Since the community I live in right now has nothing but food and a bowling alley I am going to write about my hometown Trikala, Greece. There, like most places in Greece, you had a town square or a plateia where everybody would go to hang out. No cars would pass and there were stores all around. Another thing I remember about this place is the statues. When we would go out at night with our parents they would sit and drink with their friends and me and my brother would run off and play by the statues with our friends. Those really were the times I wish I could go back to. I remember having to struggle climbing the statue so I could sit on it with everyone else. Now that I think about it, it is amazing how so many kids could just stroll off and play by themselves at night. The adults were around of course but they weren’t watching us. In a sense, I guess you could say it was a moment of freedom for us.
Greeks are social creatures so to them it’s like heaven to have a place where all they do is socialize, eat, and shop. Every place you go to in Greece, you will find a plateia. And when you have nothing to do you will find yourself taking a stroll down the plateia with your friends and family. You will never find yourself stuck at home with nothing to do because you always have the choice of going out and that’s what I love about Greece and Europe in general.
The plateias in Greece are really important. It is a meeting place for the young and old. You meet new people and encounter old friends just by walking around. In Greece the nightlife is really like being out in the day with the exception of the sun. The plateia transforms into a piece of artwork because it becomes something valuable and priceless in our lives. It really plays a huge role in the community and the Greek culture.
This is a picture of a fast food place in the plateia at Trikala. It’s called Goody’s and you could say it is the equivalent to Mcdonald’s but really it is a thousand times better. I lived so close to the plateia that I could see it from my balcony. If this picture is old enough you might even spot me in it heheheh 🙂 .
This building is very beautiful for a fast food restaurant…Shows the variations across cultures…
Also, it’s so awesome that you have a meeting place where people could go to hang out. Reminds me of the stories I hear my parents tell from when they were kids and their friends would be outside playing in the street – they didn’t need telephones to schedule playdates.
This is so cool Olivia, I feel like you would definitely fit in in a place like this since you are so social! which is a great thing =) This also reminds me of cafes they have in Portugal where everyone meets up to socialize.