I have just returned from Greece and I really have nothing to say for it all has all been said before by millions of travellers much wiser than myself who have visited this intriguing land since the beginnings of time. I feel very humble with a great desire to learn more.

It was more than Shirley Valentine, Zorba and Never on Sunday all rolled up into one. In a scene from one of her more famous films, Phaedra, Melina Mercuri sings a Greek song to her stepson, a young Anthony Perkins, while dancing. He asks her what the words mean and she lovingly looks him in the eyes with a glance echoing thousands of years of history and says "like all Greek songs, about love and death".

This is an ancient land and swimming one afternoon opposite the town of Naoussa on Paros with Nicos I was spell bound by the mountains and turquoise sea surrounding us. I call these mountains "sleeping giants". Turning to Nicos in the water next to me I said that this landscape cries out for legends and myths. Looking at me in his wise way he said "the mountains cry legends and myths." This is Greece.

I left hot Rome and my apartment in the trusted hands of my Estonian friends Christy & George and flew off to an even hotter and more humid Athens. Nicos, sometimes known as Nicola or Nico, and his little seven year old son Panayotis, sometimes known as little one, or peanut or pistachio, were at the airport to greet me. Panayotis is an old soul in a young body. Their other son, thirteen year old J.J. (John James who I constantly had to keep reminding to go play in the traffic) and Katerina, Nico's wife, who also goes by the name of Cathy or simply the Goddess, were waiting for us at their one family villa at Papagos which is one of many suburbs of Athens and about fifteen minutes by metro from the city center.

We supped and dined and dined and supped and talked and talked and caught up on the years which had separated us as we prepared for our early departure the next morning. We carried on till the "wee hours" before we finally crawled off to bed. Two hours later we were up and on our way to the port of Piraeus to catch our ferry to the isle of Paros in the cyclades. The sea and wind were glorious that morning and the more and more enticing the further we got from the mainland. The blue Aegean and countless islands we passed on our voyage were intoxicating for my tired soul.

About six hours later we arrived at the small but enchanting island of Paros. Paros is about an hour by boat from both Naxos and Mykonos. It hadn't dawned on me until we were there that Paros was/is famous for its gorgeous white marble and wine. Their marble was highly prized by the ancient Romans and they covered their most coveted temples and sanctuaries with a thin venire of it. Ancient Rome at one time was bedecked in Parian marble. We had rented a small villa in the hills about ten minutes by car from the principle port town of Parakia. Our villa was about a seven minute walk from the beach which could be seen from our terrace.

Life as an "islander" was an incredibly beautiful experience and we lived it to the hilt! Our days were full of stressful things like waking late and wandering to the beach returning around eight or nine in the evening. I don't think that I have ever been this tan in my entire life...and I didn't even peel once thanks to sun block! Upon returning from the beach another major decision had to be confronted...do we bar-b-q or go into Parakia to taste local delights for dinner? Major islander decisions.

We discovered two excellent restaurants in Parakia. One featuring the most incredibly succulent kababs that I have ever had in my entire life and the other a fantastic fish restaurant. One evening they grilled for us a fish that I swear was about a meter long. The most tender of fish I have ever eaten. Both meritorious of five forks by the Michelin guide people.

The days passed all too quickly. I tried to savour and enjoy to the best of my capabilities all that surrounded me. Nicos allowed me to enter even more "into Greek ways and perceptions". He is an exceptional person and I shall always feel indebted to him for our conversations and his insights into the "school of life". We spoke of colors and forms and of stories and history of this ancient land once wandered by Homer. We sacrificed to the moon goddess Selana (Selena to the Romans). All was well and at peace on our island paradise.

Early one evening when the sun was beginning to think about setting, we, along with some friends of Nicos', Dimitri, Maria and Lena, took a boat to Antiparos which is a small island about a ten minute boat ride from Paros. Once there we rushed across the island by foot to watch the sun set. It was gorgeous. The sea almost turned to the color of red wine as Homer once spoke of. Aside from this incredible view I was also intrigued by Lena who teaches Greek literature at the university in Athens. She reminded me of the spirit of Melina Mercuri with the dark and beguiling looks of Irene Papas. Those dark Byzantine eyes. I was in never, never land. She could have done anything to me.

I was constantly being bombarded by new thoughts, sounds, perfumes and emotions. I felt like a sponge. A Greek one. A tanned Greek one. Our 37 year old Athenian, Constantinos, who had the concession of umbrellas on our beach paradise for the summer proved to be, to say the least, an interesting character. He was the most gentle and handsome of Greek Poseidons (Neptune to the Romans) I had ever met. He could have easily modelled for the bronze life size statue of Zeus in the National Museum in Athens. We had lengthy water front discussions on the meaning of life and our place in this great cosmos. He spoke to me of his God and of his search for enlightenment. All this on an isolated beach on the island of Paros! This is Greece.

The morning of our last day on the island, I, J.J., and "little one" went down to the beach for our last swim in these gorgeous, turquoise waters and also to say our goodbyes to Constantinos. It was touching for he saw in our eyes the sadness of departure. We shook hands and kissed in the Greek fashion. He looked at me and told me not to be sad for he would swim in these waters for me and if I were silent I would be able to feel his plunge into the water for me. I was very moved. No one had ever promised to swim for me before. This was a first. This too is Greece.

The Christopulos family is truly unique and I am very appreciative of them for having accepted me into their family. I wanted to take little Panayotis, who was an arduous and demanding teacher who spent many of his precious moments trying to teach me Greek, back to Rome with me. He thought about it but decided that he would not come for he would miss his family too much. J.J., on the other hand, I have invited to spend a long weekend with me in Paris for his 16th birthday. He accepted.

Katerina and her thirty year old Australian godson, Andrew, who was visiting, joined us from Athens for our last long weekend on the island. We romped and raved and carried on and unanimously nominated Katerina "Goddess of the Wild Things". We sacrificed to all of the local Gods. They and we were very happy. This too is Greek.

All good things must come to an end and this was also true for our island adventure. We departed mid-afternoon on Monday by ferry for Athens. Departure gave me a new emotion. We were about five minutes off shore with Parakia clearly still in sight and I began to have these incredible visceral feelings of separation. I was standing next to Nicos on the boat and turned my head from him for I felt tears come to my eyes. We had left Paros.

We returned early that evening to a cooler Athens where I spent the next couple of days revisiting my favourite sites......the Acropolis, the National Museum, the Plaka and Monastiraki areas. On my last evening we went to a restaurant at the sea side outside of Athens to watch the sun set and dine on delicacies from the sea. The sea was within touching distance and the lights of Athens and Piraeus flickered in the distance. I felt renewed and at peace and extremely lucky and happy to have been loved by the Christopolus family.

I am now back in Rome and feel happy to be here but much richer for having had this experience. I have done a number of watercolour sketches and taken many photos which will, without doubt, be of inspiration to me for future works. I feel full of energy, spiritually renewed and ready to confront the world again!