A Weekend in Thessaloniki

We had the pleasure of spending a long weekend in northern Greece hosted by the counseling department at Anatolia College this past weekend. Marc helped them with a new program for sending US college applications and they treated us to a sample of beautiful Thesaloniki. The weather was cool and pleasant, even some fresh, clean rain that made the aroma of pine rise up from the green foliage (those of you who have been to Egypt will understand why this was so meaningful). The food was EXCELLENT, thanks to Eva, our hostess who knows where to go and what to order. and we feasted on very fine Greek food at each meal. We were able to see some hightlights of the area. This church was built where the apostle Paul addressed the Thesselonians. Mount Olympus in the background of this photo (the legendary home of the ancient Greek gods). An archeological site and ...museum at the foot of the mountain where the ancient city of Dion was found. The peninsula of Mt. Athos where only men over the age of 18 can set foot. There is a long tradition of monastic life and retreat from the the world. We went on a boat tour of the penninsula to see the monasteries after a quick Greek breakfast (spinach pie) on the beach with Georgia (Anatolia College counselling staff and her fiance Tasos). We felt a strong sense of a place steeped in ANCIENT history......and a feeling that the people who live there feel this stongly along with appreciation of the beauty that surrounds them.