How Do You Know When It's Summer?

Eight months a year, I enjoy playing a little game with my English friends. “What temperature do you think it is in my hometown now?” I ask. Knowing I was raised in Greece, but not knowing much of the country’s climate year round, I invariably get some very wishful thinking. Most recently, I got a Caribbean-sounding 30°C; the actual temperature was just above the water-freezing mark. Indeed, northern Greece can get quite cold, snow is no stranger and neither is heavy rain. As for Britain, despite southern European lore, the weather is actually rather mild. So eight months a year, I amuse myself by pointing out to Brits how Ioannina is colder than Manchester, Thessaloniki wetter than London – and how this feels just like home, only milder.