Cute dolls

I've been spending quite a bit of time at the London Christmas markets over the last week or so, and I have taken loads of photos of displays, lights and action. These dolls were on sale at the Bankside Christmas Market. I love dolls. They are so photogenic.

Merry Christmas!

I snapped this cute Santa at the Winter Wonderland Christmas market in London earlier this week. I know it's been sometime since I've posted anything on this blog, but in case anyone's still reading, I hope you have a Merry Christmas or if not specifically celebrating Christmas, a happy holiday season!

Pollara

This is clearly not one of my photos, but I liked it so much I had to blog about it. It's the cove of Pollara on Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands located north of Sicily in southern Italy. Salina is the second largest island in the group and is composed of not one, not two, but six volcanos! I'd love to visit this amazing cove one day, if only to take my own photo of it.

Almost full moon

I took this picture near my parents' home in Greece a few days before the August full moon. I was going on an errand with my dad and didn't have my camera with me, but when I saw those clouds and the moon shining bright, I just had to go pick it up and snap this shot.

Royal gardens

Last week I visited Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II. What we saw of the palace was very impressive, but unfortunately photography isn't allowed. Once outside in the gardens, you can take as many pictures are you like, so here is one of mine. Makes a difference from the blue waters and strong light of Greece and Cyprus, doesn't it?

Chilling out in the pool

Another way to enjoy water, this time by the pool bar. I took this photo at our hotel in Cyprus and I have no doubt that every single person standing in that pool is British (probably the baby too). Who needs waves when they can have beer?

Jump!

When the sea is too rough for swimming, you can always play "catch a wave". Not horizontally, like a surfer might, but vertically, simply for the pleasure of the temporary lift.

Getting drowned isn't my idea of fun, so instead of fighting with the waves in Agios Gordios beach in Corfu, I just sat at a seaside cafe and took photos. This is one of my favourites.

Santa and the souvenirs

Another souvenir shop shot, this time coming from Cyprus. Amongst the usual bibelots, jewellery and kitchen notepads, sits a lonely Santa clutching a Christmas tree with one hand and ringing a bell with the other. Ho ho ho.

I took this photo earlier this month in a souvenir shop in Pafos, Cyprus. This was the only Santa in the shop.

It's sales time

Sales aren't just for locals, they're also for tourists. I love those expressions of amazement and delight on the two girls' faces. Snapped at a souvenir shop in Oxford Street, London's retail centre.

Harry Potter weather

This summer has been unusually warm and dry. The effect can be seen all over our parks and open spaces which have turned a crisp yellow instead of their usual bright green. I took this photo just before a summer storm last week (our first in a long time), literally minutes before the skies opened. It reminded me of the opening scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Fast-food reflections

There's so much happening in this photo, I don't know if it's interesting or just plain ugly! It's a quick snap of a Burger King restaurant facade in Peckham, South London. I don't usually do reflections, but I was crawling past as a car passenger at the time and was so bored I took photos of absolutely everything. If you enlarge it, you can see me taking the photo - I'm in the little silver car on the very left.

You can see more pictures of Peckham here and you can read about our roadtrip ordeal that made this photographic burst possible here.

Greek dancing

Last time I was in Athens I watched a dance performance given by the Dora Stratou Dance Theatre. This photo shows the tsamiko dance, one of the most popular in Greece. When performed for an audience, tsamiko is at first danced in a circle by men and women, followed by a solo performance given by the head male dancer while everyone else remains stationary. The solo involves a serious amount of jumping, hopping and twisting. I didn't take any videos at the time, but there are several in YouTube if you're interested. See here and here.

Athenian open air cinema

The open air cinema is a Greek institution. As soon as the weather warms up sufficiently (usually around the end of May), many of the normal four-walls-and-a-ceiling cinemas close down and open air cinemas take over. They are situated on rooftops or open spaces like courtyards, parking lots and parks. There are close to 100 open air cinemas in Athens alone.

This one is situated within the Flisvos marina complex. The sea is just behind the projection screen. We were there to watch Knight And Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

Haircut, anyone?

Recently I started taking photos of "people at work". This is my Greek hairdresser in her salon.

Man in bookshop

A man looking through books at Eleftheroudakis bookshop in Athens. I love the unusual curved display.

Sunset over Piraeus

It's the end of another glorious summer day and we're at Flisvos marina, from where one can see the sun setting over Piraeus. I like this photo because the couple appear to be more interested in their conversation than the sunset itself, which makes me think they're locals who've seen it several times before.

Actually, the girl was busy talking, the guy was mostly looking into the distance. Let's hope he had been captivated by the beautiful sunset.

I've shown you Flisvos marina before here and here.

Dining by the sea

A family having an early dinner (or late lunch) by the sea in Mikrolimano, Piraeus. Mikrolimano is a small bay below the hill of Kastella in Piraeus, Greece. Piraeus is the port of Athens.

A number of restaurants, cafes and tavernas line the bay, offering diners the opportunity to enjoy their meal right next to the water. The only way to get closer to the sea is to dive in!

Hellenic Parliament

On one of the rare occasions when I left home without a camera, I got the opportunity to take a photo of an iconic building from an unusual angle. Luckily, my Nokia 5800 phone came to the rescue, so I can share this image with you.

This is Syntagma Square, in the centre of Athens. The yellow building in the middle of the photo is the Hellenic Parliament, previously a royal palace. The expance of green to the right hand side is the National Garden.

I took this photo from the top floor cafe of Public Store. I like it because it shows how close Athens is to the mountains. The range visible in the background is Ymittos (Hymettus), which lies along the east border of the city.

Souvenirs

I took this photo in the Plaka area in Athens, where all the tourist shops are. I'm not sure if the rag doll is on sale, I suspect not. It's not the prettiest of dolls, but it looked chilled out sitting on her little chair amongst the T-shirts, postcards and ceramics. I couldn't resist snapping it.

Vuvuzelas in Athens

If you've watched the recent FIFA World Cup, you will know what these are. If you're not a footie fan, let me explain: they are vuvuzelas, stadium horns used at football matches in South Africa. They make a monotone sound that resembles loud buzzing when you're watching a match on the TV. Very annoying but also quite distinctive.

I took this photo in Plaka, Athens, a few days after the world cup final between the Netherlands and Spain (Spain won). I've never before seen them on sale anywhere in Europe, which makes me think about the power of televised international sport.