Ali's 11th Birthday Party - February 2015

We took my niece Ali, her sister Cara and mum out to Ed's Easy Diner in the West Quay Shopping Centre to celebrate her 11th birthday.

This is a rare shot as Ali (in the red coat) doesn't like her photo taken but it was a special occasion!

Cara and her mum, two peas in a pod!

Alyssa

Me and my sister, chalk and cheese.

Selfie time!

Cara loved it.

Good food.

And a visit to Toys R Us after to spend some birthday money. The Monster High section was very popular.

And on the way home a cloud that looked like a polar bear.

May 2014 trip to Greece

Another trip to Athens with Alan, by this time I'm feeling quite spoilt but the sunshine has done me the world of good. I must go back sometime soon.

Lots of pictures of good food in this blog post - I do eat very well in Greece.

A trip to a Bavarian style in the Maroussi district. It's right next to the metro station and serves lots of German beers.

And good food!

This time we stayed in Kifissia, one of the richer parts of Athens. Instead of only apartment blocks there are some houses with gardens.

We also ate at this Mexican restaurant, love the styling.

Even the doors had cactus-shaped handles.

And the food was divine.

We stayed in the Hotel Pentelikon, it has a gorgeous terrace garden and restaurant, perfect for the warm evenings. 

More delicious food!

More sights from Kifissia.

More food in a Lebanese restaurant in Kifissia.

A trip to meet my friend Mairi in Nikaia, one of her friends had this little cutie, he enjoyed the dog treats I had in my bag (I carry them around and give them to the stray dogs I see)

Mairi was selling her hand made bags, and of course I had to buy some!

This is the gorgeous though somewhat overmatched hotel room we stayed in.

Saw this abandoned house down the road from the hotel, if only I had the money to buy it (it was for sale), it would have made a gorgeous home once it was fixed up. It had a decent sized plot too, enough for a garden and a pool. Ah well, no harm in dreaming.

Gorgeous tree-lined streets in Kifissia.

And I made another trip to visit Kentimata Katarina, the shop that sold stitched linens.

And this is Katarina. She is so nice even though she speaks no English, always helpful and loves to show off her beautiful pieces even though I can't afford most of them.

And in the Kolonaki district I found the most amazing fabric shop... I'm not sure I've ever seen this much fabric in one place.

And this is a stray dog I made friends with in Thissio. He's an old boy, has a sore paw but one of the homeless guys had some treatment for it from a vet. I left a big pile of food for him and hope to see him when I return. He wasn't very people friendly, but he'd happily eat the food I put down and then wander off to lay down and sleep it off nearby.

More beautiful pictures of Kifissia, I miss Athens.

And a selfie on the Greek metro to finish off.