γεια! (thats hi in greek... i think)

sunset

gyros

this weekend, i got to go with one of my friends here in rome, kealy, to visit one of my best friends from BC in thessaloniki, greece! my first feeling in greece was pure confusion as all of the signs were literally written with greek letters on them and i quickly wished i had a sorority level education of the greek alphabet. we eventually made it to trisha's appartment and grabbed some gyros for lunch... which were delicious! i had tzatiki sauce on mine which was basically a cucumber dressing, and then i also had pork, onions, tomatoes, and french fries all on a pita (which is apparently what everyone gets). then we spent some time catching up, and getting to know some of the other people in trisha's program before we had greek salad and little spinach pita-like things for dinner. that night, we spent some time exploring the town and "living like the locals." the next day, we woke up and had τοστ for lunch (which is pronounced like toast) which were basically ham and cheese paninis on white bread, along with some bbq chips. after that, we walked around by the pier and saw spent some time enjoying the views on the coast line and seeing the "white tower" which is the most famous thessaloniki landmark. overall, the city had a lot of grafiti and did not really look like a safe place, but it actually was very safe and the people were very friendly... minus the fact that i had no idea what they were saying.  because there was not really a lot to see in the city itself, as it is not known to be touristy, we checked out some of the main squares and did some shopping. luckily, we got to catch the sunset, which was very beautiful and picturesque as it set over the water with the mountains in the distance. that night, we celebrated trisha's birthday which was actually sunday, but we went to a traditional greek restaurant!  i apologize if everyones mouths are watering after this post, but like i said there wasnt necessarily a lot to see, so kealy and i got our tourism fill from trying all of the different traditional food... which was honestly a much needed and healthier break from pasta, pizza, and gelato! During dinner we had greek salad, grilled fetta, different types of meat, chicken, and pork, then there were cheese balls, and french fries! that night, we went to a few different bars to celebrate trisha's 21st birthday! the next day, we had gyros (again) before we grabbed a flight home. it was a really great weekend and i was happy to spend some time with trisha for her birthday :) this weekend/today i am going to budapest, prague, and krakow!