In follow up to all the recent beach posts, I have to officially mention that summer has arrived! Well, maybe not officially, since summer doesn’t kick off until the 21st, but with 75/80 degree weather lately, it feels more and more like summer everyday.
When I think of summer, I think of the beach, the sand, frozen drinks, tank tops, tans, sweat, sandals, etc. Apparently, so do the Europeans, but they don’t think of it exactly the way I do, at least in some cases. For example, footwear. Much to the dismay of my mother, who hates them, I am a flip flop chica and I will probably be wearing flip flops everyday this summer. A lot of Europeans do as well, but what also seems to be common are two “interesting” types of sandals, worn by both girls and boys: sloppers (what Wendz nicknamed the sandal and loafer combo) and the Tevas (the one with two straps across the foot to keep it very secure). At one point when Wendz was here, we counted about 11 sloppers in a three hour span on men, though we are in 100% agreement that they are pretty ugly 
In terms of Tevas, as my brother might agree, the Teva tan was cool about 15 years ago. Now, not so much! But in all reality, I am no judge, just an observer, so whatever floats the European boats is fine with me!
Men who wear tank tops here are also more common in the US, as are people who don’t seem to wear deodorant. I have never appreciated fresh air more than I do after a metro or elevator ride. I’ve already said how Europeans like to take their clothes off more at the beach, and more so, men’s swimsuits tend to be very short (or better yet, they wear Speedos). I think when it comes to swimsuits, and shorts for that matter, the shorter the better is the unspoken motto!
One style of sandal here
If only they could all look like these guys...
The slopper!
