Thursday, December 17, 2009

Oneiropouli of Drama






Last Sunday,  we decided to take a short road trip to the city of Drama. It's an hour and a half away, so we made sure to pack a DVD for the kids to watch so that we could distract them and hopefully avoid the inevitable question, "are we there yet?"  Despite my efforts, Izabella didn't abstain from persistently and systematically asking, "how much longer ?" or  "How many more minutes do we have left?".  So, after our short drive to Drama, the children were more than pleased with my choice of a holiday destination.

As we drove to the center of the city the holiday lights became more abundant and then they saw the park that was converted into a Christmas wonderland or  "Oneiropouli" (Dream City).  

I discovered Oneiropouli last February when doing a search for information about the city of Drama. Kosta and I spent a year living in Drama 15 years ago and I absolutely loved the city. It's such a warm, beautiful city and I now I had another excellent reason to visit.

Here are some photos from our evening in Drama:


A view of Oneiropouli from a bridge.


The park was full on Sunday evening. Games, amusement rides for the children and  live performances. This photo provides an excellent representation of the festive atmosphere at Oneiropouli.


Candy for the kids.





Roasted chestnuts and corn.


A visit with Ebenezer Scrooge.


Inside the Scrooge's home.


Live music.


Traditional Dancers





~~~~



A visit with Agios Vasilis aka Santa. Naturally, this was the highlight of our visit.


The home of Agios Vasilis was warmed by a fireplace comprised of stuffed animals. The kids thought it was really cool.


Since it's not cold enough to ice skate in Drama, you can roller blade instead.


The roller blade rink.


Alexandra loved the carousel.




Izabella found a stray to love for the time that we were at the park.


Agios Vasilis in the  middle of a pond.


Kosta and the kids.


Across from the platiya ( city center) the buildings are decorated for the holidays.
The message reads: "Happy Holidays & Many Years".


I have more photos to follow in another post. I hope that you enjoyed these!

Happy Holidays!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Related Links:

14 comments:

  1. What a cute post! It's neat to see the juxtaposition of Christmas decorations and traditional Greek dancers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Donna,
    Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it. It's nice to see you here:)

    Have a wonderful evening!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Seems like you had a fun time. Enjoy this yourself while your kids are still young. I miss all this fun.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning Ivy! Yes, we had a very nice time. The kids want to go back before Christmas. Not sure if we can pull it off though. :)
    Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lovely place to take the children.
    Those costumes are wonderful..so different from the ones here.
    Take care

    ReplyDelete
  6. it is nowhere near as exciting here at christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your photos are great. I wish you could send me some for 'taxidiaris'!

    ReplyDelete
  8. @ Jude,

    Yes, the kids really loved it. I thought the costumes were beautiful with the light colors. Have a great day.

    @ Maria,

    It's not that exciting here either, hence the road trip :)
    Have a wonderful day!

    @ Phivos,

    Thank you!! You can have whatever you need, I'd be happy to send you some photos. Have a fantastic day!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Isn't it wonderful to be with children at Christmas time. Lovely photos Cheryl, Drama looks like fun!
    How interesting that they choose to highlight Dickens.
    What kills me though is the teddy bear fireplace, but I don't think I'd try that at home. Guess Santa can pull a few off if he runs low on toys...
    Hope you have a beautiful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Biddy,
    Yes, I think Christmas would be much different without children. I remember how quiet our Christmases used to be.
    Santa could take a few of those bears if he had to, couldn't he? :) That's funny!

    I hope that you're enjoying the holiday season. I hope that you have a beautiful weekend too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh yes, these photos were real enjoyment. Seeing your next post will be great :)

    Bhangarh

    ReplyDelete
  12. Bhavesh Chhatbar -

    I'm so happy that you enjoyed the photos. Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Μπράβο στη Δράμα. Μπράβο και στις Σέρρες ( να μην παινέψουμε και την πατρίδα μας;). Καλά Χριστούγεννα εύχομαι και καλή χρονία γεμάτη χαρά και υγεία.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Βαγγέλη,
    Σε ευχαριστώ. Ναι, Μπράβο σε Δράμα και Σέρρες:)
    Χρόνια πολλά και πάλι!

    ReplyDelete