Summer is here (or I’m getting there)

Just got this one over email, don’t care if it’s photoshoped or not, it’s  here…

The Temple of Poseidon at Sounio under the August’s full moon

[thanks Jolanta]

Paris

I spent a week in Paris (for work) and I must say I found lots of the things I’d heard before to be true.

• The center or the city, or the central areas I should say, are very well taken care of, shouting out loud the glorious past of the city.  Thus, walking around, say Champs Elysees is a pleasure, especially under bright skies.
• The Eifel tower, maybe a cliche, but I walked up the stairs to enjoy the magnificent view on a sunny afternoon, wicked!
• Montmartre is as romantic as it’s said to be (I guess), if not more and totally worth walking around enjoying the view. Dining in one of the restaurants in the surrounding area is a must!
• Same yields for taking a walk along the Seine, especially during the night, tres magnifique!
• I felt like an American tourist, no offense there please, as my French is amazingly poor, if non existent (despite the fact I’m one of the those who love how French sounds) and in most of the restaurants no English menu was available. Therefore, I had to ask for an on the fly translation. People were always polite and willing to help though.
• Food, oh food & wine (i don’t have to say much about it)! and Paul, oh Paul (turning 120 years old), what a bakery? If you encounter one, just walk right in and enjoy…
• Euro-Disney is cute and always worth a visit, even on a rainy day, it simply makes your day. Loved it! Furthermore, I had the opportunity to dine in one of the hotels of the park, which was great (felt like a kid once again).
• Maria, thank you so much for the hospitality and for taking the time to show me around.
• One of the negative things; Paris is overpriced, I had to pay 3,60€ for a 500ml bottle of water at a kiosk.
• The metro is good in terms of service and reliability, at least for as long as I used it. But awfully dirty. Generally speaking I wasn’t impressed by the clean streets of Paris.

I still have a lot of places to visit, several reasons to come back and I will definitely do so.

[my Paris album]

Back to reality

Ougk!

Once again I was on the road for some time (or should i say on the air )  so no updates were posted. I really should improve my posting skills when away or generally when on the fly . Anyway, this is a condensed post mostly based on my trip, things worth commenting during my absence or just things i think i should have commented on. Here we go:

• Why SAS can be sooo nice/comfortable/pleasant for flights outside Europe, while within it simply sucks?!
• During my recent visit in the US i must say i clearly distinguished two patterns of attitude/service towards customers (and towards people in general). Despite the fact i’m not very fond of Orlando, FL (not much of a real city, rather than a huuuge amusement park and shopping center) i must admit that the level of service and people’s attitude towards customers is exceptionally good. Even though most of the times it is fake and people have to pretend they care, it is far better than what i faced in New York where nobody could careless whether you needed anything (it made on wonder whether these people wanted actually to sell their merchandise). However, i should point out that even the extreme kindness and assistance offered in Orlando should be balanced a bit (e.g. in the hotel everyone was soooo nice and willing to help you and at the end they would kindly ask you to fill in an evaluation card, i must have filled more 30 of those within a week). But of course at the end, that’s why tips are there for, right? right!
• I must thank the very helpful secretary at UBC’s Library at Robson Square, downtown Vancouver for being soooo helpful and assisting when a completely stranger, unaffiliated to UBC, simply requested a study room and a meeting room in the library to do some work. Thanks a million, I really appreciate the work you do.
• New York is The City. In Greek we use capital C in the word city when referring to Constantinople (no territorial claims are implied in this post), but this is wrong. New York is the The City, or the definition of a city if you prefer, all the rest are simply cheap copies of it (don’t get me wrong, I should not be generalizing but that’s my feeling). So New York is The City!
• I obviously loved New York and every aspect of It (even the bad attitude/service mentioned earlier wasn’t enough to influence me). Biking around was marvelous and I must say even during the rainy days The City was awesome (and i hate rain, it makes everything look really bad to me).
• I love bookstores on the other side (Borders, Barnes & Noble, Chapters, etc.) and the fact you can spend lots of time there till very late. Akademibokhandeln wake up and do something about it!
• 2.1 is still shitty, I have already started thinking downgrading to 1.1.4 unless something changes.
• Call me whatever you want but: Soho, Nolita & Tribeca rule! Walking around the neighborhoods  with all the cafes, bars and little shops.
• Saw Moby on the street or at least I think I saw him , and I’m pretty sure I did.
• Vancouver is very beautiful but too rainy.
• Very beautiful people in Vancouver (don’t get me wrong, i do not mean it in a superficial way), and friendly too.
• The campus of UBC is huge!!!! However, very well spread out, organized and very well situated. I’m not sure the last one is relevant to studies or research but what the heck, the view is amazing, both the ocean and the mountains are there (despite the nude beach being right there ).
• Food in Vancouver is excellent too, great restaurants (probably because I had really good tips) and I must say that Cioppino’s was the highlight, definitely a must if you visit.
• Also complements to the KEG Ceasar’s, downtown Vancouver, not so much for the food, which is really good (a must try steakhouse across Canada), but for their service. I only commented on my rib eye steak being a bit overcooked, while my preference and order was medium rare and the waiter offered to take it back and bring another one, i said no. Then i was offered dessert on the house,  again i said no. Finally, he reduced the price of my steak on the check (half price), i was not asked so no chance for me to say no there . The guy earned his big tip fair and square!
• Check Princeton’s Wordnet and Oxford dictionary; Greece and scandals should be synonyms by now! I’m exaggerate a bit (these things happen everywhere) but for crying out loud, will you just shut the place down and hand over the keys already. To whom? Well, that’s another question… The point is those in charge have been repeatedly proven to be incompetent to run the State, while Greeks have been repeatedly proven to be incompetent to judge and elect.
• I tried a Bellini for the first time, and it was good (more than good)! However, trying it in Stockholm was a major disappointment . I should try again i guess before my final verdict.
• A visit to Victoria island is totally worth it. The journey by boat reminded me a lot of the boat trips I’ve taken in the Swedish Archipelago outside Stockholm. The scenery is quite alike I must say.
• Both Central Park and Stanley Park are beautiful, though very different from each other (totally worth it cycling or jogging around both).
• Samsonite suitcases are supposed to be immortal or something like that, right?Lie Lie Lie a freaking lie. It took a year for mine to almost rest in piece (already damaged). I wonder how more will it last!
• What financial crisis are you talking about? I had just left New York when the whole thing started, did I do anything wrong or was it due to my departure from The City that caused it? But seriously what financial crisis are we talking about?
• Capitalism bowed to his glory: George W. Bush! RESPECT the legend! Long live the 43rd president of the US and whole administration for putting the little cherry on top of the cake. Comandante and Mikhail must have had a big smile when the 700B$ were approved, their big enemy has lost a big home battle.
• From the US with love: The Visa what program for Greece? Same old same old…
• Started playing with a Mac, so i guess i got onto the road with no return (the new ones look great to me).
• As if I knew; after watching R.E.M. live in Stockholm in the beginning of September I commented with a PS: I would love to see them live in Athens on a summer night. So they did on October 3rd despite my absence , at a different venue, almost under the Acropolis. Damn, I wish I was there too!

I’m sure I have forgotten some things so I will definitely come back to extend the list , that’s all for the time being (photos from the trips will be uploaded soon on my web). cheers!