The art trail

One of the first things we do when we get back to Athens is go to Kolonaki and look at some of the  private galleries.  Not that much to look at this time, as everything closes down in August, and some of the galleries had already closed in late July.

The bus dropped us off at Syntagma Square, We walked past the Houses of Parliament, in front of which the shrine for the victims of the Tempi rail disaster has been .set up

First stop, the shop of the Gikas-Hatzikyriakos wing of the Benaki Museum

This platter on the window -  I could not tell who the artist is

bowl by Yannis Zois

print of the face of a young boy in the Fayoun style by Yannis Moralis

Fani Skoulikidi-Boukovala

Iosifina Kosma

Zoumboulakis Gallery:   Paintings by Knesse Douglas - Dreaming was not Enough

Vessels of Fruit, 2026, (oil, acrylic on canvas)

Untitled, 2026, (acrylic and oil on canvas)

A Vessel to Carry the Ocean, 2026. (oil and acrylic on canvas)

Athens Gallery of Art: Various artists

Stathis-Alexandros Zoulias, To the Castle, 2021

Vanessa Anastasopoulou,  Shardroot, 2025

Kez, Nyra, 2025

Oh dear! I did not record who this is by and I really like it.

Kalfayan Galleries, Konstantinos Mouchtaridis, The Earliest Winds

Vardaris, 2026

Lyvas, 2026

Zephyros, 2026

Windward, 2026

We then went to Philippou, our favourite taverna in Kolonaki, to have lunch

We sat on the terrace

but, as we sat by the window, we had a good view of the inside.

Picket of our beach

A few days ago we were on our way to take the tram to go to Athens when we saw that there was a picket outside the entrance to our beach. So, of course, we went to investigate. It was a picket by the youth section of the Communist Party of Greece, demanding free access to our beaches.

The situation on Greek beaches is becoming unbearable as it is in other parts of the world. There's been quite a lot in the press about Italian beaches, as in the Guardian recently. Exclusive beach clubs, bars and restaurants are taking more and more of the coastline in the Athens Riviera, but also all over the mainland and the islands, Paros for instance. 

Until quite recently, beaches remained open to the public for free. Now, 'free' beaches are becoming rare. Privatisation of the beaches means you have to pay:  to get in; for sunbeds; for unbrellas; and for the use of other facilities. Our beach is one of the most 'reasonable' in terms of prices. You pay 10 euros to get in and 6 for a sunbed. You can do the maths of what this means for a family of four who are also likely going to want to have a drink and maybe something to eat. Fortunately, we get in free because we are residents, all we have to do is show our resident's card.  A sunbed costs us 1 euro. But, most people are not so lucky. In other parts of the country the prices are much higher and we feel this every time we go to one of the islands. A luxury lounger on Paros can cost up to 120 euros.

According to the leaflet that the protesters were handing out, the profit of these privarte enterpreneurs on the beaches was 23,6 bn euros in 2025.

This situation leaves people who cannot afford these prices on a limb. Sometimes you have to wallk for a very long distance to find a free beach where you can put your towel on the sand and maybe, plant your own umbrella. These 'free' beaches are invariably in remote and less attractive areas, they often have a litter issue, and no facilities, things like showers,  toilets or a lifeguard.

 

Open and Free Beaches for the People and for our Youth.

As we were leaving we saw a part of the protesters walking towards the other entrance of the beach to picket there.

Sailing club

As I wrote a while ago we are back in Greece and will remain here for a while. We are totally bewildered by the weather, which alternates between  heatwave, followed by a drop in temperature coupled with strong winds, back to heatwave, etc. We're on the strong wind phase at the moment, and they fuel fires which are becoming a real issue, as they are most summers.

But, we are trying to get on with living, despite everything, which of course, includes the world situation which is unbearable to even think about. One of the places we like to go to in the evenings for a meal and a drink, is the Sailing Club in the Marina of Floisvos. It's one of our favourite places for lunch when we are here in the winter - we come here approximately twice a week. Not that often in the summer in the evenings, but we do like it a lot.

We arrived here last week just as the sun was about to set

And then it was gone, and we had the glow

It's a very popular place and you have to book to get a table

The lit up mast belongs to a war ship anchored nearby which is a museum nowadays

We like to view so we always make sure to book a table on the front row.

Hotel in Seville

We were disappointed in our hotel in Seville. It was lacking in some essential facilities and it was certainly not very clean, to put it mildly. But, the buildings were in typical Andalucian style with courtyards, typical of the region's rich architectural heritage. These courtyards, often featuring arches, fountains and gardens, serve as central open areas that provide light, freshness and tranquility. They are a symbol of Andalucian identity and culture and this is why I am writing this post.

The exterior was typical of the local architecture as well. The hotel consisted of at least two buildings, but it could have been more, I could not tell as it all had been integrated beautifully.

Through the entrance

and into the reception area.

Looking up the atrium (or could be seen as an inner courtyard)

Through this door in reception

and we can see the courtyard.

Beautiful tiled floor, lots of tables and chairs

a fountain

looking at the rooms on the upper floor through the trees, and the stained glass roof

Leaving the courtyard, inside the hotel again, the corridor that leads to the lift and the break fast room

the lower part of the wall is tiled

Before arriving to the lift and the breakfast room, another courtyard

staircase leading to the upper floors

the covered ceiling

Looking back at the staircase

and a fountain.

Another corridor and then another atrium that leads to the breakfast room and this is where the lifts are situated.

This atrium has the most gorgeous stained glass ceiling but unfortunately by the time I got to take a photograph by the end of the week, they had covered it because the sun was too strong.