Spring Has Sprung in Greece

It looks like spring is here to stay in Thessaloniki. No more false alarms (I hope!). I love my class-free Fridays. Today I was able to wander through the city by myself and get to know it a lot better. I hit up the market as usual to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables. Then got some coffee and met a nice Greek man who told me about how he would like to go to the US, but mostly to Texas because he thinks it's like the old western movies he watches on TV. I told him I didn't think it was quite like that, but I couldn't be sure because I had never actually been. Didn't want to dash his dreams for no reason.

In the afternoon I decided to explore the Old City or Ano Poli. It's not a long walk from my neighborhood. I just followed the city walls that once enclosed all of Thessaloniki serving as protection from invaders. They run parallel to the street that I live on.

City Walls looking toward the water and downtown Thessaloniki

It was a bit of a climb, but I was distracted by the beautiful weather. I trekked up to Trigono Tower (Triangle) and stopped for a break and some people watching:

         

I decided to keep exploring and continued wandering up toward the hills and found some more ruins from the wall and the Fortress of Seven Towers (Eptapyrgio), which was built when the Ottomans ruled the city, around 1400. It was converted to a prison in the 1890s and remained one until 1989.

I finally found the green space in Thessaloniki

I think that's it today for the history lesson--don't want to make things too boring. Instead you can enjoy my attempt at some artistic photos. I just can't seem to take postcard worthy photos, but I'm working on it. Anyway, for a Friday afternoon I think I got lot accomplished, maybe not work-wise, but I made an effort to get out and see more of what Thessaloniki has to offer. It definitely has a different sort of charm than a city like London, but if you wander through the side-streets (or up the hills), off the main roads, you can find some quaint streets and beautiful sights and scenery.