| September 2018
GREECE
Greece is a place I had always wanted to visit since I was a little girl. My heritage is divided into quarters, French, German, Czechoslovakian, and Greek, with Greek being the most vivid and filled with lore from my childhood. Maybe it’s because the history of Greece is filled with so many rich tales of glory, heroes, and Gods that it stuck out the most or simply because of the traditions we grew up celebrating. I also look most like my mom, her being the Greek parent, but needless to say, the Greek part of my heritage is the part I have always identified the most with.
This trip was totally unplanned and spur of the moment, born out of a drowsy Sunday afternoon where I had the sudden inclination to call my mom and see if she’d be up for a mother-daughter trip. So naturally I called her up and told her to go get her passport, we were finally going to Greece and Italy! Exuberant, she asked when and I let her know “next month” and that she had 30 days so she better go tomorrow and expedite it. She thought I was crazy, but it occurred to me that these were two places we both always wanted to visit and had talked about extensively over the past ten years, so now was the best time we were ever going to get. We rallied and got our tickets, Airbnbs, vacations approved, and took off!
Our first stop was Athens where we checked into our Airbnb that had a direct view of the Acropolis! After getting settled in, we decided to make our way down to the heart of the city for some exploring. We visited the Church of Panagia Kapnikarea, the oldest Greek Orthodox church in Athens and lit a candle for my Yiayia (Greek for Grandmother), her mother, and then made our way to Plaka, the oldest part of Athens and the original city. Another highlight was the oldest Ouzo distillery in the city where we made friends with Chris the bartender!
Other than Athens, Greece is probably most famous for the Cyclades, a group of islands located in the Aegean Sea, often heralded as some of the most beautiful islands in the world. So it only made sense that our next stop was to head there! We chose Milos as it had only been opened to foreign tourism a few years prior, meaning much of the landscape was as of yet mostly untouched and not built up commercially. We were not disappointed. We flew from Athens in our swimsuits so we could head straight to the beach, saving check in for later. Talk about priorities!
Fun Fact: The Greek Islands are most notably recognized by their architecture, iconic whitewashed walls with bright blue trim. This beautiful stark contrast matches that of the deep blue of the Aegean and the white sands. While beautiful, the white+blue dynamic serves a deeper, symbolic purpose. During the ruling of the Ottoman Turks, Greece wasn’t allowed to show any Patriotism. So in revolt, Greeks turned to painting their houses white adding the blue to match their flag. What a way to unite!
Milos also afforded some of the most incredible sunsets I’ve been lucky enough to experience. We got to eat dinner on a fairly isolated cliff while watching the sun set over the balcony.
Funny story time: If you look closely in the picture, you’ll see bruises, dirt, and scrapes all over my arm! Earlier that day we had heard about a castle ruin atop a cliff located just outside of the village we were staying in. Overwhelmed with excitement, I immediately had to go check it out. Unable to find a direct route to the top, I decided the best option was to free climb the side of the cliff to the top. I probably slipped and almost fell off the side of the cliff three or four times. Clinging to the side with determination, I inched my way up and eventually made my way to the top where I climbed over the edge to the top of the cliff. To my amazement, I was not the only person up there, in fact there were 10-15 other people there too! Shocked as to how they had made it up there knowing what I had just gone through to get there, not to mention how no one else was covered in dirt, I asked a woman how she had made it up here. Confused, she told me by the stairs of course. Stairs! Turns out there were a perfectly good set of stairs on the other side, with a direct route to the top. Goes to show how patience is usually a good idea, along with asking a local for advice. All that hard work just made the view and the castle ruins that much sweeter. Definitely not the smartest decision I’ve ever made, however one of the most memorable for sure.
I learned so much about my history and where I come from, saw some of the most beautiful landscapes imaginable, ate food so incredible I didn’t think it was possible, but getting to experience it with my mom was the part I will hold the closest to me.
Standing on the ancient citadel that’s undoubtedly influenced who I am was the perfect moment.
Mom standing on top of the Acropolis. We made it!
Mom with Chris the bartender!
Taking an ice cream break on Milos!
Enoying Papafragas all to myself!
Wading in the perfect azulean waters.
The water was a perfect turquoise.
The famous rock off of Kleftiko Beach.
Another super cool rock formation. The island was full of them!
Keeping a lookout as we sailed around Milos.
Hanging out at Sarakiniko Beach, where in stead of sand, the beach is formed of bone-white volcanic rocks, smoothed over from years of wind and waves. Also referred to as the lunar beach.
Mom hanging out on the volcanic rocks on Sarakiniko Beach.
The most delicious dish we had on Milos, the Mediterranean grilled veggies from O! Hamos! Tavern. I still dream about it.
Stopped to take this picture as I was climbing up the cliff to the castle ruins. Quite a perilous view to the bottom.
The view from the top of the cliff! You can see the remains from the battlements surrounding the edge.
This guy was definitely giving some sass!