It’s all Greek to me!

Friday, January 08, 2016

Sorry…you had to know that was coming!

But truly, seeing an entirely different alphabet from the one you’re used to is more than a bit disorienting.  (At least in Turkish, they use a Latin base with the occasional stray accent mark thrown in for flavor.) 

View from our balcony on to snowy mountains!

Me in breakfast room

Robert fortunately knows the Greek alphabet, and is trying to teach it to me, but it is not easy.  [Knowing the alphabet helps with place names but that’s about it. – R] 

I felt incredible earlier today when we were driving to Pella, and I was able to actually READ Pella in Greek on a sign!  Reading the local signage is complicated because there are quite a few signs using the Latin alphabet but sometimes it isn’t clear that is the case.  When we see the letter “P”, we aren’t sure if it is the Latin “P” or the Greek “Rho”.  I wish they would stick to one alphabet or the other. (These last couple sentences from Robert.) 

R's excellent breakfast

The other thing that is disorienting on their road signage is that one sign will be in both Greek and English.  Then, the next sign will be entirely in Greek, and it’s like – hey, wait a minute, where am I going??  And then a bit farther down the road the same sign (we’re assuming!) will be all in English.  As R points out, if this is what happens near the second largest city in Greece, just think what we may encounter out in the boonies!

So…up this morning, and to be honest, I’m wondering if I’m having allergy problems or possibly getting a cold.  In Turkey, the longer we were inland, the more difficulties I had – including the bout of pink eye in Gaziantep – all because of the dust in the air.  But here, something has hit me pretty hard, and I wondered through the night if I was getting a sore throat. 

So now we know exactly where we are!

And then one we could read a bit farther on...

But no, fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.  Then I’m wondering if I am dealing with my allergy to smoke, which can be pretty bad.  I had thought that all the EU countries (of which I am sure Greece is one) had banned smoking in restaurants and indoors … but now, obviously not, as we walked into several places today where folks were smoking away inside.  UGH!   

Down for breakfast about 7:45 am and it was indeed amazing!  One of the best breakfast buffets we have seen!  There was everything from Greek scrambled eggs (with lots of veggies in them) to French toast, cheeses, cold cuts, sausage, bacon, fruit, tomatoes in several disguises, including one with Feta cheese on top, as well as spanakopita (spinach pie), cheese pie, and an entire range of amazing breads and desserts!  There was also a large array of juices from which to choose, including “Orange Juice” and “Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice” which was amazing. 

Head of Alexander the Great

They use pebbles for their mosaics; very interesting!

Gold death mask and other burial goods

Then, out to a beautiful, sunny day and into the car for the trip to Pella, our first stop for the day.   The drive took about 50 minutes, and we headed to their fabulous and fairly new archeological museum first.  Very nice people and we literally had the museum to ourselves! 

Baby bottles!!

Lovely statute of two angels

The mosaics were lovely (although honestly, not as nice as Vienne…) and the collection was beautifully presented and labeled in Greek and English.  Just like the last time we were in Turkey and stumbled on Hittite bathtubs, this was the first time we had ever seen really tiny pointed cups that were labeled for baby’s!  So – we may have seen the first baby bottles!  They also had a very nice film put together, talking about Philip and Alexander (who were both born in Pella) with English subtitles that we enjoyed.

Then, out into the fairly blustery day to drive the kilometer or so to the site itself.  As Robert says, to look at the mountains surrounding Pella and to realize this is essentially the same vista that Philip II and Alexander the Great saw nearly 2,400 years ago gives us a very strange feeling of connection with the past.

Again, we had the place to ourselves, but honestly, the museum was much more impressive than the ruins.  I think that may be our new rule:  See the museums first, then the sites. 

Pella the site, still under excavation

View of the markets around the agoura

It was now past lunch time, and while we weren’t tremendously hungry (after that breakfast??) we thought we would head back into Thessaloniki and to their Archeological Museum.  We were able to find parking in an underground parking area under City Hall, which was just a block away from the Museum.  

As we approached their café first, we thought we would stop for a sit-down, but honestly had trouble, as there were smokers everywhere.  Finally, the manager of the café came outside to us and we explained the problem – and he led us to their “no smoking” section, which was very nice (or at least it was until some more people sat down, and guess what?  But our waitress very nicely went up to them and told them it was no smoking, so they stopped.  YES!)  Hadn’t really thought this would be an issue here, but it may be a long couple of weeks at this rate!  

I had a Coke Light and R had some Greek beer that he really liked, and then at the waitress’ suggestion we ordered one Pizza Margarita and one salad to share. 

Crisp and windy!

Main religious shrine in Pella

Another pebbled floor

Everything was fabulous!  The pizza was a real pizza (we both had expected something out of a freezer, I think!) and the salad, with a dressing of honey and balsamic vinegar, was incredible!  We very much enjoyed everything!

Then, upstairs to the museum itself.  (I have to admit that by this time – 2-ish, I was running out of steam.  I think it’s a cold, because my allergy meds aren’t helping, and I’m beginning to look like Rudolph yet again! 

An interesting museum, but didn’t hold a candle to Pella.  For one thing, they have decided to combine some of the ancient artifacts with modern work done by contemporary artists.  I found it to be more than a little distracting, and honestly, rather dismissive of the ancient things.  We did see some really lovely pieces, though, including several diadem (not sure if that’s the singular or plural…) made out of interwoven gold leaves.  They were stunning; wouldn’t mind having one of those myself, just for fun!

Ancient White Tower on waterfront in Thessaloniki

R enjoying beer and chips

Perfect lunch to share!

After about an hour or so, we decided that it was time to return to the hotel.  It was getting on for 4 pm and I really preferred finding our way back to the hotel in the daylight this time, instead of the dark.  We saw several other “sites” downtown such as the White Tower, which is on the bay, which we may spend more time at tomorrow…

I popped two Nyquil capsules when we got back and went straight to bed in the hope that by tomorrow I will feel more up and ready to hit the road again!  It’s not that I feel so terrible, but it’s more that the constant blowing and sniffling is wearing, to say the least!  So, as R says, it will probably be room service tonight!  [After the great lunch we had, that’s a good idea anyway. – R]  Thank heavens we have a great hotel that provides it!

More tomorrow!

More mosaics ...

Would mind a crown like this ...

m

xxx