Ruth: Squeezed into the 1960’s urban sprawl of Thessaloniki is a wealth of Byzantine churches and monasteries. No less that 6 of them are Unesco listed, dating from the 4th to the 14th centuries. That some of the mosaics and frescos survived fires, earthquakes and the Ottoman conquest makes them even more precious. Many of the churches were converted into mosques, but the glittering mosaics (sometimes) remained safely encased in a layer of plaster.
Gord and I have always loved Byzantine churches, so this city is a wonderful treat. After a morning of exploring the churches we spent the afternoon in the Museum of Byzantine culture. It has a beautiful, well curated collection.
At the grocery store yesterday morning Gord slipped a small bag of cat food in with our provisions. With a cheeky smile on his face the same bag emerged from his backpack whenever hungry cats or kittens appeared.
This morning we took a train, for the first time in almost three months, to Larissa. From there we cycled the 60 km to Volos, but unlike Thessoloniki, Volos actually has ferries! We have tickets to sail for Skopolos tomorrow.
Skopolos has no 'street views' in Google Maps (the usual way I track you, in case you didn't know!). So you are venturing – out of view – now!!
Enjoy the Greek Islands – but we are waiting for you to return home so we can have an early morning coffee with you!! (and I don't get up early in the morning for just anyone!)
So with no street view is it real or just fantasy. You can watch Mama Mia it was filmed there, but perhaps is not an accurate depiction of island life. Coffe sounds good just give us a few weeks to chill out here first. Hope you are mending.