Greece - Day 15 (Mon. 9/10/24)

The alarm was set was for 6:00 a.m., but we were awake before it sounded. We packed and got down to breakfast at 6:15. Nikos had arranged for them to have the full breakfast buffet open for us at that hour so we could leave for the airport at 6:45. 

On our flight from Thessaloniki to Istanbul, Mike and I were with Grant, a young strapping guy from our tour, in an exit row that we didn't request. The flight attendant gave us a card to study, explained our responsibilities, and asked if we accepted them. Grant immediately said yes. Mike also seemed undaunted. Since I was between them, I figured I would have zero responsibility, but then when we landed and saw a plane on fire, I was wishing I had read that card more carefully.

It turned out to be just a training exercise.

On that flight, I watched this video called The Lonely Koala that had me weeping. Thank God she found a friend at the end and was no longer lonely. 

The Istanbul airport is gigantic and overstimulating, with long lines for the potable drinking water and not enough bathrooms. There was free Wi-Fi, but it required jumping through some hoops that were difficult for my tired brain. I had to find a kiosk, swipe my passport, print out a code, and type it into my phone for one hour of access. I wasted most of that hour walking to the gate and going through a crazy amount of security (including searching through every item in my bags, scanning me with a wand, and a full body pat-down), so I barely even used it. Mike didn't bother at all. When he found out he would have to scan his passport, he lost interest.

On the flight from Istanbul to Chicago, I was in the middle seat in the middle section of seats, boxed in between Mike and a man with the worst body odor I've ever smelled. It actually made my eyes water. He was normal-sized, which is important on a long flight where even normal-sized people will be bumping elbows the whole time. Thankfully he slept a lot, and as long as he was under a blanket, the smell didn't waft as much. He was struggling to cover himself, so I tucked him in, because that's what any decent seatmate would do. But once I realized it created an odor barrier, I retucked him good and tight every time he moved in his sleep. The screen on the seatback in front of me malfunctioned, so the only movie I could watch was Planet of the Apes with Arabic subtitles. It was a little slice of hell.

 

Flying over Greenland. Lots of snow and ice. Check out the shadows cast by those mountains!

We landed on time, went through customs easily enough, and got an Uber with Marc and Allison to her parents' house where they had left their car. They graciously gave us a ride home because we realized near the end of the trip that our flight from O'Hare to Peoria wasn't until the next day. We were exhausted, thankful to have the opportunity to go on this trip, and even more thankful to be home. Shadow and Shiloh had been well cared for by our wonderful neighbors. After being up for 30 hours and flying through 8 time zones, I tried to plug in a European outlet adapter in my bedroom so I could charge my phone. The next day was a blur of laundry (very thankful for a washer and dryer), petting cats, and going through two weeks of mail. Then my body refused to function anymore so I went to bed at 5:00 pm. I have a vague recollection of Mike saying something about going to Casey’s, and I was shocked that he found a Casey’s in Greece. I had no idea what day it was, or even if it was day or night. 4:00 a.m. felt like feeding time, so I ate cookies and pop tarts because I haven’t been to the grocery store yet. It took us three days to gather the energy to go to the Peoria airport to pick up the car we left there. 

Greece - Day 14 (Sun. 9/9/24)

This day began with some terror in the early morning hours. At 1:30 a.m. I got up to go to the bathroom.  Didn’t turn on any lights so I wouldn’t disturb Mike.  I was in there awhile. When I opened the door, there was Mike’s shadowy figure right in front of me.  I screamed and sprayed imaginary mace in his face.  A full volume horror movie scream in a big hotel at 1:30 in the morning.  We were both wide awake for a long time after that. Maybe some of our neighbors were too. We really didn't do a lot of sleeping on this whole trip. 

The breakfast buffet was pretty amazing. Here's just one section of it:

We took an hour-long ride on the bus to go to Halkidiki Beach. Our guide explained that this peninsula has three distinct fingers. The first one (where we went) is where single people go because it has bars and restaurants and more of a party scene. The second one is where married people go, because it's quieter. The third one is owned by the church and populated exclusively by monks. No women allowed, and even male guests are required to present a written invitation. I spent a lot of time wondering about that third finger. What are the monks doing over there? What are they wearing on the beach? Have any of them ever smuggled in a woman? Has a woman ever dressed up like a man (Yentl-style) and snuck in? Anyway, this beach was better than Laganas, but still American beaches are way better. This was a crowded, narrow strip of sand, but we did find a chair/umbrella where we could sit for free as long as we ordered a drink, so Mike ordered a rum and Coke. The water was the perfect temperature, cool and refreshing, but not shockingly cold, and it was that beautiful clear turquoise. I stuffed my phone case under my swimsuit so it wouldn't drift away while I was gazing at the sky, enjoying a relaxing float in the salty waves. 

The gorgeous Aegean Sea

Mike always knew where we were, where we were going, where the bus was parked, and what time we had to be there. Lots of people got lost and ended up being late, but we never did because I just followed him. Sometimes he even discovered shortcuts. 

Our next stop was a little town called Afytos for lunch and shopping. We didn't eat and only bought a Tshirt for Noah at one of these little shops:

It was a hot day with lots of walking, and I was wearing inappropriate footwear once again. We hiked up this hill to the most beautiful view I've ever seen, but my feet were so tired and sore that I had to sit in the dirt. I found this little sweater that some toddler had left behind, so I used it to protect my feet and legs from the ants that were crawling around. 

Mike took this picture and said it was "classic Janel".  I'm hot, sweaty, dirty, tired, sore, and bruised, and I've stuffed my blistered feet into the sleeves of  a toddler sweater to use as socks. Trying to enjoy the beauty behind me. We saw three different weddings going on at this spot. 

After we got back to the hotel, we packed for our early morning tomorrow. Mike wisely went to bed, but I couldn't fight the urge to go out exploring a little on our last night. I loved this boardwalk so much! It was wide and well lit and well traveled. There was a lane in the middle for scooters, bikes, etc. The sea was on one side, and on the other were parks, playgrounds, restaurants, fountains, etc. There were lots of people of all ages, but it didn't feel crowded. There were old men fishing in the sea, young lovers having deep conversations on benches, athletes jogging, families pushing strollers, teenagers zipping by on electric scooters, street musicians (my favorite!) with empty guitar cases in front of them for donations. Just a wonderful relaxed, safe atmosphere. I decided I was going to walk all the way to the end of it. How far could it possibly be?

It turns out it was 5K, which was too much for my already-sore feet, even though I was wearing perfect footwear. I discovered that the boardwalk ends at the Concert Hall, where Swan Lake was being performed when I arrived. 

My goal was figure out how to rent one of those electric scooters I saw everywhere and ride it back to the hotel, because my feet said, "No more walking. We refuse to haul you around anymore. You've demanded way too much from us today. And not just today, but the last two weeks! You're on your own now. We quit." It's hard to learn a new thing in a foreign country late at night when you haven't slept much for two weeks and don't have an international data plan on your phone.

After studying the scooters, I determined that I had to scan a QR code on the scooter to download an app. That required me to get the scooter to the Concert Hall so I could use their free Wi-Fi. I half-dragged half-carried the thing, because the wheels lock up if you don't pay for it within a couple feet. I scanned the code, downloaded the app, connected my credit card to the payment system, and then realized I couldn't rent the thing without entering a local driver's license. All this activity with slow brain and even slower Wi-Fi took about an hour. Then I had to drag/carry the scooter back and start the long walk to the hotel. I took frequent breaks to sit and listen to street musicians and watch kids playing at the park, even though it was almost midnight. 

Greece - Day 13 (Sun. 9/8/24)

Today we toured the Polycentric Museum of Aigai, which houses the tombs of King Phillip II and others.  We also visited the Church of Saint Dimitrios (Patron of Thessaloniki) and the crypts under it.  We saw lots of ancient relics today. In the hotel pool, I was talking with a Greek woman (who was understandably proud to be Greek), and I told her that her country is like a refined wine, rich with history. She replied, "Yes, but your country is fresh...like an apple!" Then we talked about how well wine and apples go together. 

The entrance to the museum. The museum is underground, built around the archeological finds.

The star of this museum was King Phillip II's (Alexander the Great's father) tomb

The church in Thessaloniki

Steps down to the catacombs

Checked in to our super nice hotel with a fabulous view. It was a very close second to my favorite hotel in Olympia. It had a high-tech elevator that closed impossibly fast with no warning, so I got crunched between the doors like a panini. 

Greece - Day 12 (Sat. 9/7/24)

This morning we went to this amazing place that had hot springs and cold waterfalls. Pozar Baths near Edessa. I could have stayed there all day, and if I had one redo on the whole trip, I would have stayed at this place all day and skipped the afternoon tours.

One of the pools has cloudy water with this sandy mineral mix on the floor. Another one has clear water with a rocky floor.

This was cold. But it felt good because it was another hot, humid day.

This big pool was warm (a little too warm) with no chemicals added. Natural, clear water.

Beautiful beans and lentils for sale near the Pozar Baths.

The afternoon tours were my least favorite of the whole trip. We went to our tour guide’s village (Aridaia) where we were on our own for 3 hours with not much to do, and it was so hot. We ended up just sitting in a dirty, stinky bus station because it had air conditioning and wi-fi. Then we toured a winery, which was not really our thing and again, miserably hot and humid. A little pool time at the hotel and then another big delicious dinner. By this point, we were having a hard time packing in more food. 

Greece - Day 11 (Fri. 9/6/24)

 Here's the hotel we stayed at last night with the monasteries in the background: 

Breakfast at the hotel, and then a full day of activities, the first of which was driving to these amazing rock formations on which, incredibly, people have built monasteries. We toured the Holy Monastery of Grand Meteoron.

Some of our group climbing some of the stairs to the monastery.

So many treacherous places to put your feet in Greece. Monastery day was not the worst of my footwear choices, but not the best either. I was wearing water shoes.

Inside the monastery (Why do all these men have such skinny noses?)

Another monastery. It blew my mind to ponder how they could build these at that time on this terrain.

  I wish we would have had a guide here. I had so many questions. Here I am pondering some of them and having a chat with Jesus. There's something sanctified about this place. It's quite literally set apart. I can see why the monks chose this location to spend all their time in contemplative prayer.

Our next stop was a waterfall, which I loved. You could walk right up to it, go behind it, and view it from all angles. Here's Mike and I behind it, before I walked right up to it and got soaked from the powerful spray. 

It felt good on that hot, humid day.

                         And here we are with Nikos after I got soaked. 

Then we drove to our friend Pam's family's village, where her uncle gave us a hayrack ride tour of the farm fields. They grow an amazing variety of crops in Greece. Uncle Jim gave us a very informative and interesting tour. One of the highlights was when our friend Bob got smacked in the face with a tree branch he didn't see coming.

Someone captured the moment where I bruised my knee so hard that it's still tender and discolored two weeks later.

We were out in the fields until after dark. Uncle Jim gave us some fresh fruit, and we went to our hotel to get a little sleep before tomorrow's adventure.

Greece - Day 10 (Thurs. 9/5/24)

Our hotel had a delicious breakfast buffet, which included a big bowl of these mysterious red balls. I ate them and still don't know what they are. They were hard and crunchy like peppercorns.

We had breakfast with Marc and Allison in these chairs that looked like birdcages and were too heavy to budge. Then we got on the bus to explore the city.

Ioannina is known for its silversmithing, so several in our group were all about shopping for jewelry. We were more interested in walking around the city. Here's Mike under a fabulous weeping willow, admiring the mountains and lake.

There appeared to be a walking path all around the lake, and had I not made an egregious error in my footwear choice, we would have walked the whole thing. Since I was wearing my previously-mentioned cheap slides, I struggled to walk as much as we did, and Mike very kindly gave me a foot massage on a bench right here by the lake. We also went inside the old Ottoman castle walls and walked around the neighborhoods where people are living inside walls. There we met an old Greek man who was eating crackers on a bench and attracting a stray cat that I wanted to pet. I sat down by the guy and tried to coax the cat over to me. The guy, who spoke no English, put a couple crackers in my hand and broke them up and gestured towards the cat. I offered them to the cat, but he was not interested. I didn't want to waste the crackers, so I ate them myself and the old guy laughed and gave me the rest of his package of crackers. I remembered how to say "thank you" in Greek at just the right moment.

Our next stop was a quaint village called Metsovo. They were smoking cheese there, and the whole village smelled like that pleasant smoke. We finally reached a high enough altitude to escape the stifling humidity. It was still hot up there, but much more pleasant. 

On the second floor of this building is where we ate lunch. Mike and I were strolling along aimlessly on the street when our friend Deb called down from the balcony, "Janel, this is the place" or something like that, and I knew that was where we were supposed to be. I wish God's directive voice was always that clear. 

After lunch, back to wandering. We went in another ornate Greek Orthodox church. I like how the churches are just mingled in amongst the restaurants, houses, and shops, and the doors are always open so you can go in there anytime throughout your day and shift your focus to God. I wish the churches in America were like that. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s a business and what’s a personal home in these little villages. In my defense, this gate was open and there was a sign that said “information” on the porch and a sign for some kind of studio on the upper level. I’m always looking for information, so I led the charge up to this place. A guy was coming out the door as we were walking up the steps. We exchanged greetings and he asked if we were looking for the hotel. I said no, we’re just looking around. He invited us in. As we entered, he said this was his family home. I apologized and turned right around but he seemed to want to show us his home, so we went in. He said Americans don’t visit this village often and that he knows about Illinois from watching movies. After we left, I went back to take this picture and found him outside talking excitedly to his neighbors about the Americans. 

I wanted to go see this monastery but didn’t know how far it was down this very steep, winding uneven path. But after my shoe error from Ioannina, I was overconfident in my shoe choice for this village. We made it, and it was beautiful, but it was quite a descent (and therefore, quite a climb to get back up). 

The bus took us to our next hotel at Kalampaka where we ate dinner and went to bed.