It's always sunny above the clouds pt I

Up at 01:15 to catch the 2am bus to Gatwick. Despite countless visits there in the past and knowing the layout intimately I was obviously in a totally different place which I found rather disconcerting. I see that the airport is spending more than a billion pounds over the next five years to improve facilities so that might explain it. Coming in to land at Thessaloniki and my good friend Mount Olympus was up on tippy-toes to welcome me home. I took the airport bus into the city, past my usual stop because oddly, I needed to purchase a cushion. I then went on foot to my usual hostel carrying luggage and cushion. At the hostel I stuffed the new cushion into the 'Bigger Splash' cushion cover I had purchased at the David Hockney exhibition at Tate Britain last Thursday and then I continued my journey to the hospital to collect the results of the tests I had taken last Monday. Happily the results were all good and I presented my oncologist with a big squashy work of modern art to thank her for taking such good care of me for the last five years.

My tickets to return home were all for Thursday because I hadn't been sure I would manage to achieve all my goals immediately upon arrival in Thessaloniki and so my next task was to find out if seats were available on Wednesday's bus and boat. While I was awaiting answers I went out on foot once again to check my favourite shops in case there was anything too fabulous to leave behind. This time there wasn't.
Seats were available on Wednesday's boat home but not the 11am bus to catch it. Seats were available for the 8:15 bus instead. I bit the bullet and ordered a crack-of dawn taxi to the bus station.

In the evening I went to my favourite restaurant in Thessaloniki and then back to the hostel where we celebrated both five-years cancer-free plus my 70th night under their roof. My oncologist tells me she doesn't want to see me again for two years. It feels oddly like a high-wire walk.