Thessaloniki weekend pt. Deux!

  Thessaloniki, Macedonia Region, Greece
Sunday, October 5, 2008

And the weekend continues...
Saturday morning we were on a mission. Last week we had totally missed the Saturday Market and there was no way we were going to make the same mistake twice. So around 11:00 we made our way out the door and started our walk to Aristotle Square. The day was beautiful, the first since we've gotten here and I wore one of my new shirts while Megan wore a sun dress. The city was much busier than usual and when we reached the Square and the market we found out why. Starting down a side street was the infamous market and boy, was it a sight to see. In the very beginning was an old ya-ya selling hand-knitted shoes and slippers, an Indian man selling sunglasses and jewelry for one euro a piece, a Greek woman selling worry beads, and a couple selling cheese and bread. But this was just the beginning and soon Megan and I found out that the actual Market laid beyond these people and twisted and turned into a labyrinth of sorts. They literally had everything you could want under the sun. Mrs. Karen would be in heaven here as it seemed like one huge garage sale where the price of everything was negotiable. They sold boots, jackets, jewelry, sunglasses, pork, chicken, sardines, salmon, cheeses of all sorts, spices, ouzo, cookies, bread, baklava, candies I can't even describe-all of this and so much more that Megan and I couldn't see it all if we wanted to. Megan was nice enough to let me walk down the meat aisle and let me see what fish they had and I wish it wasn't so packed that I could have taken a picture. The fish weren't exciting of course, Dad and I have seen most of them anyways, but what was new to me was the squid they had sitting in boxes and huge octopi sitting on ice. I don't know when I'm gonna get the courage up to try some but I hope it's soon because although it sounds disgusting I've heard the octopus here is delicious. After buying some things to send home when we send out some more mail this week, we decided to grab lunch at our new favorite place to eat...Friday's! Red Hat Lady was back today and when we walked up she said hi (Ya Sas!) and we sat down outside again to enjoy the beautiful weather. I got a burger because although Greek food is amazing, I do still miss a good ol' burger every now and then. Megan went for the Jack Daniel's chicken which of course was delicious as well and we sat again enjoying the water, food, and people. The day before we had a mariachi band come by playing "Maria, Maria, Maria" but this time however we were unfortunate enough to have the works of a fat gypsy kid and his accordion. This kid was unlike the other band in almost everyway, where they were  happy and smiling, he seemed pissed and annoyed, they were old, he was young, they were in shape, he was very fat, they were dressed well, he was in an old t-shirt and shorts, and last but not least they played well whereas people gave this kid money for being annoying rather than good. I was tempted to stick my knife in his accordion as he came up to our table to annoy us for change but a waiter moved him out of the way when our food arrived.
When we were done we made out way to the Thesstival to see what it was all about. It appeared to be a small youth festival and small arts and crafts everywhere. There was a mini golf area, a computer gaming booth, (Megan had to drag me away as you can imagine) and a stage set up for entertainment later that night. After walking around a bit we headed to the White Tower to go inside it for the first time and see if we could take some really great pictures.
            When we got to the Tower we came across a sign outside that read it was only open til 3:00 and we had just missed it by half an hour. Not wanting to head back yet we decided to walk down the harbor a bit more and see what else the waterfront had to offer. Before we got too far however, Allie and Shira, saw us and headed over to hang out for a bit. When we sat down for a while we checked out the prices of the horse carriages, (15 euro for a short ride) what times the party boat left for its 30 min ride around the harbor, and started on our way back home.
I could not believe what a gorgeous day it had turned out to be! Jared and I have already been here for 21 days and probably 3 of them were actually nice enough for me to wear a sundress. There were so many people out and about for the day and we just had an amazing time. Shira and Allie told us about a guy they had met earlier at the festival who was playing music and doing Latin dancing at 9:00pm. We decided that it would be a good time so had planned to go later that night. For now though, we headed back for the apartments from the White Tower. We made it to the edge of the street corner when we saw flowers on the hood of a car and the infamous sound of a band of honking horns. A wedding party was stopped at the light and we watched as the convertible holding the bride and groom drove up into the park. They were so cute, so we stopped to watch for a minute while all of the horse carriages rode up to the car offering rides. We made the rest of our way back to the apartments and relaxed for a while. I journaled for a while, trying to catch up on all of the past events and then went to figure out what I would wear for Latin dancing.
Allie and I picked out some cute dresses and heels and went upstairs to see if the other girls were ready. They hadn't even started getting dressed so they asked us to wait a bit. Jared ending up coming over after a while wondering when we were going to leave. I was already past 9:30, but we decided to be nice and wait for the others. At about 10:15 we walked upstairs again to see if they were ready yet-they had just started making dinner. Allie and I were fed up, so we told them they could meet us there later. So, Allie, Jared, and I made the rather long walk to Aristotle Square where the festival was being held, but when we arrived the stage was already being taken down. We were so mad. Jared and I had especially been looking forward to dancing and Allie was really disappointed too. We walked back down to the White Tower hoping we might be able to catch the 11:00 party boat, but as we were made our way down the waterfront we could see the boat pulling out of the dock. Allie and I were so mad at the other girls and we felt like the night was ruined for a while, but we decided to continue down the bay and wait for the next boat. It returned soon and we immediately hopped on. It was a large two story boat with tables all around the edges looking out over the water. Admission on the boat is free, you are only required to buy a drink while onboard. It is actually a very good deal because drinks range from coffee, soda, hot chocolate, and cocktails and are anywhere from 4 to 8 euro (much cheaper than other cafes and bars on land) and this one comes with an amazing view and atmosphere. We waited on the party boat for about an hour before it actually left the dock, and right before it did the other girls had called asking where we were. With a bit of hostility in her voice, Allie told them we were on a party boat and about to leave, so they would not have time to make it on.
We sailed around the bay for 30 minutes and the boat took us down the other side of Thessaloniki and across the downtown area by Aristotle Square and the waterfront bars and cafes. The music was great and all the people abroad where so friendly. At the end, we made our way back down to the dock and left the boat. It was such a fun night. The three of us headed back home to get to bed early for our scuba diving adventure in the morning.
For those of you who hadn't heard, Jared and I signed up for a scuba diving lesson and dive on Sunday out at Halkidiki Beach with a group from ACT. It sounded like an amazing experience that came with transportation, a log book, lesson, and 30 minute dive for 50 euro. Jared said that was much cheaper than what it would cost to do any other time, so we figured "why not; we may only be in Greece once." I was pretty nervous and considered backing out of it the night before, but Jared convinced me to go to at least have a good story to tell. On Sunday I woke up at 8:30 and changed into my swimsuit, t-shirt and soffee shorts. I met Jared outside my building as we got ready to head for the bus, but overnight the weather had changed from warm and beautiful to freezing and overcast. I stood shivering in my shorts and jacket while Jared could even feel the chill in his jeans and a hoodie. Standing out there we decided that maybe it wasn't the best day to go scuba diving. If I was going to spend 50 euro to do something for the first time, I would want to make sure the weather was nice and that I would be able to enjoy the day being outside. So, unfortunately we will not be able to write about a grand scuba diving adventure in Greece, but we did spend the day warm and cozy inside doing homework and listening to the stories of Jared's roommate, Kyle, and his friends who went to Germany for Oktoberfest for the weekend. It was a rather uneventful day, but good nonetheless. Next weekend, we should have some more exciting stories; just as soon as we figure out what we are doing.
Blog ya later! Love you and miss you guys!
Jared and Megan