The Greek Festival

All Labor Day weekend, the Greek Festival in Belmont was happening. Somehow Saturday and Sunday just slipped by so on Monday Brett & I made sure to carve out some time to check out the festival.

There were tents set up outside with all kinds of meats being cooked and sold, Gyros and lamb kebabs had the longest lines. There were various jewelery, clothes and souvenirs being sold as well as traditional Greek dancers performing.

We also were able to get inside the church and learn about the history of Greek Orthodox and admire the beautiful ceiling and wall decor that has recently been done.

There was a theater set up behind the church with plays happening throughout the day, performed by children & teens on Ancient Greek history.

A lot of what we saw and smelled reminded us of our travels last year to the Greek Islands {read about it; here, here, here and here} and how we wished we were back there soaking up the sun, lying on the sand and swimming in crystal clear waters.

X x

Chania, Khania, or Xania??

Our trip to Crete started off with a little drama. The ferry from Santorini left around 6pm and it said it was going to arrive into the main port of Crete, Herkalio, around 8.30pm. However once we were on the ferry and it was after 8.30pm we began to worry, thinking maybe we got on the wrong ferry? And I mean, we had been on this ferry for a couple hours it's not like there was anything we could do about it. Also, our hotel was a 2 hour drive to the west coast of the island so we knew we were going to have a long journey. We were told there was a bus from the port that would take us into the main town, but the last one left at 9 something. So now this left us with renting a car, which we figured was probably best anyway because of how big of an island Crete was. Anyway we got off the ferry and yes we were in fact exactly where we were supposed to. The only problem was it was now after 10 and there was only one car rental place. We waited in line for awhile and then we were told they did not have any more cars. They tried to call some other places but they were closed as well. We also had already paid for that night in our hotel because we booked through Hotels.com so staying in Herkalio until the morning wasn't exactly an option either. One of the people from the car rental place called a taxi for us, unfortunately though it was going to be about 200 euros, but what choice did we have? After the long taxi ride and a few wrong turns we made it to our hotel around 1am.

It was all completely worth it as soon as we were shown our room. We had one of the two best rooms in the hotel. It was a beautiful huge room, we couldn't believe that this was our room. After all the traveling and shuffling from the rest of our trip, this is how we are ending it - in style. Our room had beautiful closets with lots of space and drawers, a king bed with a desk and tv, then there were sliding doors into the next room with a couch, tv and table. Followed by glass sliding doors onto our OWN private veranda! Complete with two sunbeds, two chairs, an umbrella and table. It had a view right down onto our hotel pool and then right after that was the beach. RIGHT on the beach. Our other places were close, but this was even closer. These words and the couple pictures I have don't even do it justice. It was just a beautiful hotel and we were so lucky to have this room.

Crete is a much bigger island, close to the side of California, if you just flip California on its side. We were of course completely overwhelmed and excited to make the most of our last 4 days. We decided since we paid so much to get to this town, we should just stay around here and do what we can by bus etc. Not to mention who would want to ever leave that fabulous room?! Crete is much more developed and there were almost all cars on the roads, a few vespa's and motorbike but since everything is so much further away a car is necessary. There were also some great shops and things to do on the street where our hotel was. We did go into the town of Chania where we were staying {we saw Chania, Khania and Xania on different road signs and maps, so confusing!} We spent some lazy days by the beach, rented kayaks and paddled over to this island for a couple hours, walked through town and shopped and enjoyed some really amazing food from our hotel.

One thing I really wanted to do while I was here was try the para-sailing, or para-flight. That has been on a to-do list of mine for quite some time. {also called my 30 before 30 - coming soon!} Brett and I made an appointment and booked us up for a time. It was really getting my nerves going watching the people before us go & I was wondering if I could actually go through with it. Next thing you know the boat is coming back and it's our turn. They strap you up and give you a couple directions as you watch the rope that is attached to you unwind and fall into the water. As soon as the rope runs out you run to the edge of the mat and quicker than the blink of an eye you are up in the air! It was such an incredible feeling, we were really high up and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The boat doesn't take you too far as you are only in the air for about 10 minutes. The landing was probably the worst part, they bring you down by stopping the boat and then when you hit the water the boat moves again and drags you along the water almost like bare-foot skiing. Except there is a huge parachute that is behind you. Then the boat comes around for you and brings you back to the dock. It was a really great experience and there is no way I could have done it without Brett behind me to support me. I think I would probably give it another go, sometime.. in the future.  :]

Anyway, I will leave you with the remainder of these pictures for you to enjoy. All in all I had a wonderful vacation, I wouldn't have wanted to change much but of course there were things I could only know once I got there. I think the Greek Islands were a wonderful place for a summer vacation or holiday and maybe some day I will be back again.

X x

mykonos never sleeps, no seriously

Mykonos is one of the hottest summer destinations for people from all over the world who want to relax on white sandy beaches and party until the sunrises. This place puts Vegas to shame, but more on that later.

We took another ferry from Paros to Mykonos, it was only about 45 minutes because the islands are so close together. We were staying on the southern end of the island, about 15 minutes from the port and main town. Our hotel was adorable with an all white exterior and little blue doors. It was the perfect "Mediterranean style" I was hoping for! Also, it was only steps from the beach and a few restaurants.

First of all, we were so overwhelmed when we arrived into Mykonos. It was much busier than Paros, there were people walking and driving all over the place on these little windy roads. Luckily our hotel had a shuttle and picked us up so we didn't have to figure it out on our own. We spent our first day and night there just looking at maps and walking around everywhere to figure out what our surroundings were. There was a bus that would come every 15 minutes to take you into town. There were also taxi boats that would ferry you around all the coves from one beach to the other; it was perfect. We spent most of our time during the days on the beach and playing in the water.

The nightlife just exploded from there, everything revolved around the night - eating, drinking, shopping and clubbing took place all night and into the early morning. Restaurants and shops were packed from 10pm until about 1am, it was such a strange feeling to be in a restaurant eating a full dinner at midnight, but at the same time it felt so right. Makes sense, doesn't it? Anyway the three most famous and biggest clubs in Mykonos are: Space, Scandanavian Bar and any of the three clubs in Paradise Beach. Of course we went to all three. :] However, no one actually came to the clubs until about 4am, seriously. We tried, we really did to keep up.. but by 4am I was just so tired {Brett too} that we had to just get back to our hotel and crawl into bed. I really don't know how they can do it, I mean honestly what do you do until 4am anyways?! It beats me, but basically Mykonos won this time.

Of course not everything was party, beach, party, beach, repeat. We spent a little time walking through the town in the afternoon, while there was no one else around and I was able to get some great pictures. Mykonos is also known for a couple of other things, one being their windmills. There are 5 of them grouped together in the main town up on a little hill and they are beautiful. They can be seen from pretty much any point in the town and from the harbor. There is also a local "celebrity" of the town. His name is Petros and he is a pelican. He is beloved by his town and he is extremely friendly. You can easily find him just wandering through the town because there is a group of people chasing after him with their cameras. He even let me pet him one afternoon. :] I also could not get enough of the beautiful bright white buildings with its deep blue roof. I think when a lot of people image the Greek Islands, that is what they picture {because that's what I pictured} but those beautiful little buildings are all small churches and they have them almost every couple hundred feet! I even read somewhere that there are 365 churches on the islands of Mykonos alone. That is a pretty huge number for such a tiny little island, don't you think?

 We also lucked out and while we were wandering through the town there were tables set up with local Greek food that had just been cooked by the local women, selling them for a euro or two a piece. It was perfect! We were able to try homemade treats cooked by these women who were selling them to raise some money for a cause. My favorite, of course was baklava, which is a very sweet, flaky pastry. Oh it was so good to have it fresh & homemade. 

Mykonos definitely had a completely different style and vibe from Paros, so we had no idea what to expect for our quick day visit to Santorini, but we were ready to move on. It was great while we were there, but I think if I were to do it again, I would choose to stay on a different side of the island. By the time we had to checkout all we wanted to do was sleep. The hotel shuttle took us back to the port where we waited for the ferry to take us to our next destination. Let the adventures continue.

X x

preview / reflections of the greek islands

We made it safely back from our vacation and as happy as I am to have real water pressure and be in a real city again, part of me is ready to hop back on a plane and do it all again! This whole unpacking and organizing and commuting and working this just isn't the bee's knee's.
Anyway, onto happier times. To get to/from Greece we had to fly through London and since we were leaving on July 29th, {2 days after opening ceremonies} we decided to pick a flight with a long overlay so that we could go & explore London and the Olympics. We arrived in London about 1pm on the Monday and went straight on the underground into town. We weren't really sure where to start so we just got on and then decided we would figure it out as we go. Here is the great thing about London, they were so informational and helpful about the Olympics, a fantastic host. They have underground maps obviously on the trains, but they changed them up and put writing on the stops where the Olympic events were held. So we went straight for the village to see what that was all about. It was so busy and hectic and unfortunately we couldn't actually get into the village since we didn't have tickets for anything but we still were able to stand around and take some pictures. Then we found "beer gardens" that were set up with a big screen and some beer/snacks around so we sat in a couple different areas and watched some events.
The only thing I really wanted to do and I told Brett this since I saw it, was go see the London Bridge with the Olympic Rings. Unfortunately when we got there, {just my luck} the rings had been up all day & no one knew why. We stayed around there all night and they never came down. I was so disappointing. We did walk across the bridge and I got a shot of them against the bridge. Not the same, whatever.  I did get a fabulous shot of the bridge at night, lit up with all the different colors. Then about midnight when the last train was going back to the airport we got on that and just stayed in the airport until 5.30am when everything opened up and got on our plane that departed for Athens.

The Greek Islands were pretty incredible. I lot different than Brett & I had imagined, but at the same time was exactly what I was picturing. Each island was completely different. It had its own personality and different people and way of going about things. We went to a total of 4 different islands, staying 3 or 4 nights, except Santorini which was only 1. As soon as we got used to the island we were on it was time to leave and then explore / figure out / conquer the next. We did an amazing job and I am so happy with our selections, I wouldn't have changed much. Maybe just a couple little tweaks, but nothing big.
I have decided to split up the posts by island since each island was so different. So without further ado; these are a few of my favorite pictures as well as a little preview of what's to come while I sort through 400+ photos and get them ready to share with you.

X x