Out and About with Jill

Jill's visit these past few days has been an opportunity for Pat and me to try out our skills as Thessaloniki tour guides.  We think we did pretty well!  We have become much more comfortable getting about the city.  Here are a few photos from our weekend and probably my last post from this visit. 

 

 

 

This is a photo from the crypt under the Church of St. Demetrios.

We have heard a number of stories about this crypt, but the one that seems most likely

is that this area, which is now underground was a roman bath house at the time when Demetrios was martyred around 300AD.  Tradition has it that Demetrios was imprisoned here until he was killed.  Since then the site was one of the early Christian churches and is now the largest church in Greece.  It has quite a history and the church itself houses some impressive early Christian artwork and artifacts.  The "crypt" is now a museum of artifacts from the churches that have been on the site from early times. 

 

 

 

Saturday, we mobilized and took a taxi to the far end of the palladia.  This is a beautiful parkway along the waterfront.  It has been under construction/renovation for 5 years and it was fun to see the new parts from the last time we were here.  This is a wonderful outdoor area that is enjoyed by everyone, at all times, in all seasons.  It is a very popular place ~ babies to elderly, toddlers, children of all ages, bikers, walkers, dog walkers, you name it, they are probably there. 

 

 

 

Artemis had her first big outing in her new stroller.  She did very well, sleeping in the sunshine much of the time and having her first meal and diaper change in a social situation.

 

 

 

Part way into our stroll, we stopped at a dockside taverna for some dinner.  A group of youngsters were finishing up a sailing lesson in these little sailboats when we arrived.  It was good entertainment to watch them clean everything up and put everything away. They were very professional about it all.

 

 

 

We sat at the perfect spot right on the edge of the water~

 

 

where we had a great meal, conversation, and watched the sun set.

 

 

 

Ian, Eleftheria and Artemis called it a day soon afterward and headed for home.

 

 

 

 

Pat, Jill, and I walked to the end of the palladia and then through the Center and caught the bus home.

 

 

 

This morning, Sunday, Artemis waited patiently while we got ready to walk from the Fortress and through the old town.

 

 

The Byzantine/Ottoman fortress is situated at the high point of the original city and what is left of the walls of the city extend out from it and go to the sea marking the outside boundary of the old city.  It is slowly undergoing some restoration work with plans eventually to be public space.

 

 

Eleftheria, Ian and Artemis, see the pink flower by Ian's chin, take a coffee break.  Artemis traveled today snuggled in her sling.  The cobbled streets of the old town do not much accommodate strollers.

 

 

 

In the late 19th century through 1989 the fortress was repurposed as a prison (oh my :-(

This is the visiting area; prisoners on one side and visitors on the other.  This was not a "country club" prison.

 

 

 

The earliest part of the fortress and city walls probably date to the 300s AD and they were knocked down and rebuilt multiple times as the city changed hands throughout history.  One of the interesting features of the (re)constructions is the reuse of materials.  You can find all manner of artifacts incorporated in the brickwork.

 

 

 

 

We have already posted photos of the old city, I think.  If not, and you really want to see them, I have hundreds!  As we walked down through the cobbled streets, we came upon this happy cat sunning itself on the roof.

 

 

 

This is one of two historic churches we were hoping to go into today.  They are both UNESCO World Heritage sites and alas, neither were open.

 

 

 

 

Another site that was not open is Rotunda of Galerius, a 4th century Roman emperor.  This structure was built originally as his mausoleum, which he didn't use, and was/is connected by a roadway through his triumphal arch and his palace.  The arch is partially intact and the palace is an excavation site and partly under a current plaza area.

The Rotunda has variously been a polytheistic temple, a Christian basilica, a Muslim mosque, an Episcopal Church and is now an historic archeological site.  The restored minaret is the only one in the city.  

 

 

 So, at the end of our journey we were back in the center where we stopped for

hot chocolate at the café where we went on our first walk six weeks ago.  Ian, Eleftheria and Artemis headed for home and Jill, Pat and I walked through town taking in a few more sites before catching the bus home. 

 

Jill heads back to England tomorrow night, Monday, and Pat and I head for home early Wednesday morning. It has been quite a six weeks! 

Love you all.  

Sorry, we only speak English

 

Wednesday was a day of new events.  In the early afternoon Karen, Eleftheria and I took Artemis on her first stroller ride around the neighborhood.  She seemed to enjoy every thing about the outing except the stop at the post office was a little longer than she wished.  In the evening Jill flew in from England and we had the traditional welcoming meal of pizza!

 

Thursday morning we took Jill on a short site seeing trip down to the center.  We walked down and stopped at the Church of Agios Dimitrios and into the crypt beneath the church, then on to the Roman agora.  We just viewed it from above, but Ian told us they had built a new museum on the site, so we may have to make a return trip to see that.  We then continued on down to the harbor making a quick stop in the market area.  We strolled along the harbor and then wandered through the old port warehouse district (Ladadika) which is now filled with tavernas, bars and a couple of small galleries.  We then walked up, caught the bus and returned home.

 

The bus ride provided a humorous story worth retelling here.  We were all standing together and talking at the middle of the bus when an elderly gentleman seated near Karen turned to her and asked her if she would like to sit in the vacant seat next to him.  To which she promptly replied, "Signomi (Sorry), I only speak English."  And he replied, "I spoke to you in English!"  We all broke out in laughter and Karen apologized again.  We are so used to people speaking to us in Greek we have made our reply automatic!  It turns out his daughter is married to a Englishman and lives in England.  He has visited England many times and his English is very good.  They are coming to visit him in 10 days and he is very much looking forward to it.  He made a recommendation for a visit to a war memorial nearby and then bid us good day.



 

A beautiful day for a walk!

 

 

She seemed to enjoy her first outing.

 

 

 

Getting to know each other.

 

 

Jill and Karen at the Roman agora.

 

 

Mom trying out the carrier wrap.

 

 

Ian and I are going to test drive a couple of cars this evening.  Not this one!

 

 

 

Not to rub it in..........

 

As I sit here writing this post entry (Tuesday, 3:00PM) it is 57 degrees and sunny here and I see its -9 degrees in Medina!  I guess when your winds come out of Africa and across the Mediterranean instead of down from Canada and across Lake Erie there is a bit of difference.  This is Ian's last day of holiday break and he has been running errands all morning with a quick stop at school to be sure his room is ready for tomorrow.  Karen and I just came in from grocery shopping which includes stops at a deli for cheese, a fruit stand for oranges, bananas, mandarin oranges and apples, plus a stop at market for milk, etc. in our shirtsleeves.  I regret not bringing a pair of shorts.  Yesterday was the religious holiday of Epiphany (John baptized Jesus) and is celebrated here by the blessing of the waters (ocean, lake, river) which entails a priest tossing a cross into the water and multiple young men diving into the water to retrieve it.  A bit of a polar bear swim with a little religion thrown in for good measure.  The event takes place in various bodies of water all over Greece.  We all went down to the city harbor to watch.  We were not able to get close enough to see the actual event, but it was still nice to be with the crowd and enjoy the outdoors.  Artemis behaved all wrapped up in her carrier on Ian's chest.  We strolled around a bit, bought some sweets and took a taxi back home.

Shopping for sweets.

 



 

Mid-afternoon Karen and I walked back to the center, window shopped and eventually ended up at this little taverna called Myrsini.  It was highlighted in our guidebook as their "pick".  Their specialty is traditional Cretan dishes.  They have moved around the corner since the guidebook was written, but we had little problem finding it.  As with most tavernas it was a bit smoky, but the food was as good as the book said.  I would like to get back one more time before we head home.

 

After eating we strolled along the harbor-front with a few hundred of our friends.  This is a favorite activity of the locals at all times of the day and night.

 

The White Tower, the traditional landmark of Thessaloniki and our emergency meeting spot should we get separated:-)

 

 

 

 

Morning

 

 

 Night

 

 

New mom and dad just chillin'

 

 

No introduction needed!

(photo by Eleftheria)

 

Seeing in the New Year!

 

It is hard for me to believe another week (and year) has gone by and we are only 10 days away from heading home.  Wednesday Artemis will be 4 weeks old.  We see changes everyday, mostly in her ability to stay awake longer and to focus her eyesight.  She went to the pediatrician Friday evening for a well baby check-up and she now weighs 10# and is 21.5" long. 

 

 

Ready to  travel to the party and village on Monday.  She seems to like to ride in the car and car-seat.

Monday evening Karen and I hosted a dinner for the family at Perek.  It is a very nice taverna out toward the village.  There were 20 of us altogether and we had the whole place to ourselves.  Eleftheria's brother Simo works there and helped us make arrangements.  Eleftheria's cousin Saki raises sheep and he provided a lamb along with some wine for the dinner. 

 



This is the whole group.  It was really a great gathering.

Good food and drink, much laughter and enough English speakers to keep Karen and me involved.

 



 

Kristina and Andreas checking out their new cousin.

 

This is one of the desert plates provided.  The flower/leaf design on the plate is drawn on with chocolate syrup!  There were at least half a dozen of them.

 

Papou Patsikas in Artemis' owl hat with Kristina (a grand-niece).  He really enjoys having the children around. 

 

The morning before new years a band went up and down the streets of the neighborhood playing and collecting coins for support.

 

Mid-day on New Year's Eve Ian took us down to the city center to see the build-up to the evenings festivities.  We stayed down until 7:00 and then headed out to the village for dinner and the new year countdown.

 

 

A very fancy sweet shop.  One of many.  Thessaloniki is known all over Greece for their sweets.

 

 

A couple of crowd shots.  Really doesn't do it justice.  Much noise, eating, drinking and dancing in the streets.

 



 

Your choice of gender and color.

 

We had dinner in the village and afterward Eleftheria and the cousins laid out a game of hopscotch on the tile floor.  Ian showing how it's done?

 

Next came some traditional Greek dancing.  The girls are taking lessons at their home in Crete.  Evangalia has danced her whole life and says she will teach Artemis as soon as she is able.

 



 

 This is Kristina drinking her champagne and eating what we call pomegranate which is broken on the doorstep at midnight on New Year's eve.  The more seeds that spray out the more luck you will have in the new year.



 

Mother and daughter

 



 

 

Father and daughter headed out for a walk in her carrier wrap.  Pretty slick!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!