“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” Pat Conroy
Quote of the Week
Category: Europe
Cats of Greece
The cats we saw everywhere around Greece surprised me, made for a fun photography subject, and became a running joke our entire trip. If you Google “Cats of Greece,” the results that come up range from “The Plight of the Feral Cats of Greece- Advocacy for Animals” to “I hate cats. Should I even go to Greece?” to “A Rolling Crone: Greece is Going to the Cats.” While I could definitely see how the stray cats could be disturbing or distressing for some visitors, I found them to add to the charm of the Greece, the islands particularly.
Meagan and I each have a cat child so when I saw a cute zipper pouch with a kitty and a Santorini scene, I knew I found the perfect souvenir to bring back. I also just had to send a Kitty Cats of Greece postcard to my sister back home who doesn’t particularly like cats. I always enjoy discovering the quirks of places I travel to and appreciated how Greece tourism has embraced the cat theme in its marketing and selling. Which cat would you bring back from Greece as a souvenir? My personal favorite was Mr. Mustache Cat!
The Hydra Trading Company
During our stay on Hydra island in Greece, we stumbled upon a lovely home décor store down one of the streets. We were walking to Flora’s Bakery and I spotted a cute sign for The Hydra Trading Company. I could already tell by the beautifully designed sign which featured a peacock and the lobby of the building that we were in trouble. You see, Meagan and I have this dream of opening our own global home décor store and are obsessed with finding sublime shops and buying home goods while abroad.
Since my husband was waiting for us, my sister, niece and I had to return the next morning for our shopping adventure. Our walk from our pension to the shop was a wandering one, my favorite kind, where we discovered new cobblestone streets, adorable donkeys, gorgeous homes, and blooming bougainvillea before arriving at The Hydra Trading Company.
A stunning display case greeted us as we entered the first floor of the former firehouse and made us excited for what awaited us on the second floor shop. When we entered the shop, my niece exclaimed “It’s like Anthropologie- for real!” and it’s a perfect description. There are amazing bowls, glasses, plates and more in the kitchen section. Fun gifts to buy include stationary, journals, olive wood stamps (including donkey and cat ones), French and Greek linen and cotton bags, and COOL SOAP, 100% natural olive soaps made in neighboring Aegina.
The shop also has a fantastic view of the church towers of Hydra town out its window. We enjoyed browsing global home decor items such as baskets, pillows and textiles including Suzanis. In addition to the shop, there’s a connected gallery that displays works by local artists. If you’re planning a trip to Hydra, make sure you find time to visit this charming shop to pick up a few gifts and souvenirs to take home with you. If you enjoyed this post, like them on Facebook or visit their site.
[This is not a sponsored post. We loved visiting this shop while in Hydra and want the world to know about it.]
The Joy of Getting Lost
We put a lot of effort into not getting lost in our daily lives. We put even more effort into avoiding it while traveling. We use the GPS apps on our phones. We take guided tours in foreign cities. We stop and ask for directions at every turn. We make sure to get from one important location to the next, and we take the easiest and the fastest way possible. We don’t even notice the buildings, the scenery, the restaurants, and the people who we’re rushing past. Sometimes, however, we get really, hopelessly lost.
Below, you’ll find two great reasons to enjoy those times when you’re not quite sure where you are and two of our favorite stories about what we’ve discovered when we’ve been lost. We hope they’ll inspire you to be both curious and calm when you can’t find your destination. Maybe they’ll even inspire you to put away the map and get intentionally lost!
Live like a local.
My husband and I honeymooned in Italy, and we were lucky enough to spend 5 days in Venice, far more than the typical tourist schedule of a quick day trip. We had just spent the last week and a half in Florence and Rome, checking off those must-see museums and historic sites. By the time we arrived in Venice, we were ready for a change of pace.
I know what you’re thinking. Venice is full to the brim with tourists! How could we possibly find a change of pace or any peace and quiet?
-
- No Tourists Here!
-
- So Much Singing!
-
- Gorgeous Architecture
-
- Quiet Canals
Once we checked into our darling bed and breakfast, which was wonderfully located away from the crowds on a quiet street and quiet canal, we made our way out into the city. Unlike every other tourist we met, though, we weren’t headed to the Rialto Bridge or the Piazza de San Marco. We weren’t even headed to Lido or the Guggenheim, Murano or Burano. We decided to just wander along through the alleys with no map in hand. We discovered empty streets that ended at canals lined with archways and window boxes overflowing with flowers. We found great bars where we enjoyed an aperol spritz and a gelato. We ate dinner in a great restaurant, and we honest to goodness didn’t hear anyone else speaking English. We watched beautiful boats pass singing gondoliers. We sat along the canal and watched daily life pass us by. We saw Venice, but we saw it without the rest of the summer crowds jostling past us.
Don’t worry. We had more than enough time to see everything that one goes to Venice to see. We even took time for a Vivaldi concert. That first day in Venice, however, was one of the best days of our trip.
Discover some place unexpected.
It’s one thing to set out with the intention of getting lost. Well, as lost as one can get on a small cluster of islands. It’s another thing altogether to have a limited amount of time and not be able to find the destination that you’re most excited about. This is what happened to my husband and I while we were in London.
To add to the stress of not being able to find the British Museum, we were chaperoning nine of his high school students on their first trip abroad. It was not an easy feat. You might be thinking, “How hard can it be to find one of the most popular museums in the world?!?” I would have agreed with you prior to our attempt to get there from whatever random spot we were dropped off at, but we were given wrong directions twice, and someone even said, “I don’t know which museum you’re talking about; they’re all British,” and he MEANT it. Yes, thank you very much. (I should note that we landed a few hours earlier, and neither my husband nor myself were at the top of our travel game because, as I mentioned, we were dragging nine exhausted teenagers behind us.)
This ended up being a great learning lesson for our students. We helped them step out of their comfort zone and ask for directions, and we also talked to them about how to stay optimistic and not get scared when things go wrong. But do you know what the best part of our extra long walk to the museum was? Just when our students said “we have no idea where we are,” we looked up to see a street sign. We were on Drury Lane! Yes, DRURY LANE where the MUFFIN MAN lives! It was the best detour ever!
So there you have it: some of our favorite stories from getting lost abroad. Do you have any similar stories? We’d love to hear about them! Tell us your favorite stories about getting lost in the comment section.
Shot of the Week: Arthur’s Seat in May
My sister and brother-in-law took a two-night trip to Edinburgh, Scotland from England last weekend. One of their favorite activities was the hike to Arthur’s Seat, the highest point in the city and a dormant volcano, that affords fabulous views of the surrounding area. When I saw this photo on Scott’s Instagram feed, I knew we had our Shot of the Week! Yellow gorse and other spring flowers are in full bloom in May and the colors are just spectacular.
The Idyllic Greek Isle of Hydra
As much as I loved visiting Santorini, staying on Hydra felt like a true relaxing vacation. My sister and niece joined us at this point of the trip, and we chose this particular island for its proximity to Athens and the donkeys. More specifically, this is the only island in Greece that does not allow motorized vehicles and thus uses donkeys for its main form of transportation, to carry both people but mainly goods including bricks and refrigerators as we witnessed.
HYDRA
When we first arrived on Hydra, it was later in the afternoon so all the day trippers and tour groups had left for the day, and we had the town mostly to ourselves to wander around. We kept seeing May Day wreath decorations as is tradition in Greece to protect against the evil eye. As I’ve mentioned in many a post before, I love going for walks and exploring new places! After walking from our hotel to the harbor, we stopped for drinks and a snack at the harborside Pirate Bar. Then we moseyed along the harbor looking at all the boats, old cannons, and anchors and up to the windmill featured in the Sophia Loren movie, Boy on a Dolphin.
Instead of going back the way we came, we followed a local going up a hill path. At the top we found a beautiful little church, and we were greeted with stellar views of the harbor below. I was once again reminded why I venture off the beaten path. I also made a friend with a pirate. There was a little boy who lived nearby who came out to play dressed up with his eye patch, hook and sword. He kept pretending to stab me, and then I’d play dead. At one point he dropped his eye patch into some bushes and tears almost ensued. He only spoke a few words of English, and I only learned a few Greek words. I tried to reach the patch but proceeded to make it fall deeper into brush. Thankfully my husband saved the day and was able to retrieve the lost toy!
A Day at the Beach
Our second day on Hydra we took a local boat taxi to Vlychos Beach where we spent a relaxing afternoon laying out and swimming. The water was quite chilly but was still fun. We took a break from our time in the sun to lunch on fresh fish, potatoes and Greek salad at the nearby Marina Tavern. As nice as it was to relax on the beach, my favorite part of the day was our walk back to Hydra town along the coast. Everywhere you turned there were stunning sea views and we went through the cute little town of Kamini before reaching Hydra’s main harbor. It was a perfect (half) day at the beach!
Planning Practicalities
Where to Stay: The lovely Pension Erofili is close to the harbor and has a fantastic courtyard and delicious breakfast spread.
Ferry from Athens: The only choice is Hellenic Seaways, if you’re doing it on your own.
Where to Drink: The Pirate Bar as previously mentioned and The Hydronetta Bar for sunset.
Where to Buy Baklava: Flora’s Pastry Shop also has other sweet treats including ice cream.
What to Pack: Check out our Greece Packing List post to pack for a week in a carry on.
Where to Shop: The Hydra Trading Company (expect an entire upcoming post dedicated to this gem of a shop).
Are you ready to add Hydra to your Greece itinerary? Have you been to Hydra? Tell us in the comments below!
Santorini is a Dream
Friends, as I may have mentioned before in my Packing List post, Greece has been at the top of my list for quite some time. Santorini in particular had caught my imagination and my eye since it seems to be one of the most photographed travel destinations anywhere. Even though I’d done my planning and preparation for the trip, nothing could make me anticipate just how much beauty this Greek island possesses. I found it to be true in Santorini that even though it’s been hyped up it exceeds expectations and is so worthwhile to visit. I only wish we’d had more time to explore the island but isn’t that usually the case?
Oia
Oia (pronounced e-ah) is the perfect little village you see depicted in the postcard picture views of Santorini. While nearby Fira also has caldera views, Oia is built on a slant down to the caldera and has the famed whitewashed buildings and blue domed churches. It’s perfect for wandering around and taking a ton of photos because everywhere you turn there’s beauty. As you walk along the caldera in the direction of the windmill, there’s a crowded lookout perfect for taking in stunning views. If you want a space here at sunset, make sure you show up early.
Speaking of sunset, I’d read how it’s an event in Santorini, but nothing prepared me for the actual experience. First of all, we didn’t stakeout a viewing area very early since we were enjoying a leisurely dinner, so we checked out two different places. I didn’t love the first spot we went to, and it was madness getting through the throngs of people both coming and going. On top of that, we heard two heated arguments about photography and the sunset which made me glad that even though we did plan on seeing the sunset we didn’t have all these high expectations. I was happy with the second spot we ended up at for the sunset. After the sun dipped into the Aegean Sea, there were cheers from the crowds of people watching.
My Trip Details
Accommodation: Pelogos Hotel near Oia
Transportation: We flew to and from Santorini, but many people take ferries, and it’s a common stop if you’re on a cruise. On the island, we took taxis and buses. If we’d stayed for longer, it would’ve been nice to rent a car or ATV to explore more of the island.
Snack Break: Lolita’s for gelato
Dinner Recommendation: Karma and order the Soutzoukakia (Greek meatballs)
When to Go: High season is July-August so if you want to avoid crowds and high prices then go during shoulder season in April-June or September-October. We found May to be a perfect time to visit because of the weather. Plus, we were glad there weren’t even more tourists.
Perfect Shopping Outing in Athens
I had an absolutely stunning stay in Greece! It’s such a beautiful place, and we had a fun time exploring a country that’s been on the top of my travel list for quite some time. I highly recommend a trip to see a couple of Greek Islands as well to explore the ancient sites of Athens and surrounding areas.
One of our favorite outings in Athens was a joint shopping and dining adventure. Before the trip, we’d read multiple places about visiting the Melissinos “The Poet Sandal-maker of Athens” shop for handmade, leather sandals. The store is located near Monastiraki, not that far from the Ancient Agora site we visited earlier in the day. The Poet’s grandfather opened the shop in the 1920s to make sandals for the working and upper class, including for theater productions, and later his son, the Poet’s father, sold them to tourists in the 1950s. The sandals became extremely popular when celebrities, including Sophia Loren, Jackie O., and John Lennon bought them. Even today celebrities still buy the sandals and signed photos of various ones are displayed in the stop!
It’s a unique experience visiting the shop and trying on sandals that are then fitted exactly to your foot. I also was commissioned by Meagan to bring her a pair back, and thankfully, she chose a lace-up sandal, the Sophia Loren, which was perfect since the laces can be used to fit them. I tried on several before I decided on the gladiator style Cleopatra for around $45. My sister and niece bought the John Lennon and Maria Callas (I just love the fun names!) sandals. Make sure you allow for plenty of time to try on and get the sandals fitted.
Special instructions that went along with the sandals included putting clear nail polish over the nail heads so that when you sweat it doesn’t bleed on you and using olive oil to turn the sandals are darker color. While at the shop for an hour, my husband enjoyed browsing on his phone and petting the dog in the shop. He did a little TripAdvisor research for lunch and found us an amazing deli (though not your typical American deli) for lunch, which ended up being one of our best meals of the trip. More on that dining outing another time! Are you drooling over our sandals yet?
Why You Should Go to Ghent, Belgium
Before planning a trip to Belgium and Amsterdam, I didn’t know much about Ghent (or Gent in Dutch), but it quickly stole my heart. It’s located close to Bruges and has a similar medieval, romantic feel but is smaller and sees less tourists. Here are a few reasons why I loved my time in this hidden gem of Europe and why you should go to Ghent, Belgium!
What to See & Do
My first outing was to the 12th century Gravensteen Castle with amazing views of the city below. It was a cotton mill in the 19th century and thankfully was restored instead of destroyed for the 1913 World Exhibition. There’s a torture museum there that contains a guillotine! It closes at 6pm every day during the summer, and going later in the day meant that I mostly had the place to myself.
St. Baafs Cathedral is famous because of van Eyck’s 1432 Adoration of the Lamb. According to Charney’s “The Ghent Altarpiece: The Truth About the Most Stolen Artwork of All Time” article, “it’s almost been destroyed in a fire, was nearly burned by rioting Calvinists, it’s been forged, pillaged, dismembered, censored, stolen by Napoleon, hunted in the first world war, sold by a renegade cleric, then stolen repeatedly during the second world war, before being rescued by The Monuments Men, miners and a team of commando double-agents.” The piece is impressive and is an amazing oil painting containing Christian imagery. Additionally, in 1934, the Just Judges panel went missing or was stolen, and is quite the mystery since it’s never been found and is still being looked for even today!
I also took a wonderful canal cruise and would recommend doing so if the weather’s nice. The boats leave from the Grasbrug or Vleeshuisbrug bridge depending on which company you choose to ride with.
Night Walk
One of my favorite things I did in Ghent was simply go for a walk at night with a friend I made at the hostel. It’s a beautiful city during the day but there’s something magical about seeing the buildings all lit up, especially with reflections on the water. The Belfry was one of the illuminated buildings that was especially beautiful. I love wandering a bit and discovering parts of a destination you wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
A few treats
If you’ve been to Belgium, you know that their fries are a delicious snack (or meal, in my case sometimes), and it’s easy to find stands all around town. I particularly like the garlic sauce because it reminds me a bit of aioli and patatas bravas from Spain. But the best treat I had in Ghent was an amazing Brussels waffle and delicious cappuccino at the great coffee house Mokabon on Donkersteeg near Sint-Niklaas Church.
Where to STay & Map to use!
Since this was a solo trip for me, I opted to stay in a hostel and booked Hostel Uppelink ahead of time based on excellent reviews on TripAdvisor. It was definitely the best hostel I stayed in during the trip! It was in a prime location in Ghent right next to the main canal and bridge and was in one of the city’s oldest buildings. Also the staff were super helpful and the place was spotless. Plus, you can’t beat the view of the three main church towers and water out the window!
I picked up a Ghent Free Map for Young Travellers made by locals through USE-IT, and besides helping me get around, it also had great recommendations for what to see, do and eat. I also used the maps for my day trip to Bruges and stay in Brussels, and I liked them so much that I kept them to take home! The USE-IT site lists all the cities that they have maps for, including Barcelona, Budapest, Düsseldorf, and Prague.
Lastly, I’ll mention that I did a day trip to Bruges from Ghent, and the reverse could easily be done. I hope this post makes you consider adding Ghent to your Belgium itinerary if you can!
Let us know in the comments if this makes you want to go to Ghent or if you’ve been and have additional recommendations.
Secret Rome – Why You Can’t Miss This Secluded Spot
Rome is a top tourist destination in Europe, and it’s one of our favorite cities! It’s hard to imagine that there could be any hidden spots in a city so full of tourists, but I have a favorite place to share with you today – a little secret Rome you probably haven’t heard about. My fellow A Friend Afar blogger, Stephanie, told me about it when I honeymooned in Italy, and she had heard about it from a friend, too. It’s the perfect little secret spot where you can escape from the crowds and get the best view of the city! I hesitate to even show you a photo of what you should expect to see there, but if not, how can I convince you to visit??
The Keyhole at the Knights of Malta
Just a short walk from the Circus Maximus is the Villa del Priorato di Malta, where the ambassadors of the Knights of Malta to Italy and the Holy See are located. You can read more about them here, but I bet you didn’t know there was more than one sovereign territory in Rome!
To get there, make your way up the hill through the rose garden, the Roseto di Roma Capitale, which lies just to the west of the Circus Maximus. You’ll be heading toward the Santa Sabina church with a gorgeous courtyard overlooking the city. Local romantics and families were enjoying their picnics when we walked by in the evening. It’s a great spot to take in the architecture of the city, and I highly recommend it just before sunset!
Mosaics mark the path through the rose garden. So very Roman!
Just past the courtyard and on your right, you’ll find a large green, arched door with a large keyhole right in the middle of the handle. It’s on an ornate building with crosses and shields carved into the facade. There’s an inconspicuous address plate with the number 3 right next to the door, but other than that, there are no indicators to help it stand out. Here it is on the map.
This is the gate for the Knights of Malta! You’ve found it! The most enchanting view in all of Rome is just beyond that door! Take a peek through the keyhole, and you’ll be rewarded with the view below.
On the night we visited, there was a beautiful event, possibly a wedding, going on at sunset. The view of St. Peter’s, along with the candlelit walkway, took my breath away.