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ption></figure><p id="448c">And there are also small places to do your praying. Like this cute little one-person church on a street corner. There are a few of these little ones scattered about and I suppose they are for those that fancy a quick mid-day prayer. Or something like that.</p><figure id="e858"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*gOWMvB6EUQNs-exNOxPHJw.jpeg"><figcaption>Prayers for one. Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="6e39">This past week brought Valentine's Day. While we didn’t have much planned, we did take the day off from our painting and did some more exploring of the waterfront.</p><figure id="bcfd"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*rWs4m5eD5cdtmYJXRx5n2A.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="dc3b"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*yjlh0KWHdSYhNMrt_ma3pA.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="ceed"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*ESojPjC1ZlWlJHWdoN1Q-A.jpeg"><figcaption>The Arch of Galerius and some sculptures on the promenade. Photo Credits: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="55a7">We walked really far down the waterfront before we decided that we needed to turn around and come back. However, by then we also realized that we were farther than we wanted to walk, and our feet were already tired and sore. So we opted to take a bus.</p><p id="8331">We stood at the bus stop for a while asking various drivers if they were headed to where we needed to go. Either we would ask the wrong questions, or they didn’t understand us, and we would end up scurrying back off the bus without understanding where it was heading or getting a ride.</p><p id="6300">After about 30 minutes, we were getting tired of waiting and knew that walking back was just not an option. We figured that because we were on the main road that headed back to the downtown area, we surmised that we would just get on the next bus and ride it until it turned a corner. If that happened, we would just jump off. At least we would get somewhere.</p><p id="c3b5">As it turned out, the bus we finally got on took us all the way to where we wanted to go. Our biggest challenge once onboard was to navigate paying our 1 Euro each in a machine, that was located in the middle of the bus that was absolutely packed solid with people.</p><p id="7f43" type="7">I can’t imagine how the drivers control who has paid and who hasn’t on these buses since people get on and off at the front and in the middle.</p><p id="318d">There were a few vendor displays of heart-shaped things to celebrate Valentine's Day plus some large displays of roses, but it was all pretty low-key in comparison to the consumer-driven displays in Canada for this occasion. This was, however, our favorite thing that we saw.</p><figure id="0098"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*TKcAJ-nSwvQXbBifzj5fMw.jpeg"><figcaption>Love doughnuts. Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="cd0b">After seeing these in a couple of different locations, I decided that I wanted to get one the next time we saw one. However, we never did see any more and I finally settled on a colorful selection of small meringues instead. Of course, I didn’t take a photo of those. Doh!</p><p id="7f28">I guess the biggest news of the week is our mural project, so I will share some progress photos of that.</p><figure id="b9d3"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*OiM2x_6e9GUyW-PZ9QeCkA.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="bcf4"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*uzb_Wua-kK_ghoMlsB1cHw.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="f7bd"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*0GpniJ4ONe3na2K2bLpWwA.jpeg"><figcaption>A tree wall, a local parakeet flying above the city wall, and a crumbling brick wall. Photo Credits: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="3e26">These are just a glimpse of the whole project. There is much more to share and I will certainly do so when it is all complete.</p><p id="0837">The owner also wants to utilize us to do a bit of a fix-up of a previous project where the artist didn’t really finish properly. We are happy to stay and do whatever it is that he wants.</p><figure id="ba3d"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*7Ng0x3zDlii8CK_RuZLD-Q.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="0f72"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*upDvjqCIv5dsrQy_eqt9tQ.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="4c90"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Yb2MtvL3OE-aCf9h8r44VQ.jpeg"><figcaption>Arabas Hostel. Photo Cred

Options

its: Author</figcaption></figure><p id="5c1e">Arabas Hostel is a really great hostel to be at. We have a nice common area and our own private room and bathroom. While there is a central kitchen and cooking area, we also have a small 2 burner stove and a bar fridge in our room if we choose to use that. Usually, though, we head out to the common area to see who we can find to chat with. We have met some really great people and have enjoyed some fun evenings exchanging travel tales with fellow travelers coming through.</p><p id="8998">As we sat and took in the view of the city the other day while the sun was setting, I couldn’t help but think that, under normal circumstances, we likely never would have chosen to come to Thessaloniki. But I am so happy that we stumbled into it and we have really enjoyed our time here getting to know this corner of the world.</p><p id="6671">Sure, it’s not the Greece that we all think of when we picture perfect island paradises like Santorini or Crete. But it certainly is still Greece, and it is still pretty cool!</p><p id="043d">Thanks for following along on our journey! I hope that everyone has had a great week:)</p><p id="7746">xo Jill and Chris</p><p id="2d87"><b><i>I only wrote 2 stories in the past week:</i></b></p><p id="1b81"><a href="https://readmedium.com/the-majesty-mystery-and-magic-of-tikal-the-heartbeat-of-the-ancient-mayan-civilization-76c97bac0072">The Majesty, Mystery and Magic of Tikal</a></p><p id="70db"><a href="https://readmedium.com/f-is-for-flores-my-a-z-of-favorite-travel-destinations-5d4f1f046f8a">F is For Flores — My A-Z of Favorite Travel Destinations</a></p><p id="21e6"><b><i>I’m tagging those who have requested to be tagged in my weekly wrap-ups. If you would like to be tagged, please let me know and I will add you to the list.</i></b></p><p id="efef"><a href="undefined">Robert</a> | <a href="undefined">Louise</a> | <a href="undefined">Adrienne</a> | <a href="undefined">Kim</a> | <a href="undefined">Mia</a> | <a href="undefined">Michele</a> | <a href="undefined">Ivy</a> | <a href="undefined">Erika</a> | <a href="undefined">Anne</a> | <a href="undefined">Sandra</a> | <a href="undefined">Julie</a> | <a href="undefined">Bruce</a></p><p id="411e"><b>I write a wrap-up each week on my personal publication <a href="https://medium.com/artistic-voyages-news">Artistic Voyages News</a>. To see all of my weekly wrap-ups:</b></p><div id="fe2d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/list/3e53a5fed9f0"> <div> <div> <h2>Weekly Wrap-Ups - My Weeks In Photos</h2> <div><h3>I joined the Weeds and Wildflowers publication prompt "My Week In Photos" in March 2022. Later in the year, I decided…</h3></div> <div><p>artisticvoyages.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*1a1f5b788824fc2379c6dce6934bca8fb6b41d1b.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><figure id="a80f"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*IDlDKuxoG0gmCX-cVp-Utw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><div id="7a42" class="link-block"> <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/our-nomadic-timeline-from-the-beginning-9603b64ec972"> <div> <div> <h2>Our Nomadic Timeline From the Beginning</h2> <div><h3>Where our journey has taken us so far.</h3></div> <div><p>artisticvoyages.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*cDhW5ocmFbLuAu8BlyMUsw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="8d61"><b><i>If you like my writing and want to read more, subscribe to Medium through my <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/membership">referral link</a> (I will earn a small commission) to get full access! Plus sign up <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/subscribe">here</a> to get my articles by email!</i></b></p><p id="aca6"><i>We have been nomadic since 2017! Join our journey by hitting the links below!</i></p><p id="5123"><a href="http://www.artisticvoyages.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.instagram.com/artisticvoyages">Instagram</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/artisticvoyages">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianamatt/">LinkedIn</a>| <a href="http://www.patreon.com/artisticvoyages">Patreon</a>|<a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/artisticvoyages"> YouTube</a> | <a href="http://www.medium.com/@artisticvoyages">Medium</a></p></article></body>

TRAVEL | GREECE | THESSALONIKI

Finding Ourselves Right Where We Belong

My Week in Photos — Week 48— February 9–February 15, 2023

Another amazing building in Thessaloniki. Photo Credit: Author

After being denied entry into Bulgaria a couple of weeks ago, we had to make a side trip to Greece. We had no idea of what to expect, or even exactly where we were headed. But like many times in this traveling life of ours, we truly feel like we have somehow landed right where we belong.

We currently find ourselves staying at a really nice hostel in Thessaloniki. It’s been interesting to experience mainland Greece. I never really noted how entirely different it is until Dan Carlson pointed out that he prefers the Greek Islands over the mainland.

Before now, our experience with Greece was just a couple of days in Athens, then 2 weeks out on the islands. Of course, despite its historical charm, Athens is just a big city, after all. There are no white and blue buildings, and it doesn’t have that ‘island vibe’ that makes Greece so popular. And honestly, neither does Thessaloniki. It too is just a big city, but it does have its own uniqueness and we have really enjoyed walking around and taking in the city sights.

As noted at the end of last week's update, the hostel owner asked us to do a mural painting project for him. Since then, we have been pretty full on with that, only taking one day off so far. We work about 4 hours each day on it, then find ourselves out in the neighborhood walking around and finding food to purchase to make dinner.

The theme of the mural project is castles. However, he also wanted one wall with silhouettes of trees. While the trees don’t really fit in with the overall theme, they do still look pretty cool.

Here are the before shots. Read to the end to see our current progress.

This is the hostel's first theme room. He first built the bunk beds out of concrete, then asked us to paint the walls to reflect a castle-type theme. Photo Credits: Author

We have finally just come through a cold snap which brought the nighttime temps down to about zero (32F), so it made life a little bit miserable since we both hate the cold these days. But we also know quite well that it could be much worse. Either way, we are told that winter is now over and the mercury has been climbing back up again steadily. Thank goodness.

However, we are also making plans to head back to Canada soon for a visit, so we better get our tough skins on for that!

Interesting buildings around Thessaloniki, Greece. Photo Credits: Author

As we get to know Thessaloniki and wander the streets, we have been finding some really cool buildings.

Of course, the churches are always a spectacle to behold. From ones built in the Byzantine Era to more recent construction, they are all amazing structures.

Spectacular churches. Photo Credits: Author

And there are also small places to do your praying. Like this cute little one-person church on a street corner. There are a few of these little ones scattered about and I suppose they are for those that fancy a quick mid-day prayer. Or something like that.

This past week brought Valentine's Day. While we didn’t have much planned, we did take the day off from our painting and did some more exploring of the waterfront.

The Arch of Galerius and some sculptures on the promenade. Photo Credits: Author

We walked really far down the waterfront before we decided that we needed to turn around and come back. However, by then we also realized that we were farther than we wanted to walk, and our feet were already tired and sore. So we opted to take a bus.

We stood at the bus stop for a while asking various drivers if they were headed to where we needed to go. Either we would ask the wrong questions, or they didn’t understand us, and we would end up scurrying back off the bus without understanding where it was heading or getting a ride.

After about 30 minutes, we were getting tired of waiting and knew that walking back was just not an option. We figured that because we were on the main road that headed back to the downtown area, we surmised that we would just get on the next bus and ride it until it turned a corner. If that happened, we would just jump off. At least we would get somewhere.

As it turned out, the bus we finally got on took us all the way to where we wanted to go. Our biggest challenge once onboard was to navigate paying our 1 Euro each in a machine, that was located in the middle of the bus that was absolutely packed solid with people.

I can’t imagine how the drivers control who has paid and who hasn’t on these buses since people get on and off at the front and in the middle.

There were a few vendor displays of heart-shaped things to celebrate Valentine's Day plus some large displays of roses, but it was all pretty low-key in comparison to the consumer-driven displays in Canada for this occasion. This was, however, our favorite thing that we saw.

After seeing these in a couple of different locations, I decided that I wanted to get one the next time we saw one. However, we never did see any more and I finally settled on a colorful selection of small meringues instead. Of course, I didn’t take a photo of those. Doh!

I guess the biggest news of the week is our mural project, so I will share some progress photos of that.

A tree wall, a local parakeet flying above the city wall, and a crumbling brick wall. Photo Credits: Author

These are just a glimpse of the whole project. There is much more to share and I will certainly do so when it is all complete.

The owner also wants to utilize us to do a bit of a fix-up of a previous project where the artist didn’t really finish properly. We are happy to stay and do whatever it is that he wants.

Arabas Hostel is a really great hostel to be at. We have a nice common area and our own private room and bathroom. While there is a central kitchen and cooking area, we also have a small 2 burner stove and a bar fridge in our room if we choose to use that. Usually, though, we head out to the common area to see who we can find to chat with. We have met some really great people and have enjoyed some fun evenings exchanging travel tales with fellow travelers coming through.

As we sat and took in the view of the city the other day while the sun was setting, I couldn’t help but think that, under normal circumstances, we likely never would have chosen to come to Thessaloniki. But I am so happy that we stumbled into it and we have really enjoyed our time here getting to know this corner of the world.

Sure, it’s not the Greece that we all think of when we picture perfect island paradises like Santorini or Crete. But it certainly is still Greece, and it is still pretty cool!

Thanks for following along on our journey! I hope that everyone has had a great week:)

xo Jill and Chris

I only wrote 2 stories in the past week:

The Majesty, Mystery and Magic of Tikal

F is For Flores — My A-Z of Favorite Travel Destinations

I’m tagging those who have requested to be tagged in my weekly wrap-ups. If you would like to be tagged, please let me know and I will add you to the list.

I write a wrap-up each week on my personal publication Artistic Voyages News. To see all of my weekly wrap-ups:

Weekly Wrap-Ups - My Weeks In Photos

I joined the Weeds and Wildflowers publication prompt "My Week In Photos" in March 2022. Later in the year, I decided…

artisticvoyages.medium.com

Our Nomadic Timeline From the Beginning

Where our journey has taken us so far.

artisticvoyages.medium.com

If you like my writing and want to read more, subscribe to Medium through my referral link (I will earn a small commission) to get full access! Plus sign up here to get my articles by email!

We have been nomadic since 2017! Join our journey by hitting the links below!