6/26 Hookaholic

So yesterday night we decided to have a chill hookah night and head to Monastiraki Square. If you ever head to Athens, you can find most of the younger generation here at the bars. I tried warm shots for the first time... have you ever had a shot that was supposed to be warm? It's weird. I was so shocked when I took the first one. I soon found out that it was warm raki with honey in it. It's like drinking honey... combine that with a hookah buzz; I felt like a hummingbird.

Woke up late the next day. Ran to class, and found out our trip was canceled (YAY!). So we decided to make time to head to the farmers' market by Vernava Square... The farmers' market here is like nothing I've ever been to. It was absolutely packed and crazy. There were little vendors lined up on either sides of the veryyyyy long street.



The farmers' market went up and down two hills -- and I'm not talking about Westford hills. I'm talking about San Francisco hills. Everyone and everything seemed like a hum at first. There were a medley of colors and a discordant chorus of shouts. Every farmer was yelling out their prices and attempting to switch back and forth between Greek and English. And it was all SOO good.



Gah. I love fresh fruit so much! I got a kilo of strawberries, another kilo of apricots, and a honey dew melon... all for under five euros. Unbeatable. I couldn't stop smiling. I think my dad would have been ten times more ecstatic. He's the gardener/wannabe farmer in my family... you could always count on him to drag me & my brothers to a botanical garden, out to our garden on Sundays at 7 AM, and to every farmers' market imaginable.

And fireworks are going off right in front of me as I'm typing this on the balcony. It's 11:09 PM, say what?!... They stopped. I'm telling you, this balcony is my favorite spot in all of Greece. Oh wow, the moon is orange right now over the yellow and orange city lights. It's close to setting...Perfect.

Anyways I got off track. The key difference between farmers' markets at home and here, is that there are MOUNTAINS of olives in a lot of stands. By the way, I hate olives. Olives define Greece. It is in soaps, shampoos, saldas, and oils. It is the goddess Athena's present to the city. It is THE product of Athens... and I hate it. It's really too bad. Maybe my taste buds will change in 6-7 years and I'll grow to love it? Maybe I'll have to be pregnant to like it? We'll see. For now, it's up there with bitter melon in terms of yuckiness. Don't think I'm a picky eater though... I eat almost everything (and I could never be anorexic because I love food too much.) But meh.... Olives. Meh.

I also went into Plaka with Corey & Liza. If you ever get the chance... there's a small cafe that specializes in chocolate drinks. I ordered a Chilled Flavored Chocolate (Orange). It was like drinking a chocolate cloud. Seriously. It wasn't a milkshake but it wasn't chocolate milk. It was delicious. It's a bit pricey though... but not many tourists know about it. It's in one of the open hallways that connect the streets. It's sort of tucked away between a million clothing stores. We only knew about it from our Greek advisor/tourguide at the Athens Center. I'll get the name for you later. A must visit for anyone with a sweet tooth.