greece
Greece has been on the tip TOP of our travel bucket list for as long as we've had one! This May, Andrew's company scheduled a last minute meeting in Athens, and I said "there's no way you're going to Greece without me!" So I booked my flight! I was going to fly across the world by myself to meet Andrew when his meetings were over.
Subsequently, Andrew's work trip got postponed to September and then back to May and then to December. It was a whirlwind of emotions with all of the changes. We decided that since I had already booked my flight, and we were really looking forward to it, we'd take it as a sign that it was meant to be and go for it. Andrew booked the same flight as me and I was relieved not to have to travel alone internationally. (I would've done it for Greece, though :P)
We had such an incredible trip. It really was just perfect from top to bottom. The weather, the locations, the views, the FOOD. My goodness. I am already thinking of crashing the December work trip so I can go back for some more souvlaki and lukumades-read further to learn more about those :) Below I'll give the top things to do, see, and eat in Athens and Santorini, Greece. We went at the end of May and it was a wonderful time to go because it wasn't quite high season so it wasn't crazy overcrowded and the weather was beautiful in the 70s the whole week. However, the Aegean Sea was a BIT chilly still but that didn't stop us from taking a quick dip!
Athens:
Things to do:
-Explore the Acropolis and Parthenon-of course
You can't really go to Athens and NOT do this. Instead of going with a tour group, we'd recommend downloading Rick Steve's podcast, bringing headphones or airpods, and following along with him. With this, we were able to stop and start and rewind as needed, and were able to really take a look at things that interested us and skip the things that didn't. The tour groups were all massive, it seemed like it was hard to hear the guide, and I just can't imagine that was an enjoyable experience. Try to get to the Acropolis when it opens, if you go later in the day, the crowds get enormous.
-Walk around Monastiraki Square
Grab yourself some fruit from a vendor, a Gyro from The Greco's Project, or search the street shops for t-shirts and souvenirs. You may even see some street performers here. Side note-great place to take a rest, hang out, and people watch.
-Walk to the Panathenaic Stadium
Built entirely of marble, this stadium hosted the FIRST modern Olympics! This was very cool to see. Andrew and I didn't go inside the stadium to check it out in depth, but it was really breathtaking to see the grandeur of it from the outside and picture the Olympics being held there centuries ago. I have spared you the embarrassing photos of me trying to pose like a champion ;)
-Take a walk up Plaka Steps
There is a really neat alleyway up a set of stairs with restaurants and cafes lining the sides of the steps. We only had the time to walk up the stairs and look around, but I would have loved to have gotten a chance to sit on a pillow on the steps or snag a table in a little nook and sip a coffee or get a bite to eat. Also please excuse my finger which made it's way into literally every second of the video. My bad.
-Pet all the cats :)
1/10 chance they may scratch or bite you
Places to eat:
-A for Athens
You'll probably see this on every Athens blog you read-and for a reason! Amazing rooftop bar looking down on Monastiraki Square with an incredible view of the Acropolis. The food is okay but the views are to die for. Try to make a reservation before sunset and stay to watch as the sun sets over Athens and the Acropolis lights up!
-Buy street fruit from the vendors-a cheap and delicious snack
-The Clumsies Bar
We learned about this place watching "Gordon Ramsay's Road Trip: Greek Vacation". Clumsies is ranked the 4th best bar in the WORLD. The drinks are so unique and they have a lab upstairs in the bar where the bartenders spend time creating new drinks and elixirs to mix into them. Would highly recommend the "hippocampus summer" drink if you like something sweet. Clumsies is a little bit hidden so you may need to put it in Maps to find it!
-Lukumades
We visited this delicious dessert shop THREE times while in Greece. We went twice the two nights we spent in Athens, and then snuck back for another round during our layover back to the states. Lukumades are basically stuffed donut holes made fresh to order and stuffed in front of you. There are many different flavor combinations between the stuffing and the toppings. They were probably our favorite food of the whole trip. We recommend banana stuffed Lukumades with salted caramel and chocolate drizzle on top! You can also add ice cream if you wish. Other options included apple cinnamon, bavarian cream, strawberry topping, etc and they even have savory flavors!
-Thanasis
By far, my favorite meal of the trip! (and probably one of my top 5 best meals ever) We ordered beef souvlaki with pita and tzatziki sauce and holy moly. I LOVED it. I dipped the beef in the tzatziki sauce and I was in heaven. When we snuck back to Athens for Lukumades, I also snuck back for another round of this meal. Been dreaming of it every day since.
Specific Greek foods to try:
Lukumades- Greek doughnuts
Greek yogurt- obviously!
Greek coffee- not my fave but worth trying while you're there
Kagiana- traditional Greek breakfast- an egg scramble with tomatoes, feta, and toast
Sarikopita pie- cheese "pies" topped with honey and sesame seeds
Santorini:
To get to Santorini, you can either go by plane or by boat. Boat is cheaper but obviously takes much longer to get from one place to the other. The plane fare cost less than $100 and was only a half an hour flight, so we went for the flight. From the airport, we rented a car through Avance Rent a Car. It was not cheap-no rentals are right now-but it was definitely worth renting a car! We loved the capability to drive around the whole island when we wanted to, and not have to wait for bus transportation.
If there is one thing you take away from this **GET THE CAR INSURANCE** if you are renting a car. I am all about saving money and hardly ever buy insurance for trips, but Andrew had read that the driving can be a little bit hairy at times in Santorini and to get the insurance, so we did. Thank goodness, because our last night in Santorini we were driving down a two way street that was only big enough for one way, had to back all the way up to let a car pass from the other direction, and put a nice big scratch in the rearview mirror. Not fun to pay for the insurance or the damages, but it was much cheaper than if we had not had the insurance to begin with. The main roads were nice and wide, but we had to navigate so many teeny little roads and I'd say there is a high possibility of sustaining damage. Oops.
Things to do:
-First off-unless you love crowds and people a lot, don't stay in Oia! Oia was even more stunning in person than any picture could show, but boy was it crowded, and we weren't even there during the height of summer! We stayed in a small village called Megalochori at the Vedema Resort and we loved it. It was fantastic to be able to go explore all of the more crowded neighborhoods and villages and then come home to our quiet village resort. Maybe that's just us, I'm sure it was amazing to stay there too, but just louder and busier for sure. THE thing to do is go see a sunset in Oia, so everyone and their mother and brother and sister-in-law will be there watching the sunset every night.
-That being said-GO SEE A SUNSET IN OIA.
Everyone says this for a REASON. It was just stunning. Everywhere we saw a sunset from was fantastic, but Oia was picture perfect. One of the best spots to see the sunset from is the Castle of Oia. We got there about an hour and a half before sunset to take some pictures and it was already starting to fill up with people. We secured some spots, and then Andrew went to get us some drinks from the Boozery while we waited! It was worth the wait, we ended up shoulder to shoulder with people but had an awesome view.
-Hike from Fira to Oia
The hike/walk is about 6 miles and takes you from the capital, Fira, to Instagram perfect, Oia. Andrew and I agree that this was our favorite part of the trip. The walk takes you all along the Caldera and in and out of the Villages. All throughout are amazing views. It is not too strenuous but did take us about three hours from start to finish. I wanted to wear something cute for all of the pictures we'd be taking, but I was definitely happy I wore sneakers. It was a long way and sneakers were 100% the right choice.
*Pro Tip: Drive to Oia in the morning and park your car. Take a bus from Oia to Fira and then start your hike back. This made our day so much easier because we did our hike, spent the afternoon and evening enjoying Oia, and then had our car parked there to drive back to our hotel. After a long day, I would not have wanted to wait for the bus to come pick us up. It worked our beautifully.
-Eat lunch in Ammoudi Bay
After walking down the 300 or so steps filled with donkey poop, if you still have your appetite, you'll find three or four seafood restaurants to grab a bite to eat, and you'll be met with a truly incredible view of the bay and the crystal clear blue water. Each restaurant sits right at the edge of the water. We stopped for a bite at 'Sunset in Ammoudi'. This was an incredible experience. The food was delicious and sitting inches from the water was magnificent. We spent a while eating, drinking, and soaking up the sun and the views as boats came in and out of the bay.
-Visit the Three Bells of Fira
This was such a beautiful quick pit stop that was quintessential "Greece" how I picture it in my head.
-Go for a boat ride!
For Andrew's birthday I took him on a surprise boat trip around Santorini through Santorini Yachting Company. They picked us up and dropped us back off at our hotel. We had the whole boat to ourselves, stopped at several different locations, swam and snorkeled in the Aegean, drank beer and wine and even had a Greek meal cooked for us aboard. We felt like we were on the set of Bravo's Below Deck! It was such a unique experience. We loved it. If you love boating too, prioritize a boat trip!
Places to eat:
-Kantouni in Pyrgos
This local spot was recommended to us by the sweet girl at our rental car place. It has authentic Greek food and served us one of the MOST delicious meals (Andrew's actual favorite of the trip) called pastitsio. Delish! This was such a great spot because we really felt immersed with the locals.
Two winery tips:
-Venetsanos Winery-go for the VIEWS, not for the wine or snacks
-SantoWines-great views (not quite as good) but better wine and WAY better snacks 😝 We polished off every last morsel and every last drop
(Order the tastings with food ahead of time! Otherwise they may not have a reservation for you)
-La Maison in Imerovigli
We got a reservation here for our last night and got lucky enough to sit right on the edge with a view! Since it was our last night and Andrew's birthday, we splurged for the 9 course degustation menu and it was deliciousss! Watching the sun set over the white Cycladic homes which slowly lit up as the sky turned dark was truly something I hope to never forget.
Those are our highlights from Greece! What a trip! As I said, I am already impatiently asking Andrew for the dates of his December trip. I've got my sights set on seeing the Monasteries of Meteora, north of Athens. We'll see if I get there, wish me luck ;)
If you're headed to Greece, I'm jealous, ENJOY!!
XO-Jamie