B and I have never been to Greece, so we were super excited to have a little more relaxed beach time after a busy week in Paris. We considered a cruise, but decided it would be more fun (and economical) to do our own adventures. We flew from Paris to Mykonos, then hopped to Santorini, then finished at Athens over the week.
The waters are amazing and every town is next to the bluest ocean you'll ever sea (see) haha. This is the octopus you can enjoy right in Ammoudi Bay in Santorini.
There's tons of little shops selling Greek foods - the popular towns in the Cyclades islands know what tourists want! Locals told us that apparently they're not that impacted by the Greek economic crisis as opposed to the mainland because tourism happens no matter what (I have never seen so many tourists crammed together in my life!).
Lots of restaurants along the tiny streets of Mykonos - the main town Hora is a pedestrian only place and every corner and building is just picture perfect with white wall and blue windows and domes.
We, of course, ate seafood many times throughout the trip as we were so close to water. Here is grilled sea bream with lemon olive oil in Little Venice in Mykonsos.
Of course, we had to have the quintessential greek dessert - baklava - with ice cream.
We had quite a bit of olive oil - B bough a large bottle of homemade fresh pressed oil to bring back to the US. He loves the stuff - he even drank it straight when they offered it for taste testing!
Santorini is known for fabulous wineries. Their wine is very concentrated due to the manner of growing the grapes - low to the ground - as there is little rain on the island.We went to Santo Wines - one of the best wineries - and enjoyed a beautiful Greek seaside sunset with these delicious snacks.
Vinsanto is a wine only made in Santorini - it's super sweet and concentrated. I really loved how different tasted and brought a bottle back as well (our small luggages were exploding by the time all the souveniers from France and Greece added up)
One of the most popular Greek spirits is ouzo. It's cloudy white, served cold, and super strong. They can come in cute bottles featuring Greek gods and goddesses.
While on Mykonos (and all of Greece) the restaurants can really push you to eat there. B is a softee so he promised the first person who came up to him we'd eat there after our Delos island day trip (I told him he can't say yes to every restaurant and vendor and shop owner or we'd be broke lol).
B is a man of his word, so as soon as we got back, ate this pepper and vinegar octopus in one of the seaside restaurants, and it was quite good.
We tried quite a bit of exotic gelato flavors - including olives (not the best), vinsanto wine, baklava, fig, and chocolate pistachio (armoundes), and halva (tahini/sesame) gelato!
One of the best budget eats in Oia is Pito Gyro - we were ravenous after a day of excursions, including hiking 3 hours on a beautiful (and rocky) trail from Fira to Oia, and we devoured the best gryos on the trip.
There's so many olive wood items. I did end up buying the grape glass olive oil and balsamic vinegar in the middle of the photo although I regretfully don't eat enough olives to merit buying a donkey olive pit holder.
B and I rode donkeys up a trail of stairs in Fira's Old Port (it was already quite tiring walking down). There is absolutely no controlling the donkey and they take you where they want at their own pace with no one there.
For some reason, they put me on a huge nice shiny donkey and put B on the tiniest, scrawniest, most disheveled looking donkey that looked like he could barely hold the weight of my 6 ft 2 in husband. However, he was a tough donkey and was the first to the top.
In Athens, one of the best deals was all this crispy fried seafood on a bed of tabbouleh for two for just 20 euros plus dessert. Not too shabby.
This was our last dinner of the honeymoon and hands down B's favorite - he has never raved about lamb chaps so much before as these in Tousteki Tou Ilia, a tavern in Athens. There are a million cats eyeballing you for your scraps (B refused to share).
Beautiful Little Italy in Mykonos
And thus, my last major vacation until who knows when. B is already dreaming of our next big trip.
And thus, my last major vacation until who knows when. B is already dreaming of our next big trip.
gorgeous pics! I'm generally not a huge fan of greek food but this post makes me think i could enjoy it!
ReplyDeletethere's a large variety - at the very least one can enjoy their dessert :)
DeleteThat's because you've NEVER had real Greek food! Huge variety, and far tastier and healthier than any other cuisine in the world.
DeleteWow those photos...amazing. I need to see this in person!
ReplyDeleteit's worth visiting - wish I could go back!
DeleteLovely photos. The ouzo bottles are amazing but have to say, that stuff is lethal if you have a lot of it!
ReplyDeleteYes it's so strong (like pain thinner) I could only finish 1 shot. Not my choice of poison, but we wanted to try what to locals do :D
Deleteholy smokes these photos look amazing! i would love to travel to Greece someday, what an amazing honeymoon!
ReplyDeleteThanks it was so much fun :)
DeleteThis looks amazing! Sounds like an incredible honeymoon and you ate well. That baklava.... omg!
ReplyDeleteBaklava and ice cream is a new combo for me but amazing
DeleteOh my God! I'm dying!! These pictures are amazing! Great blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteI want to go so bad! It looks amazing!!
ReplyDeleteThanks - it's worth going someone in your life
DeleteI'm desperate to go to Greece, but also worried about the 100lbs I'd put on while visiting. LOL! Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteThere's quite a bit of walking actually, so I think we came out even or at least kept the weight gain to <5 lbs for both weeks
DeleteI def have Greece on my bucket list wish i'm starting next year so i can't wait to go and see everything first hand
ReplyDeleteIt's a great place to have your bucket list :)
DeleteAmazing! looks like you had a trip of a lifetime! I've been dying to travel to Greece! Maybe one day! Im a huge fan of greek food! My mouth is watering just looking through these photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks - it's hopefully the first of many trips of a lifetime
Deletei would eat ALL the baklava. seriously, a trip to greece would result in me gaining about 30 pounds, but it would be totally worth it. love these pictures!
ReplyDeleteHaha, there's so much walking that it's only 20 lbs (just kidding - we only gained 5 lbs)
DeleteOh my goodness do I love Greek food! All of your pics make me want to go back asap :)
ReplyDeleteGreek food is so good (and I don't feel too guilty eating it since it's relatively healthier lol)
DeleteAwesome greek dessert
ReplyDeleteIrresponsible drinking is not the only issue involved with unsafe travel; there are several safe travel tips that need to be kept in mind while vacationing to ensure your safety. Best Desert Safari Deals
ReplyDeleteOh my God! These photos! Everything looks so yummy :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos! Greece is indeed an extremely tasty country! The food is amazing, but what I really loved about Greece was the friendliness of it's people. When wandering in the evening, you would expect only tourists, but the majority of the people you see at the restaurants and bars are Greek residents.
ReplyDelete