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We arrived
first in Thessaloniki, the "Capital" of northern
Greece. We took in just the
highlights of the city, including the 15th century "White Tower."
This is a picture of Barbora and Jitka sitting in an small alcove
at the top.
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We rented a
car
in Thessaloniki and toured the north central part of Greece. One
very
interesting place is the spectacular Meteora, where many monasteries
were
built atop towering rock formations. This is the first one we climbed
to.
Visitors in the past had to be hoisted up in a basket. |
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An
outstanding feature of these monasteries are the frescos. This is a
15th century painting of
Adam naming the animals. Note that a dragon is included. |
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Another
monastery in Meteora. Most of these are active; you'll encounter a monk
or priest
now and then. Some monasteries obviously cater to tourists, with
facinating
reconstructions of monastic life centuries ago.
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We spent most of the
first
week on the remote Pelion peninsula. Here Barbora and Jitka look out
onto
the Aegean Sea. It was a place of verdant hillsides plunging to the sea,
impossibly steep, narrow, winding roads, friendly people
and
wonderful beaches (but you had to know how to get to them).
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We never had
any problem finding good vegetarian food. Here we are in a beach side
restaurant in Horefto.
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Barbora in
her "bath tub" at Horefto. Note the clarity of the water. |
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The first
night
on the Pelion Peninsula we stayed in Zagora, a village spread out over
the
steep mountainside. The only flat place of any size was the town
square,
where there were several restaurants. |
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The place
we stayed in Zagora was close to the road and noisy, so we left in
search of a "domatia," or home open to guests. We found this one
and fell in love
with it. |
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Barbora in
the window of our domatia. We stayed here for the rest of the
time we were on
the peninsula.
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We crossed
back
over the mountains to Volos, dropped off the car and caught a ferry to
Skopelos Is. This is a picture taken on the return, on a "Flying
Dolphin" hydrofoil. On the way to the island we took a traditional
ferry. |
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Skopelos
Harbor. The island is known for the relatively low impact tourism
has had
on the traditional lifestyle.
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Street scene
in Skopelos town
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We stayed at
Perivoli Studios, a delightful place just on the edge of town.
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A perk of
staying at Perivoli studios was unlimited use of the orchard and
gardens adjacent to it. The selection was vast and seemingly
inexhaustable. We ate freshly picked fruits and vegetables every day.
Here Jitka is picking some of the local plums which the island is
famous for.
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Every day we
would take a bus to one of the island's many beaches. The buses were
hot
and crowded, but we didn't mind. I shot this picture of the ticket
taker,
who seemed to me to have a classical Greek face.
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Milios was
one of our favorite beaches.
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One day we
rented a car and drove to the north end of the island. This is a scene
from the
town of Glossa, smaller and even less touristy than the main town on
the
island.
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Nestled among
the houses of Skopelos town, bounded by tiny cobblestone streets were
many restaurants. We never lacked for good vegetarian food. The only
problem was having to wait, many restaurants didn't even open until 8
pm.
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Every night
we would walk into town. One night there was some sort of celebration
goign on (never figured out what the occasion was).
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Night scene
in Skopelos town. Many tables bunched together with various
restaurants serving out of store fronts. Which restaurant served
which tables
was a guess, but I think the color of the table cloths was the key.
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Our favorite
beach, Velanio, was actually a nude beach. We had to arrive early
to get our favorite spot.
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