Month: May 2018

We had a quick overnight stop and spent the night in Haarlem. Just enough time for an evening walk around town.

Dinner in an Irish Pub,

Today is Ascension Day–a holiday so the streets are very quiet! We took an early morning walk around before we head back to Schiphol Airport for our flight home!

It’s been a great adventure! Looking forward to catching up with family and friends!

Thessaloniki is a vibrant, bustling city with a coffee shop or restaurant on every corner. These places are nearly always packed with people enjoying a coffee, cocktail or snack.

We found a fun restaurant serving homemade Greek food last night. It’s called Cannula in English which is the name of the tap on the wine barrel. Everything was carefully prepared and delicious!

Today we went to the Photography Museum for a quirky exhibition of self-portraits. We liked this poster displayed in the coffee bar–a message from the god of wine, Dionysus.

A fun shop called Olicatessen selling Greek food products was a short walk away. The shop owner was very kind.

Wishing I had more room in my luggage–so many delicious treats and great pottery pieces.

Here’s a view of from our hotel room–this balcony has many interesting features.

For contrast, this is our view at breakfast. We’ve enjoyed our stay at the Electra Palace Hotel!

We’re guessing that it’s time to head depart when we’re out of clean clothes! Home soon!

After three nights in Kavala we’re back where we started nearly three weeks ago–Thessaloniki!

Before we left Kavala, we found a huge Saturday market with many spring fruits and veggies for sale.

Later we drove a short distance from Kavala to Phillipi–the ancient city founded by Phillip II–the father of Alexander the Great. It’s an extensive site.

And local groups still do performances in this theater.

There is an Archeology Museum on the site. This ancient coin depicts Alexander the Great.

Now back in Thessaloniki, we did some window shopping,

And grabbed a slice of pizza here.

We made it back to the hotel just before the thunderstorm began!

Happy to be inside on a rainy eve!

Kavala is a moderate-sized port city with some Turkish influences. It sprawls across the hillsides and is lively any time of the day or night.

There is a Castle here–built in 1425 by the Turks. We climbed the narrow circular stairs to the very top of the tower!

Our room overlooks this church with bells that chime every morning at 7:00 a.m.

Wandering around the old town neighborhood, we see interesting color combos for doors and walls.

And, there is a nice Archaeological Museum here in Kavala. We liked this sherd of pottery of a dancing woman in a fun party dress and also the small ceramic piece nearby.

We’re enjoying wandering around the streets and alleyways of Kavala and have decided to stay here one additional night!

Tonight is “White Night” with live music in the park and shops open until midnight!

Dion was an ancient city in Greece at the foothills of Mt. Olympus. Today we visited the park and archaeological museum. This beautiful mosaic found on-site is now in the museum.

The park is sprawling and much work is still being done to find and conserve artifacts.

This is just one of the many statues recovered in the Sanctuary of Demeter.

The poppies growing between the rocks of the ancient wall look like splashes of red paint!

After our visit to Dion we took a short drive to one of the beaches on the Aegean Sea for a late lunch.

We ordered grilled sardines (not pictured) and another tasty Greek salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red and green peppers, red onions, olives plus feta with fresh herbs.

This morning our view of snow-capped Mt. Olympus was clearer compared to the cloudy skies yesterday.

Greece has it all–mountains, sea, delicious food and interesting museums!

Tomorrow we’ll drive to the seaport city of Kavala–about two hours away.

Today is dear Larry’s birthday and we’re celebrating quietly in the town of Litochoro. Just behind us is Mt. Olympus! It’s Greece’s highest and most majestic mountain AND home of the 12 Olympian gods!

It’s a little cloudy today but Mt. Olympus is the snow-capped peak in the center.

May 1 is International Labour Day. In Greece this day is also a celebration of spring, nature, and flowers. Traffic was heavy this morning as most things are closed and families were heading to the beach for relaxing or the countryside for picnics.

It’s a tradition here to make a wreath of hand-picked flowers to hang on the front door to welcome nature and all good things. Our friend at the hotel made this pretty one for the front door of the reception area.

We had a very nice stay at Agnanti Hotel in Afissos. Anastasia our new friend at the hotel picked fragrant lavender roses and gave them to us as we left today.

We love the friendly Greek people! We’re having a swell time!

Happy May Day!