Summer time for Greece! Time for relaxation...

Yiannis and Faedra's photo Friday competition with the week's theme the "RELAXATION" offered me an occasion to describe what this word means for me.

Well... my friends, for me as also and for Greece, summer is the season of relaxation. It is the time of year that we think mostly how to relax. We dream summer time all year around. We dream the beaches, the hot weather, the blue clean sea, the bright sun and course... our frapedaki (the cold instant coffee with ice cubes in it) enjoying it beside the sea.

That is what I see as relaxation and I add also the summer bikini dress and my cigarettes and that is what I have chosen to place at my photo at the top of my blog and with that I participate at the competition.

Last Saturday I traveled in Tolo, a small town close to Nafplio with my friends to enjoy a day at the beach swimming and getting the summer color at our body and of course... trying to relax.

Tolo is a village in Greece on the Peloponnese peninsula. The village of Tolo, primarily a fishing village located in the county of Argolida has a spectacular beauty sprawling out along the picturesque beach and surrounded by a protective circle of mountains, having the advantages of being both open and secluded. Its situation is perfect for any kind of holiday, lending its crystal clear waters and sandy beach to a lazy beach vacation for singles, couples or families alike, highly recommended for swimming, watersports and fishing.

The bay of Tolo was first written about by Homer, as was Asini in the Iliad, named as one of the cities whose fleet took part in the Trojan War. In the centuries to come the bay of Tolo gave refuge to battle ships at various times and then during the Byzantine period was revived as an auxiliary port to Nafplio and became the place to come for a summer stroll.

Here I am... at the beach. The Greek sun, the beach of Tolo, the clean blue sea, my summer look, my cigarettes and of course... my frapedaki was there. Whatever I needed for a relaxation were there.

I will never stop to reply how lucky I believe I am to be born in this wonderful country which except the great history offer me a philosophy of life which made me satisfied with the few and simple goods. I could see the beauty of nature and I am happy to be part of the universe that our Creator made with love.

Money makes our lives easier but they must never be the purpose of our life. We must learn how to use them to make our life better and this could be done only if we fight to not allow our environment to be destroyed in order to earn more money. We have to keep our environment clean; we have to take care about the legacy we will leave to our children... to our descendants.

Our children must have a summer to enjoy at clean beaches otherwise... whatever money we will spend we will not make them happy designing a virtual environment.

Time for relaxation for Christina too. Christina is one of my 2 best friends and mother of my God son, Thodoris. Difficult and very stressful for her the last week and ended leaving her unemployment after the collapse of her company last Thursday.

The week has finished and the weekend is time for relaxation. Christina took her brightest smile and her family and traveled with me in Tolo to relax and forget what she had faced the past days.

Time for the afternoon coffee at the cafeteria in Nafplio and my God son found a way to relax playing with his sock and of course... destroying it slowly slowly.

Well... everybody need time for relax and this short trip in Tolo and Nafplio offered us this special time which will help us to face the new week with a smile. After all... it is summer for my country. It is time for fun and relaxation!