So, I chose the kitschy Grecian Palace

The view from my balcony at sunset is breathtaking... Or perhaps I should say balconies, I have three that wrap around the apartment. I cannot believe the beauty of where I live. The trees- citrus, pomegranate, fir, others I have never before seen.

I love my kitschy Greek palace with its retro glam. I feel like I should be continuously playing Frank, Ella or when I'm feeling a little melancholy- Billie. On weekend nights I should be looping rat pack movies. Then again it might clash with the dramatic Greek music that plays in the teeny elevator- mirrored, of course. Except for the imitation Venetian murano glass lovingly installed by the Greek landlady who lives on the first two floors. There's one other floor beneath me with an invisible, silent neighbor. Then I get the whole top floor. Penthouse, baby!

It's not huge compared to what some of my colleagues live in, but for me- it truly is a palace. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. A kitchen big enough for a table to seat four. You could fit my German apartment in my living room and still have space left over. There's gold etching around the moldings, glistening wood and tile floors, a fireplace that works... This is so beyond me. Enough to keep me from trading for a centrally located, urban apartment. Enough to rhapsodize over in a blog post. I'm ruined for other homes. Have I mentioned the fairly large flat screen television?



But let me be honest. It's all about the feeling from the balcony. The vista of a rose and azure painted sky overlooking all of Athens with an amazing view of the old white chapel built by a sole monk atop Lycavettus Hill. Then there are the nights where there is a concert in the park and I can just lay on the bed and listen to the music waft in among the breeze that makes its way through the open balcony door and gauzy drapes. The to die for bakery across the street, busy corner cafe with a huge outdoor cushioned seating area, tasty beyond tasty souvlaki and gyro joint around the corner are just frosting. It's almost worth the 15 minutes of very scary driving to get to work. But that's a whole 'nother story for another posting.

Jx

A Whole New Country, A Whole New Commitment To Blogging

Okay, I have been BAD about this. But that's about to change... In my first 48 hours in Greece I have managed to obtain a loving over-the-top-I-want-to-mama-you-landlady, have a taxi driver become "my" driver, and make a fruit tart explode in the middle of a group of my new colleagues and a very important person. I guess I'm not in Germany anymore.

So, I'm still trying to finalize where I am going to live... I've been assigned a gorgeous pimp my life apartment, but it is in the suburbs up a very long hill from the closest metro. So, I am going to a colleague's place in the city Monday to see about trading. It won't be three bedrooms with a gorgeous view of the whole city down to the Port of Pireaus and long windy balconies, but it will be walkable to everywhere. Hmmm...



But I am committing myself to writing more for all 12 of my followers :)

I took a few pics of my first glimpses of the mainland from the airplane. And one of me with a scary huge grin upon my first views. Photogenic does not begin to describe all that I see around me.




I am certain very down the rabbit hole adventures are just around the corner.

Nauseous on French Cheese?!

Hello from Bordeaux with just a few random thoughts, because

1. The keyboard on this computer is jacked up... Letters in all kinds of crazy places (It just took me a few minutes to find the z!), you have to shift to get numbers, and punctuation... forget it. I look like one of those sad typers plucking with both index fingers and passersby look concerned.

2. I didn't take any pictures because I arrived as it was getting dark and apparently there are actually a few mean streets in this laid back, yet vibrant city.

3. After a good deal of searching (I enjoy exploring, but hey! I was hungry), I finally found this highly regarded restaurant with supposedly the best cheese and wine selection in Aquitaine. I mean how fantastic does that sound? Well, I expected the intense smell, but I was not ready to be mocked for dining alone, drinking the worst Bordeaux that has ever passed my lips, and the cheese salad? Well, I am still reeling from the waxiness of it with less than fresh lettuce and some crazy ass herb that I can still smell after brushing my teeth and washing my hands intensely.

4. Oh yeah, and I have to get up at the crack of smack to take a train to Angouleme for the International Comics Festival, drawn, not stand up.

All that being said, I am really digging Bordeaux... It's a cool mix where France meets Spain (the red and orange tiles atop old stone buildings), an ancient heritage, Eleanor of Aquitaine's marriage to the King of England has left some reminants as well, then there's gorgeous park land, twisty roads reminiscent of medieval times, boulevards that are much more modern, and some cazy gothic architecture. Such a heritage contrasting with a very lively multicultural population and all set next to a lovely river with a warmer than you might guess climate.

Just avoid a certain restaurant.

Oh and other random thought, when I moved back to Europe I brought my pumas and addidas, you know, very German. Well, apparently I should have known and packed my Chuck Taylors... Converse All Stars are everwhere. That and super short cropped sweaters in shop windows. I don't want to fit in that much.
Jx

The Least Equipped Blogger

No laptop, lost the cord for my new digital camera, excuses, excuses. I am officially the worst blogger I know (well, who actually has a blog that is). So I am now taking the wise advice of one who knows best, and putting up some quick text to show I am still alive and interested and hope my 9 followers don't pull the plug on me...
Next up?
Some memories of London. I was able to borrow a cord for those pics at least.

Merry Ole Scotland

Well, I have been horrible about putting up new posts. But one fab trip to reconsider is covering Christmas (and Hogmanay) in Edinburgh. It is still my favorite city, but a giant Santa Stroll, hearing stories from Santa, and watching Santa feed his reindeer made me feel like I should have three little ones and a picket fence. Or buy more gifts and go whole hog into the social and commercial side of Christmas.



It's interesting being in Germany and then Scotland and seeing everything so unapologetically about Christmas. I kind of felt American twangs for wanting to see a Menorah, Kwanzaa candle, something that actually said "seasons greetings"... And in Celtic land I thought I would see something about winter solstice. But, nah. Besides, Christmas is such an interesting amalagamation with pagan and other tradition symbols wrapped in.

So I sat in Santa's igloo, interviewed a Panto cast (very funny interactive take on children's fairy tales with British humor, song and dance, and always a man in drag as a "Dame"), and even made my way out to Dalry in Ayrshire to interview the Member of Scottish Parliament I used to work for on his top ten things in Glasgow. I ate the best cheese and pickle toasty out there, it made up for being dumped on with rain.>

Then again, it wouldn't be Scotland without any bucketing down.
Wow, do I love it there.
Off to London for the holidays!
Jx

Gluhwein, Life Sized Chess, a 2 cylinder fiat, and The Sound of... Karaoke?!

Okay, so this is more of a photologue than a blog post... but Salzburg was gorgeous!!! Katie and I hit up as much of an adventure as three days with travel will allow... starting with a teeny tiny fiat on the Autobahn. As much as I love Italy, our two fiat rentals kept me chanting "I think I can, I think I can" in my head. Eight hours plus one stop in Nurnberg for the world famous Christmas Market (we were two days early, oops), we arrived in the darkness to Salzburg's city limits.

With my less than adept navigation, we finally made our way into the walled city after about a half hour of trying.

And wow. I can be a jaded traveller. But not there! The land of touristy Sound of Music and Mozart lived up to the hype. Old cobblestones, stunning views, water in the center, architecture, nature, wine bars, friendliest German speakers I've ever met. You name it.

We had a bit of a bother trying to get our car into the center and getting into our lodging. But really it was blessed, so I shouldn't complain. And I do mean blessed literally. An old school lodging run by nuns... we couldn't find it exactly, after being redirected from dark alleys and distracting a violin player who really needed her practice, we found the gorgeous old building in the heart of the old towm. And bless, they left the key in an envelope. No down payment. So trusting.

Beyond that, we met a former banker cum wine bar extraordinare with blonde hair to his shoulders and drunken older clientele. One older gentleman was particularly keen on Katie. Wow. That being said the two grape Austrian red was fabulous. As you can see from the pics, we did get to go to the "Do, a dear" lake and a Mozart plus others concert in the downtown Mirabelle. Sadly we didn't find turkey for Thanksgiving, but a small foil of turkey spread provided great entertainment if not a yummy eat. And possibly tastier than those frightening Mozart balls- chocolate candies that should be awesome, but sadly are filled with the least appealing marzipan that has ever passed my lips. The Christmas Markets were in full effect, but sadly for the sellers the only parts that were packed were the gluhwein (hot mulled wine) and food stands-

the giant chess board was popular too. I'll be doing an ambient story and a sad financial story that I'll link later.

After the Mozart concert, we did what any good American tourist would do... looked for American football at and Irish Pub. Instead, we found karaoke! In Germany, Germans do not tend to participate. In Austria, like the strangers who struck up conversations, I learned the populace breaks my preconceived expectations. Hilarious, loud Austrian dialect songs. Less hilarious were the American study abroad girls who thought they owned the place. Not classy to take the mic and steal the Abba song the gay Swede waited an hour for. But another barrier shattered... Katie inspired me to sing solo back and forth with her to "These Boots Are Made For Walking". We also were surrounded by the international reps for Red Bull. Little did I know that there are 30 million more cans of Red Bull drunk in the Ukraine than there are people.

Hmmm---

Well, off to German class and then Marla's wedding in Georgia for a long weekend.

Let It Snow...

Need I say more? My friend Katie Grouse and I were singing "Winter Wonderland" and shivering our tailfeathers as my shoes leaked and her winter coat awaits her all toasty back in Virginia.

The photos were taken by Barbara Frommann for the General Anzeiger.

Katie and I are off to Thanksgiving in Salzburg... nothing says turkey like The Sound of Music.

Hopefully will have some off kilter adventures to report, especially since we are braving the autobahn in a tiny Ford Ka (not even big enough to fit "r" on the end).

Enjoy stuffing yourselves with stuffing!