Today was a very rare day for Iraklis women water polo players... a day off. Only the second one that we have been granted since I have been here. I was determined not to let this special occasion go wasted, but the buckets of rain pounding on my window last night made me think that it was going to be another rainy day snuggled up on my couch watching reruns of Cold Case on my computer.
Mother nature must have recognized my need for fresh air and a free day to roam because she granted me a beautifully sunny, yet cool, morning. I spent the first few hours luxuriously lounging with my coffee and enjoying the idea of no agenda before I decided it was time to seize the good weather.
I walked from my house down to the restaurant for lunch where, of course, I had another amazing meal: roasted pork and rice with freshly baked bread. Two of the best things about the Greek culture: the near necessity to sit outside, and the shameless staring. This makes eating alone much more agreeable when you have a cool breeze and the no longer impolite ability to people watch. So, instead of rushing through every solo meal to avoid feeling antisocial or outcasted, I indulge in listening in on people's conversations that I can in no way interpret and stealing fashion do's and don'ts from passers-by.
From there, I head south a few blocks towards the seaside and the
White Tower. Now, usually, Sundays are rather dead in the center because nearly all shops are closed and most families indulge in home cooked meals after church. But I obviously hadn't been to the seaside on a Sunday; this is where everybody's been hiding! The recently sparse sunshine most likely inspired more than normal to be outside on this sunday, but it was still nice to discover the foot traffic that had disappeared from the center of the city. After snapping a couple of photos for you all, I sat myself down near the water and dove back into my Jonathan Franzen novel only glancing up for some really good people watching opportunities: Russians learning how to Segway, a woman who is aesthetically still devoted to David Bowie, and kids chasing pigeons, which for some reason is really entertaining!
Discovering my second Starbucks in Thessaloniki, I walked about 400 meters from the White Tower to order my FIRST Starbucks beverage since leaving the states. I sat a while longer with my espresso and Franzen before treating myself to a cab ride home.
Overall, a very relaxing day with new discoveries that will help keep me sane in my next 7 months here (Starbucks and pigeon-chasing children!). Hopefully, the next free day will not be far off, but this one will be enough to hold me over for a little while...
