One Month in Europe: Part 8, Santorini

Ahh! We’ve finally arrived. The final destination. Santorini, Greece. Heaven. A dream. Crystal clear blue and white visuals that burn in my memory. I am thankful the memory bank in my brain was given this gift.

Whenever I’m having a stressful day I will zone out and picture myself in Santorini. I cannot even believe it’s real. I will always be smitten with it and light up when another traveler mentions it, because it’s just that magical.

We purposely ended our trip here so that we could wind down and relax, soak in some sun and chill out after a lot of travel. It’s a bit of a hike to get here, but well worth it.

I will start by saying that my biggest regret in all of our travel was booking our stay in a bad location in Santorini. It doesn’t mean that it also wasn’t my favorite part of the trip, but it just made things more difficult. I found an adorable Airbnb with good reviews in Mesa (centrally located) and just went for it because it had a pool, a super host, etc. Don’t do that. Stay in Oia or Fira, my recommendation would be Oia. There are some awesome cave houses to book in that area, that’s what I’ll be doing next time for sure. Oia was about a 20 minute ride away from Mesa and we had to take a bus so it got a little annoying - but I digress. Who am I to complain about being in one of the most beautiful places in the world?

Oia and Fira both have adorable shops, restaurants, and loungy areas where you can sip wine and gaze out into the water and the cave homes nestled on the terrain. The main difference with Oia was the sunset and amoudi bay. To get to amoudi bay, you can ride a mule (donkey?) down the many steps to get to the waterfront. From there, there’s a volcanic path that you’ll walk to get to the bay where you can swim and do a little cliff jumping (which I did, and I was terrified). There’s a certain area where everyone stands to watch the sunset - but instead my husband and I had dinner on the water after swimming in the bay (I don’t remember the name of the place, but it had excellent seafood and orange chairs) and watched the sunset without anyone trying to get in front of us. It was the best front row seat of my life.

on the way to the bay

Walking to the bay

Oia sunset

The colors and images in Santorini are just gorgeous. From the blue doors to the plants, everywhere you look is stunning. And clear. And magnificent.

Another thing we did in Santorini was get a massage at caldera in Oia which was a little hike but totally worth it. Couples massage in Greece are a once in a lifetime thing for most - so yes please. Nearby there was also a community pool called Lioyerma just incase you were staying at an airbnb without one, mot hotels have their own pool. Nice spot to just chill out and have some cocktails. Sunset is supposed to be beautiful from that location as well. As far as dining goes, I can’t tell you the name of anywhere we went - but it’s Santorini so you can’t go wrong. Of all our travels in Europe over the month, Chris and I we most impressed with greek food! The fresh salads, seafood, yogurt with grapes and honey - so delish. There is also a very rich and thick coffee drink that all of the folks in Greece rave about. Definitely coming back, but next time, possibly exploring a new greek island. If it had to be Santorini again? Don’t twist my arm.

I hope you enjoyed my journey - even though it took about 3 years to document it all on this blog… :)

Now that my husband and I have a child, traveling is paused for the moment while he’s an infant, but we’ve vowed to not let that stop us. We’re looking at Southeast Asia or potentially another trip to Paris for our next venture when the little man turns 1. Thanks for sticking with us!

One Month in Europe: Part 4, Florence

Our first stop in Italy was Florence. We only had two days built into our itinerary so we wanted to make the most of our time. Since we were sort of winging the middle part of our trip, we booked a very last minute Airbnb and it worked out perfectly. We were close to the Statue of David at the Accademia Gallery and about a 10 minutes walk into central Florence. 

I'd visited Italy about ten years ago, but only traveled to Rome and Venice. I'd heard so many mixed reviews about Florence vs. Rome, so I thought it was time to see for myself. Florence to me is smaller, cleaner and has more of a boutique feel to it than larger and grittier Rome. They are just different, both extraordinary in their own regard. 

We made a point to see the statue of David, and eventually caved and bought the group tour tickets while waiting in line. The line was a 3 hour wait, and we just didn't have time for that, not with only 2 days on the itinerary. If you have luxury of planning ahead, I'd look into the best times to jump in line for David, or purchase a ticket ahead. One of the most memorable experiences of our trip, I was blown away by the scale of this marble work of art. And the fact that Michelangelo was only 27 years old when David was created. 27?! I was watching Netflix and going to bars. Ugh. And the fact that I'd read about him in Art History but seeing the statue in person was truly the only education I ever needed.

The other majesty of Florence is the Duomo. It truly took my breath away. It's one of those landmarks you have to experience in person - the magnitude of it all can't be captured in a photograph. We didn't go inside, buy tourist tickets, or climb to the top. We simply admired it's greatness as we passed by, snapping a few pics along the way.

I also highly recommend strolling through the Boboli gardens. I think Chris and I walked 30k steps this day. The grounds are massive and absolutely beautiful, statues and treasures at every turn. We hiked to the very top where we found a garden maze and extraordinary views of Tuscany. 

Our food game wasn't really strong in Florence, we popped into random places - some good, some bad. Gusta Trippa was a very authentic joint that served lampredotto, which is a popular Florence meat (the cooked stomach of a cow). I was grossed out, my husband loved it. 

Right before we left, I was adamant about visiting a different sandwich shop that was listed #1 on Tripadvisor. It was 9 am, I didn't want a sandwich, neither did my husband - but I insisted. I HAD to try the #1 sandwich place before we left! This is where things get really sad. I barely understood the sandwich maker, ordered something terribly disgusting, and sat outside with my poor victimized husband who didn't want a sandwich, forcing him to bite into this undesirable sandwich. That was when I had to really take a good look in the mirror and tell myself to get over FOMO if it's not meant to be.

When I was in Europe in 2006, there was no Tripadvisor. There were no stickers with star ratings in windows. It was perfectly mysterious, adventurous, and story book like. Your expectations weren't let down if the food wasn't great because the place "had 5 stars." You weren't relentlessly chasing hype and other people's opinions. You were just there, enjoying the city in the most authentic way. Those were simpler times, times that I miss because they were so untouched and real. Europe is still magical, but back then it was truly a damn unicorn. 

While we wanted to visit the Uffizi Gallery, there wasn't time, and we were exhausted form cramming in as much as possible – but it's definitely another place to check out while in Florence. Onward to Rome!

One Month in Europe: Part 1, Paris

Chris and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend one month in Europe for our honeymoon back in September-October of 2017. We both work corporate 9-5 jobs, so it took a bit of strategizing to be able to get away with it, which I will cover in a separate post. 

Instead of a relaxing beach vacation, we were more interested in exploring as much of Europe as possible without making it seem like too much work. Our itinerary went like this: Paris, Beaune, French Riviera (Nice, Eze, Monaco), Florence, Rome, Amalfi Coast, Athens, Santorini. Did we map out our entire itinerary? We did not. The trip was planned in the beginning and the end - leaving the middle with a little improv work to do (which, in hindsight, I would not do again). We flew Icelandair and due to some intel and smart seat selecting through seatguru, we sat first class but only paid for business class. More on that trick later.

Our first stop was Paris on September 26, which ended up lasting a bit longer than we had planned because we were enjoying it so much. I'd been to Paris in the past, but it was a vague memory and I was so young that the things I enjoyed then are much different than the things I like to do now. We stayed in a few different places while we were there, the first being Hotel Providence located in the Marais district and later on an Airbnb close by. It was a great central location and aside from the room being itty bitty, the hotel was beautifully designed and we had a blast with the bartender, who we lovingly called George Pooney. Well, we told him he looked like George Clooney, he called himself George Pooney (the George Clooney of Paris? It's blurry), and we all laughed. Cocktails are fun.

During our time in Paris we did a quick trip to the Louvre because Chris had never been. This photo of Mona Lisa is one of my most interesting captures from Paris. The reflection of everyone holding up their iPhones in the painting is such an oxymoron it's almost painful to look at. My experiences in Europe in 2006 vs. 2017 were so vastly different due to social media and technology in general. It's painstaking in a lot of ways because the sacredness that I held so dear felt a bit lost on me in 2017. 

We also strolled through Luxembourg gardens on a beautiful afternoon and took the time to relax from traveling. We quickly grabbed a ham and cheese baguette from a street vendor and sat in the park. Truth be told I've always wanted to eat a ham and cheese sandwich in Luxembourg gardens and live the afternoon Parisian life. I have a vivid memory of this day, sitting in the park behind an older lady and her friend. The way the light hit her and the way they were talking was one of the most peaceful things I've ever witnessed. It was simple and beautiful and made me fall in love with Paris.

Chris had never seen the Eiffel Tower, so we put our tourist pants on and made our way over. While I wasn't that into climbing to the top, Chris being the explorer that he is had a different idea in mind. So we got to it. Me, a little apprehensive. Chris, very eager.

One of our favorite places for dinner was L'Avant Comptoir, which is a tiny tapas place with recipe cards hanging from the ceiling. We bellied up to the bar and ordered as much as possible (we couldn't help it, everything was SO good). All you have to do is point to a card hanging from the ceiling and voila! It appears before you. Chris particularly loved the foie gras burger. In fact, we came back a second time to eat it again. That's 4 foie gras burgers in 24 hours, nbd. The environment was fun, easy and casual - highly recommend when in Paris.

We also traveled to see Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre, which is North of central Paris. Every single thing about this area is charming. Everywhere I looked someone was playing an accordian, people were falling in love, birds were chirping. The area of Montmartre is filled with little shops and cobblestone streets that feels like a nice escape from central Paris. in fact, I purchased one of my favorite souvenirs from a boutique store - an enormous, gorgeous scarf that was difficult to fit in my suitcase but well worth the hassle. Another store I really loved in that area was Lekker, another concept store with some pretty unique items.

Just north of Montmartre, we decided to visit Marché Aux Puces - a flea market to die for. This market stands out in my memory of one of my favorite things in all our travels and also one of my biggest regrets. Chris and I found a blanket there that we adored, but knew it would be impossible to travel around with (especially since it was white). In hindsight I wish I would have purchased it and shipped it back to the US! Ah well, can't have everything.

Another spot we really loved was Merci, a concept store connected to a coffee shop close to our Airbnb. People watching was exceptionally interesting because we happened to be in Paris during fashion week and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the coffee shop guests were famous fashion week artists, models, or designers judging by their style. The store itself has some very cool apparel that we had fun looking at and not buying. 

A few other interesting tid bits about our travels to Paris: really loved Berthillon ice cream, Pierre Hermé Macarons (seriously, wow) and we experienced real-deal hookers very close to our Airbnb - they were out of the movies hookers, guys. It was actually jaw dropping to see, I didn't know they made them like that in real life. We spied them on our way to get pizza close by our airbnb, at a place called Rossi's pizza. They were on that street, whatever street that is, workin' in. And I'll leave you with that.

That's Paris! We absolutely loved it and definitely extended our time there by 2 days (that's the beauty of having an open schedule). Our next destination was Beaune, wine country in France.

Have you been to Paris? Tell me me about your experience in the comments below!