Change in plans for today. Originally we had a car booked and were going to drive to some archaeological ruins in Amphipolis, about an hour away. But upon further research, Thessaloniki looked like it had a lot to offer by just staying in town, which, as it ended up – was the absolute right choice. It is a beautiful day, sunny and not too terribly cold, which makes wandering around the city a good antidote to riding in the bus all day yesterday.

As usual, we are up and out early, heading for the White Tower – the same tower we had just seen in miniature at the Paros Folk Culture museum and had learned the history from Giorgos yesterday. Might as well see the real thing in person! And it does not disappoint. Built in the 15th Century, over the years it has had many purposes, and many names – one being the Blood Tower, so called in the 19th Century because it became a prison for long-term convicts and used for executions. Now known as the White Tower after it was white washed by a convict in 1890 in exchange for his freedom.

Inside the six story tower is a cultural and history museum with lots of exhibits explaining the timeline of the city. Inside is also a group of school children, which is not the optimum situation in small closed spaces, wo we skeedadle up to the very top of the Tower, winding our way up to the viewing deck on the wide stone steps circling the entire Tower.

Back into the Tower, we stop on various floors, ducking under flow arch entryways, viewing different displays and learning all about how Thessaloniki was the second most important city after Constantinople during the Byzantine era and was the largest European urban center under Ottoman rule. After the liberation of 1912, Thessaloniki was finally incorporated into the Greek state and continued to evolve as the multi-cultural city it is today. It is all very well done and prepares us for the sights we will see the rest of the day.

Continuing down the seaside promenade, we pass an old Galleon sailing ship (replica of course) getting ready to head out on a tour – putting us solidly in the historical mood! Then onto the statue of Alexander the Great. Thessaloniki is named after the Alexander’s sister. Then it is onto the really cool, modern Umbrella statue where we play around being photo models!

Then we off to the Byzantine Culture Museum which was a quick 5 minute walk away, though a lovely little park – that is if you just figure it out yourself and don’t listen to Google map directions which had us circling a huge block area and taking over 15 minutes to walk from where we were to the museum. Sometimes…. but figure it out we did, and ended up spending a very enjoyable hour or so with everything cultural – everything from ancient mosaic floors to incredibly preserved frescoes to this amazing collections of religious icons from one woman’s collection!

Oh, and lots and lots of items relating to Lord Byron, the English poet who after traveling through Greece as a youngster then again when he was older, fell so deeply in love with the Greek civilization and people that he ended up dedicating his life to the Greek cause. He actually came back to Greece in 1823 to help the freedom fighters and ended up dying here in 1824. Again, new facts and knowledge for us.

After our Byzantine culture education, we headed to the Archeology museum for more history. We got a little turned around when the map said we were at the museum but turned out to be the City Government complex. I very helpful guard pointed us in the right direction – just across the courtyard and behind a large wall to the entrance to the museum.

Again, another fabulous museum from the mosaics to the tombs to the carved marble statues – there were just way too many exhibits to even detail. To be honest, though, both these museums have been very enlightening as we had NO clue to the history of Greece beyond mythology. Between the onboard lecturer and these museums, we’ve learned so much fascinating information!

Our next stop was lunch, which was on the way to the Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda, our afternoon stops. We navigated around to Lola Ouzeri, reportedly where the locals go to for seafood. We managed to arrive right as they opened and snagged a table outside with a surly waiter (who we think was peeved that we were there so early). He told us to order online with a QR code, which was all well and good but you couldn’t really complete it online as it asked for your table number (of which there was none) and other questions. The waiter was nowhere to be found when we were ready, so I went over to the actual restaurant (across the street) and found someone, ordered and pointed out our table. What started off as a questionable decision quickly turned into a fabulous meal.  Remaining alone on our private patio, surly-boy-waiter came back with our drinks (they brand the wine – it comes out of a box, I’m sure, but they put it into a carafe with their own label), baked feta cheese to share, grilled octopus for Ed and those delectable stuffed squids for me (that ended up being shared as well). And of course the complimentary dessert – today it was two adorable little chocolate covered ice cream cones. Darling.

Surly-boy-waiter became more friendly as the meal progressed, but we still had to go in to pay the bill. No problem – but oh my gosh! I had my back to the restaurant so had no idea that over the course of our hour and a half lunch, the place had become packed. I mean wall to wall in there. We were still all alone outside! And yep, they were all totally locals. We were probably the only native English speakers there. Definitely a keeper if we ever return.

After lunch we walked over to the Arch of Galerius which is a monument dedicated in the 4th Century to the victory over the Persians…..

….Then walked around the corner to the Rotunda, built as an old church in Roman times and converted to a Christian church in the 6th Century with really well preserved magnificent mosaics.

Up the street a little further, we visited the ruins of the 2nd Century Roman Forum. We thought we could walk through it, but turns out it is an active archeological site and wasn’t open to the public. But you can see a lot of the excavated ruins from the street level – along with the archeologists currently working there. Again, it just blows my mind this is all going on right in the middle of the city, with high rises surrounding the excavation site.

The last stop on our planned walk is the church of St. Demetrius – patron Saint of Thessaloniki. A deceptively plain stone building on the outside, the inside is filled with opulent golden frescoes and icons, as well as the remains of St. Demetrius in a silver casket. A worthwhile visit, not only for the sights, but also for a respite from the heat of the day.

Finding our way back to the port on Google maps, we actually spotted the Museum of Illusions which wasn’t all that far out of our way. Having plenty of time left before all aboard, we decided to give it a visit. What a great place! Small, but with the best optical illusions. We had a blast playing around with each display – and bonus – the girls who run the museum become your personal photographer. Totally fun!!!

A little bit of levity was a great way to end our history drenched day.

Back on the ship we did our nightly routine – gym, drinks, dinner, then switched up tonight and stayed on the balcony as we sailed to Kavala. Tonight is another production show and since we are on the next cruise as well, we decided to save it for evening entertainment on the next leg of our journey….on the Journey…LOL.