Hotel Astoria Ioánnina

... museum: paintings mainly. Note how all pictures show very swarthy-skinned people... including Christ & Mary. Also, many e.g.'s of silversmithing, which flourished in this region.
As we get back to camper, it begins to rain... and continues to do so all night! 
This evening, we get down to our penultimate DVD...

... I saw the photo that I took with this old man I remember asking him why he was not smiling at all. The answer was that this is how he is.

He does not smile at all, but he seems so sure of himself and proud of being from Epirus.



Metsovo is a remarkable village and we stayed there for about two and a ...

... Many women from the village, but also from other places were busy also, helping the monks there.

We were offered (lukumia) delights and cold water.

A plastic bag full of freshly cut tomatos were given to the driver of the coach by a monk, for any one of us who wished to have one.

... includes some of the most beautiful mountains and rivers in Epirus.



Aoos Gorge, Voidomatis River, Mountains Smolikas and Grammos and River Sarantaporos are unique and unfamiliar spectacle that moves every visitor. Worth visiting!



It is the first time I am up here, but I don’t have ...

PERAMA CAVE IOANNINA



The Perama cave was discovered by accident in 1940 during the World War II, as the inhabitants of the village were trying to find a shelter against bombardments. At the end of the war Constantine Kasvikis, a gymnast and an amateur speleologist, found himself in Perama where, with his team, he took ...

MONODENDRI

This beautiful Zagori village we visit todayy is about 41 km from the city of Ioannina.
It maintains intact the traditional stone-built architecture.
The Church of Agios Athanasios in the central square is of significan historical value.

We come here for lunch. From here are are going to visit the Gorge, but also I have a stroll in the village to take some photos and admire the architecture.

I am so disappointed because photos cannot be taken in this beautiful museum.
I was being told that I will find photos though their site, but the photos I found cannot be compared to what we saw there. The building inside, and the stairs ...

The City of Ioannina



Situated at an altitude of 470 m above sea level and 436 m from Athens, Ioannina is the largest of the Region. Stretching along the western banks of the Pamvotis Lake, it is renowned for its beauty, scenic sites and plethora of flora and fauna.



The old town is situated inside and around the caste with its traditional ...

... old governor of Ioannina) residence, a castle. But when the Turks occupied the area, they tore most of the castle down and built a couple monasteries and some administrative buildings of their own. Thus, it was no longer a castle, but more of a fortress with the outer wall protecting and many important/official buildings inside. A couple of the buildings are now museums you can go look around in. They have artifacts from the time, as well as various garments and ...

Green pines, turquoise rivers, huge canyons and monasteries ... not what comes to mind when picturing Greece.... Amazingly enough, a 4 hour bus ride from Athens will put you at the base of a huge mountain range, walking distance to 6 beautiful, oddly placed monasteries. We took an overnight ferry from Paros, and after a little boat camping, we arrived in Athens. Our intentions were to see the city for the day, but after 20 min we were 30 euros poorer ...