Summer Kickoff – A Week In Greece

This month brings my daughter’s year abroad to an end. Despite being so proud of her, and how well she’s done this last year, I’m so glad she’s coming home. I always knew that her starting college at 17 would be hard. But I never imagined she’d be going all the way to Paris as well. So, we figured we’d take a trip to celebrate all the hard work that’s been done up until this point. After weeks of indecisiveness, we settled on a week in Greece.

As a very young mom, I really had no idea what I was doing. I really can’t say I even grew up with any good examples of parenting. I wanted Satya to have opportunities in school and life that I never had. And my hope was that we’d have a close enough relationship that by the time she was an adult, she’d still want to spend time with me.

I think that I confidently say I accomplished both of those goals. So I’ll pat myself on the back for a job well done, even though I’m hardly finished yet. In fact, with an almost 4-year-old at home, I still have a long ways to go. But it’s nice to know I’m not doing too bad. And for this week at least, try and relax.

One Week In Greece

Athens

Even though our time in Athens was short, we could still do the main things on our list. After checking into our room, we showered and changed clothes. After that, the remainder of the afternoon was spent at the Acropolis. Which was about a thirty-minute walk from our hotel. We were up there for about an hour, walking around and exploring the ruins. There’s also a great view of Athens from up there. Next up was searching for a good vegetarian restaurant, which we found pretty easily. There were plenty of old stone walls and wooden doors for me to fall in love with on the walk our walks that afternoon. Even though I was exhausted from the flight, it was a rather enjoyable day.

Mykonos

Mykonos was beautiful but honestly a bit of a struggle. We missed our first flight because of bad planning and terrible traffic. Luckily we were able to catch the next flight over. Our taxi dropped us off at the top of Mykonos Town, as no cars are allowed into town. Which is nice until your dragging four giant suitcases down cobbled roads and multiple flights of steps for half a mile! But after we made it to our Airbnb, everything was great. We spent the next few days at the beach, enjoying sunset dinners and exploring the towns. Because May isn’t yet the high season, we were able to walk into any restaurant easily and explore without giant crowds.

Leaving was again a struggle. This time because of the wind. All ferries leaving the island were canceled the day of our planned departure. We were able to book flights to Santorini for that afternoon. But again because of the wind, all the flights were delayed. So we spent most of that day at the airport, and instead of arriving in Santorini at 2 pm as originally planned, we got there at 10 pm. But it’s all part of the adventure!

Santorini

Unfortunately, after that long day of travel, I had another surprise waiting for me. My luggage was left behind. Great! But whatever. I am determined that nothing will upset my trip. Not even having no clothes to wear. The main thing that concerned me was that my medication was in my carry-on suitcase. I always keep my prescriptions and vitamins with me when I travel, but the airline made me check the bag at the gate. I found a pharmacy in Oia, and he gave me my thyroid meds so I didn’t have to stress.

We stayed at Andronis Arcadia, which was a beautiful property. Each room is its own villa with a private pool, so when we weren’t walking through Oia, that’s where we would spend our time. We found an amazing Vegetarian restaurant called Karma, which we ate at twice.

One very nice thing about this trip was that I did not have to struggle to find food. With such a long list of food allergies, it’s hard to find places that can accommodate them. And Europe doesn’t have as many vegan and gluten-free restaurants in general. But every time I go back, it seems to be better.

Xx Monti