My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
Author: marionvermazen
I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.
This morning we took a taxi to the bus station in Thessaloniki and then took a bus south for 2 hours and 20 minutes to Valos. We are in Volos because tomorrow morning we will take a ferry to the island of Skiathos.
The bus station in Thessaloniki Waiting for the bus
In Volos it was raining and there didn’t seem to be any taxis available so we walked to our hotel. We got a bit wet but it was a relatively short walk.
Walking to our hotel in Volos
Later when the rain had stopped we went for a walk.
Volos waterfront
For dinner we went to a small Greek restaurant. The service was wonderful as was the food. I think our favorite dish was the prawns in a tomato, feta and basil sauce. The octopus was excellent too.
Kritamo where we ate dinnerOctopus
After dinner we went for walk before heading back to the hotel.
After a great breakfast at our hotel we went for a walk and visited the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum. One of the things I liked about the museum was that they often had photos of the items as they were discovered.
Walking along the waterfront near our hotel Deed from a house from the 4th century BC. The Greek alphabet was the first phonetic alphabetDuke in the archaeological museumMarion in the archaeological museum
The view from our window at Ciflik winery this morning was beautiful. Fall has definitely arrived in Macedonia.
Today was a travel day. We relaxed at Ciflik Winery until checkout time when we had a taxi ordered. As we were waiting for the taxi we had a conversation with the owner of the winery, Filip. He had fond memories of his time as an exchange student in Enid, Oklahoma. I would recommend Ciflik Winery to anyone who wants to visit Macedonia
Filip, the owner of Ciflik winery and us before we left
Our bill at Ciflik for two nights inclusing breakfast, two dinners including a bottle of wine each night plus olive bread and wine each afternoon was just $244. What a great bargain.
Our taxi took us across the border into Greece to the train station in Florine. The distance was about 22 miles and cost us $45. We waited about 3 hours for the train that took us to Thessaloniki. It was a lovely day so sitting, reading and knitting was quite relaxing.
Knitting, listening to a book and waiting for the trainOur train
We arrived in Thessaloniki about 7 and took a cab to our hotel which overlooks the water.
The view from our balcony
For dinner we had moussaka, sardines and ouzo at a table overlooking the water and people strolling along the waterfront.
The place we stayed in Ohrid, Villa Sofija, was the first place we have stayed that didn’t include breakfast. But it was a really nice place to stay and it was cheap. We paid $54 Euros. It is really fun to walk around a town to find a place for breakfast. We ended up at the same place we ate last night. It is a family run restaurant right on the lake shore. We had a great breakfast.
Duke at breakfast
On the menu the English translation of my breakfast was fried bread. It turned out to be what we call french toast. And it came with a cup of jam and a cup of tapenade.
French toast/ fried bread
At 11 we checked out of our room and walked down to the central square to find a taxi to take us to the bus station. As we got out of the taxi at the bus station another taxi driver offered to take us to Bitola for the same price as a bus fare. We agreed and got in. There was another passenger in the front seat. A bit down the road our driver stopped at a bus stop and recruited more passengers. I moved to the center seat in back and another guy got in the back, basically the trunk.
In the cab
We were headed to Ciflik Winery which the taxi driver said was very nice. The distance from Ohrid to Ciflik winery in Bitola was about 45 miles. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes and cost us about $14.
We are staying at Ciflik for two nights to have a vacation from our vacation. The place was packed with people enjoying a Saturday lunch when we arrived. They have grass and playground equipment and children were running everywhere. And there were lots of parents running after toddlers. Some things are universal.
We had a snack mid afternoon and a great dinner after most of the crowds had left.
Where we are stayingOlive bread and a glass of wine
