12September2026: Thessaloniki, Greece: Nothing better (not really) than a good sleep and a great breakfast Slept seven and a half hours and woke up a tad groggy. Jet lag causes physical fatigue but it also befuddles the mind making simple decisions a bit more complicated than they deserve to be. A pleasant morning brought cloudsContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE : Short Attention Span Version”
Category Archives: Travel
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:11September 2026: Are the clouds behind me now and can I look to bright sunshiny days ahead?: Finally in Thessaloniki!
11September 2026: Are the clouds behind me now and can I look to bright sunshiny days ahead: Finally in Thessaloniki! Was it a two hour or 4 hour “sleep” at Sofitel Athens Airport Hotel. Having finally crawled into bed at 01:00 and setting the alarm for 04:00 it was 3 hours in bed and itContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:11September 2026: Are the clouds behind me now and can I look to bright sunshiny days ahead?: Finally in Thessaloniki!”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:10September2026: Frustration With Sky Express and the $815 Four-Hour Hotel Bill
Plans that went askew! I was to meet up with dearest F at Athens E Venizelos International Airport when her ITA Airways flight from Rome arrived at 18:35 and then take a Sky Express flight at 20:35 to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city. The arrivals board simply said her flight was “Late” with no estimatedContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:10September2026: Frustration With Sky Express and the $815 Four-Hour Hotel Bill”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:10September2026: Arrival in Athens: A Shitstorm is brewing
I’ve arrived in Athens. Passport control awaits as I tread with spritely footsteps passport in hand. I have returned to Greece! Wait what are three hundred people doing in a large room with lanes of people cordoned in horizontal rows? What are there so few immigration officials checking passports and biometrically imaging your eyes. WhyContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:10September2026: Arrival in Athens: A Shitstorm is brewing”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: On the way: More airline pig slop and 9 1/2 hours of boredom Toronto to Athens 9September2026
On the way: More Airline Pig Slop and 9 ½ Hours of Boredom Toronto to Athens: 9September2026 I was last in Greece three years ago to cover the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. I have been visiting Greece since 1971 and the Greece of 1971-73, before the tourist boom, envelops my fondest memories. In the faceContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: On the way: More airline pig slop and 9 1/2 hours of boredom Toronto to Athens 9September2026”
“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: SATURDAY IN CREEMORE: LIFESTYLES OF THE TORONTO GENTRY: MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE
SATURDAY IN CREEMORE: LIFESTYLES OF THE TORONTO GENTRY: MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE It has been close to twenty years since Bob and Fay have stayed with Suzy Larue. Mr. Larue is long since in the Great Land Beyond but his spirit hovers above the property. Bob was looking forward to visiting the quaint town ofContinue reading ““Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: SATURDAY IN CREEMORE: LIFESTYLES OF THE TORONTO GENTRY: MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE”
“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: OFF TO GEORGE TOWN ON PENANG ISLAND IN MALAYSIA
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: OFF TO GEORGE TOWN ON PENANG ISLAND IN MALAYSIA Those sedatives from the stitch up on my head imparted an extra long sleep although feeling refreshed, I had a splitting headache which was addressed by Bobby Jr. giving me some canine aspirin given to himContinue reading ““Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: OFF TO GEORGE TOWN ON PENANG ISLAND IN MALAYSIA”
“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: DINNER TIME ON THE EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: DINNER TIME ON THE EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS There are two dining cars on the Eastern & Oriental Express. All tables have large scenic windows. I recall the sun setting in the Malaysian jungle as absolutely spectacular. Fine dining par excellence. I had never seenContinue reading ““Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: DINNER TIME ON THE EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS”
“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: ALL ABOARD THE EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS!
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: ALL ABOARD THE EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS! Bags all packed and taken to the luggage desk of our hotel Singapore Shangri-La we head down for a light breakfast and for me a small bowl of jasmine tea. Bobby Jr. mutters, “Eat light. Nothing but theContinue reading ““Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: ALL ABOARD THE EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS!”
“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom” : THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS HERE WE COME!
The Singapore Times Exclusive: THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS HERE WE COME! Bobby Jr. was entrusted by his mother Madame Fong with the task of finalizing arrangements for a Fong charter of the Eastern & Oriental Express (E&OE) train for a journey through Malaysia. This is luxury train travel BobbyContinue reading ““Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom” : THE ABDUCTION OF RORY DYLAN STEPHEN: EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS HERE WE COME!”
