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Barrel wine and the war on moisturiser June 21, 2008

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , trackback

I remember now why I gave up flying. When the automaton at the airport took my conditioner because it was 150ml, not 100ml, I’m sure the free world was saved from an atrocity. It’s the first time I’ve had to do the shoe thing, which just shows how long its been. Of course, its deeply uncool now to winge about these nasty little nuisances. The terrorists won long ago, aided and abetted by NuLabor.

Greece, the sea and some sunshine are worth putting up with bureaucratic silliness, and I spent the afternoon wandering around the waterfront of Thessaloniki. Looking for dinner at about 8.30, I turned a corner and found the local Goths, though they seem to be the only life around the place. The bars and restaurants of Ladhadikha, the district behind the port, have emptied for the summer and sensible Thessalonikans have headed for the beach.

Still, I managed to find a pleasant wee taverna called Negroponte, with a drinkable barrel wine and basic menu, recommended by the Rough Guide but with local and tourist clientele. No menu, so I thought I was in for one of those kitchen adventures you occasionally get in places which don’t have a lot of tourists, where they take you out the back and show you boiling pots of stuff which smell fantastic, taste wonderful and could be stewed cat for all I know. But the waiter explained the dishes perfectly, and I found myself with a very good salad and rather boring meatballs. Eating in this part of the world is less about cuisine, and much more about being outside, taking it slowly and watching the world go by, and the bill only came to €14.

Tomorrow, museums and ruins, and trying to work out which beach to go to for the second half of the week.

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