chefmaison

The Aegean flight left with one and half hour delay, and suddenly I felt releived I did not rent the car for the first day to drive straight to Meteora upon arrival. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. On arriving at the hotel we could only pay cash for the taxiride. At the airport the driver had told us it would cost 30 euro but a sign on the dashboard said the flat rate between the airport and the centre was only 25 euro. So we argued with him, and asked for a receipt. Dismayed he gave us a receipt and accepted the 25 euro cash. We entered the Maroon Bottle suites hotel, and were greeted by a young women at the downstairs cafe who checked us in. The hotel does not use keys, you receive a text message with the entrance code to your room and the outside door. 

In the evening we received a phone call from AutoUnion car rental about the car we had booked for the next morning. They offered us the car one day early free of charge, but since it did not seem easy to park a car in Thessaloniki, they would bring the car to the hotel the next morning at 10 AM instead of us picking it up at a the meeting point. This saved us a walk of 20 min. the next morning. 

We had a short nap and went out for dinner. We asked the young women in the hotel for some good Thessaloniki restaurants. We walked past some of them, but they looked rather touristy, so we settled for l’Albero, just a few metres away from the hotel. What a great restaurant. We had a seat in the atmospheric back garden. We had two appetizers to share, some bread, and each a main course. The menu focuses on meat dishes but also offers some vegetarian options. The dishes were really very good, refined, nicely presented and the service is outstanding. The food is probably on the expensive side for Greece since our dinner costed 71 euro for the two of us, wine and digestives included. (And yes this would be our most expensive dinner during the whole trip)

The breakfast in the Maroon bottle suites hotel is served between 7 and 11 AM in the downstairs café.  You fill out a menu and choose what to have, and everything is served at your table. You are not limited in your choice, you can ask everything on the menu if you want a really sumptuous breakfast. There are different kinds of breads and pastries, eggs, toasts, vegan toast, salad, yoghurt or milk with different kinds of cereals, several kinds of juices, tea and coffee, jam, butter… 

At 10 AM sharp a woman from Auto Union came to deliver our car, a 5 doors Suzuki Swift. She filled out the contract, we paid for the rental and a deposit by credit card, and together checked the state of the car. The fuel tank was full. We then immediately set of in the direction of Meteora, with a stop after one hour at Vergina, or Aigai, its original name. (see separate blog)

After our three day trip to Vergina, Meteora and Dion we returned for a three night stay in Thessaloniki. We returned our car to AutoUnion on Aggelaki Street 5, after quickly dropping of our luggage at the Maroon Bottle suites where we had booked two more nights which we did not regret. This time we got an upgrade to a King suite, a room with an extra seating area. The rooms are spacious, nicely decorated, with coffee and tea facilities, comfy beds and a beautiful bathroom.

We had dinner at Kanoula, just two streets away from our hotel. A small but cosy little place with great food! Dishes a bit different from the regular Greek fare, and you have several vegetarian options. The service is super friendly! Highly recommended. 

After breakfast we set out on a walking tour of Thessaloniki. We started with a visit of the Kapani fresh market and the flower market next to the Turkish Yahudi Hamam, one of the many Turkish hamams in the city. Unfortunately it is not possible to visit it. 

We walked to the Hagia Sophia, Sophia meaning wisdom, a church built on the ruins of an early Christian basilica in the 7th century. It was a cathedral until 1524 when it was turned into a mosque and was restored to a Christian church in 1912. The mosaics date from the 8th and the 9th century. Take some time to take in the beautiful coloured mosaics on the ceiling. 

We continued to the Roman Forum, and walked in the Acheiropoiètos church with its the beautiful ceiling and floor mosaics. We did not enter in the Roman Forum since you can just walk all around it.

Just above the Forum is the Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, dedicated to Saint Demetrius, patron saint of Thessaloniki. The first church was built here in the 4th century, on top of a Roman Bath. The oldest mosaics depicting Demetrius, date back to the 8th century and are found on each side of the altar. The church that was converted to a mosque in the 15th century was for the most part destroyed during the fire of 1917. The church was rebuilt modelled after the old church incorporating the old parts that were saved from the fire. The fire did unearth the Roman bath underneath the church where Demetrius was imprisoned and executed and which is now a crypt. In the church the relics of Saint Demetrius can be venerated in several shrines, one a silver ciborium which is in fact a symbolic tomb that does not hold any physical relics of the saint but is revered nonetheless, and where you find numerous ex-voto’s attached to the doors. Dress with respect, no shorts or sleeveless shirts are allowed. 

We then walked in the direction of the Rotunda, but first had a light dinner at Ouzerie Lola, with some appetizers we shared, the dishes are of high quality and very tasteful, the place serves good fish and seafood.

We then walked over to the Triumph arch of Galerius, a Roman emperor, who was victorious over the Persians. On the arch you find scenes of this battle and his victory. There were originally four arches, only one survived. It was linked by a pillared processional road to the Rotunda, constructed in the early 4th century, on the turning point between pagan and Christian religion. It could have been a temple for ancient cult worship or a mausoleum for Constantine the Great. The structure looks a lot like the Pantheon in Rome. It was later turned into a Christian church when the Bema was added and later turned into a mosque from which time dates the minaret. It stayed a mosque until the cities liberation in 1912, it is dedicated to Saint George. 

We continued towards the Roman remains of the Galerius palace and Hippodrome, and also here you can walk around the whole site without having to enter. 

Next was the White Tower, one of the landmarks of Thessaloniki, built in the late 15th century on the site of an older Byzantine tower, where the walls met the sea. It draws its name from 1890 when a convict whitewashed the tower in exchange for his freedom, when it served as a prison and a place of execution. We did not enter the six story building.

We went for an ice-cream at Vanilla Gelateria, where you can eat your ice-cream on a bench in front of the gelateria. Followed by a drink at the relaxed coffeeplace Mi Me Lismonei Art Café, where you can either sit inside or outside on the terrace in between two buildings. The romantic vintage decoration creates a great atmosphere. We sat there two hours reading and writing over a large pot of tea. 

For dinner we walked over to Stou Mitsou, where we chose the slowly cooked aubergine and lamb in a wood oven, with homemade bread, really good and authentic, with friendly service. It might be a good idea to book a table ahead, we were lucky to still get a table outside. Many people who came later could not get a table and walked away disappointed. We walked back to the hotel in the rain. 

After our breakfast the next morning we walked to our next hotel, The Modernist, where my husband would stay three nights to attend a symposium. For me it would be my last night in Thessaloniki.

We then visited the Archeological museum, a real gem of a museum with many objects found in the different archeological sites in and around Thessaloniki. We were most of all impressed by the sophistication of the Macedonian civilisation from around 600 to 150 BC. They were able to forge metals, blow intricate glass items, used scripture, built houses that would still be in style today, performed theatre, used make-up. They made the most beautiful sculptures, jewelery and mosaics, they fished, farmed, built ships and warfare. Alexander the Great was a globalist spreading Greek culture and can be considered the father of capitalism by introducing new coinage in his large empire that reached from India to beyond Egypt.

We had a light lunch on the cosy garden terrace of Cin Cin, and spend part of our afternoon walking the seaside promenade past the statue of Alexander the Great and the ‘umbrella’s’ that became a landmark for the city. (Alternatively you could rent a bike and leisurely bike along the seaside) 

And to end our trip in style we walked to Iliopetra, a little restaurant tucked away in the little streets higher up in Thessaloniki. It is a small but great restaurant, with a daily changing menu ( handwritten, and yes they also have it in English), super friendly service, but most importantly, the food is amazing, the best we had during our whole trip. The menu focuses on fish and seafood but they also have some salads and meat dishes. And they have homemade sourdough bread out of a woodoven. We went for a grilled fish with asparagus and wild mushrooms, anchovies in wine leaves with mushrooms, a kind of crumble and kefir, and steamed mussels with dille. The dishes are innovative in taste and combination of flavours, light, and the fish and seafood is super fresh. And you won’t leave with a whole in your wallet! Highly recommended! If we ever come to back to Thessaloniki, I’d go straight to this place. But to be honest, we only had good and very good food during our trip. You have to look out for the smaller places that are a bit away from the tourist streets, where mainly Greeks come. And if you want to be sure of a table, go early (the Greeks eat quite late, so if you go between 6 and 7 PM, you can often a table that is reserved for. 8 PM or later) or reserve a table ahead.  

The modernist is a ‘modern’ hotel, but has very small rooms for its price. The breakfast is good, but the breakfast area is again very small. And I did miss fresh fruit for breakfast during our trip. You do get a lot of salty sandwiches, filled pastries and salads for breakfast. An off course the Bougatse filled with spinach, cheese or sweet cream, and Koulouri, the sesame bagels. The also serve ready made savoury sandwiches, freshly made eggs and wraps. 

After breakfast I made a last walk in Thessaloniki and walked to Tositsa street, a side street of Filippou street that intrigued me ever since we walked through it in the evening after eating at Kalouna restaurant. Behind the windows we saw what looked like the home of extreme hoarders. But it is in fact a street of antique and brocante shops, very colorful during the day, and a treasure chest for West-European brocante and vintage lovers, here you find stuff you won’t find anymore on Northern flea markets. Lucky I could not take  anything, since travelled with handluggage only, otherwise I might have takes some stuff home!

And then it was time to get to the airport, a taxi ride between the city and the airport costs a flat 25 euro, ask for a taxi that accepts cards before you get in, not all of them do.

TIPS:

• If you rent a car, choose a small one, streets in Greece are small, traffic in the city is dense and parking spots are few and small. 
• The food is great in Thessaloniki, put some effort in finding the right place and try to stay away from the seafront and the very touristy areas, you will eat cheaper and better.
• If you have a sweet tooth, you will love Thessaloniki, you find a bakery on almost every corner, and they stay open all day, often even in the evening and at night. Try some Bougatse, the sweet and the savoury kind. Thessaloniki is not the place to start a diet!
• Greeks share their food, sharing food should be mandatory everywhere!
• Thessaloniki may feel like an ugly, dirty, crowded and polluted city on first sight, and for a large part it is, but there is so much to discover en enjoy, try to look beyond the obvious and you will love it!
• Thessaloniki and the surrounding area is a heaven for history and archeology lovers.
• Plan some trips outside of Thessaloniki, there are many destinations to choose from.

Link to post about Meteora.

Link to post about Vergina and Dion.