Hi everyone!
We’re just returning from a couple of weeks of traveling in Greece. Hope you didn’t miss us too much!
We covered so much ground in the past two and a half weeks that I can’t write it all in detail, so I’ll catch you up with some highlights and lessons learned. Oh, and a ton of photos.
Our itinerary:
We spent a few days in Athens, where our good friend Parker joined us from the US. From there we flew to Santorini. Next was a ferry to Naxos, followed by one night in Paros, before we headed back to Athens to say goodbye to our travel partner.
From Athens, we drove north to Loutra Edipsou and ultimately Meteora, before returning to Athens for the last two nights. We saw a variety of landscapes and got to take in a diverse cross-section of what Greece has to offer.
Highlights
Greece does fine dining right: Parker and I share a birthday, and Hilary planned an incredible dinner at Delta to celebrate. This two-Michelin-starred restaurant is a work of art and our meal was a singular experience. From the decór to the service to the multi-course chef’s menu, it was like something out of a TV documentary.
I could not have asked for a more special gift. I’ve had some truly incredible meals in my life, and this was above all else.
Athens is a great city: I’ve heard mixed reviews from fellow travelers… “it’s hot, it’s noisy, there’s not much worth staying for…” they say. I found it to be quite the opposite.
We thoroughly enjoyed wandering through neighborhoods away from the main tourist zone (Plaka) finding hip cafes, tasty vegan food, cool bars, stunning cocktails, and generally friendly people. Maybe we lucked out by visiting in the shoulder season, but we enjoyed it so much that we ended up coming back early from our road trip to spend more time in this city. It’s a world-class scene. But driving downtown is anxiety-inducing.
The best gyro I’ve had is vegan: Yup. I love gyros and we found a mushroom one at Mama Tierra that was so good we returned two more times during our stay in Athens. And yes, I did try meat gyros in Greece. This is still the best I’ve had.
Santorini has some nice surprises: I was hesitant to visit this island because it’s in the heart of the tourist path. I can understand why… it’s gorgeous. But the type of place that welcomes 4 cruise ships at one port (especially in the off-season) isn’t usually my jam. Shoulder season is definitely the time to go, though.
One day we hiked from Imerovigli to Oia along the rim of the caldera, and the volcanic landscape and deep blue water blew me away. Especially with the spring wildflowers everywhere.
Naxos is totally my speed: Stop 2 in the islands was a perfect mix of laid-back beach vibes, delicious food, gorgeous mountain villages, welcoming people, and perfect blue water. It wasn’t beach weather this time, but I can see myself coming back again and again.
Paros is fancy: We ended up on Paros for just one night because it had the best flight options back to Athens. It was a late addition to the itinerary, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was surprised at how fancy Naousa is, with outlets of upscale, name-brand fashion retailers and chic marina bars. It’s a very polished version of what I saw on other islands. And they make some darn good potato salad.
Meteora is simply stunning: It’s also on the tourist path but was previously unknown to me. Hilary got me educated on it and I’m so glad she did. This UNESCO World Heritage site has huge rock formations that are topped by monasteries built by Greek Orthodox monks.
The history is deep, going back to ancient times. Nearby is a cave where they’re still discovering prehistoric evidence, like footprints from 15,000 years ago! There’s so much to see and do, and our 3 nights there were barely enough. Beware the tour buses and the hordes they disgorge, but if you self-guide it can be great.
Greek people are so nice: When it comes to friendly, welcoming locals, Greece is right up there with Portugal. We were continuously blown away by how friendly and hospitable everyone was (for the most part), even in heavily touristed areas. We felt so well taken care of here.
Our Learnings
You can never count on European weather in spring: We strongly prefer traveling in the shoulder season because there are fewer tourists, but the weather can be iffy. Most of the time we roll the dice on the weather, we win… however we spent a lot of cold, rainy days in the Greek islands on this trip. We made the most of it, of course, and had a great time. But we might think twice about risking a beach-first trip during spring weather in Europe again…
It’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security when you’re living in a place like Portugal: We are getting used to living in a tourist place, but not one where people are trying to scam us. We landed in Athens at 1:30 am and just hopped in a cab without negotiating first. We should have known better (it’s not our first rodeo), and we ended up getting overcharged. Fortunately, it was only 15€, but it was enough for us to immediately put our guard back up.
Greek people are, in general, insanely nice. But in major tourist destinations, there are always some folks trying to take advantage. At least it was a cheap lesson.
We have to check airline tickets before planning trips. One of the big benefits of living in Europe is the ability to fly around Europe for cheap, right? We learned that’s not always the case.
We planned this trip before going deep into flight research. It turns out that a bunch of the direct flights from Porto/Lisbon are seasonal and start in June. We ended up spending a lot of money to fly crappy itineraries (14h each way) just to get across Europe. Flights with more reasonable itineraries were 600-1,000€ per person round trip!
Tons of Greek food is naturally plant-based. One of our tour guides told us that the traditional Greeks are so used to “fasting” (not eating meat or dairy) for religious reasons that many of the regular dishes are naturally vegan. Spanakopita, stuffed peppers, giant beans baked in sauce, etc… are all vegan. It makes plant-based travel here a LOT easier than in most other countries.
Overall, it was a fabulous trip. We can’t wait to learn to cook some of the favorite foods we enjoyed while there. And we’ll definitely return to the islands, probably in the fall, once the tourists thin, but the weather is still good.
How has your May been so far?
This week’s music is for my hip-hop heads. Aminé (Portland-area roots) and Kaytranada (one of my favorite producers of late) joined forces on this new album. It doesn’t pull any punches.
Content warning: Explicit lyrics/hard raps.