Saturday morning we packed out things and headed to Larissa station where we caught our train to Thessaloniki-a major city in the northern area of mainland Greece. We rode in little 6-person rooms (similar to the Hogwart's train cars) for the 6 hour ride that arrived in the early evening. We took a coach bus from the station to our lovely abode called Hotel Pella (I feel obliged to tell everyone to NEVER stay there), got pizza for dinner, and spruced up to go out for the evening. A group of us went for a walk on the waterfront and saw all kinds of bars and restaurants. Thessaloniki is a very college-aged town with few tourists, so we stuck out like sore thumbs. Rumor has it that most of the clubs require a "reservation" (aka no tourists) to get in. We spent the evening galavanting around and eventually finished our night with a booze cruise around the harbor on a pirate ship. And no, I did not make that up.
Me, Cuzi, and Sam on our pirate ship
Sunday was our lazy day, only because it was also Greece Election Day. We were given a free day due to the election and potential riots and demonstrations (we later learned that the Communist-like party did riot in the town square). We woke up, ate breakfast, went back to bed, and decided to watch a movie with the girls ("This Means War"). We eventually had to venture out to find food for dinner and then learned that most places were closed. So we opted for the inexpensive and easy meal of souvlaki and Greek salads. Later that evening we watched "Wedding Crashers" and headed to bed.
Monday morning we were forced back into our routine of class. We woke up, ate breakfast, and walked to a museum. In the afternoon once class was finished, Geoff, Sam, Jacquelyn, Cori, and I went to the Farmer's Market to pick up veggies to make for lunch. On our way back to the hotel we ran across Professor Boden and his husband Kevin (who is one of the funniest men I know). Kevin arrived today and stayed until we returned to Athens a week later. After lunch, we all opted for a siesta and I laid down to watch "Captain America". Eileen and I headed out for dinner and returned to? you guessed it, watch another movie. This time we watched "Mean Girls" for our Greek professor Maria's sake (she has never seen it and because we quoted it for a month around her, we felt the need to "show her the light").
Tuesday was a very long day. We loaded onto our coach bus with our good friend, the driver, George, and headed to the ancient capital of Macedonia, now known as Vergina. There we visited the tomb of Phillip II (father of Alexander the Great), and other Macedonian finds. In Vergina we also bought our first batch of cherries in Greece-the best cherries I may have ever experienced. We ventured afterwards to the cave of Aristotle's school and had a picnic for lunch. Jess is a pretty awesome picnic-maker-kudos to you, Jess. After we ate we explored the site a little more and as we were loading up the bus, someone came rushing to Prof. Boden to inform him that Maria (our Greek professor) hit her head in the cave and was bleeding all over. Well, sure enough, she was (not that I didn't believe it I just assumed it wasn't that bad). So she had the caretaker of the site take her to the hospital and we were ushered to the museum at Pella with Boden as our guide. Maria eventually had to get stitches but she was okay. She then led a review session for our exam that evening, and because of the lengthy day of traveling, I made a salad for dinner and headed to bed pretty early.
The tombs at Vergina
Wednesday was our final test day for Maria's class. I got up early to eat breakfast and study. The exam was not too bad but since most of us had relaxed most of our time in Thessaloniki, we decided to do a wine, cheese, and cracker lunch with "Bridesmaids" as our entertainment. Once finished, we all went upstairs to get dolled up and went out for our group dinner at a really great "ouzeri" filled with seafood. Later than evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Jonathan, the brother of my good friend and Alpha Phi sister, Sarah. Matt teaches in Thessaloniki and had agreed to meet up with me to show me around town. Cori, Jacquelyn, Kari, Alaina, and Sam accompanied me to me him and his friends for drinks along the water. It was really great to meet them all and after a few of our girls returned to the hotel, Cori and I continued on to a bar with Matt and his friends. After debating about whether or not to just stay up all night, Matt and friends walked Cori and I back to our hotel at 4am and we called it a night.
Part of the table at our group dinner at the "Ouzeri"
The next morning was our introduction to our final course here in Greece: Byzantine Era. It is taught by Professor John Karavas, who I swear, is a genius. He can rattle off information faster than I can think. He led the introduction in the lobby of the hotel, and proceeded to give us a tour of Byzantine Thessaloniki. We visited the Roman Agora of Thessaloniki (not actually Byzantine, but we asked to see it), the Rotunda, the Arch of Galerius, the Emperial Palace (which was closed but we discussed the structure from the outside), and the White Tower (also not Byzantine but it follows that period and is a pretty important landmark of the city). We all grabbed lunch on the go and headed back to the hotel to make plans for the evening. We decided to do the most American-tourist thing we could think of and decided to eat at TGI Fridays. I know some of you reading this are shaking your head at me, but hey-when you are in a foreign country for two months at this point, sometimes it is the best feeling in the world to sit down, know exactly what you are ordering, and know exactly what it should taste like. I cannot deny that it was a fantastic meal, but I promise you that this was my first and only American meal of my trip so far.
This is a view of the Rotunda from the north end of the city of Thessaloniki
Friday was church day. We woke up and headed to Agios Demetrios where we stayed for the remainder of the morning service. Even though it was in Greek, it is still fascinating to sit through the orthodox service and attempt to follow what is going on. Once mass ended, we toured the church and discussed it's architecture and the remains of the church from the Byzantine period. Agios Demetrios also holds the remains of its dedicated individual, St. Demetrios. From there we visited the church known as the "Immaculate Construction". Supposedly its literal translation means "constructed not by human hands" because its structure is almost a perfect basilica shape. We broke for lunch and Cuzi and I dined on Greek Salads near the Arch of Galerius and then returned to class for a tour through the Byzantine Museum. That glorious day I learned that Prof. John likes pottery just as much as I do!! (which means he doesn't like it if you haven't picked up on it) After the museum we were given a break until that evening when we visited the church of Agia Sophia (which was very beautiful!) and discussed its architecture. From there, a few of us went to a Tapas Grill for dinner, ordered some nom noms, and returned to the hotel to hang out.
This is the templon of the Agia Sophia. If you actually want to know what it means ask me in person...
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