Day 61 - Thessaloniki

So apparently my body has decided that the trip is over, even though my mind would like to have some more fun.

For my final day, I had another lite breakfast with granola and mango yogurt and then headed up to the old town - which of course, is uphill. The good news is the folks at reception suggested a taxi to the top and a causal walk back down.

I had an interesting conversation with my taxi driver when I told me that Thessaloniki is the largest port in the Balkans - to which I said 'but is Greece really the Balkans?' I think this is quite controversial depending on who you ask. His general broken English response was 'anything g that was ruled by Alexander the Great is Macedonian and therefore Balkan.

Beside being out of the noisy big city, the old town was a few ruins and a delightful coffee shop with an incredible view of the modern city and the harbor.

After my coffee, I took a leisurely stroll downhill through the old Ottoman and decidedly unique architecture mostly decorated with 'street art/graffiti'. This was the part of the city not destroyed in the fire of 1917. At the bottom of the hill, I found myself back at the rotunda and a little taverna for some smoked mackerel, thick hummus with sautéed onions and fresh bread. Salty but fantastic. And the white wine helped.

I was also told about the sweets in Thessaloniki. I've had a few but I wanted to stop for triangles. They are a phyllo dough wrapped up as a cone and baked, dipped in syrup and then filled with sweet cream. Very tasty. (The staff has been so nice at the hotel, I go a few for them as well)

My quest for pastitsio (Greek lasagna) has gone unfulfilled. Apparently it is much more popular in nana's kitchen than restaurants. So I am back at the spot I started on Friday for mousaka which basically replaces the pasta with eggplant. It's a nice place and I just didn't have the energy to search out someplace else after choice one failed me. (It is s huge portion served in a ceramic pot - it is fantastic and a fitting way to end my first visit to Greece)

Thessaloniki has been good but not great. Perhaps I had too high expectations for 'Greece'. But this is just the north and Athens and the islands are generally the stars.

But here I am 61 years/61 days. I'm not sure I thought I could pull it off. There were definitely off days but they were more than balanced by the good. I thought the pace was good and was glad I opted to stay places rather than just overnight.

As always I find I need some time to reflect after the fact.

Thanks to everyone that read along. I hope you enjoyed the voyage.

Until next time …