hey, let's cross the sea

Earlier this afternoon, I took Leah to lunch in Plaka at Byzantino's.  I was craving their creamy tortellini and in desperate need of some culture.  I hit my breaking point last night, a frame of mind where I just couldn't take any more of the drama.  So today, I decided to start fresh.

We sat, in the breeze of a large fan, languoring in the heat of the afternoon.  Our food arrived slowly, as our conversation progressed.  It felt so decadent and luxurious to be sitting there embracing the moment, being absorbed into the slowly pulsing energy of Plaka.  An excellent loaf of bread, accompanied by ice cold coke and a bottle of water held us over until our steaming plates of feather light tortellini arrived, and a heaping dish of cold yoghurt with honey finished off our decadent meal.  We made friends with the elderly couple sitting next to us and spent the better part of an hour discussing life, Greece, and post traumatic stress disorder.  It was exactly the kind of moment that makes me fall in love with this country all over again.

I left utterly relaxed, completely refreshed and ready to embrace my last three weeks in Athens.  I'll make do with not going to Rhodes this weekend and take advantage of the group's absence.  Friday morning, I'm hopping on the first ferry to Hydra, to spend at least 24 hours in solitude.  I want to get out of here, out of my normal routine, out of my head.  And Hydra is the perfect place for that emotional cleansing.  I'm booking a hotel, willing to splurge a little and indulge myself.  I want to spend the morning on a secluded beach, write the afternoon away in a cafe in town, then wander around the winding streets of the little pedestrianized island until it's time to eat dinner at a nice seaside taverna, and go to bed early in peace, quiet, and air-conditioning.  Sounds like paradise, no?

 We're exploring the Acropolis and Agora on Saturday, hoping to take advantage of the rumored drop in temperature to avoid any more heat stroke.  And then Sunday, I'm going to watch the Changing of the Guard, do a little shopping in Plaka, and then attend the Tribute to Maria Callas at the Herodeion with Leah.  The prospect of peace, introspection, and lots of culture is making up for the fact that Rhodes has been postponed.

~RLM 

Comments

[C]

The last two blogs have sounded much better than the ones before. So that means either you are starting to deal with the insane students and just go on with your plans or you have realized that life there even as bleak as it seems is better than the best days here. Or perhaps a combination of the two. Anyways, I am glad to see that you are starting to enjoy your time there and that you don't feel it is a waste. By the way have you gotten my package yet? I hope you will get it soon if not already and I hope you are pleasantly surprised. When does Cara and V-Nasty leave or have they already left? And you emotionally is it better now that all you have to do is the internship and not waste time in class? I hope all is as well as you write it to be. If there is anything else that you need or want just give me a shout and I'll see what I can do.

PS: How was the date with sketchy drug boy?

C