Happy halloween!

I saw lots of pumpkins this year, but the best - and scariest - was this one that I spotted at a shop window in Glastonbury, SW England.

Pylos Niokastro - once more

A little while back I showed you the fortress of Pylos in SW Peloponnese in Greece. The photo I posted at the time showed the view from the top of the fortress towards the sea. This photo shows the opposite view, facing inland. I like it because it shows how the wall hugs the land, following the contours of the hills.

Pylos is famous for the naval battle fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence, in the bay of Navarino. In this battle, a combined British, French and Russian naval force destroyed an Ottoman and Egyptian armada. The Battle of Navarino was the last major naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships.

Malliaropouleio

I took this picture of the recently refurbished Malliaropouleio Theatre in Tripoli, Greece. Having done a quick online search, this is the only information I've been able to find:

Malliaropouleio Theatre opened in 1910. It has an excellent neo-Baroque architecture and striking interior decoration. During the Second Word War it was looted by Italian soldiers. In recent years, many efforts to restore it have been made.

I also looked for old photos of the same theatre, and these are the best ones I came across. The first must have been taken during one of the earlier restoration efforts, maybe 15-20 years ago. I've no idea how old the other one is. I would guess it was taken in the 30's or 40's.


If I had found them earlier I'd have taken a couple of photos from the exact same angles, so we could make before-and-after comparisons. Maybe next time...

Small changes

This IKEA box standing inside Doukissis Plakentias metro station in Athens appears to attract quite a bit of interest from passers-by. It is part of IKEA's "small change, big difference" campaign which promotes their refresh and redecorate range.

The campaign was first launched in Australia in July 2008, but I guess it's still appropriate, considering the current economic climate.

A touch of colour

Spring is still here, but autumn is reportedly round the corner. Better enjoy it while it lasts.

Autumn or spring?

Winter may be approaching, but on days like this, it feels quite a lot like spring.

Early autumn sunshine

These two girls were enjoying a chat on a Greek beach earlier today. It may be autumn, and the sun's not as strong as it was even a month ago, but the weather's still pleasant and it's possible to sit out in your bikini and work on that tan.

Autumn in Athens

Athens has a mild and reasonably dry autumn, as you can see from this picture, taken on 1st October at Syntagma Square in the centre of Athens.

The building in the background houses the Greek Parliament. It was built in 1840 under King Otto and served as the royal palace until 1910, when it was destroyed by fire. It reopened in 1935 as the seat of the National Assembly.