A photographic travel journal

In late 2022 we took our first international trip since the start of COVID-19. To commemorate the event we spent several weeks in Greece and the Cyclades. For the first time since Germany/Austria, we took my son along for the ride and he did wonderful. He was extremely excited to see everything. The weather was beautiful, although almost a tiny bit too cold for swimming. Out of all the places we’ve been, Greece contained some of the nicest people we’ve encountered. We’re definitely hoping to go back at some point. We spent most of our time in the Cyclades with a few days in Athens on each end. Travel map follows with everything we encountered, as well as a good amount of pictures. Jessica detailed the trip with bullet points so we could remember what we did.

A few special mentions that I think are worth looking into. Since it was out first time in the country we decided to schedule all of our transfers through a car hire company instead of trying to get taxi’s. It was barely any more expensive than a taxi and so much less stressful. The company is called Georges Taxi and they were great and friendly with nice cars: https://www.georgestaxi.com/

Secondly, when we were on Hydra we booked horse riding through a company called Harriets Hydra Horses and it was wonderful. They do great with small children and the views are amazing: https://www.hydradirect.com/harriets-hydra-horses

Travel Map

Day 1: Athens

  • Checked into our Airbnb.
  • Coffee and pastries at Ipanema espresso bar & bakery. Had our first Freddo cappuccino!
  • Walked through the National Gardens and played at the playground.
  • Went to the grocery store.
  • Dinner at Meat the Greek!

Day 2: Athens

  • Breakfast at home! Mike picked up cappuccinos from Coffee Berry and a ham & cheese pie and a vanilla custard pie (Bougatsa) from ΑΡΙΣΤΟΝ.
  • Explored the Acropolis. It was incredibly hot and crowded but very beautiful.
  • Relaxed at home for but to recharge.
  • Went to the playground and the park again.
  • Bought myself the most beautiful necklace in the world. It’s made of gemstones and 95 silver. It’s from a local made Greek store named Gia Tauta.
  • Has McDonald’s and orange pie & baklava for dessert.

Day 3: Hydra

  • Ferry to Hydra.
  • Rode horses all over the island! Went to the very top! Ethan’s horse was called Spirit, Mike’s was Sunshine, and mine was Diva.
  • Went to lunch at Psaropoulia. Ethan tried octopus for the first time, but wasn’t a fan of it lol.
  • Explored the island then headed back to Athens.
  • We had Indian take-away for dinner.

Day 4: Santorini

  • We flew from Athens to Santorini.
  • Probably the craziest drivers yet and there’s so many people in Oia.
  • Saw our first sunrise right out side of our house. We had the perfect view – especially since our Airbnb ended up being in the Sunset Villas Resort.
  • Had rooftop dinner at Pelekanos and it was delicious.
  • Mike and I had drinks on the patio outside our room before bed.

Day 5: Santorini

  • Breakfast on our patio 🌅.
  • We tried swimming in the resorts pools but it was very cold.
  • We drove to the very top of a mountain that had killer views. There was a church there called HOLY CHAPEL OF ST. NEKTARIOS.
  • We had lunch from a sandwich shop called Cantine, which was amazing. While Ethan had McDonald’s lol.
  • Vlychada Beach – black sands.
  • Monolithos Beach.
  • Explored around Oia for a while and then had pizza for dinner from a restaurant literally called Pizza Edwin 😂.
  • We got cocktails to go from a placed called the Boozery and walked back to the house!

Day 6: Naxos

  • The ferry to Naxos was utterly massive.
  • Checked into our castle house!
  • We went to Agios Prokopios Beach and it was stunning. It was my first time swimming in crystal clear water. It was pretty cold so Ethan stayed in the sand more lol.
  • Went grocery shopping, which was the hardest one yet out of all the countries we visited.
  • Made dinner at home then relaxed  for the rest of the night.

Day 7: Naxos

  • Got coffee to go from the Avaton Coffee & Wine Rooftop.
  • Went to the temple of Demeter.
  • Had lunch, coffee, and ice cream at Caffe Greco in the town Chalkio. We walked around the town after – so cute!
  • Went to the Apollonas Kouros statue – which is fallen over on its side.
  • In Kouros, we explored the coast line! We went out on the rocks. Ethan found sea snails and a sea sponge.
  • Watched the sunset at our regular beach – Agios Georgios Beach. It was so very windy we couldn’t swim but we went in to our knees!
  • The orange cat that Ethan named Jill broke into our house and then kept trying to lol
  • Ordered orange pie and milk pie (which is a less sweet cheesecake) from Avaton.

Day 8: Naxos

  • Super lazy day.
  • Went to Agios Georgios Beach but it was even more windy so we just splashed around for a bit and headed home.
  • I went exploring qround the castle and bought 2 beautiful necklaces from Tereza’s Greek Concept Store. The owner was so incredibly sweet. One was a woman’s face and the other was an eye Fylachto necklace which is meant to bring the wearer good luck.
  • Had a charcuterie board, fruit plate, and cocktails from Avaton for dinner.
  • Went to the palyground by the castle.

Day 9: Paros

  • Our ferry to Paros was delayed 2 hours, so we checked out the Temple of Apollo and the port area. Ethan rode a small ride, he had ice cream, and Mike and I shared bougatsa – which is amazing.
  • Had amazing burgers, a chicken pesto sandwich, and my first Greek beer from Burger Street.
  • Walked around the port town which was adorable.
  • Went to our hotel, which was called, Saint George Beachfront Resort. It was absolutely beautiful and on the water.
  • Mike rested, so Ethan and I checked out the playground and explored the beach and rocks.
  • Had dinner at the resort restaurant called Veranda Blue. I tried Moussaka for the first time and loved it! They made chicken nuggets for Ethan lol.

Day 10: Naxos

  • Had breakfast at the resort. Ethan loved it since it was a buffet lol.
  • Explored the town called Naousa – which was surprisingly busy. We walked across the bridge walkway to the old castle.
  • Did a wine tasting at the Moraitis Winery and bought a bottle of the Paros Red.
  • We saw the Paros windmill by the port!
  • Took the ferry back to Naxos.
  • Got takeout  from a small restaurant called Το souvlaki του Μάκη. It was so good. We had pork and chicken gyros and souvlaki.

Day 11: Naxos

  • Had an amazing traditional breakfast from Avaton.
  • Drove around Naxos.
  • Hiked to the Zeus’s childhood cave. It was so awesome and challenging – we had to climb up, over, and down rocks. Luckily there were red dots that marked where to go because you could get lost easily. Hands down the coolest thing and beautiful views. The cave was super interesting and pitch black – our phones barely lit anything, but luckily there was a communal flashlight lol.
  • Had lunch at “Dolce Vita” cafe & patisserie and ice cream from Cafe Grecco in the village Chalkio.
  • Went for a sunset swim at Agios Georgios Beach.

Day 12: Athens

  • We got breakfast pastries to go from Gregory’s Coffee Shop and it was delicious.
  • Went to the Olive museum.
  • Orkos beach.

Day 13: Athens

  • Food tour of Athens

Day 14: Athens

  • Heading home!