All the history...all the culture...in just one bus ride

We thought we arrived in Thessaloniki at midnight, later found out we had crossed a time zone on the train ride at it was one in the morning. No wonder the hotel clerk looked so tired! We found a room, regardless, close enough to walk from the train and clean enough to be comfortable.

From the midnight desk clerk to the waiters, cashiers and folks who sat beside us on the bus people were friendly and happy to show us their city. The woman at the tourist information office went out of her way (and outside her job description) to book us a hotel room on the “History and Culture Route”. The man in the store where Nelson went to buy a new pen told us all about his trip to BC (Kelowna was his favorite city), gave us lots of ideas for places to visit, phoned a travel agent friend to get an estimate on what a car rental should cost and then wouldn’t let Nelson pay for the pen - “a gift for your travels”. The owner/waiter at the restaurant in the market place took us into the kitchen to choose our fish and brought John a sample of the house specialty dessert -- “I know that boys like to eat!”.

Thessaloniki is a town of leisure. The streets (all the streets!) are lined with cafes that serve tea and coffee and sweet treats. The tables and chairs spill onto the streets and sidewalks everywhere. At any hour of the day or night these cafes are full of people playing backgammon or other card games and talking, talking, talking. One drink is a license to rent the table for the day, I think. John and I entertained ourselves by copying the locals and had quite a few street-side games of Egyptian War and Crazy Eights. I wish I remembered how to play backgammon. The locals told us it was cold, but honestly, the daytime temperature never dropped below twenty degrees and the sun shone all the time. How can you call that winter?

Our introduction to the major sights and historical significance of the city was on Bus #50 “The History and Culture Route”. It’s a “hop on - hop off” bus run by the city transit authority, so it costs a mere 2 euro instead of the usual 20+ that the tourist bus companies charge for the same service. There are two conductors and a driver, and there’s commentary in Greek and English. The conductors speak a little English, or German, or French, and they also provide some commentary. Here is a sample:

Sweet young conductor girl to older woman in front seat, “How do you like our city?”
Older woman flaps her hands and rolls her eyes, “It’s so-so”
Conductor girl with look of shock, “Why so-so?”
Older woman, “My country is better.”
Nancy, who can’t resist joining in, “What is your country?”
Older woman, “Turkey, my country is Turkey”
Conductor girl & everyone who was listening “Oh, oh, OK”

In the background the recorded commentary announced: “all the history, all the culture, on just one bus ride”