We cruised the town in our bathing suits and cover ups looking for the beach. The main square had a little church and some lazy pets. Everywhere we went we saw what looked like dead dogs and cats laying on the ground. The only thing we could figure is that they must be as hot as we were and had passed out.
We stopped at a bakery to tide us over until lunch. They have the best pastries! Creepy dolls outside, but really good food.
We also saw a lot of shrines, on the sides of roads, in front of peoples houses, etc. We asked and were told that they were put there in honor of someone who had been in an accident or harmed near the area. Some were really elaborate, some very simple.
We made our way to the beach which ended up being beautiful, but the water was really rocky making it difficult to get out and swim if you didn't have water shoes. It was so bad they have sand bags placed in a line to guide you through the rockiest part, but you still manage to fall off and cut your feet. I didn't love the experience so I went back to sit on a chair, read a book and get fried :)
We decided to bail and go get lunch and see the rest of the town. We lucked out and ate at the BEST place of the whole trip. We had a custom meal created for us to give a taste and flavor of traditional, but not touristy Greece. My favorite was the chicken with fennel sauce, braised beef and bulgur stew, and the tzatziki that was so creamy and thick, but with no cucumber. Yummy! We got to meet the owner and his family and really feel like we had a taste of Greece.
We toured other beaches along the penninsula as well. We stopped at one beach, I forget the town, but it was crowded and had very loud Madonna remix the whole time.
We saw many little towns one of which was Posidi which is close to the tip. Hear the beach was rocky again and it was getting late so we didn't stay long.
Another day we took off to see the actual city of Thessaloniki. I'm so glad we did, because this day was the only day of bad weather we had. We saw the white tower which used to be a prison during Turkish rule, there was a large massacre and for a while it was known as the blood tower, they white washed it after Turkish rule ended and it is what you see today. Inside wasn't so great, but the view from the top was nice to get us oriented to the city.
I loved the dense packed city, and after so many days sitting at the beach I was ready to see some culture and city life.
The market was great, I love going to markets around the world. It was also fun to see so many Ya-Ya's or Greek grannies trolling around with sour looks on their faces.
We stopped to grab some lunch. It's funny how the restaurants work, there is someone that heckles the passers by trying to get them to sit at their tables. It is fairly annoying, especially if you've already eaten. This meal was pretty good too, basic Greek fare of pork Souvlaki...and french fries which we were all craving. Dan's was the only odd dish, he ordered a hamburger which ended up just being a patty.
We saw the rest of the market, the largest byzantine church in Greece, an old roman arch, many ruins filled with cats and some bakeries. Oh, and it was raining so we found a cute little store and bought some umbrellas. I saw a cute plush elephant, I should have bought it!
Driving and parking in Thessaloniki was not super fun. They pretty much park and drive wherever they want, kind of crazy. So after a busy driving day we ended at the beach in Siviri (which by the way has crazy carnival rides, as did many of the beach towns).
Our last day in the north we spent at the beach then went to another small town and had dinner. This place was very high end, we seemed very out of place driving up in our dumpy Jumpy. There were huge Yachts and high end shopping along a man made broadwalk. It kind of felt disney-fied.
Next it was off to Athens. To be continued...
1 comment:
Hmmm, the beach. Those pics make me want to go there.
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