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.

Naousa to Aristi, Greece

This morning we had a wonderful breakfast feast at Palea Poli in Naousa.

Breakfast

After breakfast, even though it was raining, we went out for a walk.

The town park
The bridge was slippery
Monument to the women and children who jumped in the river rather than be enslaved by the Turks.
The Arapitsa River

When we got back to the hotel we checked out and started our drive to Aristi. I think it would have been a beautiful drive through the mountains but unfortunately it was rainy and foggy the whole way. The drive took us about four hours.

On the way

We have been very lucky with the weather on this trip. They do get snow in this area so a bit of rain is ok! It stopped raining and the clouds lifted a bit as we got close to Aristi. We checked in and then went for a walk.

Aristi
The steps up to our room
Our room

We ate dinner in a the hotel restaurant.

The hotel restaurant from outside our room
Beet salad
Poek skewers

When we got back to the room Duke started a fire in the fireplace.

The fireplace in our room.

Thessaloniki to Naousa

Today we rented a car and left Thessaloniki. But first we went looking for the bus company (Simonides) that we will use to leave Greece next week. Their website doesn’t work so we wanted to buy the tickets in person. The first and closest office we walked to told us we had to go to their office at the train station to buy tickets. So we walked there and bought our tickets.

On our way to the first office
Buying tickets at the train station office

The other good thing that happened this morning is that Duke got a phone call saying his suitcase had arrived in Thessaloniki ! Hallelujah! we asked them to hold the suitcase at the airport because that was where we would pick up the rental car.

After buying our ticket at the train station it was getting close to check out time at our hotel and the hotel was almost 2 miles away. So we got a cab back to the hotel, finished packing, checked out and then got another cab to the airport.

At the airport Duke got his bag and we took the shuttle to the rental car office.

Duke got his suitcase!
Ready to hit the road

We drove about two hours west from Thessaloniki to Naousa, in the mountains where we are staying at a lovely hotel called Palea Poli Deluxe Boutique Hotel.

Our Room at Palea Poli

Palea Poli Hotel is a lovely cozy place. It is raining outside. We rested and relaxed and had dinner next to the fireplace.

Greens with flatbread filled with feta
Blackened pork steak, roasted red peppers and sweet wine
Desert

Thessaloniki Day 2

Today was a lovely rest day. We went for a long walk around Thessaloniki.

Walking along the waterfront

A year ago today was the worst train crash in Greek History. 57 people were killed. There were big demonstrations going on today protesting Greece’s antiquated train system. We saw a very large police presence including a lot of riot police.

Riot police

We went into Agia Sophia Church

Agia Sophia Church

We stopped to have Greek coffees.

Greek coffee

We rested for a while by the White Tower of Thessaloniki.

Duke by the White Tower of Thessaloniki

We had an excellent dinner in the Daios Hotel restaurant,

We shared a Greek Salad
We each had Sea Bass

Swiss Air lost Duke’s suitcase yesterday. They said they would deliver it today but didn’t. We have an AirTag in it so we know it moved from Zurich to Istanbul. Now Swissair says they will deliver it tomorrow. We shall see. Meanwhile I guess we will go shopping tomorrow. We are supposed to pick up our rental car at the airport at 11 am but we may push that back.

Barcelona to Thessaloniki

This morning we set the alarm for 3:35. Our plane left Barcelona at 6:45. We left the hotel, drove to the airport, returned our car, said goodbye to Brian and Jo Ann and checked in. From Barcelona we flew to Zurich.

We had about $20 worth of Swiss Francs left over from our last trip to Switzerland. That almost covered our breakfast in Zurich.

Coffee and croissants

We arrived In Thessaloniki, Greece around 1:30. Thessaloniki is an hour ahead of Barcelona. We were in Thessaloniki in 2023. We have fond memories of the hotel we stayed at last time we were in Thessaloniki so we stayed at Hotel Daios again.

Dukes bag somehow didn’t make the connection in Zurich. We filed a lost bag report and have received an email that it will be delivered to our hotel tomorrow.

We caught a taxi to the hotel, checked in and took naps.

On the balcony of our hotel.

Later someone from the hotel rang the bell to our room and delivered sparkling wine to welcome us!

Greek Champagne
Life is good!

For dinner we went to a nearby Greek tapas restaurant, Deka Trapezia. We shared three small plates and a desert, and of course ouzo. The flavors were amazing. It was wonderful.

Roasted Sweet pumpkin, curry, cumin, spicy pepper, sheep yogurt and pistachios
Lamb meatballs, chickpeas cream, red peppers, and spicy paprika
Shrimp, puffed rice and peach emulsion.

Tortosa to Barcelona

Today was our last day together in Spain. Tomorrow Brian and Jo Ann fly home and Duke and I fly to Greece. So today we drove from Tortosa to Barcelona. We couldn’t check into our room until 3 and it’s only a 2 hour drive so I found a hike on AllTrails for us to do on the way.

The trail starts at Ermita Mare de Déu de la Roca. A hermitage on top of a mountain. I didn’t realize that the hermitage was there when I picked the hike so that was a very happy surprise!!

The hermitage from near the start of the trail

The trail went straight down on cobblestones before essentially leveling out. We planned to go about a mile and then turn around and retrace our steps.

The first part of the trail

When we got to the turn around point there was a sign that suggested we could actually do a loop so we decided to give it a try. We scrambled up for about a quarter of a mile but as the trail got steeper and less clear we decided the prudent thing to do was to turn around.

The trail up near where we turned around
Resting at the point we decided to turn around
The view from out turn around point

When we got back to the trailhead we climbed up to the hermitage and church on top of the rock.

The view from the top
The trail to the top.
Inside the church near the top

After our hike we drove to our Barcelona hotel. One of the biggest conventions in the world, Mobil Congress, is going on in Barcelona right now and rooms are exorbitantly expensive if not nonexistent. Duke managed to book us a hotel, on the beach in Gava just south of Barcelona El Prat airport. We walked to a nearby restaurant, Torreón for dinner and then walked back along the beach to our hotel as the moon came up.

The hall outside our room. The floor is sand covered with glass.
Our room
Playing cards in the hotel restaurant with beer and wine for refreshments
Desert after dinner
More desert
Walking back to the hotel as the moon came up