Experiences from Metropoleos Str. in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, the unabashed lover of its indigenous inhabitants. It is the center of the city that leads to an unprecedented ambulatory mood . If you do not walk it, you will not conquer it. The center holds and unrevealed magic of another era and of another mood.

Stop at Hagia Sophia. A central point of the city. A decade ago i remember my self getting out of the bus with friends, loaded with books and dreams. Now in my 28, loaded with thoughts, words and daydreams i insist on parking on Metropoleos Str.

I mockingly close my eye to the bridal shop of Lina Pinatsi. My friend Ntinaki always wanted to get her wedding dress from that shop. As for me, being more theatrale, i imagined something more austere, fascinated by the creations of Rita Pateroni. Ntinaki got married, eventually.

Metropoleos str. blows an old Thessalonikian air, perhaps incurably nostalgic, but picturesque. Ladies over their 50s or 60s, chic and beautiful, with intense lipsticks and furs, are eagerly looking for a gentlemen's look which was generously given when they were young. For those women Metropoleos street is familiar. It Characterizes them.

The Tea shops await for you and shops with European showcase circle around you. I sit and look ecstatic, like Audrey in breakfast at Tiffany's. Leonidas chocolate shop is on the same street, filled with gifts to love. Designer shops make you ecstatic. Its like entering a fabulous grip that turns its backs on social problems.

I stick my face to the Shop Window of a small boutique, a charming shop with the most romantic dresses of the world. The glitter of vanity and neoploutismou spreads everywhere.

Am i a girl of a different era, or this old era of vanity is trying to survive?