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March 11 Kozani Carnaval 2006I spend a couple of days (22 February to 27 February 2006) in Greece. We were invited by Iaonnus for the (in)famous Kozani Carnaval.
Where/What is Kozani?
Kozani is a student city North-West of Tessanoliki, located at 710 metres above sea level.
What should you be doing in Kozani?
Carnaval! The most interesting local celebration, during the Carnival, are the Fanoi (great bonfires) lit at the squares of Kozani, where local people sing and dance around them. All celebrations become more exiting on the Sunday of the last week by lighting great bonfires all over the town until the early hours. Unfortenately, we (Anthony and me) where there the weekend before, i.e. the start of the carnaval. In Greece there are three places in total where you can have Carnaval.
How to get there...
Of course i wanted to go by car, but decided to go by airplane instead. Anthony upgraded his SILVER flying miles card to GOLD, and that meant free drinks and food at the Schiphol Executive Lounge. We had a transfer at Rome, so we tried that VIP-lounge as well. In Thessaloniki Ioannus was waiting for us at the airport. As we arrived at one o'clock in the night, we decided to drink a couple of beers in DownTown Thessaloniki. From there it is an hour drive to Kozani.
It pays to know people who know people
As Ioannus and his brother Paris know their way around Kozani, this meant free drinks at their friend's bar in the centre, free sandwiches at 5 o'clock in the morning and VIP-treatment at Club Daluz (http://www.clubdaluz.gr/). That's why it pays to know people who know people...
Carnaval
The carnaval starts on friday, and ends on Sunday night (the week after that is). Most people dress up, as we did. We bought our customs from the Makro in Holland. I went as Big Daddy (whatever that means), and Anthony went as a clown. Paris joined us as a hippy, whereas Ioannus was dressed as a 'scary' pirate. We met dancing godess Marianna and friend, who was with us all through carnaval after meeting us on the first night.
A typical day during carnaval would be something like this: get out of bed at 11 o'clock, walk around the city in a daze, taking a couple of pictures of Kozani at daylight to prove to the homefront that you were not only in bars and clubs, go to a bar to drink Greek coffee (takes 2 hours). Go to another bar to drink beer and tequila shots (to get you started), meet up with some friends, eat, drink some more, party and finish the evening / morning at a club. Also found out that traditional Kozani Carnaval songs have interesting lyrics...
What's on a greek menu?
Greek food means meat. And oil. A lot. Oil i mean. I ate penne with tomato sauce and meatballs, (made by Ioannus' mother) which was very tasty. At a bar we had this different types of small dishes, like tapas. I even tried liver, which I liked (surprised myself). Other things where pasta in a mix of cheese and mayonaise, spicy meatballs, and spiced beef. Most of it i liked, some of it looked better on the way out...
What else is there to see in Kozani?
Don't know, actually didn't see much besides the interior of bars and clubs. No need to start a blame game, it was raining most of the time. Paris took us on a sight-seeing tour to a nearby lake.
A lake, that's nice...But what about Greek girls?
Greek girls are pretty and smart...Well, the ones we met in Kozani were anyway. We met doktors, psychiatrists, laywers, etc.
Remember any quotes/typical things from this journey?
-'nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnice....'
-'Dude, that''s a gay bar!' *and starts running towards the exit or nearest window*
-'And what was his name?'
-Always take your car to the centre, even if it's only a five minute walk.
-'We're Dutch. Gives us our free sandwiches.'
-'Paragelo?'
-Even police officers say 'Malaka'
Enough chit chat, I have included some pictures of the Kozani Carnaval. Maybe I will visit Kozani again this summer to see more of it's beauty....
Next stop: New York or Warsaw (in May)
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