Paulo Coelho’s St Joseph’s Day Party in Athens

Greek dance: Paulo, Christina and Annie

Rudolf Schenker and Paulo Coelho

The party started with cocktails, followed by prayers in many languages.

St Joseph is the patron saint of workers, we should remember that many people have lost their jobs and think of them.

That is why the party this year was being held in Greece. It gets a very bad press, the workers slandered as lazy. By holding the party in Athens, it gave people the chance to see a different side of Greece, the real Greece.

We are all travellers, we then have a different view of life if we travel. The journey is important, but so is the homecoming, as we see in the Iliad and with Ithaca.

The party was held in the roof top restaurant of St George Lycabettus Hotel with excellent views of Athens, the centre piece being the Acropolis.

The party was smaller this year, a little over a hundred people, all friends of Paulo Coelho, a celebration together.

At midnight, after eating, after Greek dancing, and following plate smashing, a rock group played until 2am.

Reading from By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Paulo smashed a plate. This was symbolic of breaking the link with what is bad, what is holding us back.

• Break the glass!

At 1am the rock group was joined by Rudolf Schenker (founder and lead guitarist of German rock group Scorpions), who was then joined on vocals by Paulo Coelho performing Still Loving You.

Book signing.

All good things have to come to an end. The party ended around 3am. Some of us remained in the hotel lobby chatting. I finally got to my hotel around 4-30am. Others were checking out to travel to the airport to fly home.

On leaving, a special present, a relief of a classical subject, the likes of which can be found in the Acropolis Museum.

A special thanks to Paulo for such an excellent party.

Early in the day Paulo Coelho held a press conference.

Tags: Athens, Paulo Coelho, Paulo Coelho’s St Joseph’s Day Party in Athens, St Joseph's Day, St Joseph's Day Party