Thessaloniki

Wonder of wonders! I was still asleep when both my alarms went off this morning at 6:15 a.m. I feel a lot better and I suspect I will be a tad less cranky. There was hot milk at breakfast for my coffee - nice touch.

We headed to our next destination starting at 8:00 a.m. We traveled to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city and a cultural hub that bridges ancient, medieval, and modern times. It has just over one million inhabitants and is the capital of the region of Macedonia (region is like a province). It is named after the half-sister of Alexander the Great, Thessaloniki has long stood at the crossroads of empires and faiths. It was a key city during St. Paul's missionary journeys. St.Paul, on his missionary journeys, visited the city's chief synagogue on three Sabbaths and sword the seeds for Thessaloniki's first Christian church. Some scholars hold that the First Epistle to the Thessalonians is first written book of the New Testament.

We began the journey with the Holy Rosary and then singing the Divine Chaplet. Then we had choir practice. The songs in our pilgrimage book are a combination of those sung at 5:00 p.m. mass and those sung at the Sunday masses, so many of us knew one set but not the other. So, we practised so that our masses could be even more beautiful. Linda is our 5:00 p.m. music specialist and Willy is our Sunday music specialist.

We had Christiana along as our guide again. We had a mid-morning stop at the Greek version of ON Route, and then later, a 45-minute lunch break at another stop - the burger kiosk was very popular. Dimitri has strict controls on how long he can drive without a break - suits us just fine. We made one short stop before Thessaloniki and that was to see Mount Olympus. Its top was shrouded in clouds - we're going to try for better photos on the return trip later this week.

We finally made it to Thessaloniki about shortly after 1:00 p.m. The city sits on the water. First stop was to see the huge statue of Alexander the Great, king of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (the region/province that we are now in). He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. His horse's name was Bucephalas which means "ox-headed" - he was one stubborn horse.

We saw the White Tower (a monument and now a museum - it's the official symbol of the city), the Roman Agora (marketplace), Aristotelous Square, Church of St. Demetrios, the lovely waterfront, and ruins uncovered while digging for the subway.

We had some free time so Linda and I went down the alley leading to the small, bazaar-like shops. Found clothes for good prices and whole goats for sale. It was a hot day and we were all a bit punchy so we found a café and had cold drinks and nibbles to fortify ourselves. Back on the bus at 4:30 and off to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception for mass at 5:00 p.m.. Back on the bus to the hotel. Dinner at 7:30 in the hotel - sketchy service but the food was good, especially the panna cotta. Lots of wine, lots of laughs. On the bus by 7:30 tomorrow. No sleeping in for this pilgrim.Read more