly the feeling of what a greek island is. Plus it's Italian and that is always a plus. If you have never seen it I say go rent it because you're missing something,no matter where you're from. Sorry for the lack of subtitles but that's the only trailer I found. Anyway I started my summer in a very bad way but as it turned out to be, it went very well. One of my closest friends rescued me from a very unpleasant situation which had lead to the destruction of my holiday plans and invited me to join her and her friends in the beautiful island of Antiparos in the Cyclades. What can I say ? I would define it as the perfect antidote to stress and negativity. A small island with gorgeous bays and wonderful sea, not too touristic yet quite populated. My days there passed slowly and relaxingly. In August the sun is very strong so the best time to go to the sea is after 3 p.m. My friend found this very peaceful and nice place 10 minutes away from the center of the village and close to the sea called Paradise Village. Although the website says it's a hotel it is more of a residence complex. Ours had two rooms a kitchen, a bathroom and a very nice patio. The owner and his wife are lovely and are cat lovers which is a plus for me. Every day I was playing with Boika a nice female cat with her four newborn kitties. Me and my friends Antiparos beaches My little furry friends Mustafa and Bagheera What can I say ? I explored almost all the little bays and beaches of the island with my friends in the picture and I really enjoyed being there. The picture was taken at Lucio so far the best place where we ate even if on my last night there. The other restaurants are good but not exceptional. There is one in particular called Zorba's which is always very crowded and it's quite good although the owner really got on my nerves when I saw he was hitting his (or his friend's)dog. Actually I stood up and shouted at him. He said nothing back but my friend took me away in order to avoid turnmoil. I saw the dog with another guy the next day and he was ok, but I simply can't stand when people hit animals. I could really hurt them I guess. Another place where to eat close to the port is Nikos : traditional homemade Greek cuisine, speaking of which one of the best food I have ever tasted there is not exactly in the island, in the little port of Parikia on Paros island where the barge like ship from Antiparos gets to in five minutes. That was homemade and delicious believe me . Unfortunately I can't remember the name but you can't go wrong. As soon as you get off the boat there it is: just in front of you. Monastiraki beach and view of the island The view from our patio . One piece of advice : if you can renta a car or a jeep and drive to discover the beauty of the island it would ve better. In most places you can go by motorbike but there are quite a few bays that require a car and better a four wheel drive. In other places you can easily get by bus like Agios Georgios where you can also stop for some seafood at well known restaurantCaptain Pipino's. As far as nightlife in the island I am not the best person to ask because I would always go to bed at around 2 a.m when the nightlife was basically starting. The most I have done is have a drink at sunset at the Sunset deseo a hip bar on the cliffs run by some fellow countrymen and drink a couple of Mythos beers in a bar called Remember where they had a very good music selection. My friends used to like Yanni's place for a drink before or after dinner like rakomelo a drink made with raki or Tsipouro brandy combined with honey, cardamom and cinnamom and served hot. Not only would it make you digest but also get very tipsy...After drinking that my friends and I went to see the stars but not on the beach like amateurs, oh no, we went to the Telescope experience: an former army soldier now astronomist shows you the magic of planets and stars on his terrace with a super huge telescope and explains to you all you need to know about galaxies and nebulosas. Believe me : when you see Saturn with his ring or the stars even if the dimension is very small is quite something,with or without rakomelo. Another night we went to the open air movie theatre which is in a garden with a bar and is lovely. Livadi beach Sunset from Agios Georgios Then the time came to leave this beautiful place, after ten days of bliss and to depart from a little bit of heaven which remains quite incontaminated. The only negative thing about this beautiful island is the quantity of cars and motorbikes which tend to spoil the atmosphere and that is really disappointing. Anyway I spent a wonderful time there. The night before I left the Meltemi wind started blowing and it was really strong...Thensea was really agitated and I really didn't want to leave but it was time to move across the Eagean...(to be continued) Rakomelo

In the land of Erasmus

I went to Rotterdam in February for a couple of days for work. I had been to Amsterdam a few times but never in this part of the country. I have to say that when I just got there I didn't really have the greatest impression: it was grey, wet and dull and the city looked very sad. The hotel where I was staying Hotel Rotterdam was not too far from the railway station and was undergoing some refurbishment therefore I was not too happy about it. However both the hotel and the city turned out to be a nice surprise in the end. The first day I basically ran from one place to the other seeing people from work and in the end completely exhausted I went out with a friend of mine who came to see me there from Amsterdam to a Thai restaurant and then collapsed. It was actually the next day on a sunny Saturday that I realized that Rotterdam had a lot to offer. It's a very different approach from Amsterdam and it's very different from other cities even because it's completely reconstructed. I took a long stroll throughout the whole city and I have to say I enjoyed it very much. Locals really seemed to really taste the saturday morning laziness and relaxation and so did I, sitting in the sun outside a beautiful cafè in the center, which is very nice and very lively : completely the opposite of what I thought the city was when I first arrived the day before. Down from the center I went to see the cubic houses in Blaak neighbourhood "designed by architect Piet Blom and based on the concept of "living as an urban roof": high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level" (from Wikipedia). They look very interesting but all the architecture in the city is very impressive. I walked from my hotel in the north of the city up until the commercial harbour where I took a boat trip with Spido and went on Delfshaven a lovely little harbour with galleries , restaurants and nice houses. I was taken to a lovely and very elegant fish restaurant Zeezout in the area by a collegue the day before and when by myself I had lunch in Loos a very nice intellectual, bohemian chic cafe, which I strongly recommend. In the evening instead I had dinner in Dunya Lokanta an Anatolian -Mesopotamiam restaurant not far from my hotel. A lot of food by the way ... However since I was walking all day and all night I think I kind of balanced the whole thing. Another thing : remember what I wrote in my post about Beirut? Well in a different way but Dutch men are also very dangerous... and you ladies know what I mean. Delfshaven The next day I went to lovely Delft home to Paul Vermeer who portraited it in a few paintings in 1660 or so. Well , when you see it now it has stayed exactly the same and looks just like the paintings. I spent the whole day wandering around the canals and the bridges and had a very relaxing and lovely time. At the railway station when one gets off the train there is a bycicle parking which contains thousands of them even on different double level rows. Very difficult to explain in words but amazing. I would never be able to find my bike in that mess and actually I saw a guy who took twenty minutes to find his. When I got back to Rotterdam I went to have dinner at very famous Asian restaurant Izakaya where you can order through a touch screen system on the table which also projects the image of the dish in your plate so you can see exactly what it looks like. Quoting my trip advisor review: "It's quite something to have the chance to see what your dish looks like in your plate before you order or to look in the kitchen with a webcam to see the chef preparing your food. The fact that you order with a touch screen system on your table is a lot of fun and so is changing the pattern of your table cloth. As far as the food is concerned it is Asian inspired . Good but not exceptional. A little pricy." So I know Amsterdam is what it is but if one has the chance to extend their staying and want to see something different I would go and pay Mr.Erasmus a visit. Images of Delft

Mr. Livingston I presume?

It's quite funny to imagine the encounter between Stanley and the founder of Victoria Falls when they met in Zambia on Tanganica Lake in 1869 as if they were at a Victorian party instead of being the only two Europeans in the heart of Africa. The city that now brings the scientist's name lies opposite Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and covers half of the falls. When I got there three years ago from Johannesburg I took a flight which got me there in an hour. Coming from South Africa (which I absolutely adore ) Zambia looks more like Africa than ever although the city itself is nothing special while the nature around is simply amazing. However it's a very interesting place and one could well spend a few days there just to go to the falls . I was picked up by Richard Chanter, the owner of Chanters' Lodge a very nice B&B situated in a quiet street of the town. As I said the town itself does not have a lot to offer: just a bunch of gravel roads and a little center where there is a museum (rather interesting though : I didn't think it was going to be) but one goes there to see the falls and that's more than enough. Richard Chanter took me to the Royal Livingston Hotel : one of the most amazing places I had ever seen: a somptuous hotel with a park where zebras and antilopes run free amongst the hotel rooms and with one of the most spectacular views of the world: on the Zambesi river just above the Falls. He suggested that I go to get a drink at the sundeck the hotel bar and I did. Wonderful. Absolutely. The only thing is that the garden and the bar are crowded with monkeys who make it really hard for you to relax and sip your drink. I got almost into a physical fight with two of them myself since they took turns in jumping on my table, taking my drink just to look inside the glass, trying to steal the stir and eventually succeeding in stealing my canapès. The waiter was too slow: by the time he brought them to my table the monkey had already jumped and taken two of them with both hands. I could only eat the third one. It was fun anyway. From there you can take the boat to go to Livingstone Island which is basically a small piece of land just over the edge of the falls. I went there the next morning and given my total and absolut fear of the void and of heights I nearly had a heart attack when the guys who take there basically hold your hand for you to look over the edge at the bottom of the falls. There is also a tiny little spot just over the edge where you can bathe called the Devil's pool. I wouldn't go there not even if I was paid to do it. The amazing thing about the falls apart from the beauty of them and the marvellous landscape is the fact that while you're there you cans see a lot of spontaneous rainbows. There is also a time of the year when you can see them at night. The sight of the magnificent scenario and the roar of the water make you feel like you are in heaven .

Zambian kids on my way to the hotel

Me and the rainbow at Livingstone Island

The view from the sundeck bar at the Royal Livingston

Tourists swimming at devil's pool

Then another thing was for me to walk on the bridge over the falls which takes you straight into the town of Victoria falls in Zimbabwe. There are a lot of guys there who try to convince you to do bungee jumping from the bridge (another thing I wouldn't ever do) and try to give you notes of milions of Zimbabwean dollars. As everybody is probably aware this country has been in a very dramatic (now desperate ) situation during the last twenty years under Robert Mugabe regime . The chapter about him on Wikipedia is very thorough and interesting and shows how he conducted his country at starvation (literally) and poverty and how he used and still uses violence and vexation almost as the only mean of communication with his people. He has been banned from many international organizations and has been denied access to international conventions. Nevertheless at 87 he still rules the country and he still treats it like his own property. I don't understand why nobody intervened so far. Probably because there is no economical interest in Zimbwabwe.If there had been oil or diamonds one of the big powerful nations would have probably done something. Very very sad.

Bridge over the falls

View of the falls from above

...and from the front

Evil Robert Mugabe

There are a lot of activities to do in Livingstone including taking a plane or an helicopter and fly over the falls. I actually decided that it was not a good idea given my fear of heights and instead chose to go to the Lion walk. This is how it works: You go to Lion Encounter foundation which operates the African Lion Rehabilitation & Release into the Wild Program and you basically go for a three hours walk with lion cubs. This is their program "Given the rapid decline in free-ranging lion populations (between 80 and 90% in the last 50 years) and the greatly reduced potential for their natural re-colonization of some areas, ALERT supports assisted lion reintroduction into specific sites. Such areas would include localities where lion populations have been eradicated, but that have been identified as high priority for the re-establishment of the species, have been shown to support adequate wild prey and where the causes of the original population loss in the past have been identified and are being mitigated. Whenever possible, reintroductions should include the release of young adult wild lions captured for the purpose of translocation and release. Where there is no available source population of suitable wild lions, we will instigate a multi-stage program to reintroduce lions originally bred from captive individuals. Captive lions which lack hunting skills are bred in fenced areas, their offspring raised around humans and take part in the lion walk program as operated by Lion Encounter What happens is very interesting : you are taken the bush and walk with (quite big) cubs, you interact with them and see them playing and sometimes hunting. You have to walk in a line and are given a set of rules to observe for your safety(do not kneel, do not run, do not look the lion in the eyes etc.) It is a little scary actually especially when they follow their instinct and want to play with you. So when one of them started running for us and the handler screamed "Watch your back" it was somehow worrying, even because as you can see from the pictures they are really big cats. Most of the time though they lie in the sun and play amongst them when they are not walking and look just like cats playing at home. sometimes they see a buck in the distance and run after it. In general it was a wonderful experience and I definitely would do it again if I went back there. My suggestion is that when in the area one should not miss it.

Scenes from the lion encounter and walk

I left Livingstone one morning by shared taxi to go to Botswana by boat ( by the way the rest of my trip that year is in my post " Am I in heaven or Botswana?)and while I was looking out of the car window at the orange earth while listening to African music I wondered if Mr. Livingston had stayed in Africa all that time because he became so attached that could not leave and forgot who he was before and what was doing. It happens to all of us who go there. Trust me.

Belgian chocolate

When in Belgium there is no way around it. Either you eat chocolate or, as they seem to suggest, what the hell are you doing there ? Fortunately for me I simply love it, so it wasn't a problem at all although I was there for work only for two days. I arrived in Bruxelles from Paris with Thalys the fast train coming from Paris and connecting France , Belgium , Germany and the Netherlands. A little expensive but really convenient. I had been in Bruxelles years before and hardly remember a lot except for the Grand Place (and how can you forget that?). This time I stayed in a very funny and coloured hotel called Pantone, where everything is colours including sugar at breakfast! It was a nice change for a grey and rainy day( not unusual it seems). I was given a room where the main colour was orange and a little yellowand where the painting behng my head was instead a giant lamp. I surely would go there again. Then I decide to take a stroll to go again to the grand place area and I found it very beautiful as I remembered it to be. I was famished at the time so with all the chocolate shops around me I was going crazy and I decided to have a taste of it, so i entered into Cafè Tasse and had a hot chocolate with a taste of typical Belgian sweet bread and speculoos biscuits plus of course some other chocolate. Guilty? Not at all. Pleased? Very much so.

Chocolate at Cafè Tasse

Grand Place

My room at Hotel Pantone

Then, while waiting for a very good friend of mine for dinner I wondered around the area. It's a very nice and lively part of the city, which on the other hand seemed to be (at least when I went there years ago), a little sad and dull. I'm sure it was also the weather and actually when the evening came the atmosphere changed and became warmer. I walked through Saint Hubert gallery very close to the Grand place and the Marchè des herbes and looked at the beauty of all the arcades and the old shops. Of course most of them were chocolate and sweet shops but I decided not to indulge more in the chocolate spree for the day. All the bars around the area quickly filled up with people giving the place a nice flare of northern European fascination. Then I met my friend who took me for dinner atT'Kelderke right in the Grand place: a very warm and lively place where you can taste the main Belgian specialties. I went for the moules mariniers with pommes frites which I used to eat all the time at this little restaurant in Greenwich village when I was living in NYC called La petite abeille.

Sweets shop

Bar in Saint Hubert Royal Gallery

Chocolate shop in Saint Hubert

Gallery Saint Hubert

Then my friend took me for a stroll in Bruxelles by night and I have to say I was misled from what I thought the city was. It's very interesting and fascinating. I have to say though that Antwerp is another story. I just love it and I suggest to anybody who hasn't been to go for a weekend or a couple of days. I had been there years ago and already liked it but this time I just loved it. Beautiful buildings, beautiful streets and beautiful atmosphere. The first imperssion at the railway station was excellent since it is absolutely stunning. Of course the weather was not too nice but still I enjoyed it very much (at least what I could see in between my work meetings). I would like to go there again just for fun and spend some time just wandering around. I stayed in a very nice hotel just by the station called Park Inn by Radisson not to be confused with the big Radisson in front of the station. I really really enjoyed staying there althoughI basically saw my room in the morning to drop my suitcase and late in the evening to sleep. I didn't find a lot of chocolate there but I found Wagamama (!) the London Asian restaurant chain I'm crazy about . (see my post on London). Before taking the train to Holland I realized how understimated Belgium is sometimes. I would really like to go back. Maybe next time I'll be so lucky to have a nice and sunny day for once...

Wagamama

Antwerp central station

Antwerp City hall