Meteora – The morning after.

We woke up feeling refreshed and ready to do some local exploring. Over a toasted sandwich and a cup of tea, we decided to spend an additional night at the hotel to enable us to explore more of the local area. Unfortunately the weather was not so good, the clouds were gathering and looking ominous, there was precipitation in the air.



the old and new road

 We travelled up through the mountains (and the rain) towards the city of Ioannina, which was not that far from the ferry port Igoumenitsa, where we landed from Corfu. We spent two hours travelling through the mountains, through a network of tunnels one of which was over 5kms in length,and several over 3km (an incredible feat of engineering). we eventually arrived in glorious sunshine, temperatures had moved up to the mid twenties, and the sky, a glorious shade of sea blue. We parked the bike & walked around the old part of the city, which was surrounded by fortified walls.



the best the 'Municipal Museum' in Ioannina had to offer

 There were one or two historical buildings of note, but little evidence of upkeep or preservation, and if truth be told we were a little disappointed at what we found. Maybe it’s just us, but we do get very frustrated at how the Greeks seem to ignore their responsibilities when it comes to preserving their history.... (ooopps, there I go again).










the only activity on the lake!

 There was of course the large lake, but little sign of any activity there, except from the marine life. Perhaps we were just unlucky, or may be it was the wrong time of day, but for a big city there didn’t seem to be alot of life.














 

An original Mini Cooper - couldn't miss the opportunity

 















You're not going to believe this,but
Guess who I met down by the lake!!





Greek Missile or Tower?



 

After three hours of walking round the old part of the city in the blazing heat, we decided it was time to move on and head over to Metsovo, a small village twixt Ioannina and kalampaka, about 35 miles due east. It was a delightful, very Swiss mountain village style, with lots of souvenir shops. It has a ski area made up of three resorts: Politsies, Karakoli and Zygos. All three are small. Metsovo Ski Area has 5 lifts and 5 groomed trails. There are 10 kms of cross country skiing at Zygos, in the Metsovo Ski Area.

It is also very famous for its’ cheese, the establishment of the Cheese Dairy by the Toss izza Foundation in 1958 boosted the production of excellent cheeses The Cheese Dairy produces special types of cheeses that are found only in Metsovo. The cheese varieties include Metsovone (smoked), Metsovella, Graviera, Parmesan and Metsovo Chevre (Goat cheese).
It is less well known for its "Katogi" wine which comes from the French Cabernet vineyards, planted in the "Ginietsi" and "Boianos" areas in Metsovo. The wine making, the ripening and the bottling take place in the newly established wine factory, which is the property of Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza. Sadly, due to thelate time we didn’t get to see or taste either.










Tony Feeling at Home !!









Snowstwhite and the two bears



We spent an hour or so looking around the village and taking some photo’s for your entertainment (Chetter you might enjoy the one of Tony carrying out his ‘Lollipop’ duties), before deciding it was time to set off back to kalampaka, about 44 miles away up through the mountains. On our way back we bumped into a goat herder and felt it was the highlight of our day. He had this fantastic little dog with him who sat, with his head cocked, to have his photo taken – clever thing.



Nice booties,




We made it safely back to our hotel, changed and went for something to eat before returning back to bed for a well earned kip.

Two days touring around the area of Kalampaka and next morning Friday 20th, we’re ready to head off to Thessaloniki – 150 miles north east. We packed our kit onto our trusty steed, with the sun shining in our eyes and the temperatures hovering around 23 degrees, we set off. We’d already decided that 150 miles in one go, was a no brainer, so a stop off along the coast was on the cards – the lucky resort, would be decided nearer the time. An hour and a half later, having travelled just over 80 miles we pulled into the coastal resort of Platamonas. We picked ourselves a plum hotel with a two bedroom apartment to boot, right beside the harbour.

After making ourselves comfortable, we went for a stroll down by the beach and a reconnoitre of the area. Like most of the places we’ve visited, this too was very quiet and I guess waiting for the season to commence, however we try to make the most of this and generally enjoy the freedom to move around unhindered! We ate at a restaurant close by and retired back to our room to complete another magnificent day on our fantastic adventure. Tomorrow we will head off to the Northern Greek metropolis of Thessaloniki, the second largest city, which is considered northern Greece's cultural and educational centre and reknown for it’s events and festivals. A young and vibrant culture, home to the Aristotie University, the largest in Greece ,ranked among the best 250 uni’s in Europe.

That’s it for now.

Much love to everyone back home The Easy Riders xxx