Swiss Lookalike

This one is out of sequence. I dictate all day, and F has a notepad full of my observations and musings. The problem seems to be photographs. Mr B has a phone and a camera (and a laptop). F has two phones and a tablet. The camera talks to the laptop, the phones and tablet seem to on the same wavelength (but only if the wiffi is working), and then the rubbish photos have to be edited - I supervise that bit.  Some typing and photo setting is done on the laptop, and then the whole thing is opened again in the tablet and it's a messy process. Too much technology.

Back to the story about the hotel in Metsovo,  and our trip from there to Preveza.

Would it surprise you to know that a town with a hotel like this looks rather Swiss, on the outside of the hotel as well as all over. Metsovo apparently had (decades ago) a Greek expat benefactor who lived in Switzerland. Houses in the mountains in Greece do have a certain Swiss chalet look to them but that may just suggest that for practical reasons house designs in snowy places have  common features. As a town, however, Metsovo looks incredibly Swiss. That's just F's way of describing it to Western Europeans who might have been to the Alps and Greek islands but never ventured into Greece's mountains.  (To someone else Switzerland could be incredibly Greek mountains.) 

If you haven't been to the north of Greece, we think you've missed out on a great part of this country and of Europe. 

We are going back to Metsovo for a week after Christmas, back to this hotel.

I don't mind. The landlady fussed over me.  Her friend fussed over me. And so they should, after all, I am a celebrity. The landlady speaks about as much English as F speaks Greek, but they hit it off over this:

That's a handloom by the way

The soft furnishings in the bar are handwoven - made on the premises.

My humans went on a winery tour while they were there, and came out equipped with cardboard boxes. I love cardboard boxes.

Once again we avoided motorways as we headed for the coast. For most of our trip across north Greece we have roughly followed the route of the Egnatia Odos (roughly). In Roman times the Via Egnatia was built to join the Via Appia - right through into what is modern day Turkey. The western end of the Via Egnatia is in Albania. The modern Egnatia Odos is a high quality east/west highway across northen Greece. 

Thus we arrived in Ioannina (or Yannina as F's hairdresser calls it, with strong emphasis on the last 'a' - written like that it looks like something an aboriginal Australian might have named a place). We have saved Yannina for another trip of its own as it has a really interesting mixed cultural history, more exciting caves to explore, gateway to Pindus National Park and Prespa Lakes, and vineyards. It also looks like it is the edge of citrus growing country again. Citrus trees have reappeared in  gardens.

Ioannina across the lake

look how green it is