Sights and Sounds of Thessaloniki

While locating internet yesterday, I heard a moped accident in the street next to me. I'm not sure if a car hit the rider or if a flat tire caused it to flip backwards, but the guy ended up underneath the bike as bits of plastic cracked and flew into the street. They crunched and screeched under car/bus tires. He appeared to be okay and about 10-15 minutes later the police and an ambulance showed up.

Friday night is the time to par-tay in Thessaloniki. All night I heard music, loud voices, cars honking and zooming by and parties roaming down the street. All in stark contrast to the absolute quiet of the morning (which might be what woke me up).

A brief rain shower this afternoon sent me back to the hotel for my umbrella which I didn't use the rest of the sunny evening. I spent the day walking around town collecting fresh fruit from the market, photographing churches I found along the way and seeing a few of the sights along the waterfront. Amidst the Grecian styled high rise housing and corporate buildings are nestled ancient ruins and exquisite Byzantine stone churches.
The only breaks between buildings are where streets cut through the landscape. The 5-6 story height of architecture makes it hard to read signs along the streets and easy to miss the spot you're trying to locate. Cafes dot most corners though, unlike most of commercialized US, these are classy, unique places with their own flare and locally made food. Advertising takes place along corrugated metal sheets posted around construction sites, by throwing fliers along the sidewalk and pasting posters to wall billboards along the street.

My first stop was the Modiano Market where I picked up some citrus, an apple and a pear for E1.90--all ripe to the touch. There was a light breeze out and the market owner brushed my arm asking if I was cold. Quite the contrary, it was in the 60Fs and sunny. I meandered my way to the White Tower by the water. It's not so much white as tan-grey, but it is a very large tower. Unfortunately the tower closed at 3pm and it was 4. Mind you, my guide book said it would be open until 7pm. I headed toward the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art--also closed.

Instead I found restaurant Zythos and had Lamb Souflaki with a corn pita, sour cream, roasted tomato and onions along with an Alpha lager. There was something not quite like cinnamon or nutmeg to add the slightest hint of sweet/spicy flavoring to the lamb. All very tasty. On my sunset walk along the waterfront I had a cone of chocolate and pistachio gelato. Most delicious when paired with the orange blaze dropping below the distant mountains across the Thessaloniki Bay.