Tuesday 13 May 2008

Pilgrimage from Gallicos River to Thessaloniki 09/05/08

The tents are soaking wet with dew this morning but we want to be in Thessaloniki before lunch so we pack them up anyway and get going.

It is a straight forward walk into town and right on 12 noon we are knocking on Anthony’s door, our first host from couchsurfing :) He is super friendly and has an amazing apartment right in the middle of town.

Thessaloniki is a cool city and extremely alive. It is funny though to walk into a place where everyone is suddenly wearing brand names again. It is a completely different reality to the pilgrimage. There are people out and about everywhere and Anthony is happy to take time from his study to come and show some of the sights.

Lunch is a huge feast of local specialties which we only managed to get half way through. One thing the Greeks know how to do well is eat!!! As we are munching away a street performer starts setting up in front of the restaurant. His performance is pretty good but what makes it worth commenting on is the guy is at least 50 years old with a pot-belly! Didn’t look like the type to be able to do a handstand…let alone on two chairs balanced on top one another. Pretty impressive!

The afternoon is spent pleasantly, sitting by the harbour drinking coffee. A perfect day…

And just to top it off, around 1am we decide to go clubbing. Sabine gives it a miss but I’m glad I made the effort. The club’s name is “Hotel” and even though Thessaloniki is a small city, this club would do well anywhere in the world. It fills up around 3am, we have a great night, and after a few too many vodkas we stagger home around 6:30am. Doesn’t look like I will be doing too much tomorrow ;)

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