Travel Day ✈️

The big day finally came, we all gathered at the airport at 5:30 AM to catch our flight from Faro (Portugal) -> Nuremberg (Germany) -> Thessaloniki (Greece), we checked in and passed through security to then board our flight that was departing at 7:35 AM.

The flight overall was exciting and smooth, as it was early in the morning I used the flight as an opportunity to recover some sleep

Layover in Germany 🧳

During our layover in Germany, we arrived at 11:45 AM with our next flight to Greece scheduled for only 7:40 PM, since we had a lot of spare time, we took the opportunity to not only to explore another city but also to experience another country. To make the trip easier and efficient, we left our heavy luggage in a 

storage rental service that they had at the airport before heading to the train station and from there, we went ahead and bought train tickets to Nuremberg, traveling from the airport (Flughafen).

Exploring Nuremberg 📸

The city was beautiful and the train station was conveniently in the center of the city so we had time to explore the streets of Nuremberg, we walked around and grabbed a snack at Lidl in the shopping center. 

After trying out some local pastries at Lidl, we went for a short walk around the city park which surprisingly led us back to the shopping center, ended up meeting up with the rest of the group at KFC as our meeting point for catching the train back to the airport was near by.

About 2:30 hours before our flight, we caught the train back to the airport, checked in our luggage, and went through security before boarding our flight at around 11 PM to our final destination: Greece.

Arriving in Greece ✈️

After a 3 hour flight, we finally arrived in Greece! The flight was smooth and I was lucky to have the first seat in the airplane (01A) giving me more space to stretch out my legs and to enjoy the flight, when it was time to disembark the plane, given that I was next sitting right in front of the door, I was the first to leave the airplane and avoid the rush confusion, which was amazing!

After having left the airport, we caught our transfer from Thessaloniki to Veria, the trip to our apartment took about an hour, and during the ride we spent the time socialising and getting to know each other better, after a long day of traveling and walking around Germany, many of us also took the opportunity to get a quick nap during the ride.

When we arrived, the moment me and my roommates (David, Alexandre & Francisco) entered our apartment, we were all amazed at how beautiful and comfortable our new home, it looked better than the pictures we initially saw! We put up a Portuguese flag to truly make the place ours!

Historical tour around Veria 🥾

After a good night sleep following a long day, we went to meet the rest of the group at the Raktivan (Orologio) Square at 10 AM to meet not only our managers and our local contact that will be accompanying our stay in Greece.

Our local contact, Kostis, surprised us with a former Greek teacher who had previously lived and worked in Brazil for 5 years and spoke perfect Portuguese! He made us all feel welcomed and gave us a scenic and historical tour of the city, allowing us to better understand the roots and culture of the city.

Walking around the city and hearing the stories about our surroundings made the visit more engaging. It helped us understand how the roles of these buildings changed over time throughout history.

The former Greek teacher was really kind and offered not only our school a book of his about the Greek culture in Veria but he also offered us a book he wrote while he was in Brazil to teach his students Greek which we now plan on use to learn Greek to facilitate our lives in Greece.

Fun fact: Veria has over 80 churches ⛪

Visiting  the local Butcher 🥩

Once the historical tour around the city ended, Kostis took us to visit a local shop that makes really good sandwiches, and to my surprise, they exceeded my expectations by a lot!

The service was amazing, the owner of the shop is very kind, he gave us a free sandwich and a bottle of water to welcome us which was very kind on his end and spoke English really well, the sandwich was full of different meat, sauces, cheeses and is huge! 

It was so good that me and David planned go to there tomorrow to grab our breakfast!

Trying out the Local Coffee ☕

As the trip ended at the local butcher, we collectively decided to go explore the city, but before that, we needed to drop off the book that had been gifted to us at the apartment so we wouldn’t have to carry it around.

So we started walking around the city in direction to our apartment. Once we left the book there, Francisco, David Sousa, Inês, and I decided to try out the local coffee at a café Kostis had recommended called Tulipa, which was conveniently located right next to our apartment.

We went there to try it out, and we were astonished by the taste of the coffee and the drawings they had done on them, the coffee was completely different to the coffee we have in Portugal and it was a great experience.

First dinner in Veria 🍽️

After trying out the local coffee, we all went home to work on our blogs and prepare ourselves for the dinner. At 7:30 we met at the Raktivan Square to all go meet with the teachers and dine at a restaurant called Στάσου Μύγδαλα which translates to "Stand Almonds".

To try out the food at the restaurant and know what we would prefer to eat as we would be eating there nearly everyday, we ordered everything from the menu and shared it with everyone to try out everything.

The food not only had an amazing presentation but also tasted as good as it looked, it was an amazing dining experience!

Exploring after the dinner 🍽️

After the dinner, David Sousa, Inês, Duarte, Iara and I decided to further explore the city at night and we walked down the road to see what was around.

We noticed that the city had a lot of stray dogs around the city just casually chilling around which was interesting to see as it reminded me of Turkiye which is known for being called a "paradise for cats".

Throughout the night, a dog joined us in our discussions which we found cute as the dogs in the city seem to be very friendly and chill whenever they're not barking at cars passing by.

Eventually, we called it a night and went home to prepare ourselves for the next day!

Monday Morning 🌄

A new day has started but since our IT manager had a meeting in the morning and was only available to receive the team (David Costa, Iara, Duarte and I) working at the Library at 2 PM, David Costa and I decided to use the free time to stop by the pharmacy because he had allergies.

For breakfast, we decided to visit the friendly local store owner that received us on our first day here in Veria and made the spectacular sandwiches we had the first time, just as last time it was more than just good, it was to die for!

Fun fact: Greek coffee is traditionally used to tell fortunes. Search about it, you won't regret it! ☕

Trying out a new coffee shop! ☕

After breakfast, David Costa and I took advantage of our free time to try out a new coffee shop located next to Tulipa (it’s good for the consumer when there’s competition). The coffee shop was called Coffee Island and had a nice interior.

I noticed a pattern between the coffee from Tulipa and the coffee from Coffee Island. According to Google, coffee in Greece is ground finer than espresso, and the roast is medium, which was fun to learn.

While I was having my morning cup of coffee, I took the free time I had as an opportunity to practice my Greek language skills and pronunciation with the book that was given to us and Google translate.

Time to go to the job presentation 📘

As the time to go to the Library was approaching, me and David Costa passed by the house to grab our computers and equipment as well as the gifts we had to offer the greek Library as thank you for receiving us and organised with Duarte and Iara to meet before entering the Library.

When we arrived, we were warmly greeted by the reception staff and transferred to another lady who gave us a brief introduction about the Library. After a brief moment, our IT manager Georgios arrived and took us upstairs where we discussed our experience, our work schedule, and the work we would be doing, separating the team into two to complete the tasks quicker. After that, we were given a tour of the Library along as the behind the scenes we were left amazed at how beautiful and technologically advanced the Library was compared to the Libraries we were used to visiting Portugal.

They had a meeting room with swings, a recording studio, aquariums, a kids area with a xbox, an auditorium,  book digitalising equipment, self book rental stands, a mini museum and so on.

The Library won the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Access to Learning Award in 2010 which had a cash prize of 1 million dollars which they used to renovate the Library, this award recognized the Library for its innovative use of information and technology services to meet the needs of its community, serving over 180,000 people, the award funding enabled the Library to enhance its services and infrastructure, contributing to its status as a modern Library in Greece

Grocery Shopping 🍉

After the presentation at our workspace, me and David Costa went home to meet up with the rest of our roommates who had already finished work to go do some grocery shopping for the house, mainly to get the essentials to have at home.

As it was getting close to 6 PM which was when Alexandre and Francisco had their next shift, they bought their individual items and took it home while me and David Costa continued to grocery shop.

Dinner with everyone🍽️

We had organised with everyone to go and have dinner at the Στάσου Μύγδαλα restaurant at 7:30 PM, I believe we were all interconnected at the moment because 5 of us ordered a burger and the remaining 3 ordered some nuggets.

The burger and fried were delicious as last time, we were given complimentary (free) salads as starters which was kind from their part before our burger and after the burger we also had a dessert.

Amusement Arcade👾

After the dinner, Duarte suggested that we would all visit an amusement arcade next which he had saw on his walk around the city, which we all agreed to.

We had some fun there, we mainly spent our time on the punching machine but we had also played other games (e.g. Duarte and Iara had played a score-based basketball game).

On the walk there, we socialised and took the moment to explore a bit more the streets of Veria, during our journey back and from the amusement arcade we were accompanied by the local dogs from the city which was a wholesome experience as they would bark to cars passing by as if they were protecting us from a threat, they also took the same turns and paths we took.

Evening Run🏃‍♂️

After the amusement arcade, we all went home to prepare for the next day, but before calling it a day, me and Alexandre decided to go for a quick run around the city to pickup a healthy habit to maintain during our stay here in Veria. This also gave us the possibility to explore a lot of new roads and train better as the terrain is a lot more inclined than in our local city.

What was initially supposed to be a 30 minute run around the city ended up in a 1 hour run, but we were satisfied with the results and took a shower before heading to sleep.

Heading to work 💼

Me and David woke up at 8 AM to start getting ready for work, we arrived at 9 AM and met with Georgios, our IT manager, to go over the technical details of our tasks and discuss how we would approach them, as well as how we would organise our tech stack for the project.

David Costa and I were responsible for developing an application to manage event registrations, after being assigned our work locations, we began working on the task.

The shift overall was great, we created the foundation to match the stack the Library currently uses, allowing for easier implementation.

Lunch after work 🥪

As the butcher shop (813) was close to our workplace, we decided to head there after work to grab lunch, as always, we ordered our usual sandwich, which is *always* generously filled with a variety of meats, making it a reliable favorite every time we visit.

He was very happy to see us and greeted us with a warm smile, which made the experience even more pleasant. To our surprise, he even offered us a complimentary chocolate croissant, which was a very kind gesture on his part and a perfect sweet treat to finish our meal.

Trying out a new Coffee place ☕

There is nothing better to have after a heavy snack other than coffee which what led me to try a new coffee, next to coffee Island there was a coffee place called Espresso World, I checked Google maps to have an Idea of what to expect but their page seemed relatively new.

I was really attended by the worker, we spoke about our stay here in Erasmus and I shared a bit about my home country Portugal. At the end I was offered a complimentary water bottle which was very nice. 

Quick stop to get some snacks 🍌

As the last time we passed by the supermarket was to get essentials such as food to cook at home and juices to drink while chilling at home, it was a good idea to get something to get when I don't have time to cook or to take with me when I'm out exploring Veria.

I passed by the supermarket with David Costa to get more juice, some popcorn & cookies to have at home for convenience.

Trying out a new place 🫖

During the day, I was walking around the city with my roommates Francisco, Alexandre and David Costa to explore a bit more the city before Francisco & Alexandres' next shift started.

We stumbled upon this place called café da manha which reminded me a bit of our home country as the name of the place was written in portuguese.

I ordered a chocolate milk and had a conversation with the shop owner and locals that were there, they were very friendly and welcoming and we spoke about loads of topics varying from sports to lifestyles.

Photos & editing 📸

As I recently got into photography and editing, I spread my passion with my roommates where we were experimenting different features of the camera and taking photos of random objects like the coffee cup as seen in the picture.

As we had free time, I took this opportunity to better explore and experiment new editing techniques on a car we photographed while we were exploring around the city.

Dinner with everyone 🍝

We met up with everyone at 8 PM for dinner and we went to Στάσου Μύγδαλα to have dinner, this time most of use chose to try their smoked pork which was quite good, it had those those signature charred lines that make the meat look good and it came accompanied by some nice crispy fries that were slighly seasoned (the way I like it).

While we were eating our main dish we also had their local sauce to accompany the bread that was served and the dinner was overall very delicious, just as the last few times we have been there.

UNO to end the day🃏

After dinner we had, David Sousa and Inês stopped by our house to visit us, which was a nice way to continue the evening, not long after, Alexandre pulled out a deck of Uno cards he had brought from Portugal, and it quickly turned into a fun group activity.

We all gathered around the table and started playing, I was the dealer that night so after each game I would shuffle the cards and hand them out, I also taught David Costa how to do the Riffle Shuffle and finish it off with a Brixge. The game was filled with laughter, friendly competition, and a few “serious” moments whenever someone dropped a +4 at the worst possible time. 

To make things even better, we had some popcorn that I had bought earlier that day, which we shared while playing.

Productive Morning 🧼

As we were going to work at the Library at 2 PM, me and David Costa decided to have a productive morning, as we have an untold rule with everyone living in the house of keeping the house clean which is great; we cleaned up the house, organised everything, did the dishes and in the process we also started to prepare our lunch for the day.

We made some spaghetti with mortadella which turned out to be quite delicious.

Time to Work  - Foundation 💻

After work, me and David Costa head to work to finish the task we assigned of reworking the existing registration & events system that the Library has.

As we already had worked on the foundation on the previous day, we were able to make a lot of progress and finished the Index page showcasing all of the events, the registration/signup page as well as any necessary changes to the backend.

Dinner at a new Restaurant 🍽️

As we finished work at 7:30 PM, we went home to leave our bags and met up with everyone before heading to dinner.

As it was wednesday, we had a reservation at a new restaurant called x that translates to Frog, which also explains the decorations as it themed around frogs, the restaurant was very beautiful and the food was as delicious as it seemed in the menu.

I tried their Club Sandwich which had various pieces of a sandwiches accompanied by fries and mayonnaise sauce, which was very delicious!

After dinner we went to visit our friends at their apartment.

Breakfast at a cafe near home 🥪

Today we were starting work at 10 AM, so we woke up at 9 AM, we relaxed a bit with our roommates and left the house. On the way to work, we decided to stop by Κριαράς (Kriaras) which was located right outside our house, on the corner.

As it was more of a confectionary store rather than a café, I also decided to get a few Touloumpákias (τουλουμπάκια) which is a traditional greek dessert which is a syrup-soaked pastry with a crispy outside but a soft and airy inside, it tasted really nice! 

Database Revision 💻

Once we arrived at work, we noticed that our usual workspace was occupied as it was being used for an event, so we looked for a new place and settled on the second floor, closer to the recording studio and meeting room.

Today, we mainly focused on the admin dashboard and connecting it to our current system infrastructure, we made some progress and implemented several modifications to the database architecture and code to implement the changes that in a documented provided to us by our IT manager.

Trying out a Greek Fastfood (Goody's)🍔

As the workday ended, Duarte and Iara were planning to head to Goody’s for lunch. I had heard about it but had never been there, so I was curious to try it out, so me and David Costa decided to join them.

They had a lot of interesting options on the menu for a fast-food place, such as spaghetti and bao buns. I decided to try their Bao Burger which comes with a Small Farms patty inside of a fluffy steamed bao bun, inside of the bao bun there was lettuce, crispy onions, and smoky mayo sauce.

The place was nicely decorated, and my bao burger was really good, I wasn’t expecting fast food to reach this level of quality.

Coffee break ☕

After a nice lunch, Duarte and Iara decided to join me for coffee, so once again I decided to explore a new coffee shop. The coffee shop was called Hug Cafe and was very beautiful, the lady who took my order was very sweet and welcoming, and she did her best to communicate with me.

The coffee turned out amazing, while drinking my coffee I started to realize that coffee shops here in Greece offer a more personalized service than in Portugal. So far, every coffee shop has asked me whether I wanted one or two shots of espresso, if I’d like chocolate or cinnamon on top, and the coffee is usually served with a glass of water whereas in Portugal, you typically just order the coffee without any personalization and get the water separately.

New house decoration 🚩

While I was walking around the city with Duarte and Iara, I came across a Greek flag on sale for €2.20, I saw this as a great opportunity to not only decorate our house with a flag that represents what has essentially become our second home, but also as a small souvenir to remember this experience.

I ended up hanging it up when I got back, and it instantly made the place feel a bit more complete, my housemates loved it!

Dinner with the group😋

We met up with everyone at 8 PM for dinner and we went to our usual spot (Στάσου Μύγδαλα) to have dinner, the owner started to show us some pictures of some of the plates they had which were some plates we didn't try before at the restaurant so we explored our options.

Some opted for a Greek version of a schnitzel with a special sauce on top accompanied by fries, while others (including myself) chose what was essentially pita with sauce, bacon, and pork, drizzled with cheddar cheese and accompanied by fries. It was really good!

After that, we all went home, except for David Sousa and Inês, who came to visit us.

Breakfast 🥪

Before heading to work, me and David Costa passed by the confectionary store around the corner from our house to get breakfast, above the sweets you can see sandwiches which is what we got to fuel our morning.

Just as last time, the sandwiches were really good and did fill us up, leaving us ready for work. Price wise it's reasonable and is inside of our budget making it a good choice to start the day!

Time to work 💻

We went to work at 10 AM today, as another day at work started, I continued implementing the requested features for the event registration platform, and it turned out to be quite productive. 

Today, I focused primarily on debugging several issues that had surfaced in recent builds, as well as improving the performance of existing features.

I could consider it a pretty good day in terms of progress!

Coffee time ☕

Me and David Costa planned on cooking our lunch at home but before going home, I wanted to have some coffee so I decided to try out a new coffee place. This time, I came across a coffee shop called καφέ Κοχλίας, which translates to “Cochlias Café” or “Snail Café”, quite an interesting name.

The interior and exterior design were beautiful and it reminded me of that old-times coffee shop aesthetic, which made it feel cozy and inviting. 

The coffee was absolutely delicious, and the milk was incredibly creamy, it had a smooth and rich texture that made every sip enjoyable.

Small Snack 🥪

Returning back home from the snail café, I saw a shop called Χονδραντώνης on the way home, which is translates to Hondrantónis, according to Google It doesn’t translate directly into English, it’s a family name, not a regular word.

It's a bakery-pastry shop and they had an interesting variety of things they make and sell, such as Fresh bread (ψωμί), pastries & sweets (cakes, cookies, desserts) and savory items (pies, snacks, etc.)

I saw an interesting pizza that was essentially a pepperoni pizza in a bread, it was very delicious!

Cooking our late lunch 🥪

After arriving home from the bakery/pastry shop, I started preparing our lunch. We opted to make something similar to what we had on day 5 (18/03/2026), since we still had a lot of leftover ingredients. To change things up, we decided to use tomato paste and keep the spaghetti unbroken.

David accidentally made the food a bit too salty, which gave us a good laugh, but it was still perfectly edible. We also ended up with plenty of leftovers since we cooked a large portion.

Photography session 📸

My roommate Alexandre absolutely loves being in front of the camera, which works out perfectly for me since it gives me plenty of opportunities to practice my photography skills. 

We had a photography session around the house, experimenting with different lighting techniques and using various walls and corners as portrait backgrounds, I also explored the different lenses I have for my camera and we even took some macro shots of random objects (e.g. honey we bought from the supermarket).

At the end, we imported the photos from the camera, and I showed Alexandre how to edit them. We experimented with different filters, adjusted image properties, and played around with things like temperature and overall tone, which made the whole experience both fun and educational.

Dinner session with everyone 😋

As the end of the day approached, we all met up at the usual restaurant, Στάσου Μύγδαλα, to have our dinner. It’s become a bit of a routine for us, and there’s something comforting about returning to a familiar place after a full day. 

The atmosphere was lively yet relaxed, and it gave us the perfect opportunity to unwind, share stories from the day, and enjoy a good meal together.

Snooker game 🎱

After dinner, Francisco, Alexandre, David, and I went for a short walk around the city. Along the way, we passed by a game plaza/café filled with all kinds of entertainment machines, one of them being a snooker table.

We spent a good amount of time playing snooker, it was really fun, and at 2€ per game, it was fairly priced (in Portugal, some places have it at 8€ per hour and one game can end up taking 30 minutes to 1 hour), we only played one game, as we also took some time to socialize and try out different techniques, and so by the end of it all, it was already getting late so we went home to sleep and prepare ourselves for the next day.

Catching the bus to Thessaloniki 🚌

The weekend arrived and none of us were working, so we woke up early to prepare ourselves to meet with the group at the Raktivan Square to walk together to the bus station to catch the bus to Thessaloniki at 11 AM.

Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, with a population of over one million inhabitants, It serves as the capital of the region of Macedonia and is a major economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country; so it's pretty safe to say that I can speak for everyone and say that we were all very excited to visit it!

Aristotelous Square 🧑

The bus took us straight into the heart of the city, more precisely to Aristotelous Square, known as the main square of Thessaloniki. As soon as we stepped off, it was impossible not to notice the stunning and unique architecture, the vibrant atmosphere, and the sense of history all around us.

The square felt alive, there was a lot of people walking around, chatting, and enjoying the day. This shouldn't come to a surprise but there plenty of coffee shops, each one packed with people sitting outside.

From the square, you can also see the sea stretching out in the distance, there were a few boats roaming around (one of them being a pirate-themed one which was cool to see!)

According to Google, Aristotelous Square was designed by a French architect named Ernest Hébrard in 1918, with most of its construction completed in the 1950s. Knowing that made the experience even more interesting, as it felt like we were standing in a place shaped by both history and modern life.

Lunch Time 🍗

As we arrived in Thessaloniki around lunchtime (~12pm), we decided to look for a place to eat. The group of girls who had helped us navigate the bus system were planning to have lunch at a place called “Crats Fried Chicken” and invited us to join them, given that it was our first time visiting the city and we had never tried that particular greek fast-food place before, we decided to tag along.

All of the items on the menu looked really delicious, but I chose a burger called the “Jack Daniel’s Double Crats Burger” which was initially 18€ but had a 50% discount so I managed to get it for only 9€, it came with a brioche bun, two layers of crispy chicken fillets, cheddar, bacon, iceberg lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and BBQ sauce; It was also served with Cajun fries topped with cheddar sauce and roasted bacon. The hamburger was huge and taking the first bite out of it was not easy!

Exploring Thessaloniki 🏙️

After a very filling lunch, it was time to finally get to know Thessaloniki a bit better and explore the city! We kicked off this adventure by walking by the coastline of the city, the city was very alive, very beautiful, the buildings were quite tall, it reminded me a bit of Lisbon and how big it is!

We opened Google Maps to look for places to visit and eventually came across an illusion museum that was about a 10 minute walk away. As we made our way there, we noticed a military destroyer along the route. Curious, we decided to get a closer look, as we got closer to it, we saw that the harbor where it was docked at was open to the public, so we quickly changed our plans and stopped to check out the destroyer before heading to the illusion museum. 

From the harbor we also managed to get a different view of the city, and I can easily say that looking at the pictures I took is nothing like seeing it yourself! The boat was huge, after reading more about it on the information boards they had we discovered that it was a retired Destroyer that now acts as a museum, it was closed at the moment but would reopen at 2 PM so we planned to come back and visit it after the illusion museum!

Illusion Museum 🏙️

After a short walk, we finally made it to the Illusion Museum, we got in the queue and waited our turn to buy the tickets, Inês had grabbed a paper they had so we could check the prices and it was 11€, I was curious about what we were about to experience inside as it was my first time in one of these types of museums!

When it was our turn to pay, we got lucky as they had a student promotion, so instead of paying the full price of 11€, we only paid 9€. It might not seem like a huge difference, but as students, every euro counts, so we were definitely happy about it.

With our tickets in hand and excitement building, we were ready to step inside and see what kind of mind-bending illusions were waiting for us!

We bought our tickets, got in and started to explore, there were different rooms with different illusions, a staff member approached us and suggested starting from the top floor and gradually going down which is the advice we took. 

The first room we visited was filled with mirrors that created an endless reflections of ourselves in every direction, since the door was also a mirror with no handle it felt like we were trapped in a loop, surrounded by nothing but ourselves. It was quite a fun moment!

The next room was my personal favourite, it tricked my brain in a way that I can't explain, but essentially it played a perspective trick on our eyes where one person would look tiny while the other person appeared abnormally tall, even through they were standing in the same space.

It was on of those moments where you had to look twice to believe what you were seeing, I simply couldn't believe it.

I recorded a video to try and share my point of view, what you see in the video is exactly what I saw with my eyes! Very fascinating!

There were also displays that made objects appear to float. From one angle, you could see a pyramid suspended in mid-air, and from another, it would transform into what looked like a floating cube.

In the moment I couldn't think of anything that could explain this behavior; It felt almost impossible to achieve, like the object was changing shape right in front of our eyes. 

I assumed it might have been created using mirrors and carefully controlled reflections, but even knowing that didn’t make it any less impressive.

Another highlight was the upside-down metro, where everything from the seats to the poles were basically just flipped upside down, It felt completely disorienting at first, like we had stepped into a different reality.

A staff member was kind enough to take our picture, and we took the opportunity to strike some creative poses, making it look like we were hanging from the ceiling by flipping the camera up-side down as well. 

The final result turned out amazing, and in my opinion, it was one of the best photos we took that day.

Thessaloniki Coffee ☕

After the illusion museum, we started to head back to the harbour where the destroyer was located to properly visit it. On the way there, I noticed a visually appealing coffee shop that seemed like a great stop to make, the coffee shop was called Από τον Τόπο μας (From Our Hometown). I placed my order, and while the shop owner was making my coffee, we chatted a lot. He was very kind and welcoming; we talked about our home city, Veria, about Thessaloniki, and about our Erasmus project.

He was very proud of his work, which is always great to see as a consumer, and he made it obvious that he made the coffee for the love of the game.

Greek Destroyer🪖

After the quick coffee break, it was finally time to go visit the Greek destroyer. Once we got there, we were also lucky enough to get a student discount, so we paid 1€ instead of 2€.

We were given our credentials for the visit, and we started to climb the ramp to explore the ship. We were initially confused, as we didn’t know exactly where the start of the tour was since there was no clear indication, so we decided to take our own route and explore the ship.

As we moved through the different sections, we slowly began to understand what life onboard must have been like with the tight corridors, low ceilings, and small rooms made it clear that space was extremely limited; we also passed by sleeping quarters with small bunk beds, imagining how sailors had to share such small spaces during long periods at sea.

We were able to visit the control room at the top of the boat which was filled with equipment, buttons, and screens, giving us an idea of how the ship was operated. It was interesting to think about how much coordination and discipline was required to keep everything running smoothly.

Small walk along the coastline 🌅

To avoid the possability of not catching the last bus and being stuck in Thessaloniki, we decided to avoid catching the last bus, and so we decided to start getting ready and meet with the rest of the group (Duarte and Iara) at the Aristotelous Square.

But before that, we decided to go for a small walk by the coastline to appreciate a bit of the architecture, the feeling and the beauty that the city held.

The restaurants by the sea were extremely modern and reminded me a little bit of Vilamoura during the summer where there is constant movement, everyone is relaxed and on vacation having a drink by the sea, where there is nothing to worry about.

Home sweet Home 🥪

Once we met up with everyone, we caught the bus 31 that took us to the central bus station then we caught the express bus home.

Once we arrived, we all went to have dinner at a baguette shop down the avenue called "All Time". It isn't our first time visiting this restaurant as they open early and close late; sell cheap baguette combos; they're quick with making food & make delicious/filling food, making them a reliable choice for when you're hungry. While we were waiting for our dinner, we chatted a bit and talked about our day, after we finished we we're all quite tired so we went home to get a good night rest for tomorrow.

Starting the day 🥪

A new day has started, as we weren't working today David Costa and I decided to go for a walk around town to see what we could have for breakfast. To our surprise, our friend at 813 was open and working today which was good news to us as it is common to find a lot of the stores closed on Sundays as the Greek generally take this day off to relax.

We couldn't say no to his amazing yet filling sandwiches so we passed by and ordered the usual, unfortunately, he was out of the sandwiches we normally order but did have another sandwich in stock, so we decided to try out something new. He gave us a complimentary chocolate croissant as 'dessert'!

Coffee & Photos☕

After grabbing our sandwich, we went home to eat it. I didn't feel like staying at home so I decided to go and have some coffee at a new place, Alexandre and Francisco decided to tag along.

We went to the coffee shop/confectionery next to our apartment called Kriarás (Κριαράς) to have a coffee, and since the place had a very modern aesthetic and was beautifully decorated, we took advantage of its ambiance to capture some stunning portraits and photos of the space.

Visiting a Church⛪

After I finished my coffee and finished taking some photos, we decided to go for a little adventure.

We explored downtown Veria, where we found this very beautiful Church, it's called the New Holy Church of the Holy Unmercenaries (Νέος Ιερός Ναός Αγίων Αναργύρων), after a quick Google search to learn more about it, the church is one of the city’s notable modern Orthodox churches that is dedicated to the beloved saints that helped heal people without accepting payment (the name “unmercenaries” means without silver/money).

Visiting an Archaeological Museum⛪

As we continued our walk past the church and came across an Archaeological Museum, which was unfortunately closed on Sundays; however, there was an outdoor exhibition that was open to the public free of charge which we explored. We admired the collection of ancient stone sarcophagi and inscriptions displayed in the open air, which allowed us to better understand the history here in Veria.

Most of the inscriptions were still legible which was very surprising for me as these are extremely old, but it also made the experience feel even more authentic, as if we were directly connecting with stories from centuries ago. 

Exploring Veria 🚶‍♂️

After visiting the Archaeological Museum, we continued walking through the streets of Veria, which felt quite different from the hilltop areas we were used to. This part of the city seemed more residential and relaxed with less action happening; at some point, Alexandre headed home to meet up with David Costa, while I kept exploring with Francisco.

As we wandered through the streets, we came across a really cool motorcycle shop repairshop with all kinds of random bikes stacked on top of the store which was something Francisco enjoyed seeing a lot, we also passed by a small park which was relaxing.

Coffee Break ☕

We ended up stopping at a café called “Da Manha” which was close to where we were at the moment, which reminded us of Portugal as the name of the place is in Portuguese, the coffee shop had a cozy atmosphere with small lights everywhere that gave it a more relaxing feel, and the woman who served us was incredibly warm and welcoming, making the experience even more enjoyable. 

The coffee shop did have a little bit of a coffee smell which was good, me and Francisco sat down and relaxed a bit before heading out, we also took some pictures while we were there.

Going home 🚶‍♂️

After the coffee we had at café da manhã, we decided to head home to meet up with the rest of our roommates.

It was nice to explore Veria a bit more, even if it was on the way home, given that it was a Sunday the streets felt like they were a bit +emptier and had less movement, as everyone would either be at home or sitting inside of a coffee shop.

Once we arrived home, we relaxed a bit with our roommates before heading out for dinner.

Dinner at a new place🍗

Once everyone started to get hungry, we decided to go and see what we could find to eat. David Costa and Alexandre wanted to try out this restaurant called "Something else" where they made Gyros (Γύρος) which is something I would be having for the first time.

As we were placing our order and waiting for it, David Sousa and Inês were passing by so they joined us to see what we were up to, we all eventually went home to eat the Gyro as we ordered it for takeaway and it was pretty good, the meat was tasty and I found it interesting how they added french-fries in the food, the sauce was a bit acidic and strong but besides that it was delicious.

Snooker to End the Day 🎱

After dinner, we decided to take David Sousa and Inês to the game plaza/café, as we had mentioned it to them before. We split up to use two different pool tables and formed teams to play against each other, I was playing with Francisco against David Sousa and Inês, while Alexandre and David Costa were playing against each other on another table.

We had a really good time, it was a lot of fun trying out different techniques, laughing, and chatting along the way; overall, it was a fun experience, and we ended up playing two games in total.

After that, we all went home and got ready for the next day.

Starting the week at work💻

After David Costa and I passed by Kriarás (Κριαράς) for him to get something to eat, we head straight to work.

Building on the progress from the previous day, I continued implementing the remaining requested features for the event registration platform.

I revisited the issues I had debugged earlier to verify if the fixes I've implemented have patched the issues I was experiencing, during this process, I identified a few edge cases that needed additional handling, which led me to refine some parts of the logic to make the system better.

I also made small structural improvements to enhance code readability and maintainability. We left work a little late today as we were focused on our tasks and didn't take into consideration the time but as the library only closed at 8 PM, there was no problem.

Lunch time 🍗

After work, at around ~15:20h, we went for a little walk around the town to see what we could eat for lunch and possibly try something new. As it was a little late to be having lunch, most of the restaurants were closed so we decided to visit the restaurant, "Something else", that we had visited yesterday.

As the only inconvenience we had with the Gyro was the sauce, we asked if it was possible to change it which they were more than happy to do.

David Costa had his Gyro with Chilli sauce while I had mine with mustard. It turned out to be really delicious!

Passing by the Supermarket 🛒

To save a bit of money, instead of buying a drink to accompany our gyro from the restaurant where we were at, we decided to stop by the supermarket, where we were able to get more to drink at a cheaper price. It turned out to be a great decision, as there was also a wide variety of options available, allowing each of us to pick something we actually felt like having rather than settling for limited choices (for example, I wanted to get myself a juice which they didn't have there).

David Costa got himself a Coca-Cola and some noodles that he planned to have later that night, while I chose a juice made with nine different fruits, I also grabbed a few bananas so I’d have something quick to eat whenever I’m craving a snack.

Photography Session 📸

My roommate Alexandre wanted to re-create a shot/picture I took the other day now that he shaved a bit and put on one of his favorite hoodies, we decided to continue with another photography session at home, picking up from where we left off, Alexandre was once again super happy to be in front of the camera which made me happy as it gave me the perfect chance to keep practicing and refining my skills.

The picture on the left shows my POV, while the picture on the right shows the end result with light editing!

Coffee  Break ☕

After chilling a bit at home, I didn't feel like spending the whole day at home; so I decided to explore the city a bit and try out a new coffee shop. I eventually came across a coffee shop called Le Petit, which means "the little one" in French.

The coffee shop was really beautiful, the design and attention to detail were something that could not go unnoticed, the worker that took my order was really friendly and welcoming, the coffee was also pretty delicious, the milk was very foamy which is what I like, all of these positive characteristics explains their good ratings on Google maps!

I hope to come back to this coffee place one day!

Dinner 🍽️

Once it struck 7:50 on the clock, I went with all of my roommates (Alexandre, Francisco & David Costa) as we were all at home together, to meet up with the rest of the group at the restaurant where we commonly have our dinners during the week.

The dinner was good as always, they had prepared my favorite salad as an entree, I searched up the recipe to save and make in Portugal and I discovered that it is incredibly popular during the autumn and winter months, especially around Christmas and New Year's, as pomegranates are a symbol of good luck and prosperity in Greek culture.

I had the Πανσετακια (pronounced pansetakia) which I discovered recently is a very popular and delicious Greek meat dish. It consists of small, thin cuts of fatty pork belly that are typically marinated and grilled over charcoal or pan-fried, making them crispy and flavorful.

Evening Run 👟

To end the day, as I really enjoyed my first run in Veria with Alexandre and wanted to improve my endurance, I suggested that my roommates go on a run, and Alexandre and Francisco joined me.

The run was very productive, we covered a total of 15 km, passing through the outskirts of Veria and a small village called Πατρίδα (Patrida). Along the way, many dogs decided to join us on the run; some ran by our side, while others chose to wake up their neighbours and bark at us.

Veria, fortunately, has a lot of water fountains spread around the city, which is great and really came in clutch, as we were able to make a quick stop at one one the way home to have a sip of water.

As we were arriving home, we stopped by a 24/7 vending machine store where Francisco and Alexandre got a snack, and I got a herb tea to drink, we then walked home to stretch our legs and slow down the pace. 

Once we arrived home, we took a shower and went to sleep.

Work - Focused on UI/UX💻

After David Costa and I passed by Kriarás (Κριαράς) for him to get something to eat, then we head straight to work.

I can consider this another productive day, as we focused more on polishing the user interface of the website now that we had the backend more sorted out. With the core functionality already in place, we were able to shift our attention to improving the overall look and feel of the platform.

We spent time refining different components, adjusting layouts, and making sure everything was more intuitive and visually consistent. Small details like spacing, alignment, and responsiveness became our main focus, as they make a big difference in the user experience.

Lunch Time 🥪

After work, David Costa and I decided to have something to eat at our friend’s butcher shop, 813. He was as happy to see us as we were to see him, we chatted for a bit, and he mentioned that he had started learning how to make a francesinha, which was nice and it showed how happy he is to have us around, since francesinha is from our country and he was making an effort to learn more about it.

This time, we tried a different sandwich that he improvised on the spot, using a different type of bread, It turned out to be really good, It had a variety of meats and sauces that blended together really well, and I was very satisfied by the end of it.

A highlight from the sandwich was the chorizo that blended in really well with the mayonnaise and mustard!

Dinner 🍽️

It was a slow day. After lunch, I mainly spent my time at home working on my personal project, and then I took a nap.

When dinner time arrived, we all met at the restaurant. I decided to have a hamburger since it was really good the last time I had it and quite filling, and my expectations proved me right, the hamburger didn’t disappoint, it was very satisfying. The fries tasted different from the ones I had yesterday, in a good way. I’m not sure if it was the seasoning, but I devoured them!

They also brought us dessert, after searching about it I was able to learn more about it. They served us Revani, which is a classic Greek semolina cake, It’s a soft, sponge-like dessert made with semolina flour and soaked in a light sugar syrup, which gives it that moist, slightly grainy texture you can see in the picture I added, also, the ridged lines on top are often made with a fork before baking or soaking.

Taking & Editing Photos📸

After dinner, we went home, and Alexandre asked me if I could take a picture of him sitting on the sofa reading a book, which I was more than happy to do. We took several pictures from different angles, experimenting with different compositions and perspectives. 

In the end, he chose one of the pictures that he liked the most. We then edited it slightly, making small adjustments to the brightness, contrast, and colors to enhance the overall mood without making it look unnatural. The goal was to keep the photo simple yet expressive.

Once we finished editing, he looked at the final result and felt satisfied with the image. It was a nice way to end the evening.

Popcorn & Uno 🍿

During the night, we decided to play a game of Uno since we had so much fun the last time we played it, there is nothing as good as playing uno with something to nibble on, so I decided to make some popcorn for everyone that I had bought a few days ago, Francisco had offered us some of his oreos as well, so the game was accompanied by different snacks and a cocacola to keep things entertaining.

We had a lot of fun, and Francisco turned out to win most of the Uno games. Overall, we had a great time.

Independence Day Parade 🎉

The 25th of March on the calendar marks Independence Day here in Greece, later in the day, when I visited the souvenir shop that my Airbnb host owns, he explained that it commemorates Greece’s liberation and independence from the Ottoman Empire, marking the beginning of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, when the Greek people rose up to fight for their freedom after centuries of Ottoman rule. Similar to our 25 de Abril in Portugal!

The streets of Veria were very lively, with everyone holding and waving their national flags. It seemed like the whole city was outside, just enjoying and supporting the parade, which really shows how patriotic the Greek people are and how strongly they identify with their country’s history, each time a group marched down the avenue, the crowd would clap, which made the whole experience feel very wholesome as they weren't just spectating the event but they made themselves involved too.

In the end, I was also able to see some soldiers and police officers marching down the street.

Cleaning the house 🧽

We noticed that there was some popcorn scattered around the house from when we were playing uno and eating popcorn yesterday alongside some crumbs that must've dropped on the floor from when we order food for takeaway and eat it at home.

To keep the house nice and clean for everyone in the house, me and Francisco decided to clean the house while David Costa and Alexandre were outdoors walking around the city.

We vacummed and mopped the floor while listening to music and talking about bikes/cars so not only was it productive but it also turned out to be a great bonding experience.

Lunch Time 🍕

After cleaning the house, we decided to go out to have lunch as it was lunchtime, Francisco had suggested a pizza place near our apartment which I decided to try as I haven't tried it before, we went there and we were warmly greeted by the workers there, we spoke a bit about out home country and the Erasmus+ project, we then decided to buy 2 slices of pizza each.

One of the slices of pizza we had was with ham while the other slice of pizza we had was with pepperoni, the pizza slices were quite juicy and for the price we paid I was surprised as normally in Portugal the slices of pizza would be more expensive for roughly the same.

It was very good, I definitely plan on returning there!

Coffee Time ☕

After eating lunch, I wanted to grab a coffee and so on the way home I stopped by this coffee shop called Parrots, the interior had a cozy feel to it as it was nicely decorated, the worker was also very friendly, while he was working on my coffee the music that was playing inside of the store was techno rave music, more specifically the famous Squid Game techno rave music, which was playing very loudly which was quite interesting as the music and volume didn't match the coffee shop’s theme or feel, but it wasn't bad music.

The coffee turned out to be quite delicious and very good, would recommend! 

Souvenirs 🖼️

During the day, Francisco wanted to stop by the souvenir shop to get something to bring home for himself and for his family to remember his Erasmus+ Internship here in Greece, so we decided to visit Veria & Co which is the souvenir shop owned by our apartment owner, we came to visit him as well as for Francisco to pick up some souvenirs and we spoke about the parade that happened in the morning and about the parades are in Portugal and the history of the country.

It was here where he then better explained the history I mentioned behind the Greek Independence Day and why it is celebrated the way it is.

Dinner 🍽️

For dinner, we all reunited at Stasou Mygdala (Στάσου Μύγδαλα) as the owner of the restaurant said that they would be open on Wednesday for the Greek Independance day and then close tomorrow (on Thursday). I decided to stick to the hamburger which always turns out to be delicious.

For dessert, they brought us a saganaki with honey (σαγανάκι με μέλι) which is a popular Greek dish where a firm cheese (often kefalotyri, graviera, or sometimes feta) is fried until golden and crispy, then topped with honey and often sesame seeds.

It was quite good, it was nice trying something new!

Group Activity 🎱

As we had a meeting planned with the Erasmus+ coordinator at 10 PM, but still had some spare time after the dinner at Stasou Mygdala, Francisco, David Sousa, Inês, and I decided to play some snooker at the game plaza down the street from my apartment.

We had a lot of fun, as always; unfortunately, we were only able to play one game, as we only had around 15 minutes left before the meeting started, but this gave us more than enough time to walk to Inês and David Sousa’s apartment as it was relatively close, where the meeting was being hosted since it was the largest apartment among us.

Meeting 💻

As the clock struck 10 PM, my colleague Duarte opened the Zoom meeting with our teachers on his laptop and set it up on the coffee table, since we all had to appear on camera, we sat together on the sofa and spoke.

We covered a lot of topics, such as our lunches and dinners, the work we’ve been doing so far, if we've had any health issues, how everything is going, if the apartment was alright, among others.

It was a relatively quick call, mainly just to checkup on us and see if everything is okay. 

Playing Cards 🃏

After the meeting, David Costa and Alexandre went home while me and Francisco stayed for a game of cards that Duarte invited us to play.

We played President, where the goal is to be the first to get rid of all your cards, each player is dealt an equal number of cards, and turns are taken by playing one or more cards of the same rank, which must beat the previous play. If a player cannot beat the current play, they must pass, and when everyone passes, the last player to play can start a new round with any cards. At the end of the game, whoever won first gives their best cards to whoever stayed in last place.

It was quite a fun game, It took a bit to get used to the custom rankings the cards had as I didn't expect ace to be the weakest card and 2 to be the strongest.

Work - Website Deployment 💻

Today at work, in the morning, I went to speak to our IT manager Georgios to present the website we've been working on and he was very satisfied and happy with the work we presented, so he created a subdomain on the website and gave us access to deploy the website.

While our IT manager was preparing the server and the credentials to give us, I was fixing the QR code attendance system as we realised that it wasn't working as attended while we were testing the website.

Coffee ☕

After work, David Costa wanted to try and order food from a food delivery service that David Sousa and Inês had recommended us called e-food (which apparently is similar to Uber Eats), so before heading home to wait for our order to arrive, I decided to pass by Coffee Island which is by the house to grab a quick coffee to drink.

I ordered a cappuccino with some chocolate powder on top and it ended up being quite delicious.

Lunch Arrived 🍕

Once we got home, we started browsing the options on the application and decided to order from Pizza Γίγας Jordani (translates to Giant Pizza Jordani), which had some great-looking pizzas with promising sizes at a good price. We experienced a bit of a "culture shock" when the delivery man arrived and asked us to pay in cash, as normally on these food delivery applications you always pay first with card before the order is placed.

I ended up choosing the Village-Style Giant Pizza, which was only €5, while David Costa stuck with ordering two family-size pizzas that costed 4€ each.

Overall, the pizzas were good and tasty, the sizes were a bit misleading, but for the price we paid, we couldn’t complain.

Personal Project 💻

After eating pizza, I made myself some English breakfast tea to drink while working on my personal project.

I’ve been working on this project for about three months now, but I hadn’t really found the time to focus on it until recently, as I’ve been either exploring Veria or spending time with my roommates. It’s a customizable link-in-bio platform, similar to Linktree, where users can put all their links, content, and pages in one place.

Today, I tried implementing a snapshot feature that allows users to create a backup of their page before making major changes or to create 'templates' for different occasions. After a bit of debugging, I got some satisfying results.

New Restaurant 🍽️

Me and my roommates (David Costa & Francisco) didn’t know where to have dinner, so we decided to walk down the street to see if any restaurant would catch our attention.

We ended up walking along the entire avenue and eventually reached Elia (Olive) Park. Next to it was the restaurant we had originally planned to dine at on Wednesday (Greek Independence Day), but we couldn’t because we weren’t able to make a reservation.

As we stepped inside the restaurant, we noticed how modern and well-designed it was, both inside and out. Although the food didn’t look like much at first, it turned out to be quite filling, needless to say, it was very delicious. The waiter who attended us was very kind and welcoming, and by the end of the night, he felt more like a friend than a stranger. We talked about our Erasmus project, life in both Greece and Portugal, and he even showed us a bit of his online store.

Overall, dinner was really good, and we hope to come back one day!

Editing Photos 📸

After dining at the restaurant, we went home, where I decided to edit some of the photos from Independence Day before ending the day and heading to sleep.

Editing the images allowed me to reflect not only on the importance the day held for the people of Veria, but for Greece as a whole. It was a calm and meaningful way to wind down.

At Work 💻

Our IT manager, Georgios, gave me credentials to access the LAN so we could SSH into the server and complete the deployment end to end, we cloned and synced the project into the CloudPanel site directory, configured production environment variables securely in .env, connected the app to a MySQL database, ran Laravel migrations, cleared and rebuild config/route/view caches, created the storage symlink for uploads, added the schedule:run cron job, resolved a duplicate route-name issue blocking route caching, and validated the live domain over HTTPS with working authentication and admin flows.

The website is now live at events.libver.gr, our IT manager tested it out and it seemed to all be working pretty well!

Exploring H&M 👕

On the way to 813, we stumbled upon H&M which was a clothing store that David Costa wanted to visit, I was surprised to find out that the store was 3 stories tall, it's the first time I've seen an H&M this big!

We walked around a bit and explore all 3 floors looking for the men section, unfortunately the men section was quite small but nothing that we couldn't look at.

I found some nice pijamas that looked pretty good but when I went to try them out I realised that the fitting wasn't for me as it turned out to look more like a suit than a pijama.

After exploring H&M, we went to visit our friend at 813.

813 for Lunch 🥪

For lunch, David Costa and I couldn't figure out what to eat, so we played it safe and visited our friend at 813.

I decided to try something new and ordered the croissant as you can see in the picture. I initially thought it was just a simple croissant with salami and melted cheese, but it turned out to be more. 

It featured a great variety of meats and a few different sauces, and the bread was incredibly fluffy. As an extra, I also got another croissant with peach jam which turned out to be quite delicious as well and was only 0,60€ which almost felt like a steal as this in Portugal would easily cost double or more!

Our friend at 813 never fails to surprise me!

Personal Project 💻

After working a bit on my Erasmus+ blog, I decided to work on my personal project as we had no plans for that evening besides dinner.

Today, I decided to fix some role-escalation and data-exposure bugs, I also added some SSRF protection to the link scanner, moving rate limiting and login-throttle logic to shared DB-backed controls, capping webhook payload size, sanitizing API error responses, removing JWT storage from browser local/session storage, cleaning up secret handling (.env no longer tracked), and updating dependencies until both backend and frontend audits reported zero vulnerabilities.

I made some decent progress and published the changes to my website after testing them.

Meatballs for Dinner 🍽️

We all met up at the usual restaurant for dinner, the owner suggested us some new plates we could try if we wanted to, one of them being soutzoukakia (also called smyrneika soutzoukakia) which easier said was the greek version of meatballs.

The meatballs were slightly elongated (like mini sausages), not round; it came in tomato-based sauce with herbs (often cumin, garlic, parsley) and it is commonly served with bread or pita to scoop up the sauce (luckily we had both).

It turned out to be very delicious and despite only being 5 of them, they were very filling!

We also received complimentary french fries which was a nice gesture on their end, I started to realise that the Greek have really integrated french fries into their cousine as they have them everywhere.

Grocery Shopping 🛒

After dinner, Duarte mentioned that he needed to stop by a supermarket to pick something up, so Duarte, Francisco, Iara, and I all headed there together.

While walking through the aisles, I stumbled across “Μακεδονικό ταχίνι με μέλι” (Makedoniko tahini with honey), which is basically ground sesame seeds (like a paste) mixed with honey. 

I had never seen it before, so I got curious and picked it up to take a closer look. It seemed like a really traditional Greek product, and I thought it would be interesting to try something new and local, so I ended up adding up buying it.

While we were there I also bought some coffee and milk to drink at home rather than going out, which turns out to be cheaper.

Car Trip 🚗

In the morning, we all got ready to meet Kostis at 9:30 a.m. in front of the other apartment to begin our journey to the city of Vergina (Βεργίνα), as we were going by car and there was eight of us, a friend of Kostis was kind enough to help so we split into 4 and went in both cars, where we would go and visit the Museum of the Royal Tombs at Aigai. 

The museum was about a 15-minute drive from where we started, the journey was quite pleasant, with some scenic views. We passed over the longest river in Greece and talked about the history of Greece and North Macedonia.

Visiting The Museum 🖼️

Once we arrived, we were a bit confused to where the museum was actually located as in front of us we only saw a little hill, but Kostis indicated that the museum was actually inside of the hill. The museum was built inside of the hill on purpose, and apparently it's one of the most unique museums in the world; the "hill" is a reconstructed tumulus (burial mound). 

In ancient Macedonian times, royal tombs like those of the family of Alexander the Great were buried underground and covered with earth to form a mound, when the royal tombs were discovered in 1977, they were intact but extremely fragile so Instead of moving them, Greece built the museum around them, so visitors can see the tombs in their original position. 

The low light protects the paintings and artifacts, they're able to control the humidity and temperature and recreate the ancient experience.

Walking into the Museum of the Royal Tombs at Aigai felt a bit different from a normal museum, as soon as we stepped inside it was dark and quiet. As we walked further in, we realized that what we were seeing weren’t just exhibits but the actual royal tombs, including the one believed to belong to Philip II of Macedon, which still had its original structure and painted façade.

One of the most memorable things was the golden larnax with the Vergina Sun symbol, it was displayed under soft lighting and looked incredibly detailed, along with weapons, armor, and other royal objects that showed how powerful the Macedonian kingdom was.

There were also ancient frescoes like the Abduction of Persephone, and it was surprising how well they were preserved, the whole atmosphere was quiet and intense, and it honestly felt less like visiting a museum and more like exploring a real ancient burial site connected to Alexander the Great.

One of the things that really stood out was a reconstructed couch (funerary bed), it was incredibly detailed with carvings and decorations, and even though parts of it were broken, you could still see how intricate and luxurious it must have been. Next to it were small fragments laid out carefully, as well as weapons, armor, and other royal objects that showed how powerful the Macedonian kingdom was.

There were also ancient frescoes like the Abduction of Persephone, and it was surprising how well they were preserved, and it honestly felt less like visiting a museum and more like exploring a real ancient burial site connected to Alexander the Great.

Visiting a Natural Park 🌲

On the way back, Kostis wanted to show us a peaceful spot next to the river we had crossed earlier. As soon as we arrived, it felt really calm and relaxing. 

The views were phenomenalthe water had a beautiful blue color, and the surrounding nature was full of vibrant green trees and plants. There was a long walking path stretching along the river, which looked perfect for a quiet stroll, but unfortunately we didn’t go very far because it looked like it might start raining. 

Even so, just standing there and taking in the scenery made it a really memorable stop, and it was a nice, peaceful way to end the trip.

Lunch at Roma Pizza 🍕

After the trip, Kostis had left us at the meeting point. As it was lunch time, David Sousa, Inês, Francisco and I decided to have dinner, we didn't know what to have for lunch so we decided to go for a small walk around the city.

As we walked down, Inês noticed a restaurant called Roma Pizza which she has always seen during her stay in Veria and was curious to visit it, we sad down and the owner warmly welcomed us.

Me and Inês decided to order the Chef's Rigatoni which turned out to be very delicious, Francisco and David ordered a Carbonara which had a very good aspect!

For the price we paid I could say it was a very good experience!

Coffee @ Expresso World☕

After a satisfying lunch, we decided to visit a new Expresso World coffee shop that we had seen on our way back to Veria from Vergina. This time, I ordered a latte, which surprisingly came in a very large cup but was the same price as the cappuccino which came in a smaller cup.

The coffee turned out to be really good, smooth and rich and it was exactly what I needed after a long day of exploring. By that point, I was starting to settle on Expresso World as my go-to coffee shop, since the quality of the coffee had been consistently good.

Having some Icecream 🍦

After coffee, on the way home, we came across an ice cream parlor called “Profiterole,” which had some attention-grabbing ice creams on display. 

Having previously worked at an ice cream parlor this summer, I felt a small connection to the place and decided to try some. They had interesting flavors in stock, many inspired by Greek traditions, the lady who attended us was kind enough to offer me a sample of one of the ice creams based on a traditional Orthodox Easter cake, but in the end, I settled on cheesecake since it’s my all-time favorite.

The worker also mentioned that all of the icecream is made in-store which was really cool to know!

Little Walk around Veria 🚶

With ice cream in our hands, we went for a scenic walk around the city, we wandered through streets we hadn’t explored before, discovering new roads and small hidden corners that gave us a better feel for Veria. Along the way, we came across several beautiful churches, each with its own unique architecture, we also spotted some amazing cars.

It was a really enjoyable and relaxed experience, and it gave us time to talk, laugh, and bond while taking in the surroundings.

Dinner at a new Restaurant🥙

For dinner, David Sousa, Francisco, Inês and I decided to reunite near the Raktivan Square to look and see what we could have for dinner.

We eventually came across a restaurant called "Dinner 4 All", initially it didn't look like much from the outside but the prices they had on the chalk board did grab our attention.

I settled on chicken souvlaki (σουβλάκι κοτόπουλο), which was a simple yet delicious pita wrap filled with juicy grilled chicken, crispy fries, fresh vegetables and a generous amount of sauce (the highlight was the sauce!). It turned out to be a great choice, especially after a long day, as it was both satisfying and full of flavour, for the price of 4,50€ it was fabulous!

Beginning our Journey 🚐

Today we had organised to visit Meteora, which according to the locals is one of the best places you can visit in Greece. We met up with our transfer at a meeting point near Raktivan Square, close to both of our apartments, at 8:30 AM.

All 8 of us got in and we started our journey to Meteora, on the way to our destination, I noticed that Northern Greece has a lot of mountains and hills that made the scenery incredibly beautiful. In Portugal we also have similar landscapes, but something felt different about the ones in Greece, I think the main difference is that they felt more rugged and more character.

As we drove further away from the city, the mountains seemed to have gotten taller. A nice highlight I would like to mention is that we passed by the Olympus mountain, the tallest mountain in Greece!

Quick stop to have a break ⏸️

At roughly 10:30 AM, the transfer made a quick stop at the Regional Bus Station "NIAVIS" which was close to the city of Larissa. I was a bit hungry at the moment so I took this as an opportunity to eat a croissant with peach jam I had bought the day before, after that, I explored the store inside with Francisco, David Sousa and Inês.

The items in-store were a bit expensive and over priced for what they were, but prices of stuff do tend to be more expensive at bus stations. They had different sections, one for clothes, one for accessories, one for souvenirs, etc.

Outside we also found a Mazda Astina, which was unfortunately abandoned but still looked good!

Visiting a Monastery ⛪

At around 12:35 PM, we arrived at the Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen, which is part of Meteora, I did a little research and learned that this monastery is one of the six active monasteries in the Meteora complex, located near Kalambaka in central Greece.

Since some of us work at the library in Veria, a nun kindly offered us free entrance to the monastery, which was a very kind gesture.

Originally founded in the 14th century, it began as a small hermitage before developing into a full monastery, it now functions as a nunnery, home to a community of Orthodox nuns who continue the spiritual traditions of Meteora while also maintaining the site with great care.

I really enjoyed visiting the Monastery and I can gladly say it was one of the highlights of my Erasmus+ trip!

Visiting Kalabaka for Lunch 🏘️🍽️

After visiting the Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen, we headed to a nearby city called Kalambaka (Καλαμπάκα). Since it was lunchtime, we were all on a mission to find a place to eat.

Francisco, David Sousa, Inês, and I walked up and down the avenue, passing by various restaurants but due to increased prices caused by tourism, it was difficult for us to find a place that fit our budget, we eventually settled on a restaurant called Pizza Fiesta, which offered a bit of everything and was somewhat affordable.

Francisco and Inês had a ham pizza, David Sousa had a chicken burger, and I had an egg burger. The pizzas looked pretty good when they arrived, while David Sousa and I ended up with somewhat questionable burgers, they weren’t the best, but not the worst either.

In the end, I left the place feeling full!

Arriving in Veria🍽️

After Lunch, we went back to Veria where we all went to our apartments and chilled for the rest of the day. For dinner, I went with Francisco and David Costa for a walk around the city to see what we could eat that night, me and Francisco ended up having some pizza from Roma Pizza which was quite delicious, I had a some slices of olive and ham pizza which turned out to be quite filling.

We then accompanied David Costa to another pizzeria he wanted to visit where he then ordered 2 pizzas which he later took home to eat.

Monday Work (Backend) 💻

Today was quite an interesting day at work, as we were working they were testing the alarm system with a smoke detector testing pole which has a cup at the top that goes over a smoke detector and releases a small amount of test aerosol (fake smoke) to trigger the alarm and confirm if the detector is working properly without needing real smoke.

As we generally work on the second floor, it was interesting seeing a pole just pass by us while we were working.

Work-wise, we made some good progress to the backend and made some minimal changes to the frontend, the website is essentially ready and we're waiting for our IT manager to check it.

Lunch 🥙

After work, I decided to stop by the restaurant I had previously visited with Francisco, David Sousa, and Inês called “Dinner 4 All,” which I really enjoyed last time.

I decided to order something different to mix things up a bit and had the chicken gyro, which turned out to be quite delicious. The combination of sauces and ingredients they use is really good!

Compared to the other gyro shops around town, they do it better and cheaper, which is perfect, not only for satisfying me but also for my budget!

More Work (Personal Project) 💻

After lunch, since there wasn’t much to do, I decided to continue working on my personal project. I added some new features, made improvements to the backend architecture, and implemented some stability and bug fixes, it was an overall productive afternoon.

To accompany me, I had some English breakfast tea with honey.

Coffee with Kostis ☕

After work, Kostis messaged me asking if I was available at 6 PM to meet him, which I was. We went for a walk together and talked about our visit to Meteora as he wanted to talk about our Trip yesterday.

While we were talking, we strolled around the city and eventually ended up at a coffee shop that served a cacao drink with spices, Kostis’s favorite, which he also had recommended.

It was a productive conversation, and the cacao drink we had was really good. It was nice to try something new!

Dinner 🍔

We all gathered at our usual restaurant for dinner. I decided to have the classic hamburger, which never fails to satisfy me.

We had a lot of topics to acompany our dinner, ranging from cars and Greek culture to our weekend adventures, I also spoke some technical topics with Duarte regarding some of his future project ideas and my current project, it was a great bonding experience.

I'm not sure if it was the hunger or the presentation, but I really enjoyed this burger. It felt like it had more mozzarella cheese on top, the fries complemented the hamburger really well, the buns were soft, and overall, it was a great dinner.

Walk around Town 🚶

As we were having dinner, Duarte mentioned that there was a supermarket with 3 floors in the city, I was curious to know where it was for future reference. 

After passing by the supermarket, we decided to go on a little adventure through the city and ended up exploring many new roads and even a bit of the outskirts.

It was a great walk, perfect for digesting our dinner while also discovering more of the city, we had fun the whole time and it was a good bonding experience.

Fixing some bugs 🐛

At work, we noticed some small bugs in the new features we had implemented in the admin panel last time, nothing too severe, but they still needed fixing, so David and I went ahead and took care of them.

The issue was that some inputs were not being properly validated, which caused unexpected behavior when submitting data, we also found that certain elements were not updating correctly in the database. After identifying the root causes, we implemented the necessary fixes and ensured everything was working smoothly again.

Gyro for Lunch 🥙

After work, I decided to try out a new place called “Το Νέο Γυρολόι” by Christodoulos Georgios, which translates to “The New Gyroloi”, It’s a gyro shop very close to my apartment and has had my attention for quite some time now.

The gyro you get for the price they ask for here is very good, It’s slightly cheaper than the previous gyro shop I went to last time, and it feels a bit more filling. The taste and the combination of ingredients are also excellent, and the sauce is amazing.

The gyro respected my budget, and I’m glad I decided to stop by!

Coffee Stop ☕

After lunch, I chilled at home for a bit, but since we were getting tired of staying in, Francisco, Alexandre, and I decided to go out for a coffee; we didn’t realize it was raining until we left the house, so we ended up going to my favorite nearby coffee shop, Expresso World, which was close to our apartment.

We ordered our coffee and stayed indoors for a while, slowly adapting to the Greek coffee culture of sitting in a café with a cup of coffee in front of you, we socialized and talked about all sorts of different things, we had a good time overall.

Exploring a new Supermarket 🛒

After having some coffee, we decided to go on a little adventure and check out the three-floor supermarket called "Green" that my colleague Duarte had shown me the other day, It was interesting to see that the prices there were slightly lower than at the supermarket we usually go to next to our apartment.

We also found a wider variety of items, like a croissant filled with oreo flavored paste, which Alexandre later bought to try.

Another thing that sparked our curiosity was that they don’t just sell cereals and carbs (rice, spaghetti, etc.) in boxes, they also have a section where you can choose the exact amount you want and pay by the kilogram. I found this interesting, as you’re not forced to buy a package with a predefined weight but can instead purchase according to your needs.

Visiting Lexis 🏫

After visiting the supermarket, and since I didn’t have anything else planned for the rest of the day, I decided to accompany my roommates, who were heading to work at a school a bit far away, when we arrived, they invited me to spend the day with them at work, which I happily accepted, as I was curious to see what it’s like working at the Lexis Language School!

It was a really interesting experience. We spoke with the students about life in Portugal, and I was able to give a fifth perspective on our Erasmus+ project (since 4 out of the 8 participants work at Lexis), which I believe the students enjoyed hearing about.

I was also shown a “magic wand” device that, when pointed at any text or image, starts describing it. If it’s text, it reads it aloud. I found this especially fascinating, I had never seen anything like it before!

Dinner at Olive 🍝

After work, Francisco invited us to have dinner at Olive since the restaurant we usually go to was closed. As Inês and David Sousa hadn’t visited the restaurant before, the invitation was extended to them as well, so the four of us (Francisco, Inês, David Sousa, and I) set off on our journey to the restaurant, which was fairly far from the school we were at.

Once we arrived, we were greeted and seated by the same waiter who had served us last time, which was really nice.

I decided to try their “Cannelloni Olive,” which had minced meat, mushrooms, cheese, and red sauce. It was very filling and appetizing; we really enjoyed it!

Meeting with our Teachers 🧑‍🏫

We stayed at the restaurant socializing until about 20 minutes before our meeting, which still gave us plenty of time to walk to their apartment.

Once we got there, our colleague Duarte opened the meeting on his laptop with our Erasmus+ teachers, Prof. Duarte and Prof.ª Elisabete, we discussed a variety of topics, including our work, daily life, and how we’ve been adapting. They also gave us some important reminders, such as saving our receipts to justify costs and expenses and keeping our blog up to date.

Towards the end of the meeting, Prof.ª Elisabete pointed out a few things we should improve on our blog, giving us helpful feedback to make it better.

Youtube and Chill 📺

After the meeting, we decided to relax for a bit and watch some YouTube videos on their TV, we watched a variety of car and rally content, including people making different modifications to their cars, as well as others showcasing their vehicles and taking them out for a drive.

We then moved on to a 40 minute video featuring two people who built a house and a pool using nothing but wood and the natural terrain around them. It was interesting to watch and a perfect way to wind down after the day.

Time for work 💻

We decided to work in a new location in the library today, more precisely on the second floor near the journals as we noticed that some of our colleagues were busy in our go-to spot and we didn't want it interrupt them.

Since Georgio, our IT manager, only starts his shift later in the afternoon, after we’ve already finished, we decided to make use of the time by tweaking a few things on the website, we focused on small adjustments and minor improvements to enhance its overall look and functionality. 

The idea was to have something more polished and presentable ready for him when he came in, so we could get his feedback and continue improving it together.

Pizza For Lunch 🍕

Since it was raining at lunchtime, we decided to just order in instead of going out. David Costa and I ordered a pizza online from Pizza Jordani, which fit our budget and turned out to be a great choice. 

I went for their special pizza, which came with tomato sauce, gouda, ham, bacon, pepperoni, mushrooms, and peppers. It was really tasty and definitely hit the spot.

The delivery was fast and the delivery-man even came to our doorstep which I was not expecting, initially I thought it was David Sousa and Inês that decided to visit us.

Working on my Personal Project 📽️

Since I’ve pretty much finished building the website for my personal project, I started preparing to promote it. I decided to hire a UGC creator to make a video for me, and then I got to work editing it to match the style I had in mind.

The video ended up being quite catchy and engaging, and after showing it to my roommates, they all approved it, which was a nice confidence boost.

Coffee Break ☕

Since Francisco and I were getting a bit tired of staying at home all day, we decided to step out for a quick coffee break. Because of the rain, we couldn’t go far, so we went to Expresso World right next door. We mainly just wanted a change of environment and a chance to relax for a bit.

I ordered a latte, which was the same price as a cappuccino but came in a bigger cup, definitely a better deal. We sat there for a while, chatted, and just took it easy. Eventually, the rain got too heavy to stay out any longer, so we headed back home.

Dinner 🍔

For dinner, I decided to stick with my usual and ordered a hamburger that I know I enjoy, it’s always delicious and never disappoints. While eating, we chatted about our day and just relaxed a bit.

After dinner, I stayed at the table for a while, talking with David Sousa about cars and random stuff. It was a nice, laid-back way to end the evening.

Dessert 🍰

On the way home, I noticed that the confectionery/pastry shop Kiaras was still open, so I decided to stop by and try something local and new, while looking through the options, I came across something called Kopne (similar to the Greek dessert “Copenhagen”), which is a syrup-soaked pastry made with crispy layers of filo dough and a soft, cake-like filling inside, usually made with almonds, eggs, and sugar, then topped with a sweet syrup.

Curious to try it, I decided to go for it and see what it was like, it felt like a nice little spontaneous treat to end the day. 

I really enjoyed it!

Remote Work 💻

As it has been raining heavily in Veria over the past few days, my colleague Duarte contacted our IT manager to ask whether it would be possible for us to work from home, he sent the message on 01/04/2026 and received approval to work remotely on both the 1st and 2nd of April.

However, since we were already at the office on the 1st, we decided to stay and complete our work there. Today, though, working from home felt noticeably different, the environment was much calmer, and we were able to work more efficiently and fluently. 

We also had reliable access to power outlets, which meant we didn’t need to disturb anyone or deal with minor inconveniences that sometimes happen in the Library. The only downside was that we couldn't connect to the websites configuration panel on WAN so we could only test the changes locally.

Gyro for Lunch 🥙

For lunch, I decided to return to the same gyro shop I had visited previously because I really enjoyed the food there. I ordered the same gyro, looking forward to having it again, when it was time to pay, the shop owner asked if I could pay in cashL; at that moment, I didn’t have any cash on me, so I walked down the street to the nearest ATM to withdraw some money.

I’m not entirely sure whether the card machine was temporarily not working or if the owner simply preferred to avoid card transaction fees, but either way, I didn’t mind, the extra walk gave me a chance to get some fresh air, and I was happy to support the local business in the way he preferred.

New Coffee Place ☕

After finishing more work, I noticed that the rain had eased, so I decided to go out and try a new coffee shop I had spotted in the downtown area of Veria called Coffee Berry, the place had a very modern and welcoming atmosphere, with a clean design and a relaxed vibe; the staff were extremely kind and spoke English very well, which made the experience even more pleasant.

I decided to order a freddo cappuccino, a drink I had seen in many Greek coffee shops but had never encountered in Portugal, after looking it up, I learned that it is a chilled espresso-based coffee drink that originated in Greece. It normally has cold milk foam poured over shaken or chilled espresso, making it a refreshing cold variation of the traditional cappuccino.

Little Adventure🥾

After having my daily coffee, I felt like going for a walk around the beautiful city of Veria, Instead of following familiar routes, I decided to explore new streets that I hadn’t seen before; this small decision turned into a pleasant little adventure, as I wandered toward the outskirts of the city.

Along the way, I passed by the same river I had previously visited with Francisco, Iara, and Duarte. Even though the skies had been grey earlier, it wasn’t raining at that moment, which made the walk even more enjoyable. 

Pork Chops in Pita for Dinner 🍽️

As it was a casual Thursday, we all gathered at the restaurant where we usually have dinner. To change things up from all the hamburgers I’ve been eating lately, I decided to try the pork chops in pita, which came with smoked cheddar sauce, lettuce, tomato, and grilled potatoes.

We received two baskets of complimentary French fries—one plain and the other topped with melted cheese and both were amazing!

During dinner, we started planning something for the weekend. There were a few ideas here and there, but nothing has been decided yet.

Snooker Night 🎱

After dinner, David Sousa suggested to play some snooker after dinner, which Inês, Francisco and I agreed to; we weren't able to talk a lot as the music they were playing were quite loud but we had a lot of fun, Francisco and David Sousa had become pretty good at snooker and were making some impressive shots!

We spent roughly ~1h playing snooker, it was fun!

Trying Greek Bougasta 🍰

After playing snooker, Francisco invited me to go to Kiaras and try out "Bougatsa (μπουγάτσα)" which is a traditional Greek pastry made with crispy phyllo dough wrapped around a filling. It can be either sweet or savory, and it’s usually served warm, often cut into small pieces.

It was really nice way to end the night!

Working on the SMTP server 🖥️

As we got to work, David Costa and I left our bags in our “office” before going to speak with Georgios, our IT manager. He clarified some of the questions I had regarding the email service for the website, explaining that the service mentioned in the document was only for receiving emails and did not function as a sending service.

With that in mind, he suggested that David and I create our own SMTP server to handle outgoing emails for the website, to have full control over email delivery and configuration.

So we started our day with working on the SMTP server.

Lunch 🥪

After work, I decided to visit my friend at 813 to grab one of his famous sandwiches for lunch, which never fail to surprise me and are always very delicious.

I chose one of the sandwiches I used to eat during my first week here in Veria, Greece, as he had them back in stock. It was really good and filling. I was also gifted a complimentary croissant with a chocolate filling, which served as my dessert.

We spoke for a bit and I spoke about my trip to Meteora!

Coffee Break ☕

To avoid sitting at home all day, I decided to go out for a coffee at my favorite coffee spot, Expresso World. I was warmly greeted by the worker, who had already memorized my order, something that surprised me, as I’ve been visiting the same coffee shops in Portugal for quite some time, and they were never this quick to ask if I wanted my usual.

As always, the coffee was really good, and the quantity for the price was excellent, I spent a pleasant afternoon relaxing in the coffee shop, watching the cars pass by in Veria while it rained.

Personal Project 💻

After enjoying my coffee, I decided to head back home and spend some time working on my personal project. It was already mostly complete, so my focus was more towards refining the user experience; making small improvements to enhance usability and overall flow.

I also took the time to testout the website, I looked out for any bugs or unexpected behavior; whenever I spotted an issue, I worked on fixing it to ensure everything ran smoothly. It felt satisfying to polish the final details and bring the project closer to a finished, well-rounded state.

Dinner with everyone 🍽️

Once it was time (8 PM), I met up with the rest of the Erasmus+ group at the restaurant where we usually go for dinner.

We chatted a bit about our plans for the weekend and looked into nearby cities we could possibly visit, however, we noticed that the bus schedules weren't very convenient—the short, direct buses usually leave Veria at around 5 PM, so it wasn’t easy to plan a trip.

To accompany our meal, we were served two salads, which were really good. For dinner, I chose their hamburger, which, as always, was delicious.

Exam Day at Lexis 🏫

My Erasmus+ colleagues who are doing their internship at Lexis+ (David Sousa, Inês, Francisco and Alexandre) had the day off on Friday so they could work on Saturday, as it was an important day. The Lexis school was hosting exams covering different areas in IT, ranging from the fundamentals of PowerPoint to the basics of Access. This really surprised me, as I didn’t expect students of their age to be learning Access and even working toward certification in it, since it’s typically used by IT professionals. I’ve personally never used Access, which made it even more impressive to see them handle it so well.

My colleagues invited me to spend the day with them at work to see what it was like. They were there to help supervise the exams and observe how the examination process works in Greece.

I also had the chance to get to know Antonis, the owner, better. He is a very kind and hardworking man, and he kept complimenting my name—which, of course, I returned, as I really liked his name as well. It also happened to be his wife’s birthday, so we were offered some pastries and cookies from a bakery to celebrate the occasion.

Lunch 🥙

For lunch, we weren’t sure what to eat, so we decided to go to "Dinner 4 All," which was nearby. That made it very convenient, and the food there is always really good and filling for the price you pay.

Most of us stuck to gyros, but since I wanted to try something different, I chose the souvlaki gyro. It sounded interesting, as gyros and souvlaki are usually considered two different dishes.

Souvlaki is a traditional Greek dish made of small pieces of grilled meat (often pork or chicken, I had mine with chicken) served on a skewer or wrapped in pita with toppings like tomatoes, onions, fries, and tzatziki. In contrast, gyros typically use meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie and shaved into slices. Combining the two gave it a slightly different taste and texture, which made the meal even more enjoyable.

Afternoon Coffee ☕

After lunch, we all went home and relaxed for a while. Later in the afternoon, I decided to meet up again with David Sousa and Inês at their usual spot, Coffee Island, to grab a coffee and hang out for a bit.

It was a nice way to unwind after the day, as we chatted about our experiences so far, shared a few laughs, and simply enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Moments like these made the whole experience feel even more memorable and enjoyable.

Time seemed to pass quickly, and before we knew it, we had spent a good part of the afternoon there. It was one of those simple moments that didn’t seem special at first but ended up being really enjoyable; just good coffee, good company, and a calm break from the usual routine.

Snooker Game🎱

After coffee, since we didn’t have much planned for the rest of the evening, we decided to head to the game plaza to play a game of snooker.

We ended up playing two games, which turned out to be a lot of fun, we got a bit competitive, joking around and trying to outplay each other with every shot, some moments were surprisingly impressive, while others were more about luck than skill, which made it even more entertaining.

We also tried out the table soccer which also turned out to be a lot of fun!

Olive for Dinner 🍽️

In the evening, David Sousa and Inês invited me to join them for dinner at Olive, unfortunately, my favorite waiter wasn’t working that day, but the new staff I hadn’t met before were just as welcoming and kind, which made the experience just as pleasant.

Wanting to try something different, I decided to order their bolognese, and it turned out to be a great choice. The pasta was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was rich and full of flavor, it was clear that the chefs at the restaurant had truly mastered their craft.

We spent a good amount of time there, enjoying both the food and the company. The conversation flowed easily, and it was a nice way to wind down after an already eventful day. 

Goodys and 24/7 😋

As I was walking home, I ran into Alexandre and Francisco, who were passing by. I decided to join them on their way to Goody’s Burger House, where Francisco got a dessert (as he already ate at a restaurant called All-Time) and Alexandre ordered something to eat.

It was nice to see Häagen-Dazs as the icecream they serverd Francisco, especially since that’s where I worked over the summer.

After Goody’s, we stopped by a 24/7 convenience store to grab something to drink. I chose a Xixo green tea, which was both cheap and delicious, we stayed there for a short while, chatting and relaxing before finally heading home, wrapping up the day on a simple but enjoyable note.

Military Ceremony 🪖

As I met up with David Sousa and Inês at around 10:30 in the morning to head to the bus station and catch our bus to Thessaloniki, we noticed some sort of military ceremony taking place nearby in Raktivan Square, we went over for a quick look, and I was confused about what exactly was happening.

I believe it was a local military ceremony or a rehearsal for an upcoming parade, which would explain why I woke up to the sound of a loudspeaker early in the morning.

Trip to Thessaloniki 🚌

As we arrived at the bus station in Veria, we met up with Duarte and Iara. The four of us then proceeded to buy bus tickets to Thessaloniki, more specifically, to the central bus station, where we would later catch another bus to the city center.

After roughly a 2 hour bus ride, we arrived at the Thessaloniki bus station, as it wasn’t our first time there, we already had a good idea of what to expect and what to do next, we went to the ticket machine to get our tickets, then headed outside to catch the next bus into the city center.

We were considering visiting Cosmos, the biggest shopping center in Thessaloniki, but it was about an hour and a half away from our current location. Instead, we decided to visit One Salonica, which was on the way to the city center, making it a much more convenient option.

Trip to the Shopping Center 🛍️

After waiting for around 20 minutes, we got onto the bus (line 12) and began our journey to the city. The bus we took this time was a bit different from the bus we had previously taken, which was good in a way as we got to somewhat see roads we haven't seen before.

We sat on a seat pointing towards the door, which was quite interesting as all of the previous buses I've been on either face forward or backward.

After a 20 minute trip, we finally reached our destination!

Shopping Center 🛍️

Initially, I thought the shopping center was small as it didn’t look like much when we saw it on Google Maps, but it turned out to be pretty big with a lot of variety!

The shopping center had Easter-themed decorations, which was nice to see to celebrate Easter. The place had a lot of movement and reminded me of the big shopping centers like the ones in Lisbon.

We walked around and explored a few shops, but as it was lunchtime, our main goal was to find a restaurant where we could eat, which we found on the top floor.

Lunch Time 🍔

I headed upstairs with David Sousa and Inês to have lunch. There were a lot of restaurants, but they were mainly based on the food that we've been eating for a while now in Veria (e.g. gyros). They had Crats, but a Mexican version of it, which sounded interesting and worth a try, so Inês and I ordered our food at Crats Mexican, while David Sousa got his food at the McDonald’s next door.

I decided to order their Bomb Cheese Tera Burger, which was on a 50% discount. It was a hamburger with brioche bread, crispy chicken fillet, 4 bomb cheeses, bacon, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and BBQ sauce, served with cheddar and bacon fries.

It was really good, and I was full before I was even able to finish the hamburger!

Visiting a Museum 🖼️

For our next trip, we caught the same bus as before (line 12), which, after a 20 minute ride, took us to the War Museum of Thessaloniki. We walked around a bit as the bus stop was a bit far from the museum and it wasn't clear where the entrance was, but once we got there, we were amused by the Greek military assets they had outside of the museum, such as jeeps, jets, and naval bombs.

Once we got inside, we were able to get free entrance to the museum as we were students which was amazing!

The War Museum of Thessaloniki is basically a journey through Greece’s military history, especially focusing on the more modern periods. It mainly covers events from the 19th and 20th centuries, including the Balkan Wars, World War I, World War II, and even the resistance during the Nazi occupation.

Inside the museum, you can see a wide range of real historical items like weapons, uniforms from the army, navy and air force, medals, maps, photographs, and even personal belongings of soldiers. These exhibits help tell the story of what soldiers experienced and how Greece fought through different wars to gain and protect its independence.

Outside the museum, you also get to see actual military equipment like vehicles and aircraft, which makes the experience feel more real and immersive.

Visiting the Skyline OTE Tower 🗼

As we were walking down the streets of Thessaloniki, we came across the Skyline OTE Tower, which we discovered was basically a coffee shop in the sky, and that the entrance was free!

We made it to the entrance, where we were greeted by a kind lady whom we spoke to for a bit while we were waiting for the elevator to come down. We didn’t have any reservation as we didn’t know it worked by reservations, but luckily they were able to arrange us a table!

The views from above were phenomenal, it was amazing, you could see the whole city from our view! As we ordered our coffees (a bit pricey but worth it for the view) and sat there for a bit, we noticed that the platform we were on was rotating and that we would be able to see the whole city without moving tables, which we did!

Passing by the flea market 🏪

Right next to the Skyline OTE Tower, was a flea market that had our attention for a while now (before we even went to the Skyline OTE Tower), the area was filled with small stalls and shops, all packed closely together, giving it a slightly chaotic as there was little room to move but also a very authentic feel.

As we walked through, we saw a bit of everything: clothes, accessories, small antiques, and even food spots nearby, the whole place had a lot of movement, with people browsing and talking to vendors. It felt less like a tourist attraction and more like a place where locals actually come to find good deals or unique items as the items there were on sale for a pretty good price.

Visiting the White Tower 🏰

After visiting the flea market, we walked down the street where the White Tower was located. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside as it was already closed, but we were able to see it from the outside, which already felt great.

The White Tower of Thessaloniki is one of the most iconic landmarks in the city and something you’ll see in almost every postcard or photo of Thessaloniki. It sits right by the waterfront, and even from the outside, it has a very strong presence. Originally built during the Ottoman period, the tower has had different purposes over time, including being used as a fortress and even a prison.

Catching the bus back home 🚌

After walking around the White Tower, it was time for us to go home as we wanted to make sure we would catch the bus back. We saw that the bus to the bus station would arrive in 4 minutes, so we tried to get there as quickly as we could. We got there, but unfortunately it was on the other side of the street, which was full of traffic, and we couldn’t cross as there weren’t any pedestrian crossings nearby. We ended up losing the bus but caught the next one, which arrived around 15 minutes later.

Once we arrived home, we passed by All Time to grab something to eat before ending the day and going home

Morning Coffee ☕

Before heading to work, I decided to stop at my usual coffee shop near my house, Espresso World, to order a latte to accompany me at work today.

As always, I was greeted by one of the friendly workers there who got my order just as I like it; they had even memorized it! It was a good way to start the day and have something to give me energy at work too!

Working on the SMTP 💻

As it's our last week here, we were hoping to get everything configured and finished today, but the more we worked on it the more we realised the project was quite technical, so our focus was primarily on setting up the mail relay and ensuring the security protocols were correctly aligned with their existing network.

We also spent a good portion of the time troubleshooting DNS records and testing the authentication flow to prevent any delivery failures. Unfortunately we were unable to finish today; We will be continuing the work tomorrow and the day after to get everything fully operational and ready for use.

Lunch 🥙

For lunch, I wasn't sure what to eat, so I decided to go to the usual gyro shop down the avenue, as they normally sell really, really delicious gyros at a good price. They gave me some water to accompany my gyro, which was a very nice gesture, and since the place was a bit empty, I managed to get the sofa seat to enjoy my meal.

After I finished eating my meal, I just relaxed for a bit and listened to some music, letting the food slowly digest.

Having some Bougatsa 🍰

After lunch, I went home and relaxed for a bit. Later that day, David Sousa reached out and suggested going out for coffee, which I gladly agreed to. After we had some coffee to fuel our day, Inês suggested getting some bougatsa.

This time, we ordered the bougatsa with less cinnamon than before, but they ended up serving it without any cinnamon at all. That was okay, though, as it was still delicious. We also had some water on the side, which was refreshing. Overall, we socialized, talked about our days and work, and had a great time.

Signing the Flag 🚩

After spending a month here in Greece, I wondered what would be the perfect 'memento' to bring home, something with real meaning behind it. I wanted something that wouldn't just represent the country I now consider my "second home," but would also remind me of the people I met throughout my journey. 

That’s when I thought of having everyone sign the flag I’d bought at the Green Supermarket, I started by asking David Sousa and Inês, and eventually asked my housemates to sign it later that night.

Visiting the Supermarket 🛒

While we were talking, I mentioned "Green." Since David Sousa and Inês had apparently never been there before, we decided to head over and check it out. 

Green is my favorite supermarket because it’s cheaper than others in Veria, though I don’t go often since it’s a bit of a walk from my apartment. Because I usually only buy a few things at a time, the distance usually isn't worth the trip. It was a fun visit! I picked up some chips and tea for the week, but the highlight was definitely seeing the massive 4 kilogram containers of ketchup and mustard.

Dinner 🍴

As evening fell, we followed our usual routine and gathered at our usual restaurant. For the past few visits, I’ve watched everyone else at the table order the tortilla wrap, while I usually stick to my standard order, I decided it was finally time to see what the hype was all about.

When the wrap finally arrived, It looked pretty delicious, It was nicely toasted and packed with some fresh ingredients that were much more flavorful than I expected.