Republished - Greece 2018!

In November, 2018, we went to Greece to see The Gathering play (twice!) and to visit Eleni's Athenian relatives. None of my concert pictures really turned out, but here is the group:

One highlight is that the singer, Silje, seemed to recognize John in the crowd the second night as someone who had been there the first night! Needless to say, John does stand out in a crowd of Greeks.

We found two posters advertising the concerts, one next to where Eleni was sitting drinking coffee in Thessaloniki!

Fire safety in Greece - Firefighter toolbox in hotel and hose reel at a metro station. Note the size of the feed to the hose reel. Maybe useful for ashtray fires?

First stop was Thessaoloniki. In no particular order, some of the sites we visited:

A former minaret outside the Rotunda. The top is missing - likely because it provided a certain Muslim flare. As different religions take over a place of worship, they tend to destroy or cover up signs of the previous religion.

Inside the Rotunda. It's big. A few paintings have survived the centuries. 

For comparison, that's Eleni standing just right of center

Modern day St. Paul. Another really big church (cathedral!) It was closed. 

St. Sophia was not  closed however. We got a personal tour from a volunteer that Eleni really enjoyed. 

Thessaloniki motto - If it's vertical, tag it. If it's horizontal, drive on it. View from a sidewalk cafe showing graffiti and a car taking a short cut. 

A section of the ancient wall that used to protect Thessaloniki. 

The White Tower of Thessaloniki

Second stop - Athens!

The ancient area from Philopappou hill. Bottom left is the Odeon that is pictured below.

Zoom in on the Acropolis from Philopappou hill.

The Odeon. Actually built around 200 AD, making it one of the newer structures. Still used for musical events.

The monument on Philopappou hill. I think it was to honor the namesake.

A lovely lady posing by a tree on Philopappou hill.

This was our first close-up visit to the Temple of Hephaestus. From below.

From the 

side.

An old chapel in the ancient quarter. We had to take a picture of the back because a tourist was camped out in front and would not move.

And just a few of the relatives! I won't add names for privacy sake. It was good to see everyone again!