Jared has been away for work for many months now,
and the last time we saw each other in person was Christmas time.
So, we decided to arrange for a trip together - just the two of us.
The details were a surprise,
but I knew we would be meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece.
What followed was the best vacation I could have imagined - I'm not exaggerating!
It's so great to have a husband who knows me so well,
and was willing to spend so much time planning the perfect getaway.
He'll be gone for a few more months, but the memories will get me by!
^_^
First, Jared picked me up at the airport, and we drove south, to Paralia.
A very nice ocean front town,
and much quieter than usual, because it was off season
Our hotel is fifth from the right
This was the view from our balcony - so beautiful!
We had dinner right on the beach
It was absolutely delicious!
Then we took an evening stroll
The local church was so pretty
I love the stained glass and arches
What better way to end the day,
than by watching the sunset with my best friend?
The next morning, we took a drive to do some sight seeing.
We first stopped in Litchoro,
a village nestled at the foot of Mt. Olympus National Park.
The famous Peaks from the road
Litchoro City Center
We stopped at the bakery to buy some pastries for a snack,
and enjoyed them in the small park.
Once again, the village church was a beauty
I love the peacocks!
The park had walkways, that wound around and had many stairs.
View from the park
After a little window shopping,
we got back on the road and wound up in Dion.
We followed the signs toward the Archeological Park and Museum,
because it sounded interesting,
Little did we know just how extensive and educational our outing would be.
Anciently, Dion was a sacred place to the Macedonians,
who built alters to worship Zeus, the Muses, and other Gods/Goddesses.
In the 5th century BC, brilliant athletic and theatrical contests,
the "Olympian Games of Dion" were organized there.
Alexander the Great was one of the notable people of history
who came to Dion to worship and sacrifice.
The Archeological Park covered many acres,
and was filled with ruins of this amazing place of worship.
The sanctuary of Isis
Isis was originally an Egyptian Goddess.
After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great and the Hellenization
of the Egyptian culture, Isis became known as Queen of Heaven,
and many Greeks worshipped her.
An Ancient Amphitheater
The back of the amphitheater
Baths
A Hellenistic Theatre
Sanctuary of Asklepios, God of medicine and healing
After looking at the ancient places of worship,
we took a short walk over to the ruins of the city of Dion itself
Public Bathhouses
The floors of the bathhouses were constructed on short, narrow square pillars.
This created a hypocaust beneath,
and fires made in the small arches of the walls (see above)
would create hot air, which would heat the water for the baths.
The entrance to the baths included a reception hall,
mosaic floors, and a disrobing room for the warm and hot baths.
There was also a large cold bath, the eastern room of which was dedicated
to the God Asklepios, and was decorated with statues of him and his family.
Dion had a sewer system, which took used water from the baths to
wash waste from the public toilets out of the town.
sewer (above)
public toilets (below)
The ruins of the city stretched on and on,
but we had been walking outside for hours,
and decided to grab some lunch.
Driving into town, we saw signs for the Archeological Museum.
Turns out our tickets were for the Park and Museum,
which were separate places.
We decided to take a quick look through the museum,
because it was closing in half an hour.
An ancient fruit press (above, right)
I loved how they had the photo of the unearthing of this statue head.
It is amazing how all of these works of art were found like this,
just in the ground.
The grave stone of a warrior
This floor mosaic has the head of medusa in the middle
A list of worshippers at one of the cult temples
Small metal statuettes, including a depiction of Hercules
(back, left)
This display explained the tools ancient Greeks
used to make their beautifully detailed sculptures
A piece showing a section of the hot bath floors
This is a faucet from ancient Greece,
One of the men working at the museum said we must take a picture of it.
In broken English he explained that there were only a very few in the whole world.
We went to a restaurant right across the street for a late lunch.
The people were so kind, and even though they didn't speak English,
we were able to have a really nice meal.
Afterwards, we drove up the mountain side,
which was quite an adventure,
considering the 10% grade and the abrupt twists and turns
and the not so rugged rental car we were driving.
sheep!
But the view was well worth it!
You can even see the ocean :)
We drove back toward Paralia, through a bigger city.
It was so crowded and busy!
We didn't stop anywhere, but I got a nice picture of the church.
Another beachside dinner - although we moved inside
once the sunset because it got chilly.
Meals were much slower paced while we were in Greece,
but we didn't mind, any excuse to just sit and chat together is a good one.
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