Day 15: Athens to Thessaloniki

First off, when Josh told me we had the option to come up to Thessaloniki on our trip, my jaw dropped. I didn't know what to expect, but it's pretty spectacular in between Athens and here and it's pretty spectacular here! The landscape looks so much like what I would imagine Bible time landscape looking like. Short, shrubby trees, wide stretches of beautiful blue Aegean water and patches of dessert like areas all surrounded by hills and mountains. To know that the Apostle Paul was in these areas that were are in creates such a sense of wonderment!

Our host from the place we stayed at in Athens came to meet us in the morning and was so gracious! He helped us load our van even though we were a bit behind schedule getting out of his apartment. He had a delightful personality. It was so nice to meet the actual host of the place - that was a first. We headed out of town and drove with only two short stops, the six hours to Thessaloniki.

Gorgeous!

This mountain range was breathtaking! It towered well above the clouds.

Ouch

AMAZING cherries that our host in Athens left for us during our stay!

We arrived at our Airbnb place here in Thessaloniki and met our delightful hosts. They truly are great. An older retired couple who's one son is doing his required 9 months in the Greek Army. We stayed in their upstairs apartment. It's been a very different experience than our other places. These are only the second hosts we've actually met and the first who've lived in the home. We talked with them for a bit and unloaded the van and then made a bee line for the sea. It was so good for our hearts to walk out a door and on to a beach like we did on the island. I choked up a bit as I sat last night on the balcony looking at the sea. Oh how I miss our place on the island!

We swam for a bit and then walked a few hundred meters to get some authentic, non touristy Greek food! It was so delicious! The restaurant is in a line of other shops and restaurants that faces the sea. The boys ran around for a while in the shady grass while we listened to the Aegean waves, cicadas and beautiful Greek music playing through restaurant speakers. It was a beautiful experience, indeed!

After some good grassy play time we headed back to our Airbnb place and settled the boys in for the night. Josh and I enjoyed some time on the front deck of our place, listening to the cicadas and watching the waves on the Adriatic. We'd discussed asking if we could stay an extra night, but our hosts said they had another family coming in. I was a bit heartbroken. Leaving this place was difficult for me. I was able to see the reason I loved it so much, because it was so much like home being right on the ocean, but my other struggle with continuing our trip didn't become clear to me until we were 20 minutes or so past the Turkish border.