PM receives George & Barbara Bush

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and his wife Natasa Karamanlis on Wednesday received former US president George Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush at the Maximos Mansion government house in Athens, as Greece's prime ministerial couple hosted a luncheon for the parents of the current US president.

George and Barbara Bush vacation in Greece on almost an annual basis, usually as guests aboard a private luxury cruiseship owned by the Latsis shipping family. In the past, several Bush grandchildren have joined their grandparents in Greece for a summer holiday in the east Mediterranean country.

No official information was given on the itinerary of this year's cruise, although in past years the former US first couple visited several islands in both the Aegean and Ionian.