Tour De Roma

My day began with a short 7 min. walk to the Piazza del Popolo and the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Popolo. The church is lined with tiny chaplets along both walls each with a different theme--Jesus, the entombed body of a saint or major public official, work of art from a biblical story. They had started mass shortly after I arrived, so I sat in to see what kind of service it was. Turns out it was a communion one and I got half of Jesus in bread form. Better than no Jesus at all. From here I wandered through a lovely park area called Villa Borghese and lounged on a tree stump. The grass was quite green though a bit damp and there were no flowers to be seen. They seem to only reside at flower shops in town.

The Spanish Steps were next which were apparently named for the Spanish See (papal seat). Without the trademark red flowers they felt a bit bare, but it is still a lively spot for rowdy teenagers and lazy tourists. The sinking ship fountain was very cool. And so began my tour of the fountains of Roma. First stop was the Fontana del Tritone in Piazza Barberini. I checked out the four corners fountain which is literally a fountain on each corner of the intersection. Fontana di Trevi was quite exquisite and large. One could spend a good hour here and not notice time had passed.

After the Trevi fountain I came across some lovely watercolor work by a man named Dumo (Doomo). He was born in France and has spent the last 15 years in Italy. For a small piece--roughly 2"x3"--it takes two days to complete. I'll have to find a way to keep them from getting bent or wet from no until June. A teacher from the US happened to stop at his corner the same time I was there and we had some lively discussion about how the Euro hasn't been very good for the Italian people. With the Lira you could buy enough food for two weeks for about 100,000 Lira. Now with E50 you're lucky to afford a couple meals, a coffee (sort of a requirement in Italian cuisine/culture) and an afternoon snack. I learned something new today about the global economy.

I passed by Adriano's Temple, St. Ignatius Church, Palazzo Venezia, Chiesa del Gesu, Area Sacra ruins, Campo de Fiori with the statue of a monk who was burned at the stake for heresy in that very piazza, Piazza Navona with the Four Rivers fountain and finally the Pantheon. Talk about a gargantuan building. The dome is an amazing architectural feat. If built out of concrete, it would have collapsed ages ago. It's design with the occulus at the top distributes the force of the walls evenly throughout the ceiling while providing light and fresh air. Like most things in Greece and Italy they are being reconstructed during the low tourist season.

To finish my long walking tour I planned to hit a gelateria around the corner from the Pantheon. It was E2.50 for a cup 1.5" in diameter so I opted to hoof it to the Old Bridge gelateria where I could get 4x as much for E2 or less. It was a long walk, but essentially on my way back to the hostel. Definitely worth the effort! I sampled Amaretto, Pineapple and Dark Chocolate. To die for!! I don't know what makes gelato so different from ice cream, but it's wonderful and something I need to investigate for future creation. Much contented I plopped on my bed with some Mika music and relaxed. Dinner was leftovers from yesterday though still quite tasty. I went for a walk in the neighborhood because I was craving some kind of dessert. Most things were closed by 8pm, but I managed to find some cookies and a pastry. Tomorrow will probably be a trip to the Roman Forum to see the ancient ruins.

Vatican City, The Vatican

It seemed only fitting to start my exploration of Roma with the Vatican. I set out around 10am and after walking 2 blocks to the W I found a fruit and veggie market. This must be the one the hostel guy was trying to show me on the map--so much for his directions. Inside I found a rainbow of deliciously fresh foods. The hardest part was choosing what to get without buying more than I could eat in 6 days. I picked up a pound of pasta, onion, zucchini, apples, bananas, red pepper, bread, 6 eggs, and basil. I dumped my goods back at the hostel and headed back out for the Vatican.

Take two took me to St. Peter's Basilica. Just walking around the corner and seeing this monstrous building is awe inspiring. There's a line to get into the basilica so they can scan your bags on the way in. Someone nearby said it was 2 hours. I had nothing better to do, so I jumped in line. Whilst enjoying the sun, I decided to catch up on my bible reading so as to maximize my time. I made it about halfway through II Corinthians when I reached the bag scanner and only in 45 mins. Good thing I committed to the line! There's so much to see inside. Small chapels line the sides each with their own massive frescoes and altars. Everywhere you look there's exquisite marble statues, designed flooring and hordes of people floating around with their touring groups. Since it's spring break there are noisy student groups all over. After winding your way to the main sanctuary you are greeted by a huge, carved wooden canopy that stands above the front altar. Behind that is the second altar with a gorgeous sunburst stained glass on the back wall. Everything is giant sized and dwarfs your existence.

I stopped for a brief while to listen to a mass taking place in one of the side chapels. After a few more pictures I stepped into the chapel reserved exclusively for prayer--no pictures as the guards continually remind you on the way in. Through the velvet gray curtain is a quiet chapel filled with incense and a classically ornate Catholic altar (gold, icons, cabinets for communion, the works). Something about being in Roma and at one of the most well known churches in the world in a small chapel away from the zooming mopeds, police sirens and chatty Italians brings comfort, peace and movements of the Spirit. All I can say is I'm grateful for a quiet, healing moment. From here I caught the Pieta carving (Mary holding JC after the cross) and meandered to the Vatican Post Office. You can't be here and not send at least one piece of mail from the Vatican. It's just plain cool.

Since it was only 12:30pm I decided to check out the Vatican Museum. My reward would be the suggested gelateria just outside that gives large portions. For E15 you can sample the wonders of the Vatican archives. I say sample because the majority of the treasures are hidden away inside the restricted areas of the city. Nevertheless what's visible is quite stunning. Bits of history from 2000BC in Egypt to the early church to the Medieval era to present day modern art pack the rooms leading you up to the Sistene Chapel. You can only walk in one direction and there's no backtracking, so I opted to take my time and savor the walk. Four hours later I reached the Sistene Chapel. I have to say, on first impression, I wasn't all that impressed. Certainly the amount of work, talent and history that went into its creation is stunning and deserving respect and awe. Overall I'd classify the chapel as ADHD. There are so many scenes and pictures going on that it's hard to focus on any one area. Inside there was a sea of people muttering with constant attention from the guards to be quiet and not take pictures--no small feat for multiple groups of 40 teenagers scattered about the room. [This is my one shot of the chapel from the outside stairwell.] The chapel is empty except for the altar against the wall at one end and the organ at the far opposite end. I did find it interesting that the one scene probably most known from the chapel (the divine touch I think they call it where the two hands are about to touch fingers) is on the ceiling about 1/3 of the way out from the altar. Amongst the entire chapel filled with biblical stories and images of biblical characters, this one small (perhaps a section about 6'x 10'--best guess that far away) image is chosen. Lest you think this is the end of the museum, once you leave the chapel you have a long way to walk before you can exit. Most of these things aren't quite as interesting as the rest, though the ceiling paintings are quite nice.

After many hours and lots of miles trod, my gelato delight awaited me. At Old Bridge gelateria you can get 3 huge scoops for E2. I sampled Blood Orange, Caramel and Cream with Pine Nuts. Wow, wow and WOW. All 3 were amazing. I can't wait to go back!!

On the way back to the hostel I stopped in to the grocery store I couldn't find yesterday and picked up some garlic, smoked mozzarella, olive oil and wine. For dinner I whipped up some chicken, basil, zucchini, garlic, onion and olive oil over pasta. Talk about tasty! Along with a glass of a local red wine, I was quite content. I even met two young people from Melbourne, Australia.

All Roads Lead to Rome

Today was a travel day from Napoli to Roma. I wished Hannah safe travels when she left at 5am to head to the train station and then took the rest of the morning slowly. After packing and then polishing off left overs from last nights' dinner, I headed out to Stazione Centrale to buy my ticket to Roma. Apart from the long walk to the metro, things went smoothly. Before I knew it I was on the train and watching the countryside fly by.

Moving toward more central Italy brought a few shifts in scenery. Most of the land where the train runs is farmland. I saw open fields in varying shades of green, herds of sheep lolling and grazing about, brown/black cows sitting in mud, vacant barns/houses, red tiled roofs and mountains hazy with pollution. It was easy to tell when we were close to Roma as the density of housing dramatically increased.

Once at the train station, a quick trip on the metro dropped me off about 400m from the hostel. I was ever so close to the building, but couldn't read the building numbers that were above my head. I stopped in to ask at a building that I thought might be it. Turns out it was across the street in a pink building. Might you add to your directions--"We're on the 5th floor on the NORTH side of the street in a PINK building." to help people find it?? I would. At least this place has an elevator. For that, I cannot complain. It's a bit noisy here, but other than that it's not too bad. I think I was a bit spoiled by the family like atmosphere at 6 Small Rooms in Napoli.

For dinner I wandered E to locate Gusto which supposedly had E8 pizzas. I found it relatively easily after a pleasant walk along the Tiber River. Turns out they have happy hour from 6-9pm and with a E9-12 drink you can eat as much as you like from the buffet of goodies. With a lovely Syrah wine I enjoyed some cheese patties, beef rolled around salad greens with cheese/pine nuts/balsamic vinegar, pizza with basil/meat/cheese, barley salad with carrots/corn/celery/tomatoes/olives, chicken salad with dressing, pastry dough with marinara sauce (the best one I tried!), chunky tomato paste on bread, bread strips with chili oil, and rosemary potatoes. I think that was all of it. The food was delicious and I was stuffed.

My trip back led me through the Piazza del Popolo with its stunning obelisk and back along the Tiber River. After a hot shower, a good night's sleep is definitely in my future.

Mt. Vesuvio

My original thoughts for the day were to wander the city and see a few sights in more depth that I didn't get to on Friday--a few churches and some main piazzas. I skipped the morning shower knowing it would be ice cold like yesterday and planned to get one later in the morning. When I got out to the common room, Hannah mentioned she and Mu were going to hike Mount Vesuvio and probably be back by 5pm so Mu could work his shift at the hostel. If I wanted, I could join in the fun. After a very breif hesitation, because who really wants to pass up hiking their second volcano in life??, I decided to join them and knew I'd be seeing more churches throughout my trip.

We walked the 20 minutes to Stazione Centrale to pick up the same train heading to Pompei. The plan was, according to Mu's website, to get off at Ercolano Scavi (Ercolano excavations), walk to the base of the volcano and then hike up to the top. It seemed a bit lofty, but if we would be spending most of our time hiking up, then it should work out fine. After a few detours and turn arounds in the city trying to get to the volcano, we stopped at a gas station and asked for confirmation directions. Just as we were walking away, the next guy who pulled into the station asked the attendant what we were walking to see in town. Upon hearing that we were hiking to Mt. Vesuvius, he beckoned us back and offered to drive us nearer to the base as it was another good 10-15km away still and all uphill.

Grateful for the speedy assistance, Alessandro drove us to a fork in the road which gave us another 1700m to reach the top. He owns a restaurant in town called My House. From here we walked along the road until we found a path leading up the side. Most of the ground was covered in large, porous, volcanic rock with moss on them. Around them were small pine trees with needles easily a foot and a half long. We got up to the point where the rock became gravel and decided to head for a ridge where we saw some stairs/trail that looked safer. From here we made it up to the top and enjoyed the stunning views as we walked around the rim of the volcano.

On the way down we realized that the path ended at a parking lot with a ticket booth. When we checked into the busses that stopped there, we discovered that you had to buy a round trip ticket from wherever you originally got on the bus. Mu talked to the driver when the bus finally showed up (apparently it was 45 mins. late) and after a while he agreed to let the 3 of us on for a ride back to Pompei (no busses were returning to Ercolano). What should have cost each of us E17 ended up being free. Not too shabby. We also discovered the mysterious, disappearing station for Pompei Scavi--the one Rick Steves' was apparently trying to direct us to in the book. We had taken the green line yesterday and directed by the train station staff and Rick wanted us to take the blue line. Who knew?

After such a long walk, Hannah and I felt we deserved some gelato. We were hoping to hit one of the most famous shops in Napoli--Polar Nor. After a bit of searching, we found it all closed up for Sunday. Not to give up on our craving for gelato, we walked toward the hostel and happened across 3 stores still open. We ended up at the one we went to yesterday since it still had the largest selection of flavors. I chose banana (full flavor with a tinge of lemon), cookies (literally cookies with a vanilla flavor) and a very sweet white fluffy stuff with almonds. All 3 were extremely delicious. After this we crashed at the hostel. I got a much desired shower after 2 days and eventually started to prepare dinner.

We did a twist on last night's version by adding roasted red pepper (fresh from the hostel oven!) and eggplant. What a great day this turned out to be.

Frozen In Time

Today's excursion was south of Napoli to the infamous Pompei. Using our CampaniaArteCards, Hannah and I took the Metro to the main station and got on the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei. She has a Rick Steves' book that directed us to get off the train, take a right and then the first left. Seemed easy enough. We got off at Pompei, turned right, crossed the train tracks and saw more city--no ruins. Convinced that Rick Steves had led us astray, we returned to the train station where one of the staff told us to walk out straight, turn right and in about 5 mins. we would see the ruins. Sure enough, if you walk to the city center and turn right you come right to old Pompei.

Armed with our maps and information books which told us the historical significance of what we saw, we headed into Pompei and the adventure of the day. The ruins are absolutely fabulous. Every corner you turn leads to a new row of interesting rooms and buildings. The old streets are all still in tact. You can see ruts in the rock road where carts moved each day carrying goods. Stands where people stopped for snacks stood intact with the clay pots sitting in the stone counter top. Stairs to second floors led to nowhere. Imagine the technology they had to be able to build a second floor without it collapsing or to create a city where every inside wall is painted and floors are delicately built with square tiles the size of your pinky. For the people of Pompei life was an art form. Every part of their daily lives was carefully designed to be beautiful as well as functional. Even a storage room had a well tiled floor and painted walls. Why don't we do this more today? Why are we so quick to mass produce things that are the same for everyone? Where has the art of life gone?

One of the most interesting parts was seeing the plaster casts of the people caught in the volcano explosion. Some of them had looks of terror and others were seeking cover. There was even a dog plaster cast. We wandered around the city for 4 hours taking in the sights and photographing all we could. My battery died out about a half hour or so before we left, so I missed the gladiator arena. I'll have to get those shots from Hannah. After our return from Pompei we headed out to the market to grab some fresh veggies for dinner.

Hannah and I made the most delicious pasta tonight! Compliments of a Rachel Ray show Hannah saw a year ago, we combined fresh tomatoes with lots of garlic and fresh basil in a simmer on the stove. Mixing together the remains of the free pasta left from others, we had huge rings (the size of half dollars), rotini and penne. We also sliced up a green pepper (the sweetest one I've ever tasted) and some mozzarella cheese. Mu (one of the guys who works here at the hostel) cooked up some fraginelli (a local green to Napoli that's the leaves of a broccoli like plant) which looks like spinach, but has a peppery, spicy taste to it. As fortune would have it, the owner Jenny bought 8 pizzas in celebration of something good that happened in her day. I also had a quarter of a margarita pizza. As usual there was vino to go around for all, as much as you wished.

We took an evening walk to the corner near the hostel to grab some gelato which was well worth it. I tried the coconut (which had real flakes of it mixed in) and the hazelnut (it tasted just like the nutella I've been eating for breakfast).

No set plans for tomorrow, so we'll see what the day holds!

The Streets of Napoli

Last night I met Hannah from TN. She graduated from nursing school in December and is taking 6 months to travel and enjoy life before starting her 2 year fellowship at a hospital near DC. She has been working her way through northern Italy where it has been cold, rainy and snowy at times. Until she showed up at the hostel in Napoli, it had been 11 days since she was able to speak English to anyone who could understand her. Needless to say she was eager for some company. We decided to spend today walking around the city and seeing some of the major sights.

Our wanderings took us down south to the shore and the ports along the bay. We followed the harbor for a while until we turned north to head back into the city. When we found a main street we also found a rally of some kind. People were playing loud music from a van and walking behind it with tons of red flags. As we went further along the road we caught up with the gathering point where a man was shouting Italian at a podium. What is it with me and finding rallies and demonstrations wherever I go??

We worked our way west toward Vomero, a small town on top of a large hill in the NW corner of Napoli. There are two funiculars that take you up the slope where there is a castle and two museums amidst the town. We happened across some lovely views of the city and bay along with a park in the middle of town. Navigating up there was really challenging. Our handy map from the hostel didn't detail that there was even a city on top until we arrived. Fortunately there were street side area maps that gave us a clue about where we were. For the trip down we opted to take the Via Pedamentina, a walkway back down to the rest of Napoli. I'm glad we didn't walk up this way because all the steps are slanted downhill and the steps are about 2 feet long making for a very awkward time walking. Most of it was littered with broken glass thrown off from the top of Vomero. There were some really cool doorways, a bed and breakfast and some small shops amidst the local housing. We had excellent views down into Napoli.


For lunch, we stopped at Da Michele, one of the most famous pizza restaurants in Napoli. I ate the whole thing!!

Most of the day had been sunny until about halfway through our venture in Vomero when it started to get very cold and hail upon us. Back down in Napoli it was still sunny, but cool. As the sun dropped the rain started up again. To try and get out of the cold we headed for the National Archeological Museum in the north part of the city. Sadly the building is quite drafty and while we were out of the wind, there was no heat to speak of in the building. Strangely parts of the 2nd floor were much colder than the first. Inside we were treated to ancient pottery, bronze work, gladiator memorabilia, treasures and paintings from Pompeii and statues galore. Probably the coolest part we saw was the sundial room upstairs. In the far SW corner is a tiny hole in the ceiling that shines a beam of light at noon onto a marble zodiac calendar on the floor.

From the museum we made our way back to the hostel and chilled out after a long day of walking. Once again people were cooking in the kitchen for a group. They invited Hannah and I to chow down if we were interested. The evening's meal included salad, fried anchovies (fresh, whole and bones in), boiled artichokes with vinaigrette sauce and pasta with veal, tomatoes and garlic. All of it was most delicious and stuffed us silly. I'm grateful for some free, fresh cooked food. I slept great last night and look forward to another night of good sleep.

What Day Is It?

My day began by trying to take a shower on a moving ferry. If you've ever tried doing this, you realize how challenging it can be. We didn't get into the Bari, Italy port until 11:30am (about 2 hours later than scheduled). The ride was relatively smooth. Some metal bars in the cabin kept squealing loudly on and off throughout the night, so sleep was not the best. Once in the port I had the challenge of figuring out how to get into town and find the magic bus to Napoli. There's only one, so I didn't want to miss it.

To get to town from the port you have to take a taxi that costs E20 to get to the train station. Talk about a rip off! I would have never made it there by walking though. The information people outside the train station said the bus for Napoli would be leaving at 12:15pm (that's what I heard anyway) from the other side of the train station. When I got to the other side there was no ticket office to be seen and a string of empty busses. On the way back down the sidewalk I noticed a guy in one of the busses. Though he spoke no English, he seemed very kind and happy to try and help me figure out which bus I needed. He asked around to some people on the street for where the bus left and where to get a ticket. He offered to let me lock my roller bag in the bus while we went to get the ticket. Once I had everything taken care of I noticed the bus didn't leave until 12:50pm which gave me a chance to get some lunch before the 3.5 hour ride. My new friend pointed me to a very close and delicious cafe near the bus stop. I never got his name, but there's no way I would have made it to Napoli without his help.

I think lack of sleep on the ferry caught up to me because I had a terrible time staying awake on the bus ride to Napoli. I did get to see some lovely Italian countryside with rolling green hills dotted with olive trees and grape vines. There were stone and plastered houses in various stages of progress and disrepair. A few lone barns stood empty amidst the farmed land. Later on we passed through the mountains where signs warning of snow flashed at us. Some of the higher hills were covered in a light snow, but not much. Mostly we saw rain. On the other side it was sunny and looked more welcoming.

[The bridge is blurry, but the architecture is awesome!]
I noticed early on the stark contrast between Greece and Italy. Most of the landscape in Greece was of the cooler color palate with gray or tan stone and a little greenery here and there. Though the people were welcoming and hospitable, the land was dull, imposing and stoic like rocks. The history of the land exuded wisdom, but did not make you feel overly welcomed. In Italy the color palate is much warmer. Browns, vibrant greens and cream tones richly invite you to relax and wander about. Most of the people here keep to themselves and tend not to speak as much English as in Greece. Perhaps since they have the Latin alphabet instead of Greek letters, they feel less of a need to be accommodating to other nationalities. Those I have asked for help have readily assisted me, but there's always someone who is having a bad day no matter where you travel or reside.

Once in Napoli at the main transit station, I procured my CampaniaArteCard which gives me 3 days worth of free access to most transit in Napoli and 2 free entrances to historical/cultural sites. I boarded the metro and got off at the 2nd stop as planned. Unfortunately the roads here go in random directions and change names every 1 block for the small ones and every 4 blocks for the large ones. Navigating is a real challenge. None of the streets I was looking for appeared and I ended up walking into a theater to ask for help. They spoke no English, but they saw the telephone number and called. The hostel is Aussie owned so fluent English is no problem. I wrote down the directions and headed out. Apparently I was a good 300m NW of where I needed to be to even start using the directions they gave me. When I finally did make it to the hostel I had 102 steps (give or take 5) waiting for me to get to the 3rd floor. It was worth it though for a comfy bed, free internet and helpful people.

There was apparently no need to go out for dinner as someone was cooking and made enough for everyone here (about 7 people) to be filled up. We had salad and calamari in squid ink cooked pasta. I'd seen it on the Food Network, so knew it was safe to try. Surprisingly it was very mild and quite tasty! And we all had black mouths which made for fun conversation.

Bon Voyage

This morning I decided to skip the additional trip down to Sparta and Mystras and to forge ahead to Italy. Greece has been nice, but I think I'm ready to move on to something different now. Sparta is also challenging to get to and there are no easy connections to Patra where I will take a ferry to Italy. The more I looked at the very few things to see in Sparta and Mystras, it felt like I could use my time and energy better in another place.

I checked with the owners where I was staying who informed me the bus would pick me up at the end of the street and take me back to Korinthos where I could then head to Loutraki and pick up another bus to Patra. Since I had already been though Korinthos, I had an idea of what to expect and how to get my ticket to the next place. Getting to Loutraki was relatively easy and the bus station was right next to the drop off point. When I went inside and asked for a ticket to Patra, the lady told me I was in the wrong place and had to be at the Corinth Canal to get that bus. A guy, who I soon found out was the next bus driver, said he could tell me where to get off.

Once at the Corinth Canal bus station I got a ticket at 1pm to Patra which would give me plenty of time to find a ferry company and some food before leaving Patra. My travel book mentioned an easy to find tourist office near the docks which turned out to be one of my best choices yet. They offered me easy directions to the correct ferry company, where to find food and best of all free internet! I headed down the street to get my ferry ticket and just a few blocks away found a restaurant to eat a large meal before the boat ride. I happened across a grocery store where I picked up some bread and apples for a snack on the ship tonight.

The room I booked for my overnight ferry ride is really cozy. It's a 4 bed cabin, but only one other woman about my age was in there. This has to be the most comfortable bed I've slept in yet! I ventured outside to see what it was like on deck--talk about massive wind! I was almost blown across the slippery, wet deck. The view was foggy and cloudy, but I could make out the lights along the coast of Greece. Here's to a peaceful night's sleep!

The Crossroads of Anceint Greece

The big event for the day was to visit Ancient (Arkaia) Korinthos and its museum. Since this was the only thing on my list to do today, I took a nice, slow stroll through the site. I actually read some of the signs instead of just taking pictures and moving on. Most of the city has collapsed on the ground due to earthquakes, erosion, time passing and new civilizations coming to power. Like most historical sites I've seen, each time the area changes hands, a new city layout is created and new buildings are put on top of or in addition to the old. Many of the sites show at least two or three different layers of cities on the same plot of ground. Most begin around 500BC, a second around 400-200BC and then another at roughly 100-300AD.

While meandering through the old city, I actually stood where St. Paul would have spoken to the Corinthians about 1,960 years ago. I walked where ancient civilizations shopped for food. I heard the natural spring (still rushing with water) where these people used to gather water. I traversed part of an ancient road lined with shops and temples. What all of this means, I have no idea. It's certainly mind stretching to think that you are plodding across ground where millions of people have walked. What did they see and hear? What inspirations and lessons did they take from this place? How where they different for having passed through this area?

Right next door to the ancient city is a restaurant owned by Nikos. He's a talkative guy who has been living and working in the town for 30 years. I stopped in to chat with him and he served me up an orange grown from his backyard (yeah, there's orange and lemon trees everywhere in Greece) saying that I needed to get my "veetamins to stay strong while traveling." It was deliciously juicy and ripe.

Knowing my room would be chilly at this time of day, I wandered about in the warm sunshine and read the rest of Acts and a good chunk of I Corinthians. Eventually the sun disappeared, so I headed for the room and some TV. Did you know they broadcast MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) in Greece? I had no idea, but what a delightful and hilarious release while traveling.

I ate dinner at Nikos' restaurant where I enjoyed the Greek delicacy of elliptical shaped meatballs in a red (really it was more orange and greasy than red) sauce with french fries (i.e. potatoes), a greek salad and some of Nikos' homemade wine. It was all quite delicious and very filling. As a treat, Nikos offered me some apple with honey (also made by him from his bee keeping hobby) and cinnamon.

After such a filling meal, another young traveler stopped over to invite me for a walk around the town to settle dinner. Manuel is from Paris, France and interested in seeing the ancient sites related to Greek Mythology. Turns out we have very similar temperaments (we both like lots of variety, enjoy traveling, love to cook and don't like to be in one place for too long). We must have walked for about 2 hours when we decided to grab some tea and warm up. Knowing that I would be in Paris in the near future and fortunately just before he heads to Texas (yes, a friend of his wants to go to Texas of all places in the US to see tornadoes--really.), he offered to meet up with me in Paris or to simply send me some e-mails about what is good to see and where to go in Paris. I was most thankful as France is probably the country that holds the least amount of interest for me and Paris seems like a daunting metropolis to live in for even a few days. Hopefully our paths will cross!

When I returned to the room tonight, the temp was up to 68F! Woo hoo! That will send me off to a comfortable sleep I hope.

Confusing Corinth

I took the morning slowly drying out the last dampness from my clothes on the radiator and making my way to breakfast. I asked as the desk what the best way was to get to Korinthos. He suggested a bus since the trains often change schedules every few weeks. Armed with directions to the bus station and all my luggage, I headed out.

All in all, getting to the bus station wasn't too bad. I bought a ticket to Korinthos and the bus was leaving in a short 20 minutes. Nice to not have to wait around too long. A quick 2 hours later and I was in Korinthos. The only problem left to solve was how to get to Ancient Korinthos. The last stop left me in what seemed like central downtown Korinthos. No bus stations in sight. I dragged my luggage around the square and inquired at a shop how to get to the bus station. The directed me back to the stop where I had gotten off insisting that you could get many busses from there. I stopped a taxi to see how much it would cost to get the 4km to the town where I wanted to be--a whopping E10!! I recognized one of the hotel names from my online searches a couple nights before. I figured they would be able to give me clearer directions. Sure enough all you do is go to the bus stop on the corner and use the machine to get your ticket.

There were tons of teenagers waiting. I think they were taking the busses home from school. They all filled up the first bus to Ancient Korinthos, so I was hoping there would be another since there were still about 20 of them left. Fortunately there was and I got off near the place where I was looking to stay for the night. Success!! The hotel is nice, but really cold during the day and early evening. When I asked the owners, the lady (I think) tried to convey that it would warm up again soon and to let her know if it didn't get better. My guess is it must only heat at night and in the morning. I put three blankets on the bed anyway because it only ever got up to 63F--a vast improvement from the 59F while I was sitting there in the afternoon. Since it's still winter hours, most sites are closed at 3pm--just about the time I rolled into town. Since the ruins of Corinth are all that I'm here to see, it won't be a problem to wait until tomorrow morning.

Not Quite Gilligan's Island

Far from sunny but not quite rotten, it rained all day which only compounded the travel issues of the day. I knew ahead of time there would be construction on the metro a few stops from Piraeus (the port city W of Athens where most ferries, boats and trains depart) and that I would need to take a bus to a spot further down the metro line. Frances, who I met at the hostel a few days earlier, had informed me of all this when she made the trip to Hydra with her Dad. The only thing I didn't know was that the X13 bus that kept circling past the spot where I was waiting for the bus went to where I needed to go. I ended up waiting a good 20 minutes for a bus I knew was headed in the right direction. Unfortunately I got off at the next metro stop only to find that there was still construction going on. Assuming I'd need to wait another 20 minutes for a bus, I learned from the next X13 bus driver that he was heading to Piraeus.

I finally made it to the metro stop where I was supposed to be to go one more stop into the town. Once in Piraeus I had to ask around for where the Hellenic Seaways Co. was so I could pick up my tickets. A guy directed me to a large building at Gate 7 with their name on it, but it was closed--being Sunday and all. I asked at a nearby ferry company where I should go and they said there would be a kiosk at Gate 8 on the docks. With tickets procured and a good 45 minutes before the boat left, I walked across the street for a cappuccino.
The ferry ride to Aegina Island was nice and smooth. When I got off the rain was just barely falling, but warranted an umbrella. I walked down to the nearby sight of a temple to Apollo and a very old city which had been built over multiple times throughout history. I was debating whether or not to take the bus across the island to see the Temple of Aphaia or to just wander around town for the next 3 hours in the drizzle and cold. I grabbed some lunch from a cafe which was delightfully warm and tasty. It was a pastry dough shell with ham, cheese and a thin spread of spaghetti sauce inside. When I returned to the bus kiosk, no one was there. I opted to just wander town and see some of the streets and shops. Most things were closed, but the architecture was nice. I'm sure in summer this is a sunny, bustling island. I dropped into a church and enjoyed the fresco icons painted all over the walls and ceilings. It was warm, smoke free and quiet inside.

Along the waterfront are numerous stands with pistachios for sale. Aegina Island is considered to have the best pistachios in Greece. Having had enough of the rain, I boarded my ferry back to Piraeus at 5:30pm. It was on this return trip that I discovered I had been using the men's bathroom both times on the boat. The pictures are so small and very hard to see on a moving boat. At least now I know why the guy was staring at me when I walked in on the boat ride over.

I meandered back to the metro, got my ticket and headed toward the metro car. People were making quite a commotion in Greek and it seemed like there wasn't going to be any metro from this station. Rather disappointed I inquired at the ticket booth how else I could get back to Athens. A bus runs from Piraeus to Syntagma Square in Athens, but the stop was about 10 minutes from the docks. The lady informed me which bus to take to get to the right stop to transfer back to Athens.

I missed the bus just as I was about to cross the street. After about 20 minutes another one failed to show up. I started walking and passed two of the three stops to the transfer point. Somehow after this I got horribly lost. None of the street names matched anything in my book (which I thankfully remembered to take!) but I did recognize that I was by the small marina. I happened across a street listed in my book and discovered I was a good 10-15 blocks from where I needed to be. Fortunately I found the bus stop I needed and in another half hour I was back in Athens only a short walk from the hostel.

What a long day! I still had to do laundry, pack up and figure out how to get to Korinthos the next day after checking out. Laundry went fairly smooth and I was able to wash just about everything with me for a pricey E5. I opted to skip the E2 dryer and hang things up in my room. Hopefully tomorrow's travels will be smoother.

Ask The Oracle

Instead of trying to find my own way to Delphi and spending the night, I opted to take the day trip from the hostel. For the price it would have cost to stay one night in Delphi, I had transportation arranged, entrance to the historical site, a guide, lunch and people to travel with. Can't beat a deal like that!

It took about 2.5 hours to drive to the site where we spent about 3 hours seeing the ancient city and walking the museum. Delphi is known for the woman oracle who sat near the Temple of Apollo inhaling fumes emitting from a chasm in the Earth. In her state of trance/ecstasy, she made prophecies for those who stopped in to ask her a question. Her advice was taken seriously for day to day business, impending wars and personal matters. I was too slow to make it to Athena's temple a 15 minute walk down the road. I did, however, get some great photos of the surrounding valley and the mountainous villages on either side of Delphi.

We stopped for coffee in the less touristy village and took in the gorgeous sight of the sun shining on the Corinthian Sea. After the long ride back I enjoyed a delicious dinner of stuffed eggplant including zucchini, red pepper, onion, mushrooms, feta cheese and topped with some shredded mozzarella. Back at the hostel I researched ferries to Aegina Island and purchased tickets for Sunday. When you're here, you feel like your visit just isn't complete without a trip to an island. Hopefully the weather will continue to be good as it has been up to now.

Around Town Again

Today was supposed to be an early start so I could once again cover a series of sites around Athens. After another tasty breakfast of toast, jelly/cheese, tomatoes and a hard boiled egg, I headed off to the Temple of Zeus and the Olympic Stadium--more large expanses filled with mostly randomly strewn large marble stones. I attempted to make my way from the Olympic Stadium to the Archeological Museum, but like most of my time here, the hostel map does not actually reflect reality. Heading down the road I thought was on the map led me to Lykavittos Hill which was in the far NE of the city when I needed to be beyond far N. To boot, like its name implies, the hill is quite a ways up in altitude and used up quite a bit of energy trying to figure out how to get around it. Up top though there was a large
cropping of what appeared to be Agave cacti--that's right, the plants used to make tequila. After an hour I did finally arrive at the museum to discover that it was closing in one hour due to another 24 hour transit strike. Good thing I moved my day trip to Hydra to Sunday. Hopefully there won't be another strike until after Monday.

Greece has a 12% debt with the EU and they've been called out on it. To remedy the problem the greek government had decided to make job/salary cuts and to raise taxes. Hence the last minute notice 24 hour transit strikes. Today I witnessed the protests in action. Roughly 12,000 Greeks marched from near Syntagma Square along one of the main roads in Athens carrying banners, flags and mega phones as they chanted. Last night a scuffle with the police ending in pepper spray and tear gas was reported. I was only near the marching long enough to collect a 30 second video before I navigated away.

The Archeological Museum was really nice. Among the many statues, bronze works, coins and pottery I was able to see two of the statues Rick Steves showcased on his 1/2 hour show on Athens (Running Horse and Greek god Throwing a Spear). The afternoon and evening held little to amuse me as the historical sites here close at 3pm in winter. I wandered around to the fruit and veggie market, picked up gyros at a local restaurant and hit the hostel sports bar for a Castleburg beer while I read a few chapters of Sense and Sensibility. I know my calves and ankles were thanking me for taking it easy on them tonight. Tomorrow's excursion to Delphi will be challenging.

Well Worn Paths

I attempted to get an early start in hopes of covering as many of the 6 major historical sites in the area (Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Kerameikos/Cemetery, Temple of Zeus and Olympic Stadium). Breakfast took a bit longer as I sat with Frances and a new friend Stephen. It was hard to leave good conversation. Roughly around 10am I made it to the Acropolis to begin my day's discoveries.

It's hard to describe the expansive views and vast marble creations as you walk around on the highest hill in the area. The packed in city below sprawls all around dotted with ancient ruins and very modern glass buildings. What didn't make sense on the map a few days ago was much clearer now. I'm glad I went to the museum yesterday to give some perspective to what I was seeing today. From here I worked my way to the Ancient Agora to discover that this was where I had ended up a few days earlier when I was "lost." This time I knew exactly where to go. The Agora is HUGE. I must have spent a good 1.5 hours there trying to get around to everything. Towards the end my camera battery started to flash at me. I wasn't sure how much more time I'd have so I tried to cover things quickly so I could still make it to the Roman Agora and the cemetery. To come back to one or two of these would make for a long walk and "wasted" time.

Fortunately the Roman Agora is quite small in comparison and was easy to breeze through. What I didn't realize was how long it would take to walk from there (NE corner of the Acropolis) to the cemetery. I think it took close to 20 minutes. When I arrived I had 20 minutes to cover the entire town/cemetery. I was close to sprinting through the rocky, winding pathways up and down hills. I managed to get shots of the overall areas and what I think might be all of the explanatory plaques--all with a low camera battery. Now that's what I call impressive!

After a much deserved rest, I hit a local crepe restaurant for dinner. For E10 I had a Sprite, Tiramisu and a crepe with chicken, tomatoes, green peppers and mayo. Needless to say, I was quite full. I spent the rest of the evening researching trains, planes and ferries to figure out my next step on the journey. Hopefully this will include a day trip to Piraeus and Hydra on Sunday and moving on to Corinth on Monday.

Human Time Warp

I slept in a bit and tried to take it easy to rest my sore legs/ankle. Unfortunately I ended up walking much farther than planned. The 2.5 hour walking tour I wanted to do was canceled as I was the only one interested and she needed 4 people minimum. In wandering around on my own I got "lost" because the hostel map has about 1/10 of the street names in the area. Unable to navigate well meant I ended up on the far NW side of the city before I could find a street name on the map. I opted to sit for a couple hours and eat lunch once I found the hostel again. I did a bit of planning for the next few days before heading out to the brand new Acropolis Museum. It's quite amazing.

The layout is a series of rectangles piled on top of each other at skewed angles comprising 3 floors of marble pieces from the Parthenon on the Acropolis. The building is almost entirely glass. Even large sections of the floor are glass to reveal the excavated sites of the areas along the slopes of the Acropolis. That was probably the coolest feature.

Looking down at the older cities below was fascinating. Made me think about all the
different civilizations and ages of history that existed before I walked across it at that moment. Seeing history displayed in this way made me ponder in a very new way what it means to be human and to exist over time. How generations and eras follow one after another and each group of people makes their own way in life and leaves their own marks upon the Earth that others will uncover and marvel at. How does it fit into the framework of life to consider that some of these people lived around 600 BC? Now place that along with the belief that God is in existence throughout this entire span. Let your brain simmer and ache over that for a while!

No photography is allowed in the museum. To commemorate my time there I picked up a pack of postcards that sort of tell the story of what I saw inside. They really don't do justice to it, but it's the best they offer. From the museum I walked through the National Gardens. They weren't as lush as I'm used to, but it is winter here still. All over there were orange trees and 3 large fountains. It was right around 5pm and the daylight was just right for enjoying and photographing the gardens. My favorite part was this long trellis covered walkway that opened into a walkway of palm trees.

From the gardens I meandered the streets for a bit before dinner. I wandered by a shop where the owner stepped out and asked why I walked along so quietly and slowly. After chatting I learned that he had spent time in Minneapolis with friends and recently met them here in Greece. He was able to suggest a good restaurant to me and naturally showed me around the shop. Inside were exquisite looking, colorful glass pieces that were most tempting to buy. I will definitely be returning to potentially purchase something that hopefully won't break in my luggage.

This hostel has a sister building with apartments and an attached sports bar. I checked out the bar where they were televising a futbol game at 8pm (if only I'd known they meant 8pm London time from where the game was being broadcast). It was just about 7:30pm so I grabbed a Mythos beer and chilled for a bit. Shortly after a young woman joined me. We had a great time chatting. Frances is 19 from a small town outside York, UK. She gave me some great tips on things to see and places to stop once I reach the UK. She is taking 2 months to travel around Greece, Italy, Portugal among other places before enrolling in university (what Americans call college) to get her degree in classical studies. This year is time to relax a bit, get some perspective and travel. Very similar to me. All in all, a great way to end the evening.

The Long Way Around

What a windy day in the city! I'm not talking a light breeze or even a gust. It must have been about 50mph wind today. Metal not secured on peoples' rooves were flapping about and dust was forming into swirling tornadoes all over the place. I believe I've acquired a layer of dirt all over me.

After securing my train ticket to Athens, I wandered around to find a grocery store for some snacks later on which would suffice for dinner on the train. In all my walking of Kalampaka, I couldn't find any take away food or sandwiches. They must be somewhere, but nowhere I could find them. I decided not to lug the food around all day, as I needed to check out of the hotel at 11:30am, and I wanted to see a few more of the sites in town.

After a long stroll, I finally found the Holy Maria church in the far NE corner of town on the highest and steepest hill possible. I was still quite sore from yesterday's hiking around Meteora.

In the afternoon I had hoped to make my way along a foot path to the last two monasteries on spires. At the start the path was pretty easy to follow. It wound just at the edge of the city between the last few houses and the base of the spires. Most of the time it felt like I was in someone's backyard and at one point crossed an area with cables running up the spires for reception to the homes below. This is where the trail dumped back into a street in town. I hadn't expected this at all. I backtracked thinking I must have missed an obvious turn. There were no signs along the path and when I tried another version, it quickly ended into the mountainside. Already feeling pretty whooped from yesterday and not feeling like I had enough time to get there and back, I gave up and headed to a cafe near the hotel. I figured that if I'd seen 3 monasteries, I'd probably seen enough to suffice for all 5 of the 6 that were open.

Cooled down from an icy Coke, I walked a quick 10 minutes to another site the hotel had suggested not missing and then headed down into town to grab some food for dinner. I picked out some fresh wheat bread for 1E, some tzatsiki, cheese and tahini (ground sesame seeds--like thin, oily peanut butter).

The train ride was excessively late--about 1.5 hours. To exit the station I had to go down 25 some stairs and then back up 25 stairs. To get to the Metro I had to go up probably another 50 stairs, around the corner of the building and then up 5 stairs and down another 40. Mind you, none of these stairs had elevators or escalators. Fortunately the next tram came in 3 minutes. After this, finding my stop and the hostel was easy. This station had escalators all the way out to the street level and the hostel was literally right around the corner. At about 11:30pm I was checked in and then made a small wracket trying to dump my self into the bed. What a tiring day!

A Taste of Kalampaka

Breakfast awaited downstairs of freshly hard boiled eggs, bread, cheese, cherry jam, juice and coffee. I packed my skirt, the required dress for women when visiting these monasteries. Filled with good things, I headed off toward the rocky spires of Meteora.

Somehow it failed to dawn on me that choosing to walk to the various monasteries would mean walking up steep hills all day. I didn't realize this until I was half way through Kastraki, the nearby town 1km from Kalampaka. Nevertheless, it was a sunny day with a lovely breeze to keep me mostly cool on my strenuous walk.

Roussanou, the first monastery, was a quiet place to begin with a few nuns inside minding the ticket booth and the souvenir shop filled with handmade beeswax candles, golden icons and books about the spiritual history of Meteora. Past 5 short doors (just tall enough for me to walk through without bending down) to what I guessed were living quarters was the finely decorated and preserved chapel. From floor to ceiling, every bit of plaster was covered with iconic paintings of biblical characters and Greek martyrs.

The second stop was Varlaam, quite a bit larger than Roussanou. Quite a bit of construction was going on here with jackhammering and scaffolding. Originally there were 20 some spires with monasteries. Today there are only 6. Much like the first, Varlaam was filled with iconic paintings, old wooden tables/chairs and relics from as early as the 14th century.

My last stop was to the highest and largest monastery Megalou Meteora. Though all signs indicated these were working monasteries, this one was filled with an extensive amount of Greek war memorabilia. Some were even listed as martyrs who died for their country as confessing Christians. I found it odd that these two should be mixed so intrinsically. The old refectory had long wooden tables set up for a typical monks' meal and the center of the room was filled with 4'x6' paintings of Greek war heroes. Far down in the basement of the monastery was the Ecclesiastical Museum where old icons from the 14, 16 and 18th centuries were kept with various scrolls, bibles, music books and vestments. Strangely, the older pieces were in far better condition than the more recent ones.

Finally the time came to return from the high places and think about getting some food. About 1/3 of the way down my feet started to ache and 3/4 of the way they were throbbing.

This still left the 2km walk back to the hotel. I had planned to stop for dinner in
Kastraki, but every place I checked was closed up tight at 5pm. Perhaps it was too early for dinner. I stopped in to the hotel to rest my feet for a half hour and then headed to downtown Kalampaka to find food. The suggested place to dine by the hotel staff eluded me, so I stopped in at a bakery to grab dessert for later. I'm not sure what it's called, but it appears to be made of alternating layers of thin chocolate cake and cream filling topped with white frosting and a layer of orange/yellow goo that created a tangy, fruity flavor on top. I stopped at an expensive looking restaurant where it turns out for E10.25 I could explode myself on beef in red sauce (with that same strange hint of sweet/spice as the lamb), lemon baked potatoes and rice with a glass of white wine. Absolutely delicious! So was the dessert by the way.

Portraits of Town

Sunday was a slow day. For my morning walk, I ventured to the NW corner of Thessaloniki to snap some shots of the old wall winding through the city. I caught a few glimpses, but quickly lost track of the wall as the streets I was wandering were not on my map. I saw some lovely views of neighborhood life on a Sunday morning: hunched over, white haired ladies leaving church, kids slowly padding alongside their parents and pastry and mini-markets the only shops open. With lunch secured, I headed back to the hotel to eat and pack up.

In my time here I've noticed how most Greek people seem kind and helpful--at least out here in the smaller cities and towns. Anyone who owns or works in a shop cleans it often. Most times when I entered a store someone was cleaning a window or the floor. All in comparison to the rather dusty streets and scent of cigarette smoke wherever you went. Greece is not a country which bans smoking. It seems to be something of a national pastime. As a whole, Greek people are rather expressive. As quickly as they flare up in anger or argument, so to do they return to calm and quiet.

After reading some Jane Austen and grabbing dinner for the train ride, I bought my ticket to Kalampaka and waited a couple more hours over some coffee and futbol. Overall, the ride was comfortable. Somehow the station created and issue as there were about 10-15 people standing in the car where I was and a lady and two men where loudly complaining. As best I can piece their expressions together, I think some of them were 1st class passengers without their prime seats and certainly not even a 2nd class spot to be had. After about 45 minutes waiting a large group of passengers moved out and walked behind my car. I didn't see them again, so I suspect another car was added. The 3 vocal people stayed in my car and stood until seats appeared as others got off the train. The only tense part was towards the end when many people began to exit and I couldn't tell if we had arrived yet or not. A woman across the aisle spoke enough English to let me know that Kalampaka would be after her stop at Karditses. I think I must have been one of about 5 people to leave the train at the last stop. I asked at the train office where the bus station was. He informed me it was closed by this hour (10:15pm), but he showed me how to get to the hotel. Little did I know that 2/3 of the walk would be uphill hauling all my luggage on rough sidewalks/roads. Much to my delight I found the hotel in the far NW corner of town with a desk clerk waiting to check me in and who kindly carried my bag up to the 2nd floor.

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.

It's All Greek to Me

I attempted to rouse myself at 3am in London to get ready and checked in for my 7am flight to Thessaloniki, Greece. Talk about an early morning. Or was it a late night? I'm not sure which timezone I'm in right now. I made it to the departures counter on time to get my boarding pass, traverse through security and then wait for 1.5 hours until the gate number was listed on the monitors. At the London Gatwick Airport, gate numbers aren't assigned until 1/2 hour before the flight leaves. This only served to make me nervous that I might not be able to get to the gate in time if say it happened to be 95 and at the far end of the terminal. Easyjet doesn't wait for you to show up if you are late. All part of the no frills, inexpensive policy. Lest the suspense stress you out, I did make it to the gate on time though only half awake.

I slept most of the way through the flight though some guy a row back talked non-stop all the way there. Customs went well and I managed to find the bus ticket booth. The one slip in the plan was I took the wrong bus into town. On the bright side, I discovered there is an IKEA in Thessaloniki. Yea for international symbols! Didn't think I'd see one of those here. Once the bus circled back to the airport, I got on the right bus and headed toward town. The only trouble was that the stops called out on the bus didn't match anything in the map in my book. I kept looking for landmarks, but nothing looked familiar. Eventually I got off and wandered into a motorbike shop. One of the guys spoke enough english to help me figure out that I was about 10 minutes from where I wanted to be. All in all, not too bad for not being able to read what the signs said fast enough. One moment in life when I can say "Thankgoodness for Greek class." I can't speak much, but at least I can read it. I wandered around the area where the hostel was supposed to be, but no luck in finding it. There were about 10-12 other hotels along the street, just not the one I wanted. I did manage to find one that was close to my price range. The lady who checked me in was very helpful. She gave me a more detailed local map and told me about a nearby internet spot.

Since breakfast at 3am, I hadn't eaten and was a bit low on blood sugar and water. Once I got up to my room (no elevator and two flights of about 10 stairs each) I downed some water from the sink and remembered I had some chocolate covered cookies in my bag. Now that my brain had some energy to work off of, I decided to walk to the train station to find out which train would be my ticket out of town. I ate some mousaka, beans in a red sauce and salad at Sofi's House restaurant. I'm not sure exactly where the internet place was the hotel lady was trying to direct me to, but there's a Starbucks across the street with 2 hours of internet with a purchase.

And so the adventure goes on to explore the other sights of Thessaloniki and beyond.