The Siotis blog: maj 2008

Sixten - 3 dagar gammal.

Sleep tonight, dude....

Sixten - äntligen här....

Ellies och Johans lilla bebis.
Född 28 Maj kl. 04.07,
50cm lång och
3195 gr kropp och själ;
Han vet vad han vill.

Όλες οι ευχές για το τέκνον...
Σίξτεν, είσαι ατελείωτος...

Έλλη και Γιούχαν -- Αυτοί είσαστε...

1 st. day: Wednesday - before the night exit

Ellie, Carl-Henrik and Tina.
After a couple glasses of Rakí (the bottle is seen at the left of the picture, actually it is called "tsikoudiá" from Crete) things still look the same.

But after 5-6 glasses of the same god-blessed beverage, things tend to alter slightly... The world becomes more intelligent, and the meaning of the cosmos becomes clearer
(though not really really clear, but clearer nonetheless....)

1 st. day: Wednesday - night exit - first exit - The Arabic Music Place

Ok, this is the first exit i Athens....

At "Vassilis Place" near Kolonaki this trio played Arabic music. This was really cool, the singer was amazing, I felt like moving really south.... (like in the "deep south", as Adam Sandler says in "Little Nicky"....)

After 45 minutes I went out to smoke a MonteChristo cigar I forgot at Helenas place back in August... Awesome cigar, especially when it is late, quiet and you really need to concentrate on the important aspects of your (night) life.

Running around Kolonaki at night, I discovered a couple of bars, many Smart Cars, some really good looking Vespas. And a bar called Baires. So I went back to change our friends air a little, to exchange the Arabic context with a 80:s music and "move your body"-environement.....

1 st. day: Wednesday - arrival

WED-1 nov. -arrival-
kolokythakia augolemono at Elenas house. Awesome! (ÅSAM in swedish...)
Tina and Ellie went for coffee...
George (me, also known as "Bamia" in this blog) went "teza" (greek for BLR, beyond local repair) of course and took a looooong siesta

....at the evening we got Carl Henrik + bought some "tsikoudia" so we had dinner with the rests of the Kolokythakia Augolemono Experience, and a very very nice Galaktompoureko Carl-Henrik brought us. After a couple of glasses, things became clearer.
C-H: you rock!

posted by bamia @ 6:09 PM

1 st. day: Wednesday - night exit

La terra en una parentesi tra una partenza e l'altra.
(the Earth is one parenthesis between two departures...)
Franceso De Gregori

So this is Tina, Ellie and Elena outside and inside this pub called "Baires" (is that the correct name?, dudes: please fill in...) at upper Kolonaki.

This really kicked some serious ass, because we got Elenaki dancin' and entering her second teenage period (or is it the third... well, you never know with Elenaki...)

Anyway, the place was awesome with its 80:s music, its gay-friendly atmosphere (we actually saw a couple making out...) ... Speaking of making out: That is totally different culturally from the northern parts of Europe where we reside: People ARE making out in Athens in greater extent than we are accustomed to. Have no photos to prove it (I don´t like photographing people just like that, except if they expicity as me to... but that is another story....) so I can not prove my stand without this material, but, hello, take my word for it....

Thursday

Thursday, II

This is a mixed pot-pourri of pictures from Thursday night:
1) The Ermenegildo Zegna shop at Kolonaki.
Helena (Johannas mum) told me: "-I think you are a bit snobbish".
So, I answered like Simon le Bon (DuranDuran) did a decade ago:
"Me snobbish? No, ask anyone you know if I'm snobbish. At least, anyone that counts."

2) Tina, Ellie, Helena at the Thisseion station. Yeah, I know, they're gorgeous, right ?

3) The reason we came down to Athens. Carl Henrik Svensteds film "Reading Cavafy - 14 poems". Photo from the premiere at the French Institute in Athens

Thursday

2nd day: Thursday --> the evening

So Thursday evening is here and we begin by a view from
Lucabbetus. Cool, Very Cool. We got a Tsantali wine from the Syrah variety that really kicked ass (yeah, I know, everything on this journey kicked ass....). From 2001, I think.

Helena (picture nr 2) got the wrong shoes for the occasion , so she took them off and run without (well, who needs shoes in a city like Athens, anyway....) of we went to Kolonaki. Just take a look at Ermenegildo Zegna's awesome creations (picture nr 4). I am stunned. And accused of beeing a snob...

After Lucabbetus, George (me) comes with the romantic and silly idea to go to Glyfada. Like 2 a.m. Well we got a taxi to Mikrolimano (Pireus) where we enjoyed the nocturnal view of the port, the sea and the sleeping fish tavernas. It was awesome! After a quick fastfood visit, we went back to Exarxeia, to the club Mobetter, where Ellie has spent 1/3 of her youth. Ok, the place has turned to a Death/Black/Trash Metal place, it takes 30 minutes to get totally ouburned by the music choice and volume. So out we go, and find Vicky: a flamboyant young lady in her 20:s, smoking biodynamic hasch from her grandpa:s plants in peloponesus... hm...

At the first floor of an occupied building at Plateia Exarxeion (the square at Exarxeia) there is a party going on. Up there, 2 euros in entrance fee (!), Dancing to the night was young, everything from Hendrix to Kazantzidis, from ABBA to Parios. Coohooooool!

Friday2

3rd day: Friday is here!

..... So .... äntligen (swedish for finally) friday!

-"How is life?" I ask Maggan that works at a customers facilities in Lund.
-"Well, George, it is Thursday. It´s Friday tomorrow!"
Maggan is right. Even Monday will become a golden day when you think that Friday is on its way.

Picure nr 1. The guys at the local restaurant (where you order a portion of, say, entrecôte and you get like 3 portions of it).

This is a "No bullshit" restaurant. Or, as Ellie often quotes, "money talks, bullshit walks"

Awesome. Grilled pork meet with love by people both experienced in the mystical secrets of the portal that leads to grill heaven, and in the meantime being awesome musicians. The guy with the accordeon got me singing for an hour or so, everything from Nisiotika to Belcanto songs. People almost threw money at us... Well, almost. Most of them were there just for the cheap meat, so they almost told us :
-"We didnt order any music".
Since they were there only for the cheap meat, they would say anything while chewing...
What an awesome expression: "Cheap Meat Restaurant". I will use that more often....

Picture 2 shows some people playing backgammon on the pavement in central Athens. It was cold, picturesque, so we took a picture of it, we are tourists after all....

Tina, Carl-Henrik and Ellie. Running with the Cavafy experience; at the institute of the windmills in central Athens. (pic 3).

Elena and Tina.

Friday....

3rd day: Friday is here! AND IT IS PARTY TIME!!!

I am really going to change my official corporate pictures. The thing is that these pictures represent a closer and trulier appoach to my real self. Well, now that I have said that we can go on with the most awesome part of the Friday night.

Actually pic nr. 2 with the cigar, should be my trademark.

And pic nr 3: the awesome girls (gals) at their best.

Pic nr 4: Tina got the email of this very very nice couple, so she is going to send them this picture that is reeeeaaaally awesome.

posted by bamia @ 7:51 PM

Pimp my Weekend...

I think I need to put picture nr 3 as a corporate standard for my company. Trust this guy, at least he knows how to smoke a water-pipe....and expose his belly at the same time!

EIIie---the one and only!

sisteraki mou! My gorgeous sister on Papazoglou concert...

some old photos from 2006, the "pimp my weekend" excursion to Greece...

I think I need to put picture nr 3 as a corporate standard for my company. Trust this guy, at least he knows how to smoke a water-pipe....and expose his belly at the same time!

Melpo - the woman, the myth, the concept....

there exists only one aunt Melpo.... here at the same Papazoglou concert ....

EIIie---the one and only!

sisteraki mou! My gorgeous sister on Papazoglou concert...

Joppo and Ellie....

my gorgeous ellie-joppo combination...

...made of straws and with a precision that is very hard to flnd... from a poor man at Plaka in Athens. Think about the dreams, desires, hopes and visions of this very man... Per una lira, Io vendo tutti i sogni miei ....-For one lira I sell all my dreams...