Thessaloniki: Day 1

We left Kalambaka about 8:30 AM this morning and it was a pretty uncomfortable four hour bus ride. This bus wasn't nearly as comfortable as the bright blue one we grew accustomed to last week and this guy's driving was crazy erratic after Kostas' amazing skills. We're all missing Kostas, Demetra, and Niki!

So I wasn't able to sleep on the bus and was in a pretty bad mood by the time we arrived. I was so hungry and just irritated with everyone around me so I went into quiet mode. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, located in the Macedonian region, densely populated at 1 million people. We arrived at our hotel, El Greco, right downtown on an extremely busy street, but our rooms weren't ready because we were early. So Katula took us on a quick tour of the city.

It is so cool here; way better than Athens! We took a beautiful walk around and it is so crowded here. We're about six blocks from the water -- this is the where the Aegean Sea ends to the north. It says Macedonia everywhere, so I think it's pretty cool to be here! I was talking to Katula about the Macedonia/Greece land issues; I'm sure we'll be hearing more about it over the week.

We went in search of a laundromat but couldn't find one anywhere! I desperately need clean clothes! We were all ravenous and grumpy so we stopped for a gyro. Maybe the best one yet. I've been online for like three hours now catching up, but we're going to head out to shop for a bit.

The shopping tanked because little did we know the stores close at 6 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays, so we weren't very successful. H&M had some cool stuff, but we have that at home and I can't justify spending money in Greece on anything other than authentic Greek stuff. We met up for dinner at 10 and went in search of a taverna on the waterfront but failed at that task as well. On the walk a very loyal rotweiler decided to join our group and protect us from any and all passerby. We ended up at T.G.I. Fridays, much to my dismay, and spent the most on any dinner yet - 14 euro - and that was one drink and splitting a salad! Outrageous. I was not happy but that's what happens when five extra people decide to tag along.

Then we went across Aristotle Square to a really cool bar with big couches outside. I just had one drink and then walked back to the hotel around 1 AM with a couple girls. I finally got to bed about 2:30 because the internet freedom got the best of me.
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