After a long week of studying and essay writing... nahhh actually mostly just sun tanning and pleasure books. Linnie has finished four books this week. We had lots of class on monday but conveniently we had tuesday off (May 1st is celebrated as labor day) though not that the greeks do a whole lot of labor.. ever. We all had big ambitions for tuesday like go for a hike or run along the water front... but we all ended up sitting outside our rooms in the sweltering heat and reading it was a great way to relax and work on our tans. Wednesday we again had very little class with only two hours in the morning so that day we did some studying and worked on our essays for the culture class we are taking. Friday we had an excursion to Vergina where the capital of the Macedonian kings and their cemetery lies. Here there are four tombs, two of which remain in tact. The first tomb was found almost completely destroyed same with the second, though some of the wall paintings are still intact. The most important tomb was of Philip II. This burial chamber was found with a marble sarcophagus inside that contained the ashes of the dead king and his pure gold crown. The tomb also contained many weapons, gold and Philips youngest wires ashes, Kleopatra, who would have been killed when he was killed. The last tomb is of the prince Alexander IV who was the son of Alexander the Great. This exhibit was amazing and well set up to allow everyone to see the tombs and all the artifacts found within each one. We were not allowed to take any pictures but I managed to snap one. After we headed to the near by town of Thessaloniki where we were planning on spending the rest of the night and then breaking from Taso and spending the night. There actually was 11 of us that ended up spending the night there. We had booked hostels earlier and after some time found the place. It was beautiful and cheep but me and linnies room resembled a persian palace, though most likely the slaves closet. With one full bed that took most all of the room it was a tight squeeze. Naturally as well we were the only room without air-conditioning nor a toilet in the room. No matter though we just threw our stuff down and went down to the beautiful water front of the Aegean Sea. After some afternoon beers and exploring we wandered back to the hostel for a quick nap and to get ready to go out. Great night, though not one of Linnie's finer moments.
The next day, moving a tad slowly, we did some more exploring of Thessaloniki, a beautiful city. We had some delicious gyros and gelato, which has become the staple of our diets. Linnie, Hillary and me were all sitting in the main square that has wide roads with lots of small shops along the side, just enjoying some gelato when a random man comes up and starts a conversation with us. It progressed from were are you from to him telling us about his albanian love affair (defiantly a very moment). Then another man shows up and starts trying to sell us these stupid woven bracelets, then another shows up trying to sell knock off wallets and to top it off another man sits down next to lindsay and starts asking her where she was from. Not only was there four different men all at the same time talking to us there was a creeper in the corner (with one of the strangest body types - very very large up top with these delicate chicken legs) and he was staring at us. So we decided after that it was time to leave before we were sold into slavery.
Our plan was to catch the 6pm bus back to Ioannina that night, but when we arrived at the bus station we learned all the buses were full... So keeping with the good spirit of rolling with the punches we got back on the local bus and found another hostel for the night. None of us dared go back to the last hostel the manager hated us, for good reason. How do I know he hated us... well he pretty much told us that multiple times. The next place we stayed was much the same, but thankfully the rooms were larger. That night we just hung around the city enjoying the perfect temperatures. Well the hostel pretty much felt like you were sleeping on the freeway. Cars were roaring by every five minutes so needless to say none of us slept well. We caught the 8am bus to Ioannina after yet another amazing, funny and unforgettable weekend in Greece.
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| Matchy Match - #awkward moments with Taso |
For our wednesday excursion we headed to the close by Perama Cave located just outside Ioannina city center. On the short bus ride down there a fellow student asked Taso as he was explaining some information about the cave itself "who where the stalagmites and stalactites" thinking these were famous Greek Gods or what not. It was quite humorous. The cave itself is around 9 square miles but visitors are only allowed in about a fifth of that area. We took about an hour tour through the cave with an enthused tour guide who explained all the different formations and funny things they looked like. There was one section that was called the vegetable garden because a lot of the formations resembled veggies such as broccoli and giant asparagus (but we all saw something else). The cave had been found during WWII when residents of the nearby village needed refuge from bombing from the Germans. The cave is unique because it olds 19 different types of stalactites and stalagmites (usually only around 6 to 10 in other caves). No pictures were allowed inside the cave because of the flash and its "damages" it could cause to the rock... Well needless to saw when anyone tells me that something is not allowed well it just makes me what to that much more. So I got some pictures but it was slightly dark in there so they are not that good. We were also not allowed to touch any of the rock because the place is LIVING again I didn't see the rocks getting up and striking up a convo with me. So feeling like the Grim Reaper for the rocks linnie and I would randomly touch the rocks along the path. The cave all in all was one of the coolest things I have seen actually. It was so amazing how massive everything was and that something like that could form naturally.
After the cave we jumped back in the bus and drove off the the water front where we would catch a tiny rickety boat that would take us across the lake to the small island. Here on the island the famous Ali Pasha was beheaded within his own house. Ali Pasha was a local ruler of Ioannina during the Ottoman occupation in Greece and his harsh ruling was one of the causes for the Greek National Movement for independence. One the island we had the most delicious baklava I have had yet here. It was soaked in honey and sugar and lined with thin pastry slips that just milt in your mouth. After some walking around we headed back to the main town area and sat down at the infamous restaurant that served frog legs. We, in groups of three, split the plates of frog legs (6 per plate - 2 each). They actually were not too bad. There wasn't much meat on them and they also were fried. That meal goes on some of the stranger foods I have eaten in my life.
