Final Stop, Dion
Trip Start
Jun 01, 2008
1
21
23
Trip End
Jun 30, 2008
Kateríni,
Macedonia Region,
Greece
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The museum, bereft of its AC for some reason, was cool-er, a bit, than yesterday, probably because we had come earlier. I still needed the fan I bought on Crete. We walked through the exhibits about everyday life and quickly viewed the temporary exhibit about Kalindeia. Kalindeia was the city given to members of the army by Alexander, but the finds so far are mostly Roman.
Afterwards, we strolled back to the hotel, checked out, grabbed some water and fruit and ransomed the car from the underground parking. I noted some scratches on it that I didn't see before, so I hope they weren't new!
The drive to Edessa, even with a short stop at Pella again for information, was quick and uneventful. We retrieved Karen's passport, enjoyed some juice on the front patio and talked to the owner and her daughter, mostly in Greek! I learned that the three daughters are the people rebuilding a sister hotel down the road! Their hotel will be called the Varosi Four Seasons and their mom will continue to run the charming Varosi. Also, the excavation at the end of the road is a real excavation and it uncovered the ancient city wall, dating back to the late fifth century BCE.
What I think is happening soon is that some buildings in front of the Varosi will be removed to expose the wall, which will be glassed over and illuminated in some way, and this means one or both Varosi Hotels will have an unobstructed view of the cliffs and the plains from the edge of Edessa. I'm sure I've got some details wrong, but the bottom line is that the location will become even more delightful to visit and to stay at. Karen and I decided that, on our next trip, we would definitely stay here again, making Edessa our home base from which to explore the parts of the region we didn't get to this time. For sure I'd like to explore the mountains. My only regret was that, once again, I forgot to ask the one daughter who was talking to us what her name is! I'm going to send her a letter from Canada when I'm home and ask her, also saying how much I enjoyed my stay.
Since we found ourselves back in Edessa and were hungry anyway, we figured we'd go back to Tzinos for a later lunch. The food was wonderful then, too! And the setting was just as delightful even without the candles. The 24-hour Internet place, however, was still closed.
I took the wheel, not too worried about the city driving since I knew the place a bit now and on Saturday, much less traffic fills the streets. We went by way of Veroia to the Egnatia Odos and zipped over to the National Road and to our hotel by 7 p.m. Enough time to enjoy a swim! And even a nap on the beach! Finally, a bit of holiday in this holiday, including a bit of ouzo.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Greece! Where has the time gone?! We'll get an early(ish) start and head over to Dion, then drive down to Athens to turn in the car and repack for the flight home..
Enjoying lunch at Tzino's
