Our breakfast was greatly Greek...
I mean, cheese, cucumber, and tomato, with other variety of foods which filled my stomach with power and energy.
Then we went out to see the final day of the Year 2012 in Thessaloniki.
We brought thick stuff to be ready for the cold weather, but during our stay luckily it was not so cold.
Our hotel is at the next block of the station, from there we rambled along the sea to the White Tower.
And here it is, the White Towel, as the landmark of Thessaloniki.
Unfortunately it was Monday that I couldn't see inside the tower.
Still worth to see.
There is an hourly sightseeing bus "Route 50: Cultural Line" starting from the bus stop by the White Tower.
Just by 2 euros you will have comfortable trip on the new and clean bus with the hardworking tour guide who describes every spots on the route.
A few pictures below are taken from the window of the sightseeing bus.
OTE Tower. They say there's a cafe at the top.
Fish market.
It reminded me of Ameyoko, the market in Tokyo.
From the bus I could see ruins from Ottoman period and those from other eras everywhere.
Actually Thessaloniki is the great city with huge bunch of ruins!
You need no map to find any random ruins in the city. They exist everywhere.
The bus climbed the hill and we got off the bus at the bus stop 10: the Upper City Keladis.
And as expected, there were surely some ruins.
There was a certification by UNESCO as the world heritage
On the door there was a notice that it is closed on Monday but it actually was open.
Pictures from inside.
See the great view from the hill!
And it's time for lunch, we went to this taverna.
From the picture you can see some Christmas decorations still there.
It was what amazed me in Greece that they keep celebrating Christmas until January 6 and I was happy to unexpectedly see beautiful decorations for Christmas.
For me this is the first meal except in-flight meal and breakfast buffet at the hotel.
I found the price on the menu looked almost similar to that in Japan, but the average size of the dish is much much bigger!
Rocket salad:
Stuffed tomato with rice:
Beans soup:
Souvlaki, grilled meat in Greek style:
They are actually really nice and the waiter was nice too.
Please notice that apparently in general at the restaurant in Greece they bring breads even though you didn't order that you have to consider the space of your stomach well.
(You can see a piece of bread on the picture of the rocket salad)
I enjoyed all the dishes above but I was too full to finish them.
As the bus comes only once an hour and to work off our lunch we started walking down to back to the center of the city.
I wanted to see this big church by expecting the New Year's eve mass but it was closed.
Then, back to the central area.
It looks so empty in the picture but actually there were full of people enjoying the mood of the New Year's eve.
I could hear the scream of the excitement by the kids in the amusement park.
This is a hamam over there, the public bath from the ancient period.
As I said, there are ruins everywhere in Thessaloniki even at the center of the city.
I was willing to experience the moment of the New Year coming as I've never done outside Japan, but still I was suffering from the jet lag and walking around made me feel more tired that I fell asleep much earlier.
Next time I have to go earlier to get used to the time difference until the New Year's eve!!
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