day # 2 many of intense heat

ahhh for the 4th-ish straight day it is in the hundreds and i am dying. the whole group is a sweaty mess addicted to water. most of our noonday and afternoon activities have been cancelled because it's just too hot to function. the temps have hit record highs in the 110's... unreal!
to continue from the last post, after the pel., we headed back to athens for sat and sun. on sunday, the heat took its toll, and we tried to beat it at the beach. there were sooo many people in the water which had heated up at the very least 10 degrees since the week before. a group of 4 of us went and it was just such a great, relaxing day. we went tubing as well. 15e for 10 mins but worth every penny. after that, we went to a great restaurant later in thissio, which is a little area near the parthenon. the restaurant was called kuzina. absolutely fantastic. steamed mussels in a white wine saw with tomatoes and feta for an app. and then lime and mint risotto with grilled tuna for my entree. i split that with maria as well as a wonderful twist on fish and chips. the award-winning chef came out to talk with us, and ended up chatting for a few hours over complimentary after-dinner drinks. a nice liquor made from mastic, a sort of sap that comes from trees only found on the island of chios, was a perfect end to the evening. we also were sent up to the roof deck to see an amazing view of the parthenon and other ancient ruins nearby that glowed under the moonlit sky. probably the happiest i have been in who knows how long. i love it here. then the chef gave us his card and recommended a restaurant called the seven seas in thessoloniki so we are going to try that out some night this week. supposedly it is very small and selective, but we have an in!
ok so a few things i have seen/learned in greece that i must share:
1. the seas here do not have tides. the water is just deep all the time.
2. fish is very hard to come by and therefore very expensive, as there is so much european competition for these seas.
3. every bathroom (labelled WC) has a sign in it that says not to put the toilet paper in the toilet. apparently they have very small pipes.
4. the woman symbol on the bathroom door has monstrous hips. i deduce that europeans accept and embrace curves.
5. people here don't sleep. they rely on obscene amounts of caffeine and somehow americans can adapt to this lifestyle.
6. everything here is insanely expensive. i.e. a starbucks venti is over 5e which is over $7.
7. greece doesn't offer light beer, but coke light is amazing.
8. ouzo is yuck, raki is death and mastica is yum.
9. it is possible to get sick of gyros.
10. bikini bottoms sold here don't cover much.
11. you have to pay to sit on a chair at the beach.
12. olive trees are everywhere.
13. real greek salads don't do lettuce.
much more to come... i'm off to get a frappe and sit at a cafe without dying of heat exhaustion. we're probably gonna grab something by the waterfront and then maybe search for the seven seas restaurant. oh by the way, we pulled an american move and went to tgi fridays last night for a change. bad decision. haha. according to a lecture we had today at anatolia college, thessoloniki is famous for their cultural cuisine. bring it on.
alka