A LOVELY WEEKEND WITH MY FRIENDS

DINAZ

SUNDAY, June 21

Dinaz and I have been friends since 1994. I called her "The Persian Princess" because she is the embodiment of one of the Persian Princesses in my novel. The name has stuck. In fact, she is Parsi from Bombay but has lived in Greece for many years as she was married to a Greek/Italian man from Bombay. She is now married to another lovely Greek man named Andreas. When I go to Athens I always enjoy spending some time with them, and I'm always welcomed into their home.

The day after our journey to Euboeia we spent a lot of time together just talking, catching up on news, and reminiscing about our times together in Athens as well as our dear friends Roberto and Graham who have passed away. In the afternoon we went to the seaside and had some delicious gelato at an icecream parlour.

SUNSET FROM DINAZ'S HOUSE

That day we also watched the opening ceremonies of the new Acropolis Museum on TV. It was a lot like watching the Academy Awards with all the red-carpet guests arriving and being interviewed. Of course it was all in Greek so I didn't understand much of what was said.

HIBISCUS, in Dinaz balcony garden.

I spent the night there, a very relaxing time with good friends and great camaraderie.
I can hardly wait to see them again and think of them all the time. These are friends who will remain forever. Our lives are entwined and we have so much history to share.