Hey shorty, it's your birthday! (23 July)

The big 20 was passed on Santorini (Saint Erin!). We headed into Thira for our favourite fix - jai-rows/gyros. Actually they were some of the best - it was the second time we hit up that joint. Usually Dave downs two and I stick with one filling combination of meat, tzatziki and salad goodness in pitta bread. We sorted our tickets for the next island - Sikinos.

With the sky burnt retsina red from the sunset, Oia had fascinated us so we returned on the day of my birth to wander the streets. My bibliophilic heart was elated to discover Atlantis bookstore, written up in a Guardian article as one of the world's top 10 bookstores. I was overhwelmed by choice and couldn't decide on a birthday treat. Reader - I left empty-handed. They had some books difficult to find in WA, Mishima's Confessions of a Mask, Tanazaki's Some Prefer Nettles and Nabokov's Dozen. Oddly, the book I'd hoped to find, Henry Miller's Colossus of Maroussi ( a travel memoir of Greece) wasn't there.

Birthday wise, after a wonderful day of wandering Dave took me for a fresh meal at Parea taverna in the heart of Thira. Dave was flabbergasted at the full-bodied but deliciously fleshy fish that was placed in front of him - a red snapper which was presented wholly grilled. To Dave's amazement, it was not red but char-grilled, and it had a hauntingly conscious eye. He freaked at first, but we shared our dishes. In the end he got a fair way through it.

Other highlights include the far from nosy local wine which wasn't special but did the job. After dinner Dave took me out to Club 33, which blasted Greek music. They played some awesome songs. No-one was there - it was a Monday night so we just sat in the corner. But when Vertis's 'Pes to Mou Ksana' came on I pulled him up and he danced with me for a bit. So, my birthday day was uber special.