…and Away We Go!

We’ve been hiking around the city today. It’s not straightforward as the city is situated on a hill surrounded by the lake. Its a hike up and down on narrow, curvy streets to get around. Sometimes we find steep stairways that connect one level with another. It’s fun to explore! The city is clean and beautiful…here’s the view of Lake Orestiada from our hotel.

We visited the recently renovated Byzantine Museum and were surprised by the impressive collection of icons from the many Byzantine churches in Kastoria. This one showing the Patron Saint of Vintners.

We found the Saturday market with local honey, herbs, fruits and vegetables for sale.

Along the way, we met this long-time resident. She’s lived here for 83 years and sweeps the walkway of the Byzantine Church in the background.

It’s early spring season so lilacs and iris are in full bloom– these on the grounds of another one of the Byzantine churches.

We’ve had a great time here in Kastoria but tomorrow we move to our next stop–Metsovo!

The town Kastoria is in a lovely setting located on the shores of Lake Orestiada.

A view of the town:

The lake:

Our hotel Venetula’s Mansion is perched on a hillside overlooking the lake. We learned that it’s off-season here and the peak time to visit is during the winter for snow skiing. There are few guests in the hotel now. Our room is comfortable and cozy with a nice sitting area.

We took a quick walk through the local mini-market and were amazed by the variety of olive oils available!

Surprisingly, Kastoria is known for its fur production. Touristy shops sell odd furry knickknacks of every variety and color–not something we’ll be bringing home!

There are several small museums in town plus many hiking trails here and nearby. The weather is good and we think there is lots to keep us busy for a couple of days!

There are many cool historical monuments around town but a favorite is the giant statue of Alexander the Great and his favorite horse Bucephalus. It’s situated on the waterfront and is quite impressive.

Another near-to-our-hotel monument is a statue of Aristotle. He has a very shiny big toe–people rubbing it for wisdom and good luck?!

While here, we’ve enjoyed wandering through the market,

checking out sweet treats,

and street art.

Today we learned about the difficult history of the region at The Museum of Macedonian Struggle.

Thessaloniki has an excellent Archaeological Museum with informative displays like this one showing ceramics used in Ancient Greek daily life.

The Museum also has a wonderful exhibit of Macedonian gold artifacts found in royal tombs.

There is still much to explore in Thessaloniki but tomorrow (Friday) a rental car will be dropped off at our hotel and we’ll head towards our next stop–Kastoria!

We’ve arrived safely and on time! Our flight plan was convoluted–Atlanta to Montreal, Montreal to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Thessaloniki so we’ve arrived in town a bit frazzled!

We took a public bus from the airport to our hotel.  The bus was packed with people—more than we could imagine and at one point the driver stopped the bus and made an announcement about the presence of pickpockets. Happily, we had our valuables safely tucked away and we had no issues.

We’re happy with the Electra Palace Hotel, right in the city center.

After a rest, we found a fun restaurant called Iy Gonia tou Merakli with good, basic Greek food. Our meal was off to a great start with olives and Greek salad.

And we’ve already experienced a peaceful demonstration–people marching opposing the war in Syria.

The weather is warm and breezy–we’re excited to explore more alleyways in this fun and unique city!

Two years ago we made our first trip to Greece and loved it!  The country is beautiful, the food is great, the people are lovely, and each region is varied with lots to see and do.  For those reasons and more, we’re heading for the less traveled part of Greece–the North.  This time, we’re skipping Athens and checking out the regions of Thessaly, Epiros, and Macedonia.  This Lonely Planet map shows some of the major cities in Greece but not all that we plan to see.

We depart on Monday, April 16 and return on Thursday, May 10.  If all goes well, we should arrive in Thessaloniki by 6:30 a.m. Atlanta-time on Tuesday.

Our itinerary is tentative by design so that we have flexibility.  We’ll be visiting cities, and villages in the mountains, seaside, and on the lakefront.  Most are new to us and many we’ve never heard of!  Here’s what we have so far:

• Thessaloniki (3 nights)
• Kastoria (2 nights)
• Metsovo (2 nights)
• Ioannina (3 nights)
• Affisos (2 nights)

The rest of our plan is open.  The possibilities include:

• Pella (the birthplace of  Alexander the Great)
• The Pelion region (for hiking and great views of the Aegean Sea)
• Litochoro (for Mt. Olympus hikes and the archaeological site of Dion)
• Kavala (to visit Phillipi, the grave site of Phillip II)
• Xanthi (for a colorful Saturday morning market)
• Damouchari (where scenes from the movie Mamma Mia was filmed)
• And, other places we learn about along the way!

We’re very excited to explore this less-visited area of Greece!

Hoping for sunny skies, good Wi-Fi connections, and safe travels!

Cheers!