Greece and Turkey 2015: Thessaloniki, Kavala, Philippi

After a hearty buffet breakfast, we were on the road by about 8:00 (We'll return to The Met for a second night). The weather is overcast and a bit foggy, temperature low 70s, quite humid. (The sun would appear later!) We headed in an easterly direction on the A2, a very nice divided highway. Once we got out of town, there wasn't much traffic. We drove for about 2 hours across rolling hills, olive and almond orchards, views of two lakes, Koronia and Volvi, rugged looking mountains to the north through breaks in the fog. We stopped for coffee at a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere - excellent pastries!

First stop was The Bapistry of St. Lydia in Kavala. This is a beautiful old church built to commemorate the location where Paul is said to have baptized Lydia. The troy can be found in the Book of Acts. The site includes a fast flowing stream, a baptism platform and seating area. We all officially "remembered" our baptisms.

Back on the bus, we continued heating east on the A2 to the town of Philippi. The ancient city was built by King Phillip before the birth of Christ. (Phillips' son was Alexander the Great). It became a Roman city after the battle of Philippi in 42 B.C. St. Paul visited here in 49 A.D. It was abandoned in the 7th century after a devastating earthquake. Excavations have been ongoing since 1914. The site features a wide area of fallen down columns and walls as well as an amphitheater that is still used today. Lunch here at the cafe.

Back on the bus for the return to Thessaloniki to visit some sites in the city. We drove the "old town" inside the acropolis walls. Thessaloniki is very densely populated; its the second largest city in Greece behind Athens. Our monster bus had a hard time navigating the narrow streets. Kudos to our experienced driver who seemed unphased. That is, until we go into a very sharp turn on a very narrow street. He jockied that bus around and got hung up on a corner....BAM! the bus tipped a little and fell into the wall breaking two of the side windows. Bits of glass everywhere! Oh well, we'll have a new coach tomorrow but we were all feeling bad for the driver.

A final stop at St. Demetrios provided an added bonus. We just happened to get there when a special ceremony was going on in which a new icon was being "installed" in the church. This was a big deal- lots of people, a marching band, even TV coverage!

We finally returned to the hotel by about 7:30; dinner and crash! Another great day!

(P.S. I forgot to mention yesterday. While apparently very common in Europe I never knew that the electric power in your hotel room has to be turned on. When you enter the room, you slide your room key into this slot in the wall and,viola, your power comes on! On your way out, you take the key out and everything turns off. Only problem is if you're wanting to charge something while you're out!))