Last night I decided to treat myself to a small ouzo from room service and was astonished to find that it was a - rather larger than expected (not a problem) and b - came with a plate of bread, cheese, cold meats and olives. I had already eaten and so popped those in the fridge tightly wrapped in handy plastic bags. That'd do nicely for breakfast then.

This morning I awoke to see this basking beneath my penthouse balcony – what a treat! I ate my ouzo-snacks from the night before and went to pay the bill. Ouzo and snacks came to less than the buffet breakfast would have been – hurrah! I took a taxi to the bus station and then a bus to the airport where I treated myself to my last good Greek coffee. I had 2.71€ remaining in my purse and an hour or so to kill so I bimbled around the airport souvenir shops, not that I was likely to find anything I could afford with the contents of my purse.

The souvenirs reminded me that until very recently, this was my home. I was tax registered as a small farmer, ran a Greek registered business, paid my tax in full on time and was allowed to vote in local elections. I was so proud when my Finance Minister strolled casually into Downing Street in February 2015 to put a cat among the pigeons. No stupid fridge magnet can ever replace that. I found a bag of oregano flavoured crisps for 2.70€ and bought those instead. The single cent remaining in my purse will serve as as good a souvenir as any.

My plane was scheduled to depart at exactly the same moment as Arachne's train home from Edinburgh. The start of a race! My plane was held on the tarmac for about 20 minutes so Arachne gained a head start.

On the plane I still had a Scottish tenner in my wallet – a fat lot of use that would be at the Polish supermarket in Chatham, so I treated myself to some cider complete with proper Sterling coins in change.

Somewhere high in the sky over Europe I opened my cider and my crisps. What a stupendous combination! Very appley cider from Southern England and very herby crisps from Sunny Greece. The two places I call “home” Recommended! I wouldn't consider combining beans-on-toast with ouzo however, just a hunch.

We flew over spectacular Greek scenery, not a cloud below nor above us, and then over a rather boring stretch of sea. When land next approached into view it was breathtaking! Surely not! Yes indeed! We flew right over Venice! I have never seen Venice in “real” before. Another treat!

Then some Alps, complete with dwindling snow and glaciers! And then France, totally hidden by thick cloud. The English Channel was clearer, the South coast less so but not as hidden as France. I wasn't entirely sure where we were but there was a pier, and then suddenly, through the tiniest hole in the clouds, Brighton Pavillion! What are the chances of that?

We had to circle over Gatwick for what seemed like ages, and then, when we had finally landed, we had to wait on the tarmac yet again before we were allowed to disembark. From there, passport control, the shuttle to the South Terminal Railway Station to catch my train into London, and then another one back out to Kent, and I walked through my front door just 12 minutes behind Arachne. Woo! What a day!

Extra from WHSmith, Athens airport, for Arachne