Sunny Skies Of Greece
A few months ago a good friend of Michael’s (and a groomsmen in our wedding), Riley, reached out to Michael asking if we were interested in a Greece trip! His wife, Katie, and he had just found a flash sale for cheap tickets to Greece in February and were going to pull the trigger and would love for us to join them! Riley, an Aeronautical Engineer in the US Airforce, received a really unique opportunity leading him Katie to live in Israel for 2 years. We have talked about visiting them there at some point while we are living in Germany because we are a (little bit) closer to them now, but were thrilled at the prospect of not only seeing them, but doing so via a vacation to Greece! I was also very excited to meet Katie! Michael met her briefly when he visited Riley back in Ohio in 2014 but it’s been that long since Michael and Riley have been able to spend time together.
Of course we said “YES!” and booked our flight ASAP. We decided to do Athens for a few days and then Santorini after that. As we messaged back and forth with the Livermore’s we realized one thing: their travel mentality, budget, and desires for the trip could not be more identical with ours. We officially met our perfect travel match. We booked AirBnb’s for both locations and then got so busy we did not sit down to make plans until 2 days before the trip! Luckily it was off season in Greece so everything we wanted to do would still be available, but honestly, us leaving a lot unplanned left plenty of room for spontaneity and that ended up being our best friend. Well, that and our other good friend, Rick Steves. We had our Rick Steves book that Erich and Kelley had given us on Greece a few years ago, and of course Katie and Riley had theirs as well, which ended up being a fantastic resource throughout our trip. That, and Katie’s ability to hand pick from the book the most perfect restaurants.
Thursday evening Michael and I were off! The best tickets we could find got us into Athens at 10pm so we flew in that night and Katie and Riley met us the next morning. Michael and I landed in Athens, hopped in an Uber and met our Air Bnb host, Stelios, close to midnight. He let us in to our private apartment just minutes away from the Acropolis and gave us a quick tour. Once we got settled we were off to explore Athens night life, worried it might be hard to find somewhere to eat dinner so late. Not only are they like most Europeans, a lively bunch late into the night, they were celebrating “pre-lent” by eating ALL THE MEAT, having BBQ’s, and going out for a week of revelry: drinking, dancing and enjoying the good things in life before lent started and restricted their fun. (Of course at the time Michael and I did not know WHY it was so exciting out, but just that we loved being a part of it!). We walked the 5 minutes to Monastiraki square and caught our first glimpse of the Acropolis all lit up. There were street vendors, skate boarders, bar-goers and everything in between. Even at midnight it was lively as ever. We wandered around until we found a string of restaurants offering outdoor seating- it was cool but not uncomfortable at all with a jacket. We snagged a table at one of the cafes and dove into a few Athens beers, some yummy sausage pastry and a gyro. We thought we would be closing the place down but people were still sitting down to order at 1am! After our late dinner we wandered around a bit more and stumbled upon this fantastic restaurant with live Greek music pouring out from it. There were streamers on the ground, evidence that something festive was happening, and it was pretty full, but we managed to grab a table and order a few drinks. Talk about people watching to the extreme: grown men taking the dance floor solo in tradition fluid Greek footsteps to the music, arms outstretched… a group of girls all dressed up enjoying their gal time… another table with an older crowd sitting around singing to the music… a girl dressed to the nines dancing on a chair for her boyfriend (I hope- ha!)… the entertainment was never ending! We posted up here for a while just taking it all in before the place started clearing out around 2am and we also decided to call it a night.
Friday morning, we were up bright and early to shower and get ready for the day and go scope out a grocery store for some breakfast. One of the points in which we were totally in agreement with the Livermore’s was the idea of cooking a few meals on the trip. Our Air Bnb’s each came with a kitchen so we were good to go! We made breakfast each morning and each agreed to cook one dinner. Michael and I found a great little store for dry goods, some cheese, spices etc. but could not find fresh fruit for sale anywhere! (Luckily when Katie and Riley arrived they had some fresh fruit with them which helped in the breakfast-making department.) We were so excited to see/meet them and our conversation was all over the place while we whipped up some breakfast and then headed out to the square to meet Effie- our fearless private tour guide we booked via Rick Steves’ recommendation. It was a wonder she was free knowing she can be booked MONTHS in advance, but this was one of our first perks of traveling in off season. We were greeted by this young, beautiful Greek woman clad in leather pants and jacket, pink off the shoulder top and luxurious straight brown hair that had me envious for hours. Needless to say, NOT what we expected, but she could not have been more warm and inviting and completely knowledgeable of all things Greece and Greek history. She took us up towards the Acropolis, stopping to point out and tell us about the Ancient Agora, Roman Forum and the Tower of the Winds. We wove through houses and souvenir shops before arriving at Mars Hill, where the Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians. Mars Hill sits right before the entrance to the Acropolis, but it is still a small hike up past the Odeon of Herodes Atticus- a huge outdoor theater that has been restored and still hosts famous outdoor concerts, to the grand entrance.
I never really realized that the Acropolis sat high above the city of Athens on a Plateau, which was very difficult to get to (Hence the name, Acropolis… but Iguess I never stopped to think about it). Effie told us so much about Greek history, the purpose of all the theaters and temples, their culture and more. One thing I found really interesting was that instead of the steps leading up to the entrance as there is today, there used to be a massive ramp from the streets below all the way up to the entrance to make transportation of the sacrifices (marble statues, livestock etc) that would be carted up, significantly easier. Once through the grand entrance we came into view of the Parthenon, which has been under restoration for the last 17 years. They can only restore parts if they can remain 70% original. So for example if a certain column only has 50% original material, it will never stand. They have also carted off all of the remaining statues, reliefs and carvings to the Acropolis museum and put replicas in their place to ensure they stay in as good of shape as possible. All that to say- it is still massively impressive and WAY larger than I imagined. Walking the acropolis and viewing the Parthenon and the Erechtheion was like stepping back in time. You can only imagine this sacred spot coming to life, people pouring in to pray to their Gods, giving sacrifices for a better life or the answer to a prayer. Learning the stories of how many times Greece changed hands, being conquered by this power or that country, yet still its culture thrived and was even sometimes adopted by those who conquered them… proves testament to the fact that they had something good going. Something so good we spent the next 4 days experiencing in any way we could!
After the Acropolis Effie took us to our last stop- the Acropolis museum. A new museum built to host the pieces salvaged from the Acropolis, now held in the protection of the museum. It featured many statues that were offered as sacrifice which were really interesting, but the best part was the top level in which they display the pieces they have rescued and restored from the Parthenon in a true to size display, showing each piece where it would have hung or been placed on the actual Parthenon, which you can see through the floor to ceiling windows surrounding the museum. The actual pieces are shown in their worn, off-white natural shade, while replicas are interspersed in bright white stone. These replicas are of pieces that still currently exist, just not in their possession. Where are they you ask? Divided between the Louvre and the British Museum. There is quite some tension about whether or not they should be returned. While I can understand the benefits of the pieces being in a museum so people can see parts of the historic landmark even if they never have the chance to visit Greece, the way they came to own the pieces is not an entirely ethical story, and it really is a shame they cannot be displayed in their native land. In any case, the museum was wonderful but we were not there too long as our tour was coming to a close and we were ravenous for lunch! Effie sent us in the direction of a string of lunch options near the museum that all offered outdoor seating- as the weather was perfect.
While it was a bit chilly, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We ended up at a yummy Italian-ish restaurant where we enjoyed some open-face sandwiches and pasta! After lunch we meandered back, checking out some of downtown Athens. We saw the Parliament building and the changing of the guards which was pretty interesting. Their costumes were very odd- pom pom tassels on their shoes, super short kilt/skirts and tall, thick white stockings. Not exactly what you envision a nation’s military wearing, but apparently it’s a very traditional get up that “even their girlfriends and moms are proud of.” We knew we were doing a self-led Rick Steves’ city walk the next morning so we didn’t look too deeply into much else, just wandered around checking it all out.
I did not get ONE picture from dinner the night before, so I snapped this of the restaurant the next day.
We made it back to our Airbnb for some munchies and then headed out to an AMAZING dinner that was one of the unexpected highlights of the trip. Katie chose it based on a Rick Steves review and when we showed up we were excited to see a set menu option that included 7 courses for $20 per person. Being that there were 2 menus to choose from, we ended up just ordering both for the table and went to town. Katie and Riley were more than happy to split all the food, and we were pretty excited about it! All traditional Greek fare, we had a really hard time choosing our favorite dish! It was exceptional (and the best part- reasonably priced!). After dinner, we wandered back to the AirBnb to get some rest- but the boys had other ideas. They went back out to grab a drink, enjoy some live music, and have some “bro-time” catching up.
The next morning Riley, Michael and I headed to a lively open-air market- and lively does not even BEGIN to cover it! We had no idea what to expect, and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. There was row after row of fresh seafood and fish, then another section of meat- beef, chicken, rabbit, pork, everything! The isles were crowded, loud, smelly and SO fun! Each stall shouting out about their wares, enticing you to buy. Riley settled on a large salmon filet and “mystery white filet of fish” that ended up being tasty as well! Then we headed over to the much quieter and more colorful side of things for fresh fruit, veggies, olives, spices, cheese and bread. We loaded up on all sorts of snacks for our hike and in-between meals (because… #vaca right?) and Riley got some tasty looking veggies to go with the quinoa they brought from Israel. Michael and I spent some time in front of the olive stand- the guy was letting us try them all! They are so different than the canned olives we are used to- they are huge and fresh and almost crunchy because they haven’t been sitting in a jar of liquid for months. We settled on some green olives and Kalamata and when they guy asked “how much” in his broken English I cupped my hands and motioned to him in sign language “ummm…. This much?” to which he said “100 grams?” and I nodded stupidly because I have no idea what 100 grams looks like. He starts scooping them into the bag and it ends up being a LOT more than my pantomimed handful- but when he wrapped it up and said “2 Euro please” our jaws dropped to the floor. You’re telling me I can get an entire bag full of these delicious, fresh, Greek olives for only TWO EURO?!?! I’m never leaving Greece.
After our market adventure, we headed to check out the “Poet Sandal Maker” of Greece- one of two SOLID recommendations from our dear friend Kelley. We found the little sandal shop tucked right off the main drag near Montastiraki square and entered to be greeted by cheerful workers who are clearly experts in their trade. There for over 100 years, the shop has been making custom-fitted leather sandals for decades. I picked out the style I wanted from the huge selection hanging on the wall and was told to sit down and take off my shoes! He guessed my size right away and brought a “rough draft” of my sandal choice right over to be fitted. He worked with the sandal on my foot until he had it fitted perfectly, then went to the workbench for only a few quick minutes and returned with the finished product! The experience of having a sandal basically custom made to the fit of your foot, in ATHENS, is a souvenir that will not likely end up dusty on a shelf, and a really fun experience as well. (Thanks Kelley!)
Now we were ready to begin our Rick Steves self-guided tour of Athens, the City Walking Tour. We started at Parliament, where we watched the changing of the guards the evening before, and worked our way around town. One of our first stops was yet another culinary gem Katie found in the guide book, a famous pie shop specializing in savory pies. Anything stuffed inside a flakey puff pastry is pretty good in my book- spinach and Greek cheese? Even better. Of course, it’s a tiny hole in the wall with no seating so we popped back out and enjoyed our pies and beer on the street, basking in the perfect, sunny day. We continued our walk for a few more hours, taking in a lot of the sights Effi showed us the day before, but from different angles as well as some new sights through Olde Town and more.
At the end of our tour we headed to the top of the 360 bar and restaurant, which seems like it would be insanely touristy with its 360 views of the Acropolis, downtown Athens and of course, the sunset, but we ended up being surrounded by dark-haired, Greek-speaking, non-backpack wielding natives and could not be happier about it. After finally snagging a table on the crowded terrace we ordered a few tasty cocktails and simply enjoyed the view. The sunset ended up being more than amazing, especially enjoyed from that vantage point with the Acropolis right in view as well. After our sunset drinks it was off to the AirBnb for a “home-cooked” meal! Katie and Riley NAILED IT and we were officially nervous to return the favor in Santorini, having no clue what kind of groceries we would find on the Island.
Saturday, we got packed up and headed to the Athens airport to take our (quite large actually) puddle jumper to Santorini! Athens had exceeded our expectations in every way, and we could not believe half of our trip still lay ahead of us! We landed and hopped in a taxi to make the 20-minute windy drive from Fira to Oia- where we would be staying.
When we arrived at the AirBnb we were speechless. Never in my life have I had the opportunity to stay somewhere quite so beautiful and picturesque. The pictures of Santorini are completely accurate, if even selling it a bit short. The white and sometimes pastel-colored houses stack side by side, one of top of the other down the cliff-side with views of the caldera- what used to be the rest of the Island of Santorini before its volcano erupted leaving Santorini in 3 parts- the largest of which is the main island in its interesting moon shape wrapping around the caldera, making for an incredible view of blue sky meeting a deeper blue ocean. After getting settled in our new home for the next few days we just sat there on the patio, taking it all in. So peaceful. So VAST. So beautiful. Of course I couldn’t help myself from snapping about 1000 pictures right away, everywhere you turn there is something picturesque you feel the need to capture!
After taking in the view we were off to explore and find some grub for lunch! After our cab driver told us that all but 2 of the dinner restaurants in Oia would be closed for off season, we were a bit pessimistic about what we would find to eat. Luckily there were a few places still open including a bakery, a few tiny convenience/grocery stores and a delicious pizza joint where we posted up on the rooftop patio for lunch! We devoured all 3 of their pizza varieties in no time and reveled in the view before us. After lunch, we just wandered the island, taking it all in. One thing we learned was that major construction is only allowed on the island from October to March, the off-season. During this time a lot of the hotels, AirBnb’s and resorts close up shop to be worked on or renovated. This meant that while we were there, not only were the construction crews hustling to finish in their remaining 20 days, it also meant that 75% of the population on the island were construction workers, leaving about 20% tourists and 5% people who actually live there and run their tourist-centered businesses. (At least in Oia that is what we experienced.) While there was a good deal of construction going on, it was mild on Sunday compared to the loud banging and clatter we woke up to on Monday where the construction crews were at full steam. All that said, we honestly feel traveling off-season was the way to go. We traded intense heat and “Grand-Central-Station-like crowds” for a bit of construction noise and fewer restaurant options.
Sunday evening, we headed to the western side, north around the tip of Oia where we were staying, and scoped out the perfect spot for the sunset. As we were wandering around it was clear tourists from all over the island were arriving to do the same thing, although we heard in the summer it gets absolutely PACKED, so we were lucky to be able to take it easy. It is tricky at some points to really know if you are on a public pathway or if you have just stumbled onto someone’s patio, the way everything is jigsaw puzzled together. At one point we were invited in by one peculiar hippie looking woman to her patio for drinks and a sunset view. After wandering around and not finding a much better spot to post up, and being tempted by the thought of a warm drink (The sun was nice and warm but as it set the breeze picked up and it started getting chilly) so we took her up on her offer knowing there had to be a catch, but maybe it would be worth it? She was selling homemade yarn bracelets and henna tattoos from her patio, which of course we had no interest in. She greeted us warmly and told us there was a really nice patio on her roof if we wanted to check it out. We popped on up there and sat on the lone bench to what was actually a pretty awesome view of the sunset, but not really a great view looking back at the island itself, which we knew would be beautiful as it was lit by the setting sun. So we decided to have a quick drink, give her a little tip, snag a few pics and be on our way. She was kind enough to serve us from her selection of coffee, hot chocolate and wine which we enjoyed amid our little sunset photo shoot, where we were able to grab some nice shots. Then… the hook, line and sinker. She came up with a bill for the drinks- 6 Euro each! HA! So those were the most expensive drinks we enjoyed in Santorini. We are still trying to figure out how she did that and how she can possibly run a legal café out of her home when she comes back up with her yarn bracelets. She explains that she is in fact NOT a café and so we paid for one of her bracelets each. This just keeps getting better and better. So we are each asked to pick out a bracelet from her display, which we do even though we know we will never wear these things again, pay our “bill” and decided to get the hell out of dodge and find a better, more peaceful and less expensive place to watch the sunset.
We found a small abandoned patio under construction that we could post up at, and we enjoyed the remaining sunset from there. Once the sun set we hustled to the one of two restaurants we had chosen for dinner, thinking that once that sun dipped into the ocean everyone and their grandma would be flocking to these restaurants and they would get packed. We were wrong. Of the handful of tourists watching the sunset, only a much smaller handful were even staying in Oia and the already small restaurant never even filled up. We had a nice meal there, nothing too special, but tasty nonetheless. We wandered back to our interesting but cozy AirBnb to change into our PJ’s and relax. I say interesting because there was the main patio (which was much larger than we thought) which led to each room individually: the bathroom, kitchen and 2 bedrooms each had their own locking door to the outside. This was a bit strange and at times inconvenient, mostly when it got cold and windy at night and you had to go outside to use the bathroom (Ruby Sue problems… anyone?), but other than that it was a lovely place. I forgot to mention while we were back in Athens, Katie and Riley taught us how to play Spades! So we poured a few glasses of wine and played round after round, while I took a few too risky “nill” rounds and lost big time, Katie was exceedingly patient and we actually came back to win against the boys!
Monday morning we awoke to the many harsh sounds of construction on Santorini. While it was not all that pleasant, we traded it for the crazy crowds that fill the Oia streets in the summer, which to us felt like a pretty fair trade. After a delicious breakfast of fruit, oatmeal, eggs, warm pita bread with honey and hot tea we threw on our tennis shoes, packed our bags with snacks and headed out on what was the highlight of our trip: the hike from Oia to Fira. Most people hike from Fira to Oia, but being that we were staying in Oia, we opted to do it “backwards” and end with lunch in Fira before taking a bus or cab back to Oia that afternoon. The hike was quite a bit uphill for the first half, but not too challenging overall. The views were absolutely spectacular. I felt like every 5 minutes of the hike the view changed completely. It started up the black lava rock cliffs towards the singular white chapels nestled in their hills, watching Oia fade away in the background. Rounding the corner of the cliff led to pockets of really nice looking villas and resorts, tucked away from the main towns with fantastic views of the caldera. At some points you wander through small towns, down their narrow streets just to pop out again with an amazing view. It took us 2 hours to get to Skaros Rock- this barren rock outcropping just a short walk down from the town of Imerovigli. We stopped on this rock to eat our snacks: nuts from Israel, big purple grapes, Edam Cheese, and of course our outstanding Greek olives. It was the perfect pick me up to continue our hike around the rock, eventually working our way up up up (about a thousand steps) back to the mainland and then another 25 minutes or so to Fira. The weather was absolutely perfect for us, just cool enough with the warm sun shining in a nearly cloudless sky.
Once we made it to Fira, Katie led us to yet another gem of a restaurant: Mama’s House. There we enjoyed some traditional Greek fare and basically had the place to ourselves. After lunch, we hopped in a taxi for our journey back to Oia to catch another stunning sunset. This time we joined the Asian tourists at the “castle” (more like a stone walled platform) where Google designated as the “Oia Sunset Lookout”. The views here really were spectacular, especially looking back at Oia. I will let the pictures speak for themselves…
After the sunset we took our time wandering back since this was our last night in Greece! We stumbled into Kelley’s recommendation 2 of 2: Atlantis Book store. Walking in, the man sitting at the counter was exactly what you would expect from this crazy, cluttered, hipster, worn-yet-interesting book store. He was extremely friendly and knew a LOT about the books they sold. Mostly ordered from England, they had everything from classics, to contemporary novels, to travel books and even a 15,000 Euro original edition of The Hobbit, among other collector’s edition books. We perused the tiny cave-like store for quite a while, and I snagged Bill Bryson’s The Complete History of Nearly Everything (the more we travel the moreI realize I learned very little in history class growing up, and I am really enjoying learning more about our world’s history and how we have gotten to this point) as well as an awesome version of Tales of the Greek Heroes with the most beautiful cover illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, a British artist who has re-illustrated the covers a bunch of classics, and I want them all. They are so unique and colorful! After the bookstore we popped into our trusty Pizza restaurant to get some dessert to go with our dinner! We got some chocolate cake thing the boys wanted and baklava for us girls… and to top it all off, vanilla ice cream!
That night it was our turn to cook! We ended up having to shop for groceries at the smallest grocery store I have ever seen- so we had to get creative, but we made it work! We decided on a nice veggie stir fry over rice with warm pita and honey. It ended up really hitting the spot and being a great end to our grand Greek adventure. We really enjoyed relaxing and catching up with/getting to know Katie and Riley. They ended up being the most perfect travel pair- wanting to do almost exactly the same things we did, being willing to cook and be cooked for, saving money or splurging in all the same places, it was really fantastic how it all worked out. We cannot wait to visit them in Israel sometime in the next year or so and were so thankful for this trip with them! The next morning they saw us off and even offered to clean up after breakfast so we could relax and enjoy our final moments with them and our perfect view. After our quick cab ride to the tiny Santorini airport we then caught our next THREE flights, yes THREE to get from Santorini back to Frankfurt, which ended up taking us the entire day. We picked up Ryder from the sitters late and whipped together a dinner before crashing into our beds, content with sun-kissed skin and visions of Santorini sunsets dancing in our heads. Greece, you are so special. We cannot wait to be back. Until then, we cherish the memories. Efcharistó! (Eff-er-ee-stOH!)
