Weeks Fifteen and Sixteen: Wait? You guys are still here?

What? I'm not convincing enough to get you all to come out to Greece or what?

The last couple of weeks have been spent mostly just winding down from the other endless weeks of travel and excitement.

What does one do to "wind down" in Thessaloniki, you ask? Well, the usual: homework/ final papers, shopping, the local market on Saturdays, three hour coffee breaks, climb the White Tower, tavernas, beaches. Same old, same old.

Homework only happened because the incredibly slow internet connection in my room went out. Go figure. It magically started working this evening. Go figure #2.

Thessaloniki's first specialty might be nightlife, but a very close second is shopping, shopping, shopping. And window shopping. I like window shopping :)

The local market is something that I had been missing hard-core because of all of our weekend traveling. They sell everything imaginable. I always go for the fresh produce (and feta!), but am often fascinated by the homemade wine, random clothing and shoes, and most especially the "everything" tables that sell corkscrews, nailpolish and toilet paper, among other things.




We like to climb the old city walls in the evening, have a cup of coffee and wait for the sun to set. Our "usual" cafe is up the big hill that overlooks the city so you can see the sprawling cityscape of identical 6-ish story buildings with their miniature balconies making their veiled attempt to consume the Thermaic Gulf.



































The White Tower is a sort of "symbol" of Thessaloniki. It was built in something like the 14th or 15th Century by the Ottoman Empire, who used it as a prison an execution ground. Legend has it that it was so blood stained when they stopped using it that they painted it white to hide the...well, gross-ness. It stands at the waterfront and was once one of the corners of the city wall system. From the top of it, you get some great panoramic views of the city and the water...and a nice cool breeze!















Tavernas are definitely towards the top of the list of "things to miss" about Greece. It's an atmosphere like none other that I've found in my life, nor like any other to be a part of again. Plus, we have our "usual" place, and we get free wine there....



And what's better than a beach with the clearest sea water you've ever seen being just a 30 minute, 2 euro bus ride from home? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.

Winding down is treating me just fine.