Adventures & Insights 3/31/24

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Back in late 2016, once I realized solo traveling was going to be way, way, WAY more possible than I had initially imagined, I got completely hooked.

Greece was second solo adventure, and it was a good one. This Greece trip was my second trip in 3 months. I never thought I’d ever be traveling this frequently, and Thessaloniki was a perfect destination.

I think with every solo adventure, there’s an inevitable little “surprise adventure” waiting for you. You don’t know when it’s going to happen, but it definitely will. And with this trip, it came at me right out of the gates.

My flight to Thessaloniki had an overnight layover in Turkey. I was tempted to go out and check out the city, (and there was a bizarre dude at this ultra nice hotel they gave me who kept trying to get me to go out), but it was already late when I got there and my flight was leaving around 6 am the next morning (and there was no way I was hanging out with this shady dude, lol).

Pro tip: Yes I have lots of stories of hanging out with locals, but do be aware of your surroundings and the people around you. If someone feels shady, trust your instincts. ??

In the morning I made my way down to the lobby to wait for the shuttle. There was another guy with luggage waiting on the bench outside the lobby. “Are you waiting for the shuttle to the airport too?” I asked.

“Yes”, he said.
I sat down and we started talking.

It turns out this guy, Panosh, roughly my age, is a doctor returning to Thessaloniki to visit and family and friends. Thessaloniki is home for him, and when he heard I was visiting for the first time, he started telling me all the spots I need to visit during my stay.

We took the shuttle to the airport, checked in, talking the whole way, and when we looked at our tickets we saw we were sitting right next to each other on the flight as well.

It was a quick flight, we talked the whole time about where to go and placed to see, great spots to eat, and when we landed he says “Here’s my number, man. I’m gonna meet up with my buddies tonight in the city center to have some beers and eat. Let me know if you need anything, have any questions, or if you want to join up.”

This guy was just a quality guy. I thanked him for everything, and with that first day being a free day, I checked into my hotel and then set out to see all of the things he told me about.

He wasn’t kidding about the waterfront boardwalk being the place to be. It was sunny, clear, and beautiful. People walking everywhere, so much to see and do. I loved it. I spent all day out and about in the city center. And as day turned to night, I even caught a sunset cruise that was TOTALLY FREE.

I returned to my hotel, grabbed a bite to eat, and looked at my watch.
It was 9:30.

“Ok, so Panosh said he’d be meeting up with his buddies around this time. Should I text him and meet up? Why not?”

I texted him and about 5 minutes later he texted me back. “What’s up, Eric! We’re downtown in the city center!” He told me to grab a cab and gave me the intersection to meet up at. When I arrived and stepped out of the cab I heard “Eriicccccc!” in the distance. My night was about to begin.

Panosh was with 3 friends of his he’d grown up with. They didn’t speak much English, but I think they understood me for the most part. Our first stop was this delicious pizza spot. I had just eaten, but I found room. It was good.

We ate pizza, drank lots of local beers, and I specifically remember thinking, “Should I go back to the hotel after this?” I had to be up early the next morning for an all day excursion, and after this second dinner I was getting a little tired from being out and about all day.

Almost reading my mind, Panosh asked “So Eric how long do you want to stay out? There is a great Greek rock band playing at a small bar that’s close, and another larger club with a band as well.”

“How long are y’all staying out?” I asked.
“We will stay out as long as you want. This is Thessaloniki. There is no curfew.”

It was starting to sound like this was a challenge. “Ok, then, let’s go see these rock shows and, by the way, I want to stay out all night!” And off we went.

When you’re partying with locals and the vibe is great, NEVER leave early, no matter how early you have to wake up the next day. This is the exact kind of experience you traveled across the world for!

This small bar/club was great. The music was loud and rocking. There were beautiful girls everywhere. Some of the servers were walking around with trays of flowers.

“What are the flowers for?”
“If you like the music you take the flower and throw it onto the stage!”

This was legit. We stayed at this bar for a while, went to the next larger spot with another rock band playing on a larger stage. The beers were going down great. And for a random Tuesday it was crazy to me how many people were out so late.

“Don’t these people work?”
“It is Thessaloniki! We work hard, we play hard!”

I looked at my watch. It was around 3 am. We were probably gonna start winding it down, right? I had to wake up at 7. I’d be fine.

After we left the last spot, we all jumped into a tiny, tiny car and started heading back to what I thought was the general direction of my hotel. But when we parked and I could hear the unmistakeable *untz*, *untz*, *untz* of bass in the distance, I knew we had one last stop in our future.

One last club.
And it was PACKED.

We open the doors and it’s a sea of partying Greeks. It was around 4 am, a server somehow came up to us in this sea of people asking what we wanted to drink. “5 beers on me!” I said. She disappeared into the mob of people and returned so quickly with the beers I couldn’t believe it.

We closed it out by going to this spot to eat they had been raving about all night. It was like flat bread taco kind of thing, filled with meat, and fries, and spicy, delicious goodness. I can’t believe I almost missed this.

As we now drove back to drop me off at my hotel I noticed the time on the clock. It was like 6:12 am. I turned to Panosh sitting behind me and said “Do you realize, that 24 hours ago I was walking up to you outside that Istanbul hotel lobby asking you if you were waiting for the shuttle? And now , 24 hours later, we’ve partied all night like old friends!”

These are the adventures I live for when I travel.
Good times with great people. And like clockwork, when I got to my room I totally passed out and overslept, missed my day-long excursion, but I couldn’t have been happier about it.

Travel this world.
Connect with people as much as you can.
Trust me.

Wanna relive my Thessaloniki travel adventure? You’ll see everything from the awesome free hotel they gave me for my layover in Istanbul, my first full day out and about along Thessaloniki’s waterfront boardwalk, my sunset boat cruise before my crazy night with Panosh and his friends, my visit to the Thessaloniki museums, and my last day out by the water before my crazy ride home getting stranded at the Istanbul airport all night with no hotel till 430 am.

Good times!

Your Weekly Dose of Positivity

Audiobook recommendation for the week
Know how to choose your circle.
Your moment of travel zen

Next week: How to Travel the World Cheap!