Sunday, July 26, 2009

An evening in July...






Now that we've settled into our Greek lifestyle, the beach is always a part of our days and since it's been really hot, we like to go during the evening as well. Friday, we spent the earlier part of our evening on the beach with our neighbors but they didn't stay very long, so we were on our own until sunset. It was lovely.

As most of you probably know, I seem to have a knack for noticing strange things. So, here are a few strange things that fell before my eyes while thoroughly enjoying myself with my kids.

-Two men, of Arab descent swimming with regular bathing suits, but also their shoes. Yes, they were their shoes, not shoes for the sea...shoes for walking, black, laced shoes. I understand that maybe they didn't want to step on a sea urchin or possibly a little crab, but it looked very strange.
I would also think that they might be a bit uncomfortable to wear out of the sea since they would be soaked and it would probably take hours to dry, especially with feet in them.
I'll have to do some research, it could just be cultural.

-A man parked his produce truck near the beach. He emerged from the truck with his wife and probably his daughter. The wife and daughter took off their clothes to reveal their bathing suits, while the man revealed his underwear. Yes, they were underwear. Cotton, bikini underwear. He wasn't young either. Now, I understand that if you really have to cool off in the sea, you could resort to wearing your underwear out of desperation. My hats are off to you if you have the balls, but you might want to pick a more secluded location. It just looks funny, plain and simple. My neighbor and I were actually in the water as he approached. It made a great conversation also.

Me: "I can't believe that man is wearing his underwear...wait...are they? No."

-Long pause accompanied by a squinting stare-

Neighbor: "Cheri, look...they ARE underwear"

Me: "Wow, no kidding..."

OK, so not a great conversation... but it busted up a silent moment in the water.

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I took a lot of photos Friday evening and I started to flip between color and sepia. I just love sepia. The Internet is so full of beautiful summer pictures popping with color, especially blue water, that I decided to share my sepia snaps that I took from my little corner on the beach. I apologize that I don't have photos of the peculiar beach attire that was present, I was in the water for those moments. Besides, you wouldn't have wanted to see the man in his underwear...trust me.





14 comments:

  1. Hi Cheryl,
    This is hilarious, their beach attire is very unusual (shoes/underwear). I like the sepia pictures too. Looks like you had fun, I wish we could go to the beach too, alas we are land locked.
    Take care,
    Angela

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  2. Hmm, beach / swimming atire can be rather nasty, can't it?Parts of a body that deifinately should not be seen in public!!
    I love black and white photos, takes me back to my younger days when thats all I used!!
    You look so happy and rested, isn't living near the sea wonderful?

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  3. Oh my goodness. Yes, beaches in greece are a great place to see all kinds of bizarre things.
    But what i like best about the beaches in greece is playing raquetes! I've never seen people play raquetes on the beaches in the U.S. Well... at least not on the west coast.

    Very nice pictures. :D Your children are so adorable!

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  4. Hi,

    I must say that your blogs and pictures of Greece keep me working hard towards our move to Greece.
    Greece is a phenomenal place to raise kids and it's such a joy to see your family really get the fullest out of life!!

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  5. Angela-I'm glad that you were entertained by this post. It was really funny to see these guys. But then again, I can have fun anywhere. Being landlocked is a good reason to start planning your next trip to Greece:)

    Maria- Oh-but-it-was!!!! LOL!

    Jude, Thank you for the compliments. I'm glad that I appear rested!
    About beaches, attire and nastiness...as offensive as it can be, it's always great for stories-and blogs! :)
    It is wonderful living by the sea, dreamy.

    Ellinares-Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad that you enjoy my blog. Keep in touch. I'd love to hear about your move, if that's what you're working for. Have a great week:)

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  6. Irene-Thanks for stopping by again. It is fun that people play racquet's here, it's a great spontaneous game. Thank you for the compliments...I think that they're adorable too but I might be biased.
    Have a nice week Irene.

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  7. Apologies accepted for not having photos of the peculiar beach attire that was present!!! Any other women in the beach with a cotton bikini underwear?

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  8. Phivos-No, I'm sorry to say that there were no women in cotton bikini underwear. However, there were plenty of yia yia's with little white swim caps. :)
    Have a nice week!

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  9. nice pictures and yes, i also find it rather strange taht they woud bath with shoes...!

    thanks for commenting of my cease fire-poem!

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  10. Sarah-Thank you for your compliments. It was so very strange to see the men wearing their street shoes!

    About your poem, it's a great poem! You're very welcome:)

    Have a nice afternoon!

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  11. Awww lovely photos. I love he one of the kids throwing sand into the water. I can't wait to get to Nafplio for a bit of swimming in the evenings. We've hardly had any time yet this summer and I feel like the kids really need it and so do I!

    As for the undies. I've seen old blokes in their undies too. I see women pop down the shops in the dressing gowns as well. In the middle of Athens! Like you say... it could be a culture thing!

    Liz

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  13. Liz, Thank you! I'm sure that your kids will love getting to the beach. We had a hard time getting to the beach as much as we wanted last year because it was our first summer in our home and there was so much to do.
    Oh yes, the women that shop in their pj's and slippers. I haven't seen that in a while but I have seen it! It always makes me laugh. I'd like to say it's cultural but it happens in the U.S. too, although, I've never done it!

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