And it was a lot of what made hanging out with Josh so enjoyable – that he teased me and I teased him back. We jousted. Conversing with Josh felt like I was gliding the sharp edge of my mind along a verbal whetstone.

When we arrived at Miaouli Square, it took my breath away. After a week of travelling to islands peppered with whitewashed buildings and pops of blue – which were gorgeous and I’d never tire of seeing, by the way – the square was more reminiscent of the South of France than anywhere I’d seen in other parts of Greece.

Although the waterfront of Ermoupoli, where we were docked, was atypical of the other towns we’d been to on other islands, the square was an even stronger reminder that we were in Europe. There may have been distinct lines on maps between countries, but Southern Europe clearly had common threads that surpassed borders.

‘This is so beautiful,’ I remarked.

‘It really is – not like anything we’ve seen so far,’ Josh replied.

‘I was just thinking the same thing.’

An imposing but handsome neoclassical building in a pale apricot colour dominated the square. I guessed it was probably the town hall or some other official government structure. Ubiquitous pigeons dotted the square, which was, surprisingly, bordered by fat palm trees.

‘Unlikely that those are native, huh?’ I mentioned, pointing to the palm trees standing guard in front of the town hall.

‘Mmm. I’m going to say no. We haven’t seen any others during our trip.’

‘No.’

‘Did you know that the North Africans ruled in Greece for hundreds of years until about six hundred years ago?’ he asked.

‘Uh, no, I didn’t know that. I knew they were in Spain for a long time.’

‘Yeah, they ruled most of what we call the Mediterranean – they could have brought the palm trees with them then. Maybe they grow on the island now.’

‘Maybe.’ I figured it was more likely the Islanders had bought them especially for the square, but Josh’s historical knowledge impressed me nonetheless.

‘Your knowledge of history is a little more credible than Duncan’s,’ I said.

‘Pigeon houses?’ he asked.

‘Precisely. Did you know that the Greeks thought pigeons were nice, so they made houses for them?’

‘I did not know that until I met Duncan and he told us.’ Josh led us towards a statue in the middle of the square.

‘Well, did you know that it was the Moors who brought citrus to Europe?’ I asked.

‘Really?’

‘I think so,’ I admitted. ‘It’s one of the hundreds of factoids we were trained to spout off when I was touring. It sounds like it’s true, but who knows? We told our tour groups a lot of stuff that wasn’t true – and on purpose.’

‘You mean, you lied?’ he asked, pretending to be aghast.