GAZETTE

Published by My Big Fat Funny Life

Volume I, Number 009 July 12, 2026

A weekly-ish dispatch from Greece, with questionable authority and excellent coffee.

Showcase Story

Greek Islands: Which One Is Best?

This week’s showcase

Greek Islands: Which One Is Best?

A completely unhelpful guide you’ll still thank me for later.

Let’s settle the world’s most common question about Greece, one asked by millions of hopeful travelers, confused honeymooners, and at least three people currently lost somewhere between Piraeus and the ferry to…

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Trending This Week

The Postcard Lied—Most of Greece Is Uphill

Reader favorite

The Postcard Lied—Most of Greece Is Uphill

An unofficial guide to stairs, hills, and the national belief that “it’s just up there.”

When you hear the word “Greece,” chances are you see the same picture: yes that one from a “Santorini look alike”. Or…

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The Summer Ferry Experience

Reader favorite

The Summer Ferry Experience

Clutch, Chaos, and Courage

And then there are the Greek summer vacations. The dream: whitewashed houses with blue shutters and doors, turquoise waters, sunsets that make…

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Coming Up Tuesday, July 14

The System Is Down. Have Some Gavros.

The System Is Down. Have Some Gavros.

An ordinary day in Greece, where a blocked Airbnb payment somehow ends at the beach with fish, vlita, and tsipouro.

Somewhere in a large building, possibly guarded by a man named Kostas and three broken printers, a system had decided I was committing fraud.

“Ah, yes,” the woman said. “There was a security alert for possible fraud.”

“No fraud,” I said. “I am trying to pay Airbnb.”

“Yes,” she said.

Good, I thought.

But no.

Because in banking language, yes does not always mean yes.

You made it this far. You may as well do the right thing.

Free, of course. No forms, no stamps, no appointment at KEP.
(If Substack flashes the paid menu first, choose None and carry on.)

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The Kafeneio Spoke

A collection from this week’s table.

“I love this Nick. When we drive around Greece, I have the same question. Why is this village here? Almost every time whenever we ask anybody they always say “pirates”. All of these villages date back at least that far. And now we have the descendants of the villagers coming back and buying homes in those villages (and even possibly living in the ancestral homes, if there hasn’t been too much strife over ownership) and they get slightly more populated again”

— Chris K For: There Is Always Another Village

“You are doing such a great job drawing your reader(s) in.... Each of your stories teaches me more about the country I love to live in. All of them make me smile. Some situations even feel "familiar"; your insights help us adjust to "the way it works". This one touches me in a different way though. There's no Maria hidden under the Marij from The Netherlands. Maybe my goal can be to not automatically be considered a tourist.”

— Marij V For: The Husband My Wife Met Again in Greece

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About what I should be writing about.

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