Athens - Final

I have to finish the story of our visit to Athens. I just can’t leave it half finished. Don’t get your hopes really high though. Nothing that unbelievable exciting happened, but there are still a couple of anecdotes to share.

Anyway, during our visit in Athens, as I’ve already mentioned, one morning, I took JJ and we visited the Museum of Cycladic Art. That’s a beautiful neoclassic building in the centre, close to the Parliament. After our visit there, we decided to sit in a nearby coffee shop to get some rest, have a coffee and a small bite. The place was called ‘Cake’. So, we decided to try their cakes. It would be rude not to. I had a very nice marble cake and JJ selected the appetising cheesecake. The day was sunny and the temperature around 18 degrees. For us, coming from the UK, it’s definitely spring weather, not to mention summer. So, we sat outside to enjoy our cakes and coffee. For the Greeks, everything below 20 is considered to be cold and everybody was sitting indoors.

After a while, I noticed that there was a group of 4 men, chatting and laughing in another table, inside the shop, but right opposite us. There were in their late 40s or early 50s. They seemed to know one another very well. They were well dressed and mannered. My gaydar immediately went off but I couldn’t really be sure. I took notice of them, the same way I think they took notice of us. Later I found out that JJ was having an orgasm with his cheesecake and licking his spoon oblivious to his surroundings. But when he lifted his head, all 4 men were looking at him.

After a while, we finished our lunch and JJ went indoors to pay. I stayed outside to enjoy the sun a bit more. At that time the group of 4 men decided to leave and exited the shop. That’s when the last of them stayed behind and started chatting with me. We had the general small talk about this and that. He was visiting the city as well for a short time since he was now permanently living in Vienna. He was happy to catch up with his old friends etc etc. Then the conversation took a turn that I didn’t expect. He asked me for my number. He offered himself as a guide to the gay nightlife of Athens. By that time JJ was back.  We switched the conversation to English and he kept saying that Athens has a very interesting night life and he knew some ‘secret’ but exciting places to show us! I politely declined saying that we weren’t staying for that long and our nights were more or less already pre booked, which was actually true. He sounded a bit disappointed and he left after exchanging pleasantries.

I was surprised to say the least. That has never happened to me before, especially in Greece, outside a designated gay bar in broad day light, when no alcohol is involved. You have to realise that generally people there are very conservative and everything gay related is frowned upon, to say the least. People don’t openly flirt like that. I’m not sure if he was hitting on both of us or not, but in any case, the whole event was quite unexpected…

A couple of days later, JJ was on a plane back to London and my parents were arriving to Athens. I first met them right before going to my great aunt’s place for supper, as previously arranged for a family get together. I had to drive there with my father. There were just the two of us in the car. So, I took the opportunity to talk to him about my future plans and how the possibility of buying a property should be considered. I mentioned us (meaning me and JJ) buying a place and how a good investment that would be. I wanted to appeal to his financial side and it went quite well. He agreed with me about it in general, since there is potential for an investment.

That same day, I mentioned to both my parents that it might be a good idea to get a British citizenship. It would more convenient when I needed to renew my passport and you never know with Greece, its crisis and the European Union in general. To my surprise, they liked that idea too! My mother specially was in favour in doing it as soon as possible!

The evening ended with us watching family videos. My parents during last Christmas found someone that converted all the old family 8mm movies to a DVD! So, we sat down and watched my parents’ engagement party, their wedding, my brother’s Christening and some clips of both of us playing by the sea. Unfortunately, my christening film was destroyed when exposed to sunlight, years ago. Watching that video was a bit emotional but quite enjoyable. We laughed about the fashion sense of the 70s and the 80s and loved watching my grandparents who are no longer with us. In general seeing my parents for a couple of days was really nice. Maybe, the problems start when I have to stay with them longer than that… lol… Maybe there is some hope for us at the end…