2018 Eastern Mediterranean Trip - Day 35, Recovering In Thessaloniki

We were so wiped out from the exertions of yesterday that we did a cursory few hours wandering around in the area near our apartment...and of that we spent about 40% of our time sitting down and eating stuff! After the photographic pyroclastic flow yesterday, I was lacking in inspiration today. Nor did I want to spend hours on the computer editing.

The Rotunda

This is a signature monument in Thessaloniki that was closed yesterday and is literally around the corner from our apartment

It as built in the 4th century right around the time of Constantine the Great as a monument and is only matched by the Parthenon in Rome in size

It was converted to a church shortly thereafter as the Eastern Roman Empire morphed into Byzantium

Its wall mosaics are early Byzantine and date from the 4th to the 6th century. You can tell by the themes that they are more imperial glorifying than religious as are ones that come later.

Approaching the Rotunda from the Arch of Galerius

During the Ottoman period it was converted to a mosque

The tower is the only remaining minaret in Thessaloniki

Entering the Rotunda

Detail of the mosaics

Also right across the street from our apartment was this church

It is not considered one of the 'famous' or 'significant' ones

But it was pretty cool nonetheless

Next we headed to the harbor to find the White Tower

But first we decided to have a coffee/hot chocolate/pastry break

We were looking for this specific pastry that people in Kalamata had said was a specialty

This isn't it but it was still yummy

We thought they were already filled when we ordered them

We thought we couldn't finish them all

We finished them all

The 'light of enlightenment' shines on our coffee and hot chocolate

The smaller one is a 'double Greek coffee with medium sugar', my go to coffee in Greece

 

The White Tower is another landmark

An Ottoman era defensive work, it was the scene of a massacre of Christian Janissary troops the rebelled during the Greek War of Independence in the 1820's 

It got its name because they had to whitewash the building to cover the blood stains...or so the story goes

By now our enthusiasm and energies were flagging

We ended up at Aristotelous Square

There were many very nice pillars there whose pictures didn't make the cut yesterday so I redid them

Using TripAdvisor we found a place for lunch

We were in the mood for seafood

It was good...not great but good and not expensive

The bread was excellent

Nothing wrong with the greens but the dressing was generic international balsamic overkill

Best dish of the meal by far

Fried potatoes with bacon and onions

Somehow the bacon was neither too fat nor too greasy and the potatoes stayed crisp

This rather insipid looking mass of over tomato flavored sauce hid a really nice, tender piece of octopus that I quite enjoyed

Wife had grilled sea bream

As always grilled fish is a good bet and this was very tasty

They gave us complimentary dessert

The pastry was just okay but there was a little jar of Greek yogurt with some dried cherry preserves that was really good. Unfortunately I did not take a picture

After this we staggered back to the apartment and chilled the rest of the day

BUT

SIGNS OF THE WORLD 

I'm sorry. I'm not sure if I really understand the concept of 'Angry Bread'

And what is 'Art Food'?

Do they give you food and you make art from it?

Is it food you are just supposed to look at?

Clearly I'm missing something