Salonica: cousins hit da town

Alighted at Salonica, oh, eight hours later than I was supposed to. The oblig debrief followed, including not just my Salonican cousins Chris and Nick K, but also my Athenian cousin Nick L, up from Athens to be shown A Slice Of Life On The North Side.

Yes, I know that means there are three Nicks in da house. And these aren't my three cousins called Nick Nicholas, either.

Greece being Libya, noone really dares step outside until way after 9 pm, and socialising takes off after 11. I wasn't up for that much; but as my Athens taxi driver pointed out, "Oh, sir, I don't think your relatives are going to let you relax all that much." As always, I will need a holiday from my holiday.

The problem with letting Nick K photograph his cousins is, he'll make sure Salonica Babes are in the shot:



The problem with letting Chris photograph his cousins is, he won't wait until I'm paying attention:



or we're standing still:



The problem with letting Nick N photograph his cousins is, he forgets to.

The problem with Salonica nightlife (Ictinus St) is, it's night, so you can't clearly see the ten zillion Young Salonican Things out for coffee and whatever else comes their way:



When time for the inevitable midnight snack came (this being Greece, after all), we ended up at Derlikatessen:



I'd already found out about Derlikatessen from Notis' blog: it's a hybrid of delicatessen, and Greek ντερλικώνω "eat way too much" (from Turkish dirlik, "comfortable living").

These being Greek souvlakis and not Australian, even their most dirlikli souvers (the δικάβαλα, double-wrapped) were still quite comfortable eats: delightfully thin pita, soft pork, mustard-compatible. Exactly what you'd want at midnight. Cool pre-war style signage, as well.

The nightlife is the upside of Greece: even of a Monday night, Young Salonican Things ambling around at midnight, having a laugh, sharing cigarettes, packing into small dark bars and outdoor cafés, not getting particularly drunk. All very pleasant and mellow. If only:

• The weather wasn't Libyan
  
• You didn't have to get to work at 7 am
  
• There was any notion here of customer service or collective responsibility
  
• Olympic Airways was not involved in arriving here at all
  

Oh, I may well have forgotten to mention this:

HELP BANKRUPT OLYMPIC AIRWAYS