Downtown Thessaloniki
I've been hanging out by the harbor / seaside almost all afternoon, after an initial exploratory stroll through town to get my bearings. It's been a pleasant afternoon of reading my guide book and otherwise just enjoying the breeze and sun. It did warm up quite a bit, though. About half the time I was in a cafe by the harbor, shielded from the sun during the hottest part of the day. In the downtown area, it seems that cafes outnumber food establishments three to one - cafes don't serve food.
It's starting to get cooler. I'm a bit worried about the implications for my ferry ride, but I'm sure I'll survive. This will be my third overnight journey in the past four nights - one way to cut down on accommodation costs, I guess, not that they were all that high in Bulgaria. At least I could take a shower yesterday morning, so I'm not too grimy. Yet.
Unfortunately, I'm eating the cost of my Thessaloniki-Athens train ticket, but that's a small price to pay for getting to the Cyclades as early as I am - and for not having to rely on my luck to get me there from Athens on a weekend. That was going to be pushing it, and I had half-resigned myself to having to spend at least a night there, if not more. At least I didn't plan anything ahead and do something foolish like book a room in advance, although I was sorely tempted. There's something to be said for ultimate flexibility.
Now that it's past 8pm, it's like someone flipped a switch. The number of people in the square where I'm sitting has increased dramatically, and now some accordion music has started to waft in from somewhere behind me. Apparently Greece is a late-night sort of place - they don't seem to start eating before 9pm. Right about my speed.