Finally.
Finally, 2021 brought me the travel therapy I needed.
As much as I love and aspire to travel the world, I don’t believe the value of traveling in your own backyard should be minimized. Covid most definitely reminded me of that and I learned to appreciate the little trips around NC and small USA getaways more than ever.
Howeverrrr….When the tiniest hope of traveling to Europe rumored, I was the first one at the door.
There is just something about traveling outside of the US for me that brings another level of joy to my heart.
You see, I am every bit of an enneagram 7… the Enthusiast.
An enneagram 7 is described as, obviously, enthusiastic, positive, fun loving …and get this… has a childlike energy to experience everything. Those who know me, know this couldn’t be more true.
Take that childlike energy and multiply that by 7 when I get to travel…and times that by 7 again when I travel internationally. I love love love experiencing new places. There’s no better feeling than feeling small in this world. What that does for my mental health is it allows me to think less of myself and my so called worries. My curiosity craves learning about everything that is NOT like me-to get lost in rich history in real life.
So I took my childlike energy and researched the heck out of Covid travel regulations, bought plane tickets for the family and wrote a 14 page itinerary for a trip to Greece.
This Greece trip was the perfect vacation. It was therapy in all kinds of ways. I filled my belly to gluttony. I enjoyed texting my closest friends about things that made me laugh and reminded me of them. Isn’t it so nice knowing no matter where you are in the world, your besties are your besties? I was thrilled to take millions of beautiful pictures. You know me and pictures. I did absolutely nothing for hours. I truly connected with my family. Guys, teenagers are the best. I don’t care what they say. I talked with locals about their economy and how Covid impacted them. It’s something everyone in this world has experienced in some capacity and we are linked to one another because of it. I got lots of sun. I walked many miles. And, did I mention, I ate everything?
I felt rejuvenated. I felt thankful. I felt filled.
If the 9 million photos below don’t move you to plan your next to trip to Greece, I’m not sure what will. At this time, Greece isn’t crowded. The locals are begging for travelers. The food. The views. It’s totally worth it. This being the second time in Greece, there’s still so much I wanna see. Believe me when I say, Greece must be on your bucket list.
A few travel trips to help keep the travel therapeutic. (This section is for those who asked me to compile my travel tips)
*Travel the way YOU like to travel. If you like beaches… find the beaches. Do you love food? Then schedule a local food tour (highly recommended btw). Remember, you do you, boo! I like to mix it up. I’m an E7 so I gotta have a little bit of everything.
*One carry on bag. One purse. I repeat do not check a bag or bags- SO many things can go wrong if you check a bag. You could lose the bag… what if you’re bouncing locations? How will your bag find you? Your bag could get damaged. Or. Worst on my list…you gotta wait for your bag to arrive. Wasting time at an airport is not for me. If you must… buy a cheap luggage bag at destination to fill with shopping items. Check only on your return home.
*Zipblock bag your clothes- I had my airport outfit then packed 5 dresses, 2 skirts, 3 shorts, 4 shirts, 3 bathing suites, 4 shoes, pjs/undergarments, charges, and 2 hats, and makeup for 10 days. YOU can get it all in one bag.
*Invest in travel friendly shoes-I always bring my weird Vibrams because I’m scared of what my feet could touch in the seas. Chacos? Birks? Rainbows?
*IF you’re a frequent traveler or just hate lines, TSA and Global Entry is the way to go! On the way back from Greece we “skipped” a 200 people line. This makes me happy.
*Create an itinerary but be flexible. Schedule free days and free time to randomly stumble upon restaurants and stores. At the same time, you wanna know what’s going on in the area you’re staying at as far as openings, hours, famous sites and foods.
*Check your expectations. This was the first time traveling to Europe with teenagers and it was every bit of awesome. Don’t be scared of it. Just remember. Teenagers sleep in, eat 6 times a day, and then they are still hungry. Sometimes you leave them behind to unwind with electronics. It’s ok. You always stop for more food.
*Upgrade to “Skip the Line” tickets. As you have probably guessed, I hate lines. My life has been cursed with the fact that I will forever be in the longest Chick Fil A line. However, you probably won’t find me standing in a museum line cause I upgraded.
*Travel Covid Tests. Results in 15 minutes.
Get your jet lag pills and now you’re ready for your trip. Enjoy this shorter than the original 14 page itinerary for inspiration.
Day 1
Trick the kids. You know I gotta have at least one prank going. It was fun to tell the kids that they were vacationing in Florida. Totally believable. We did. For one night. Fort Lauderdale was actually where we were taking our connecting flight to Greece. The older two had suspicions because they are older and argumentative. “Why we gotta have a travel pillow when the flight to FL is only 2 hours?” My baby just followed instructions. All three were absolutely surprised and thrilled when I told them over Mexican food. It was imperative that we find Mexican food because it was gonna be a long 10 days without my beloved Mexican Food.
Day 2
Fly to Canada. Canada is strict with Covid. Everything was still closed. They don’t play. Nothing to report here except flying for 8 hours Canada to Greece and eating maple cookies.
Day 3
Athens. Travel Ninja in full effect. My number one rule when traveling to Europe—- Sleep on the plane. No one shall sleep after we land. You are on Greece time.
I tend to pack the first day with lots of activities and site seeing to avoid the classic, “let me take a little nap” pitfall. We toured the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, Mars Hill, Parthenon, Ancient Agora, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Anafiotika, and ended the evening exploring and eating in Plaka
Day 4
We drove to Corinth for some bible history and watched crazy people bungee jumping at the Isthmus canal. I could barely stand on the bridge without trembling.
Day 5
Santorini is one of those places that you must visit if you’re traveling to Greece. It’s a 30 minute flight from Athens. Arguably, if you’ve been to Santorini, it’s a one and done kinda place. I don’t know if that’s just me. Don’t get me wrong, I will never say no to Santorini, but I’ve done it already. It’s small and I wanna see more islands and places. It doesn’t even matter what I think about it because seeing my kids see Santorini for the first time was the highlight of the trip for me. I could replicate that moment a million times. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so happy. This was their place and I think they could have stayed here for the entire trip.
Our itinerary included cliff jumping at Amoudi Bay. Yes, you have to walk up and down the 300 steps. Don’t ride the donkeys. Staying in a cave house and having a sunset dinner is a must.
Day 6
Santorini day two consisted of a wine tour, a donkey beer brewery tasting, and a visit to Kamari Beach.
Day 7
Mykonos is my place. Glamour, ruggedness, plethora of beaches, white washed stone town, shopping, food, and little churches everywhere. Three years ago, I had the privilege to lay my long legs on Ornos Beach and eat Greek salad and Greek donuts. I told the server from Kostantix that I was gonna come back and find her and do it all over again with my kids. And I did. Because I take a zillion pictures, I proved it to her. She laughed and laughed. This entire trip was built around this memory of mine–Ornos beach and donuts. And, it was everything I hoped it would be.
Day 8
On day 8, I was glad to explore a different Mykonos beach- Paradise Beach. Truly paradise. They say your happiness is peaked on day 8 of vacation. Science says that even if your vacation is longer than 8 days, your happiness tapers off after day 8. Whatever the studies say… it was pure fact for me that this was the happiest day. The crystal blue turquoise water, the sun beaming down on me, and all the Greeks treating ME like a goddess because I never went a minute without food or drink an arms length away. Paradise was perfect and I could vacation here a lot.
Ouzo
Day 9
We took a 4 hour ferry back to Athens. We saw many islands along the way and it was fascinating to see more of the inner Greece. This was our last night in Greece and I ended it with a local history food tour. It was great to get a little mythological lesson, see the markets, and talk to locals. I always stay up as late as I can the last night and take it all in and appreciated the great time we had.
Day 10
A couple more Greek treats and an 11 hour flight back home. I was definitely ready to be home…In my own comfy bed…Use my own bathroom (the Greeks have plumbing issues, you have to throw away toilet paper- which is a stinky situation) and see my friends. Oh, wait. I got home and all my friends left on their vacations. Now, I get to sit back, fight my jet lag, and enjoy their photos. I am thrilled to see the world slowly getting back to travel. It will never be the same. And that’s ok. But, I sure will appreciate it even more.
Travel Ninja 