Back from holidays Part 2

During my second part of my holidays I visited my parents in my hometown. That is where I was born, grew up and lived up to the point I left to study in the university at 17. It’s a small town in the North of Greece by the sea with not many inhabitants, where my parents now only spend their summers. We have a house close to the beach, a bit isolated and 17 kilometres from the city which is actually perfect for relaxing holidays.

This time during my visit, I had 2 friends of mine there as well staying in the house. Their visit differentiated a bit the normal way I spent my Greek summer holidays. Having them there meant that I spent less time at home and also organised some visits to places with touristic interest. For example we walked a lot around the beautiful older part of the town, went to a nearby conservation area surrounding a lake and to a very interesting archaeological dig site nearby. That’s a place called Philippi. Among the stories surrounding this thriving town of the past is the fact that Apostle Paul passed by and stayed there. One of the first European Christian churches were built there, not to mention the ‘Epistle to the Philippians’ written by him for the people of that town.

When we weren’t on a mission to visit these touristic places, we simply enjoyed the sea and the sun to a nearby amazing beach called ‘ammolofoi’ (Αμμόλοφοι) which can be translated as ‘hills of sand’. There are a couple of beach bars there where you can stay under an umbrella, enjoy a cold drink or food and spend your day watching the waves.

The only unfortunate event of my visit was the fact that with such a busy schedule the week passed quickly. I had an amazing time and returned to London with my batteries recharged and some kilos extra after consuming tons of my mother's food.

These are some pictures I took. They can be enlarged and look much better here than my previous Blogger post. I don't think I'll be using that app any time soon. Anyway, enjoy:

 That's Roberta or Roberto (we're not sure on the sex yet) that my niece found abandoned and kept us company through my visit in Greece.

Filippi old ampitheatre where even today a summer festival of plays and concerts take place.  

Parts of the first old Christian church that was built on the site. 

These are the ancients toilets! There was a small river passing underneath and they had dug holes to them! Stories say that they made their servants sit on the marble to make it warmer before they went to do their business... :-)

The mosaic at the 'Basilica of Paul'. It looks amazing even now

Part of the old 'Via Egnatia' built by the Romans

Ammolofoi beach where I spent hours and hours... 

The old aqueduct in my city that was used to water the older part of the town was built. It's current location and form is from the 16th century 

The monastery dedicated to Virgin Mary in the Lake Vistonida  

Going shopping in an antique shop.

Going swimming in a nearby river. The water was a bit cold but crystal clear and the valley was so beautiful and green