Ioannina

I know you were all dying to see the hotel art I was talking about from yesterday, so here are just a few examples:

I'm not sure if there is anything behind these or if it was just the taste of the owners. I also happened to snap a picture of the breakfast. I'm not sure if I mentioned that often it is just bread and bread related items. You can see in the picture we were given two pieces of lunch meat and two pieces of cheese as well as one hard boiled egg in addition to the bread. You'll notice a basket of bread as well as a center piece of bread.

Today was the 6th straight day of site seeing. We are almost at the halfway point in the trip. Most of us are tired. We had a pretty packed day yesterday, so we took it easier today and got in town earlier than usual, so Bob and I went for a walk, but we didn't get any sunset pictures this time due to the earlier hour. Today we visited a museum in the morning, Gitana (has a theater and a political type structure), Dodona (has an oracle, temples, and a giant theater), and a more modern site in Ioannina called Kastra, which is a castle. We are staying in Ioannina tonight. The hotel in my opinion is the least nice one we have stayed in yet. It is super smokey in here, and seems very old. We also don't have AC for the first time since leaving Athens. The town is nice though, I like it more than Athens, and it was very busy today. I think we are finally seeing lots of people out and about because it is a weekend. This town is situated on a lake.

View from the castle

 There are many places to eat along the lake with nice views. As we were walking down the road, I see a restaurant that has several of these chairs. They just hang and you sit/swing in them while you eat.

horse and carriage rides

no day is complete without an animal pic

I've mentioned this before, but often there are people selling giant balloons

 Here is a picture at the site of Kastra, the castle in the town we are staying at tonight. Our leader is showing us the map to orient us, and this dog comes up to listen as well.

 I found all of these coins today. I'm just filled with luck! Two American pennies, one European 1 cent, and one European 2 cents.

 And as my luck from above would have it, I got ice cream. In my left hand you will find Oreo, and in my right, Snickers. This was by far the best ice cream I've had yet in Greece.

Extra:
We turned on the hotel TV today. Friends was on, so we watched it for 5 minutes. It was English with Greek subtitles.
This blog got 49 views yesterday.
I am enjoying making this blog. I don't like to proofread it though.
Young children speaking Greek are the cutest.
There aren't really public bathrooms(called WC's) here, so you have to use the bathroom in a business. This is awkward because you are supposed to buy something in order to use it. Since we are with a giant group, Bob and I have gotten pretty good at finding one while everyone else is in line buying coffee.
I often laugh with others about the Greek phrases I know from my online learning and how I don't get to use or (hopefully) won't need to use most of them; things such as "send for the doctor", "call an ambulance", and "I stepped on a sea urchin and my leg hurts". I say I wish I knew more useful phrases and that I don't know a lot of verbs. I did finally get to use a phrase I've wanted to say since I got here, but there is really no reason to use it - "beautiful weather today". I was pretty excited.