Los Angeles 2016/2017 Trip Report Part IV (Food)

January 11, 2017

The one downside to solo travel is there's only so much you can eat on your own! I generally love to try as many things as possible but that's hard when you have no one to share plates with. I came armed with a list of places to try but only got to hit up 3 spots! Below are some of the places I checked out that I really liked.

Bardonna

On my first full day in L.A., I took a yoga class in Santa Monica and was starving after the 90 minute session was over. I was on Montana Avenue and needed to eat ASAP so I went across the street to Bardonna. There was a line out the door which is always a good sign. Very California-styled cafe, with indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered a healthy breakfast, poached eggs on avocado with toast and a side salad and some lavender tea. It was a great place to read a book, people watch, and just enjoy the scene.

Gjelina Take Away (GTA)

When I was researching where to eat in L.A., Gjelina kept coming up on many must-eat lists. It came up whenever I asked people who have lived in L.A. for foodie recs. So I came here after my long day of hiking the Hollywood Sign, it was one of the few places that was open New Years Day. Well, actually Gjelina was closed but next door is Gjelina Take Away and they are open all day long!

Being a New York native, I am quite picky about my pizza so I had to try theirs. They have a bunch of different options but I went for the classic--pomodoro with burrata cheese. Now it's quite possible that I was soooo hungry that even Dominoes pizza at that point in the day would've been a 5-star meal to me. But the perfect combo of red sauce and soft cheese exploded in my mouth and every bite was delicious. If you're anywhere near here (Venice Beach/Santa Monica), I would highly recommend it but I wouldn't say go out of your way to come here. The other offerings were sandwiches and salads. I got a sandwich to go when I left for the airport, it was good but not mind blowing (but definitely probably a lot better than anything you would get at the airport). The place sits on the famous Abbot Kinney Blvd. so you can come stroll the street of boutiques and then grab something to go here.

Sqirl

Sqirl was another place that came with glowing praises on the web. I'm very thankful I got to try it (I initially tried to go on New Years Day but it was closed). It's located in the Silver Lake area, closer to Runyon Canyon or Griffith Observatory. I wasn't able to find street parking but I did find free residential street parking around the corner. I wish I had more time to try other dishes here, everything looked so good! My breakfast above was fantastic, it's one of their specials called the Cauliflower Hash. Tons of flavor and very fresh veggies (cauliflower and potatoes) with a fried egg on top. I really wish there was a location here in NY. I got here on a Monday morning at 9 am and there was not much of a line but by 9:30 am the line was down the block! It's a very casual place, you order and then seat yourself (and they bring the food out to you).

sugarfish

sugarfish is an L.A. chain that recently opened in NYC. I've been to the one in NYC 3x already but had to try the original! The real original is in Marina del Rey but I went to the one nearby in Santa Monica. It's very affordable high quality sushi. The L.A. menu was the same as NYC but much cheaper (the cost of rent, I suppose!) There's 3 different omakase-style sets to choose from. If you love sushi definitely come to one of these in L.A. or NYC. The best is the Albacore belly sushi (it's a side order though, not part of the omakase set). In L.A., the most expensive sushi set is $37 and it's $51 in NYC (includes tax and tip).

Eggslut

I actually texted a friend that we should consider getting in on the Eggslut franchise! This place only serves egg-type breakfast dishes and it is sooo delectable. I really love eating eggs. The order above is called the slut. It's a poached egg in a glass jar on top of pureed potatoes with toast and a side order of bacon and fresh OJ. I went to the location in Venice. It's super casual (metered parking nearby and close to the beach) with small area of seating (no bathrooms). You're basically in and out in 20 minutes.

I came back on my last morning in L.A. and also tried the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on brioche and it was so good too. Basically you probably can't go wrong at this place.

Malibu Seafood Fish Market

I love seafood and wish I could've ordered more from this menu at Malibu Seafood Fish Market but I wasn't that hungry at the time. Right off the Pacific Coast Highway, this place has very fresh seafood where you can eat on a patio overlooking the ocean or buy to bring home and cook or eat. I got the special, dungeness crab meat on salad with a clam chowder soup. Wanted to get a pound of mussels too but didn't have room for it. I didn't think the meat would taste as good when I saw how it was plated but it was very flavorful and filling. Definitely recommend if you're in the Malibu area.

Other Places

Other places I wanted to try but didn't get to (but came highly recommended to me) were:

Bestia: Italian, need rsvps in advance (I tried to make one last minute and it was all full for days!), in downtown LA
Sushi Gen: Sushi, downtown LA
Silver Lake Ramen: Ramen noodles, Silver Lake area
Santa Monica Seafood Market: seafood in Santa Monica area
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong: Korean BBQ place, there is one in NYC as well but the LA one is supposed to be better

Los Angeles 2016/2017 Trip Report Part III (Other Hikes)

January 9, 2017

Runyon Canyon

When I planned my trip to L.A., I was most excited about Runyon Canyon. Always talked about by celebrities and mentioned in magazines, I was so curious to check it out. Compared to the Hollywood hike, I was kind of disappointed. This was my best picture on the hike because otherwise I found the scenery not to be as interesting (since I did this two days after the Hollywood one). However, I would say it's still worth checking out and getting a good workout in.

After being scarred by the amount of people at Griffith Park, I resolved to get here as early as possible which paid off! I came here on a Tuesday morning, arriving around 7:15 am. I had read that there is a small parking lot (fits about 20 cars) at the intersection of Mulholland Drive and Pyramid Place so that is where I came and I easily pulled into an empty parking spot. By the time I left at 8:30 am, there was quite a line of cars waiting for a spot in the lot. There is street parking available too (somewhere below this area) but I didn't want to worry about figuring out the street signs/rules.

If you start from this parking lot, you should allot about an hour or less to do the loop from the top. Also, there are NO bathroom facilities here so take care of business before coming! When you park, you'll walk over to the entrance to the park and see two entrances--the left one goes into the park and will bring you to a mid-level area of trails overlooking L.A. The right one (which is a steep trail) goes all the way to the top and probably is the best views of the city from this park. I would recommend starting from the left side.

I didn't take as many pics (since the views were not as nice) but as you walk into the park from the left entrance, you will walk around the canyon (stay to the right up the trail path) and come upon a big house. It's like the only huge mansion in the area so you'll know. Anyway, next to/behind the house are stairs/trails to an overlook. You will have to walk down the trails/steps to get to the overlook. I initially thought this was highest point of the canyon but it is not! I also thought that if I passed by the house, I would be come back to the other side to the trail that leads back to the lot on the right side but it does not! If you pass this house, you'll just end up on a residential street. Anyway, I took the trail/steps down towards the overlook but didn't make it all the way to the overlook. I just wasn't as interested. On the way back to the lot from the direction I came, I saw another trail go up the canyon and realized that must be the trail into the loop at the very top and it was. It's very steep but this trail leads you up to the view in the pic above. I liked the trail/overlook up here much better than at the mid-level range. I only stayed briefly and then figured out the path that takes you back to the lot, where the entrance starts on the right side. All in all I spent exactly an hour at Runyon Canyon but compared to the Hollywood Hike, I wasn't as impressed but was glad to get another workout in.

Culver City Steps/Baldwin Scenic Overlook

The other park I liked better than Runyon Canyon was the Culver City Steps! Another name for this area is the Baldwin Scenic Overlook. I think I liked this one a lot because climbing up the stairs (282!) was challenging, and the people here were soooo into fitness! I honestly thought I was pretty fit/active until I came to L.A. Here at the steps, people were trekking it up/down multiple times. In addition, once they got to top platform/overlook, they were doing more exercises, like crunches, squats, etc.! Various people! I also saw a few people jogging up and down the hill multiple times as well. If you decide not to climb the steps, you can also take the slopey trails.

I am only 5'2" and there were some parts of the stairs that, if I was any shorter, I don't know how I would've gotten up! It only took me 15 minutes to get to the top but I definitely needed to stop, pant, and breathe a few times.

The view at the top was nicer than Runyon Canyon, in my opinion. But I just also loved the energy of all the people here. I forgot to mention that I came here on a Wednesday morning around 7:30 am and there was plenty of (free) street parking near the entrance on Hetzler Road (when I went, the road to the lot was closed for construction). The signs say you can park max two hours and you will probably spend an hour here.

After a bit of people watching, I took the trail back down to the street level and just enjoyed the views along the way. My legs were very sore but another good workout to get in!

Zuma Beach

The last thing I'll mention in this post is Zuma Beach. I didn't do any hiking here but it was a nice place to kill time in Malibu. It's a popular beach and when I pulled into the area, I parked at the parking meters (to the left when you enter) since I was staying for a short time. Otherwise it's $6 to park in the lot.I love that in LA all the parking meters take credit card! Very convenient. It was like $1 for an hour or something.

Anyway, I took a stroll on the beach and just enjoyed the serenity of it all since no one else was around on a Tuesday morning. I can imagine in the summer it must be packed and even more gorgeous!

So right before I left, I took one last look at the ocean and I could not believe my eyes. A huge whale head popped out of the water right near the shoreline! I was stunned! Then I saw a few dolphins pop up too! It was so cool. I hung out a few more minutes to watch the animals swim along. I couldn't get any pics but it was so cool. I had read that this is a good place to spot whales/dolphins in Dec-Jan. but I really did not expect to see anything! So, I really recommend checking this spot out since you never know what you might come across! I was here for just 45 minutes (10:15-11 am).

Los Angeles 2016/2017 Trip Report Part II (Hollywood Sign Hike)

January 7, 2017

Griffith Observatory/Hollywood Sign Hike

Hollywood hike from Griffith Observatory

The highlight of my L.A. trip was hiking from the Griffith Observatory to the Hollywood sign on New Years Day. I initially had planned to go the day before but the weather was gloomy. I'm glad I didn't try to do this Saturday because I had lunch plans with a friend. If you do this hike, allot 4-6 hours!!!

I had done a bunch of research online but some of the information is confusing until you get there yourself. The number one thing to know is that there are multiple ways to hike up to the sign. Though I haven't explored all the other ways, I feel like starting from the Observatory makes the most sense due to parking and facilities and the views are just breathtaking all the way!

The Observatory opens at 10 am and is closed on Mondays. I thought if I got there a little before 10 am I would have no problem grabbing a parking spot in the lot. I could not been more wrong! I arrived around 9:45 am and the lot was completely full. However, you can also park on the road up/out of the Observatory. I highly recommend you eat breakfast before coming--there are no food facilities and if you're gonna trek 8-10 miles roundtrip, you are gonna be hungry and thirsty!

I had ended up grabbing Burger King breakfast on the way which I am so glad I did. Below is the view of all the trails going up to the mountain from where I parked my car. I have no idea if these trails lead up to the Observatory but some probably do. I ended up parking on the road out of the Observatory, off to the side. A ton of cars were parked this way, up on the curb of the road. Basically, if you see a spot on the way to or from the Observatory, just take it! I ended up having to park in a way that my car was on a slant. Californians are super friendly. I was nervous with squeezing into the space and this random guy behind my car helped guide me into the space, and even lifted a big rock from the ground so I wouldn't hit it! And he disappeared before I could say thank you! Trust me, that type of kindness and thoughtfulness is rare in NYC!

I then went to the Observatory to use the bathroom before I started the hike. Although there are bathroom facilities right by the parking lot, there was a long line for them. At the Observatory (which is about a 5 min. walk from the lot), there were no lines and it's free to go in and the facilities are clean.

At 10:30 am, I finally started my hike. The trail starts right to the north of the parking lot (easy to spot). Even though there were a lot of people on the trail, it was never overwhelming. By the time I came back in the afternoon though, the Observatory was SWARMING. The lines for the bathroom were like 10x longer than in the morning, and it felt more suffocating as people milled around the grounds of the Observatory. I think people who arrive in the afternoon just come for the views from this area and maybe do a short walk on the trail. Morning is definitely best to enjoy this place without hordes. I think getting here by 10 am is safe, but any later it might feel frustrating.

Anyway, at the very start of the trail, there is a sign and map. Definitely have a look!

As you can see above, there are MULTIPLE trails. If you don't want to hike all the way to the Hollywood sign, you don't have to. You can just go up to Mt. Hollywood summit, which is about 1.5 miles from the parking lot one way.

This little box on the bottom informs you how to get to the sign, which is 4 miles away, one way! To get there, you basically have to hike all the way to the top of Mt. Hollywood, then go down all the way behind it on another trail (there is only one). You'll come into concrete road (but there are no cars), make a right, and walk a bit further where you will see a gate. Make that left entrance to get back on the trail towards the sign. If you stay on the concrete road, you end up somewhere else. Basically, just follow all the signs you see! They are clearly marked and look like this:

Just keep following the signs to Hollywood Sign. Even though it's listed three times, it just means there are certain overlooks. Just keep going until you get to it. And when in doubt, ask someone coming from the opposite direction if you're going the right way! It's good to check, because like I said there are multiple trails in this area. Following the signs will take you to the sign but it's easy to miss if you're not paying attention. On the way back, I ignored a sign, thinking I knew the way to go. I ended up going down the trail to Canyon Drive and had to climb up a steep hill to get back on track. My quads or appetite were NOT happy with this detour!!

As gorgeous as this hike was, it was definitely a quad kicker. I consider myself pretty active and fit and I was tired after 1.5 miles!! The walk from the parking lot is steep but manageable. So if you're not as active/fit, allot more time. All in all, it took me two hours to get to the top, and a bit over two hours to get back (due to the detour). My legs were so exhausted by the end of the hike and I knew if I sat down, I was not getting back up! There's not too many places to rest on the hike either. You can sit at the top (on the ground) but there are no benches or anything on the way up (well, there was a bench on the Canyon Drive trail detour, which is how I realized I went the wrong way because I did not remember seeing it on the way there!).

The view of La La Land from the top of the Hollywood sign is breathtaking. I got here around 12:30 pm. Thank goodness I had a huge bottle of water. This hike definitely dehydrated me!I What better way to spend the very first day of 2017!

I forgot to mention, the night before on NYE, some pranksters changed the sign to say "Hollyweed." Lol. I only caught the sign when it said "Hollywoed", the authorities were quick to change it back. By the time I reached the sign the letters were back to normal.

On my way back to the Observatory, I stopped by the top of Mt. Hollywood summit (I bypassed it earlier). You can also go to another viewpoint called Captain's Roost nearby but I skipped that since I was so tired and just wanted to eat. Below is the view from Mt. Hollywood summit.

By the time I got back to the Observatory, it was 3 pm. I wanted to check it out but like I said earlier, this place was swarming with tourists! So I ended up just leaving. Another reason to start your day here as early as possible: it took me over an hour to get out!!!!!! Because there ar a ton of people here as well as at the park down below at the base, there was so much traffic. I think I got into my car around 3:45 and didn't get out of the Griffith Park area until close to 5:30. I did put my time to good use though--I ended up calling a bunch of restaurants because so many were closed on New Years Day! I ended up eating pizza at Gjelina Take Away, which was thankfully open (and so delicious--will do a food post too).

I really enjoyed this hike though and it's one of the best ones I've been on. I'm not a huge hiker, and this one was challenging, beautiful, and very safe, which is very important to me as a female solo traveler. I'll also post my thoughts on two other hikes I did (Runyon Canyon and Culver City Steps) but of the three this was my fave for sure!

Los Angeles 2016/2017 Trip Report Part I (Overview)

January 5, 2017

Have you ever wanted to hear a particular song on a radio (and not necessarily something that's currently in the top 10 of the music charts) and then suddenly that song comes on? That type of coincidence has happened to me many times in my life. I remember these moments because my song of choice may not be that popular for that point in time. I've always found it funny when I come across something in society that seems to directly pertain to my life. For example, tonight, about 15 minutes ago, I opened up mail after I finished unpacking from my L.A. trip and this cover stared back at me:

What are the chances my fave NYC magazine, which hardly ever discusses other cities, covered La La Land the same weekend I was there?

I've been to L.A. a few times before. My first time was during a layover back to NYC from Australia when I was 21. I remember I was in awe of the palm trees, the cool laid back vibe, how everything looked so shiny and new. I visited two more times during my 20s, once with family and another with friends, and I remained fascinated with West Coast culture. It's probably been close to 10 years since my last visit and a few months ago, I just had an itching to go back out to California again so I decided to head out there for New Years weekend. I am so glad I did because it was exactly what I needed to nourish my soul.

Living in NYC is great, I love it here. But every so often I need to get out of town because although everything is accessible here, I do feel like I'm living in a bubble sometimes. In NYC, it's so easy to get caught up in yourself, your peers, your jobs, high expectations, etc. Before I left for L.A., I was feeling stuck, frustrated, and just bored with life. Getting out to sunny L.A. was just what I needed.

I came back last night and I feel so refreshed and relax. L.A. is an excellent place for a solo trip, there's a million things to do. I also forgot how nice Californians are. When you talk to someone, they seem genuinely nice, unlike in NYC where (and I'm guilty of this too), you're generally in a rush to go somewhere else or you have your guard up and/or you don't care to make small talk with anyone. In L.A., I struck up a conversation with a woman in yoga class, something I can say I've never done in NYC. In addition, some random stranger on the street helped guide me in parking my car in a narrow space. He even lifted a heavy rock out of the way of my car wheels, and he disappeared before I could say thank you!

L.A. has everything--culture, beaches, outdoor activities, great food, and generally awesome weather (it never got lower than 50 degrees during the day while I was there, compared to the freezing temperatures we've been having in NYC!). It was nice to see everything that I fell in love with in L.A. years back was still there and seemed even better than before. I was there for just 5 days and the trip for me was my own personal health/wellness trip. I wanted to be outside as much as possible and do non-touristy things (ie I could care less about shopping or visiting Beverly Hills). A brief summary of my itinerary is below.

The Itinerary (arrived 12/30 but this starts with 12/31 and ends on 1/4)

Day 1: Yoga class, lunch with an old college friend in Studio City, then spent the evening at Wi Spa, a popular 24-hour Korean spa. Admission is $25 ($35 if you go btwn midnight and 4 am) and gives you access to saunas and hot tubs.

Day 2: Visited Griffith Observatory and did an 8 mile roundtrip from the observatory to the Hollywood sign and back. I'll do a more extensive post on how to do this and what to expect!

Day 3: Checked out Runyon Canyon, walked around Santa Monica, Venice, and the Grove.

Day 4: Went to Malibu and visited Zuma Beach, then had a spa afternoon at the Four Seasons Westlake Spa.

Day 5: Checked out Culver City Steps (aka Baldwin Scenic Overlook) and realized how I unfit I am compared to Angelenos! Flew home in the afternoon.

All in all, I had a fabulous time. I stayed at an Air BnB in Venice Beach and my hosts were AMAZING. So friendly and thoughtful. I arrived on Friday evening at 7 pm and they offered to share their dinner with me which was much appreciated after a long flight. Dinner was just a salad but it was a super fresh and tasty salad. They also invited me to ring in New Years with them, which was so lovely of them. I had just gotten home from the Korean spa and planned to go straight to bed, but right after my shower, they called my name and offered me a glass of champagne. They also lit up their front patio with fireworks at midnight! It was such a fun but low key way to celebrate, and quite unexpected!

It was also nice to just drive around everywhere. I love just cruising around singing to music. The freeways were a bit nerve-wrecking but I got used to it (and stuck to the right lane most of the time!). All the signs and roads are clearly marked and makes sense once you get used to it (like knowing if lanes were going to merge or not). You can easily Uber everywhere but I like the freedom of coming/going anytime I wanted. Parking was not bad either, but I didn't really go out to anywhere except a couple of restaurants and parks. All parking meters took credit cards and I was able to find free street parking in some areas as well. The Santa Monica parking garages all offer free parking for the first 90 minutes too. Never had to valet! But that depends on where you go/what you do.

I will post details on the highlights of my trip in upcoming posts (total of 5 posts)!

Other Things I Wanted to Do but Didn't On This Trip

Museums. I thought I would visit some but didn't because I rather be outside! If I had time, I would've gone to LACMA, Getty Museum, The Broad.
Other beach communities. I heard Manhattan Beach and Hermosa are pretty nice but didn't make it down there. I've been to Laguna and Newport Beaches before and can attest that those are lovely as well!
Venice Canals. I did go here at night for a peek but couldn't see much since it was so dark at night! It's a small neighborhood with a few canals running through it but the homes there were gorgeous. See it during the day if you're near Venice Beach or Marina del Rey!
Amusement parks. Of course Disneyland and Universal Studios would be fun to go to but I've been to the Florida ones multiple times and would only have gone here if I really had nothing else to do.
More hikes in Malibu/around L.A. There are a ton of places to go! While the 3 that I did were good, there's still so much to explore.

Where to Stay

Since I was traveling solo, I didn't want to spend too much at a hotel. I also wanted to go somewhere low key, so I opted for Air BnB. Venice Beach was really the perfect location. So close to LAX and it's a good mid point to travel to anywhere else in the L.A. area. Santa Monica would be good too but there's not as many Air BnB options in Santa Monica as there is in Venice Beach, and it's just a 10 min. drive away.

People did warn me that Venice Beach can be seedy, and that's true. It's not a place you can really walk around at night. There are bums around and druggies near the very commercial streets at night. But I found the residential area I stayed in with my hosts on Woodlawn Avenue was very safe and quiet both day and night.

Before I Fly...

December 30, 2016

It is Friday, December 30, 2016. Roughly noon time in NYC. I am sitting at JFK, waiting to go on my last trip of the year.

When 2016 started, my New Years Resolution was to take a trip at least once a month. It didn't matter where, as long as it was outside of metro NYC. I sort of cheated by booking some of trips at the tail end of months (like leaving at the end of March and returning at the beginning of April) but I fulfilled my resolution. As a recap, over this past year I went to:

Jan 2016 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Visited a friend for a weekend.
Feb 2016 - Went to a resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico all by myself. I thought it would be weird to go on a beach vacation by myself but not at all. It was really relaxing and I never got bored.
March 2016 - Went to Cartagena, Colombia with the intention of going alone, but ended up meeting up with a mutual friend who happened to be there the same time as me. It was great. Cultural and definitely outside of my comfort zone, compared to the environment in NYC.
April 2016 - Orlando, Florida for a conference. A friend from Texas was also in town for a different conference the same weekend so we got to catch up which was nice.
May 2016 - Copenhagen, Denmark, solo. Loved it. I highly recommend Copenhagen for a solo trip. So much to see and do. Best to go when weather is warm and the daylight hours are long so you can take in as much as possible.
June/July 2016 - Nova Scotia, Canada. Was lovely but probably not worth the time/money to fly over there (kind of expensive). Great family trip if you have a lot of time to drive and love to go camping/go somewhere rustic and low key.
August 2016 - Went down to Baltimore for work. I was really tired of trip planning by this point in the year so I was totally fine not going anywhere else for this month.
September/October 2016 - Greece! This trip spanned almost 3 weeks due to the air traffic controller strikes that happened towards the end of the trip. Went here with family, loved Santorini. Santorini was the highlight destination of all trips I've gone on this year.
November 2016 - Visited a friend in Charlotte, NC. Was so good to catch up with her, hadn't seen her in over two years since she moved and we've known each other since high school.
December 2016 - Off to La La Land in a few hours

I really love the thrill of travel. Not knowing what the day will bring or who you might cross paths with. I also always see it as an opportunity to learn and reflect on life in general. I love being introspective and taking in other lifestyles.

Even though I've been to LA a few times already, it's been about 10 years since I've back. And in general, traveling in your 30s is way different than traveling in your 20s so I'm looking forward to it. I've always had a thing for West Coast culture and wonder what's new since I last visited.

This morning I felt super anxious though. Despite having traveled solo many times over, whenever the day arrives for me to get out of town on my own I get butterflies. I'm not expecting anything life changing to happen on this trip but it's just breaking out of the normal day to day routine of life that we easily get sucked into that I'm looking forward to the most. I just wish I had more time to go off on trips like these. I know it seems that based on all the trips I took this year I have a ton of vacation time but I don't. I took most of my trips on holiday weekends and took maybe a day or two off in addition. I mainly used most of my vacation days up for Greece.

Anyway there is no point to this post. I just wanted to collect my year end thoughts of all my travels so far this year. Look forward to see what's in store for 2017!

Greece 2016 Round-Up

December 11, 2016

This round up post is long over due! It's been two months since my trip but I have been a busy bee. After I got home to NYC, I basically kept to myself for a full two weeks. The trip wore me out and I had to recover from jet lag and dive right back into my daytime job. Then I got busier, catching up with friends, going away again (Charlotte, North Carolina to visit a friend), hosted friends from abroad for about a week, caught up with family for Thanksgiving, etc. Today, Dec. 11, is the first Sunday I've had in months all to myself. No plans, no guests, no obligations. Just total me time. Whew! Oh yeah and I booked a trip to LA for the end of this month.

Anyway, Greece was a great trip. I totally recommend late September, early October as the best time to visit. Prices are cheaper, the weather is still incredibly warm enough to go lay out and swim in the sea, and it's not as crowded. The Mediterranean diet is also amazing. Before Greece I was watching what I eat, but while in Greece, you have all this access to great, local seafood and veggies and I definitely 'slimmed' down based on eating the food. Since I've been back home, I've been trying keep with the mentality of eating clean and simple.

So in summary, my Greece trip was as follows:

Day 1-2: Athens

Day 3-7: Rhodes (Symi, Rhodes Old Town and Lindos)

Day 8-12: Crete (Agios Nikolaos, Chania, Heraklion)

Day 13-16: Santorini (Oia, Fira, Imerovigli)

Day 17-20: Back to Athens (not on purpose!)

To save you time from reading thru ALL the other posts, my 'favorite days' of the trip were:

Day 1: Visiting the Acropolis
Day 2: More Athens sightseeing and Temple of Zeus visit
Day 5: The beach in Lindos
Day 10: Elafonissi beach in Crete
Day 14: Wandering around Santorini
Day 15: More wandering around Santorini

Highlights for me for the trip were:

Lindos, Rhodes: the beach here right in front of the fortress was glorious.
Taman: I am still thinking about this restaurant since I've been home. The ribs here were perfection. I don't think I'll ever have the same quality every again. I wish I took a picture but didn't get a chance. If you ever find yourself in Rhodes, this place is a MUST.
Elafonissi Beach: One of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to. The drive there is a doozy but it's worth it. Wish we could've gone back one more time. Everywhere you look it's sand and the beautiful Aegean sea. I am not a strong swimmer either so the fact that you can wade very far out and not worry about being pulled out was great.
Everything Santorini. Seriously, it's gorgeous here. Three full days is enough but I'm glad we booked four, since we ended up having to leave our fourth day. Never got to see the eastern side of the island but I'll live. The west side is where it's at!

Stuff I Would Skip:

Agio Nikolaos. It's a very quaint area but really small and not much to do. I would say for Crete, just stick to Chania and the western end. Agio Nikolaos is way on the other side of the island so unless you have lots of time, then you can kill some here. But if not, Chania is enough and also really pretty and fun to explore.
Rhodes Old Town. It's great for people who have never seen a medieval fortress/city....But if you've seen a bunch (I've been to a few this year between Cartagena, Copenhagen, and Nova Scotia) then they don't allocate more than a few hours here. It is very family friendly though but also the type of place with a bunch of tourist traps in the form of restaurants and souvenir stores.
Symi. Even though one of favorite pictures from the trip was taken here, Symi itself was boring to me. Not much to see there, the town is super small. You can see it in 30 minutes. We did have a great lunch on the island but outside of eating on Symi, there is not much to do (I'm not a fan of souvenir shopping for stuff I will never really use).

Stuff that Surprised Me:

I had no idea that every Greek restaurant would basically have the same menu everywhere. As such, I got pretty tired of eating the food. But shrimp saganaki is amazing and it would be different every time I ordered it! Some places had huge gigantic shrimp, other places not as much, some places had great sauces, others were ok. So you never really know what you'll get.
The ferries are really modern and clean. The long 8 hour ferry ride between Athens and Santorini that I tried to avoid by flying? It was a great ferry ride. We set sail in the mid afternoon so we got to watch the sunset on the ferry and it was beautiful. Also, had great phone reception and wi-fi access on board the whole time.
I had no clue that Greece was a country where, due to the pipe issues, you can't throw toilet paper down the toilet to flush. Ughhhhhh. You have to throw it in the trashcan nearby. While I understand why this had to be done, it was also annoying and kinda gross. And this was observed EVERYWHERE including the nicer hotels/restaurants.
Athens airport is not great. Definitely plan to get there three hours early if you want to have time to shop or eat before going on your international flight home. Otherwise, due to the long lines, it'll take you almost two hours to get to your gate!

All in all, had a wonderful time and I would love to visit Corfu, which I've heard is a 'green' island (meaning they got trees! not barren and dry like Crete and Rhodes seemed to be) as well as maybe some of the other islands.

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 18 & Day 19 (Athens & Departure)

October 12, 2016

It's good to be home! I will do one more post when I have more time summarizing the trip and provide additional thoughts and tips. In the meantime, below is a short recap of this past Monday and Tuesday (I am so jet lagged!)

On the way to the highest point in Athens

Day 18

After breakfast, decided to trek up to Mount Lycabettus, which is the highest point in Athens. You will notice this point right away, it towers over Athens, much higher than the Acropolis. It's not hard to get to, it's about a mile walk from Sygmata Square but it's a walk upwards with many stairs.

If you put Mount Lycabettus in Google maps, I believe it takes you on the easier route up (which means the entrance on the western side of the park). This path is just more uphill and less stairs. If you enter in from the east side, it's a zig zag of staircases up. Or, you can take the furnicular up, which is what we did.

To ensure you can find the furnicular, just type this into Google maps as well and it will take you to the right streets/entrance. It may not seem obvious when you get there but that's because the furnicular is inside the park and goes up through a tunnel. So there are zero views if you take the furnicular. It's also kind of pricey for what it is (5 euros one way and 7.50 roundtrip). But it's for people who are not active and have issues with stairs. Otherwise the walk up/down isn't bad.

There is not much else to see besides a 360 degree view of the city but I enjoyed it. You can spot the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, the Olympic Stadium, and the Aegean Sea. People tend to go at sunset but I think it's probably packed at that time (and also not worth wasting time taking the furnicular which would be surely crammed!). We went around noon.

Acropolis rising above the city with the Aegean Sea in the back on a rare cloudy day

Afterwards we spent the rest of the day walking around the city and shopping. All stores are closed Sunday so we didn't get to shop the day before. Then we had our last dinner at Lithos, which is slightly off the beaten track but I liked it. Service was great and food a bit cheaper than in city center.

Day 19

Our flight to go home to NY was at 10 am. We decided to leave the hotel by 7:20, thinking that getting to the airport by 8 am would be plenty of time. Wrong!

First, I was annoyed our taxi to the airport was 43 euros instead of the flat rate of 38. I think it's because we stayed at the Electra and there's an additional fee for them to coordinate the taxi (and maybe because it's on one of those questionable pedestrian or non pedestrian streets--meaning cars are not really allowed on the street unless necessary).

Then it took us 40 minutes to get to the airport even though there wasn't any traffic. The other two times we went back and forth I know the taxis took different ways and for some reason yesterday morning seemed like it was a longer route though it was mostly highways.

Last image of Athens at sunrise on the way to the airport.

When we got to the airport, the check in line for Delta was long. Think we waited 10-15 min. to clear it. Then we rushed to get a tax refund at customs which is right next to the security line for Gate A departures. The lady there was so slow! Not caring that people were in a rush (ie making unnecessary small talk).

Then after we cleared security, tried to use the bathroom before boarding. I can't believe that at such an international airport, there are only one or two bathroom stalls! So we had to wait for that as well. By the time we finished, we had 10 minutes left before going thru one more security line to the actual gate. Once you go thru this security line, no more shop access.

Anyway so I wanted to rush to buy a water bottle and casual snacks but they don't really have a casual newsstand type place to grab and pay and go. Had to wait in a line at a cafe. By the time this was done, it was time to go thru the last security check to the gate. This check in point closes 30 min. before departure I think.

Long story short, had zero time to even glance at duty free shops or do anything else!

All in all though, had a nice time in Greece but was thankful to go home. And luckily for us, the only day it rained during the trip was the day we left.

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 17 (Back in Athens)

October 10, 2016

I didn't realize how much Saturday's travel stresses wore me out. Even though there was nothing I could control, I couldn't relax until I knew everything was sorted out. Late Saturday night, the strike was called off and did that mean Delta would keep its Sunday departure back to JFK? After some calls and research, I found out the Saturday flight from JFK to Athens was canceled so it was very unlikely there would be plane anyway to go from Athens back to JFK on Sunday. It is so frustrating to hear that the strike was called off to avert travel disruption. I know that there is probably more to the story than I will ever know but to use that as an excuse to spin it positively is ridiculous. So many people have already been inconvenienced.

Anyway we checked into Athens Status Suites Saturday night. Staff there was great in responding and arranged for a taxi pickup for us from the ferry port for 25 euros. For the price and room size (which was huge!) it was a great deal for $144 USD a night for three people right in the city center near Plaka. Unfortunately they were all booked up the next two nights so I had to figure out a place to stay Sunday and Monday nights.

There weren't too many options so we decided on Electra Hotel Athens. It's an old school hotel, very traditional and more pricey. But it was only a block away and we didn't want to move too far so we can relax on our last days and not worry about taking the metro or being in an undesirable but cheaper area. So we bit the bullet and paid for $221 USD a night. And though yes it's a classier hotel, it's a little stuffy and the room was half the size of Athens Status. Oh well.

Spent the day just walked around the center of Athens again. Went to our favorite juice bar Novagea again. Had dinner at some place in Plaka. We had passed by it many times and it was always packed so we decided to try it. After we were given water though, I looked up reviews on Trip Advisor and there were strings of recent bad reviews and how it was a tourist trap. Ugh! I usually look up reviews in advance but I was tired and just wanted to eat. Anyway so I played it safe and got grilled salmon w veggies and it was actually delicious. Salmon was fresh and wasn't overcooked. Was glad it was good but because of my concerns we didn't order much else besides entrees and refusing the bread (in Greece water and bread is not complementary so you need to refuse it if you don't want it).

Then we saw the changing of the guards at the palace (happens on the hour every hour), got some beers to drink in the room and fell asleep.

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 16 (Aegean Sea)

October 8, 2016

This morning my worst (travel) nightmare happened. I received an email from Aegean Airlines saying that our flight for Sunday morning at 6:40 am was canceled due to an air traffic control strike. I leaped out of bed. We have to be in Athens to get on our Delta flight at noon back to NYC. I raced to reception of our hotel without washing my face or even combing my hair. I asked what should we do. They said our best option was to get on the next ferry to Santorini right away. The next one would be leaving at 3:30 pm and take about 8 hours to reach Athens. I would need to go to a travel agency to pick up tickets when the office opens at 9 am. I raced back to my room to get ready.

The Unglamorous Side of Travel

When I returned to the reception desk in a more presentable manner, the woman there gently told me that if my flight to Santorini to Athens was canceled, than most likely my flight with Delta was as well. That thought had not crossed my mind at all during the frenzy of recalibrating my thought process of forgoing the other hotel we had booked tonight on the other side of Santorini and getting a refund from Aegean. But deep down the news sunk in and I checked my Email and had no communications from Delta. I went on the Delta website and it said my flight was still on.

Confused, I tried to call Delta but because I'm in Greece, you cannot make toll free calls to the US. Ok. Let me trying calling a Delta office in Greece. I checked online only to find those offices are only open Monday to Friday. Of course. Given that it was 9 am on a Saturday in Greece, I wasn't sure who I could text in NY to put me thru. Luckily I have a night owl friend in Florida and I saw on facebook messenger she was just active 6 minutes ago.

I texted to see if she was still awake (must have been 2 am her time). She wrote back yes immediately and asked what was up. I told her I needed to call her so she could connect me to Delta. Done. She helped put me thru.

The woman I spoke with at Delta insisted the flight was still scheduled to leave. I asked if she was sure. She said yes. An hour later, Delta even sent me an email asking me to check in online. By then I had gotten the tickets to Santorini with Blue Star Ferry. I gotta say the staff at Santorini Princess Spa was kind. They saw how upset I was and did whatever they could to help. You would think I'd be thrilled to have an extended vacation but that's not how I saw it. I saw this as a mess I would have to untangle later with refunds and rebooking and new bookings. Also I have so much work waiting for me in NYC, I do feel bad being out of the office for any more time.

Anyway I tried to find more news about the strikes. Finally the Athens International Airport spelled it out loud and clear. Two strikes are to happen. Sunday and Monday and then Wednesday and Thursday. A glimmer of hope. That means the airports should run on Tuesday. And they obviously planned it this way to annoy travelers and promote their cause but not have too much disruption.

I was really upset by the news. Moreso because I remember when I was booking this trip, I was going to leave Saturday instead of Sunday. Had I left today, I wouldn't have to deal with the stress and extra expenses. I also remember reading about the strikes from the around the same time as last year. And I remember thinking what are the chances it'll happen again on my exact travel dates?

Anyway I tried to call Delta again, by way of another friend who woke up in the middle of night who saw my text (Florida friend was asleep). I spoke to a man and he also said my flight was still on not to worry. I asked anyway if there were any seats for Tuesday and could I rebook just in case. He said there was nothing available for Tuesday (Delta seems to have just one flight a day to JFK from Athens). I insisted it didn't make sense. I told him about the Athens airport website and how other guests at my hotel definitely had canceled flight notifications too. He finally seemed to check into it and put me on hold to talk to supervisors or another support area. I was on hold for maybe ten minutes. Finally he confirmed yes. The flight would be canceled due to the strikes. I don't know why Delta didn't have this information sooner. I had spoken to guests from Canada earlier that morning who said their Airlines had told them and the receptionist also had told me other American flights had said it too (but she didn't remember which ones).

He then said he could get me out next Saturday! On a flight that would connect via Rome. It would be of no extra charge. He said I could rebook before the 17th and try to take a train to another city in another country and fly out if there's availability with Delta or one of their partner airlines (Air France, Alitalia, KLM). Since I was about to board my 8 hour ferry, I told him I would think about it then and call Delta back later when I got to Athens.

I hate wasting time so I was annoyed to take the ferry to Athens. But honestly it's not too bad at all. Economy tickets are cheap (40 euros) and it's a huge ferry and no assigned seating. But the way the seats are seem more comfortable. There's tables and chair settings to choose from like at a restaurant rather than lined seats like it is on planes. They have those for business class but I honestly think Econ is more roomier because you can rearrange your chairs around.

Also there is wifi on board (3 euros for 2 hours) and places to charge your electronics. And phone carrier service works well too. Before we left Santorini I did manage to book a hotel in Athens for tonight. We were initially going to sleep at the airport but once we knew there are no flights there was no point. Also I wasn't sure if we could get on the ferry tomorrow and didn't want to risk it so gave up our last day in Santorini to get to Athens as soon as possible.

Because we don't get into Athens until close to midnight, I asked the hotel to arrange a pickup for us at the port. Athens Status Suites was very helpful and so we have a transfer to the hotel for 25 euros. I like arranging with the hotel just in case because I don't feel you can trust the taxi driver you run into especially late at night. Also I had done no research on how to get from the Athens port to Athens and didn't have time to either so having the hotel arrange it was easier.

So 30 min. into our ferry ride, the boat made an announcement that it was returning to Santorini due to a sick passenger. I thought, wow could this day get any better. Luckily they also said the boat would still continue at least.

I forgot to mention if you ever take Blue Star Ferry from Santorini, the check in is at Gate 4 and best to get there an hour early to get in line. The ferry is coming from other islands first so there is as rush/horde to get on after other passengers depart. Otherwise boarding wasn't too bad and unlike Hellenic Seaways where we had to put our luggage downstairs, we could bring everything up. I think because this ferry holds automobiles down below.

Finally another hour later, I got an email from Delta. They had rebooked us on a new flight at 10 am to JFK to depart Tuesday. I'm not sure if this is a brand new flight in addition to their usual 12:30 pm one. I had checked before that there was only one Tuesday flight at 12:30 and not sure if this is moved to 10 am or they are having one flight at 10 and another at 12:30. In any event, my fleeting dream of one extra week of vacation in Rome faded and it looks like I just need to figure out a hotel for Sunday and Monday.

I know there are bigger issues in the world and this travel inconvenience is really nothing in the grand scheme of things but I just didn't want to stress about making more bookings or dealing with refund requests. And I do feel bad not being at work because it is a busy period for us this week. Lastly I'm sad I missed out on a final beach day! But I'll get over it. I'm also not thrilled about having to be in Athens again but will make do...

The ferry ride has been beautiful though.

My love for the Aegean Sea remains though

Whoops didn't realize this is blurry and don't know to delete from the blogging app

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 15 (Santorini)

October 7, 2016

Today we took a sunset boat tour around Santorini and it was lovely! It is something worth doing but don't go expecting amazing food. We went with Santorini Sailing, on their Dream Catcher catamaran. This one was slightly more pricey than others but I didn't want to be a huge boat or a small boat and this one was pretty steady in terms of not having too much motion sickness. If you pay in cash it's 95 euros but they charge your card first for 105 euros pp and then refund you later.

The tour lasted 5 hours and they picked us up from the hotel and dropped us off. Food was given about three hours into the trip, it was your typical Greek salad and grilled meats. I've given up on hoping for amazing food in Greece. The food wasn't terrible but nothing compares to NYC food! I get that food here should be more authentic but if that means overly salty (and believe me I love savory food) then no thanks. Also I noticed here in Santorini they don't really give complimentary desserts the way they do on Rhodes or Crete.

We made two swim stops but I didn't get in because I didn't want to come back feeling wet and cold. I'm also not a strong swimmer but they give you life jackets and floaties. The first stop was near the hot springs and the second was near a black sand beach. I loved just being on the boat though and marveling at the Caldera and its history.

It was amazing to see all the towns of Santorini lined up along the edges of the cliffs. And to see the sheer cliffs that were created by the volcanic eruption thousands of years ago. So according to the tour, Santorini used to be a circular island with a volcano in the middle. When it erupted, everything around the volcano collapsed and the sea came in. The cliffs all around the western edge was caused by the tsunami, which apparently reached as high as Imerovigli. In addition, the volcano is still active and land continues to form from the lava flow which is cooled by the seawater above. They think that in a few hundred years, there will be land rising again and no more water all around. I can't imagine that happening in this beautiful place but who knows.

We also grazed by a red sand beach (which they recommended not to visit because of possible landslides) and we saw more cool limestone cliffs. The tour ended with clear views of the sunset and we were back at the hotel by 8:15 pm.

Forgot to mention earlier this morning we did a mini hike from Santorini Princess Spa hotel towards Oia. We only went a mile north because the road gets really narrow and steep and the sun was coming up fast, which seems to make any kind of walking outside more difficult. The mile north hike was also only about one third of the way to Oia and I was starving for breakfast so we walked back. Took us a whole hour in general (started at 7:30 am and sun came up at 7:15) as it is quite steep in some parts. We saw some people running the trail. I don't know how they do it!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 14 (Santorini)

October 7, 2016

I had trouble posting yesterday so posting Day 14 & 15 today!

Today was a spectacular day of walking. The Caldera hiking trail from Fira to Oia sounds great in theory but I have no idea how people do it in the summertime, or any even after 9 am even in October! With the sun beating down on you and zero shade anywhere, it feels way hotter than the temperature says. That and the humidity, I don't get how people venture this climb at all!

Instead of doing the hike, we took the hotel car service to Oia to walk around. It's tiring just walking in the city! With all the steps up and down and also with no shade.

I love Oia more than Fira. Oia was more scenic and had more pathways to walk around and explore on. We spent about 4 hours (including lunch at Skala, which was very good and beautiful views) walking around and taking it all in. Aim to get near Ammoudi Bay, and then you know you've seen most of it. It's about 200+ steps down to the bay so we didn't go (didn't want to climb back up!) but there's supposed to be good seafood taverns there and an area to swim in.

After Oia we went back to Fira to explore it some more as well but we were done in two hours. After we went back to the hotel and rested, we watched the sunset from our hotel which was gorgeous and different from the night before since there were some clouds.

We then raced against the fading light to dinner up in Imerovigli. We barely made it, it got dark fast and the way up from the hotel it is not an easy walk. A flashlight is recommended as there are some parts of the trail that are well lit be others not so much. Also, although it's generally pretty safe in Santorini, best not to walk this alone since it's so dark and you need to be careful since the path can be rocky/not even/has steps. We ate somewhere not worth recommending and then went for a stroll all the way down to Fira. Walking along the rim of the island at night was also wonderful. It took us about twenty minutes to walk thru Imerovigli to Firastefani and then finally to Fira (think this walk was about a mile total). It was a different experience to see the villages at night. From Fira to Oia, it's about 5 miles. From Santorini Princess Spa to the center of Imerovigli, it's about a mile (due to the uphill climb). From Imerovigli to Fira it's about a mile.

The northwest side of the island, Firastefani and Imerovigli

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 13 (Santorini)

October 5, 2016

The day I've been waiting for finally arrived. Off to Santorini!! Bought the ferry tickets in advance and booked online through Hellenic Seaways. One way tickets were $70 USD from Heraklion and the first ferry is at 9 am. So we took a taxi from Kronos hotel to the port, which was $7.50 euros for three and got there by 8:15 am to board. Every ticket purchased comes with an assigned seat and the ferry doesn't allow you to walk around outside after it passes thru the city port. I thought we were in for a smooth ride when we departed Heraklion but as soon as we reached open water, the boat swayed side to side and everyone on deck was ushered back in. Thankfully it's a short trip, just under two hours to get to Santorini. Also, the ferry was recently upgraded in April 2016 so the Hellenic Seaways 7 was quite nice. The ride was a bit rocky but not too much to get you sick. I fell asleep for most of it and we arrived in Santorini at 11 am.

We were picked up by our hotel, Santorini Princess Spa. I picked this hotel because I wanted to eat in between Fira and Oia and read that this place has great views of the Caldera (where everyone angles to watch the famed sunsets). I also picked this hotel as I know they have their own car service (which you need to pay for but it's less than taking a taxi and apparently there are only 35 taxis on the whole island!).

Here are the views from the hotel:

Had lunch at the nearby town Imerovigli and then went swimming at the pool before heading to dinner in Fira. Feel very relaxed here!

Fira from afar (really took my breath away in person)

Brave to walk out to this point! It's so hot!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 12 (Crete)

October 4, 2016

Last day in Crete! In hindsight, wish we had gone to more beaches on the western side of Crete near Chania but just didn't have the time. Wish we had skipped seeing Rethymo! It was nice but I prefer just being on a pretty beach instead.

Today we packed up and left Chania around noon to go spend one night in Heraklion so we can catch the 9 am ferry from the port to Santorini. There are no ferries from Chania to Santorini, and upon my research for Heraklion, this city didn't seem too appealing to spend more than one day in. And I was right!

its not as charming and has more of a 'city' feel to it. Being from NYC (which is the greatest!) it's hard for me to like any other cities as much. Heraklion just seems a bit more run down to me.

Took us two hours to drive here and we are staying at Kronos Hotel. It's a bit dingy but you get what you pay for and we are paying $65 euros for just one night. After we settled in, we jetted off the the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which costs 10 euros pp. It was interesting to see artifacts from an ancient time but thought the admission price was a bit steep. It's not that big, two floors, but I was impressed with all the artistry Minoans had in their time.

Afterwards we walked around town and we also picked up our ferry tickets for tomorrow since I didn't want to worry about it when we got to the ferry. Did some shopping and then ate a super cheap meal at Gusto All Day. Got a vegetarian pizza and chicken sandwich with fries all for 14 euros and more than enough to share with three adults!

Walked around and went back to the hotel by 8 pm to get good sleep and be up early tomorrow. Can't wait for Santorini!!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 11 (Crete)

October 3, 2016

Today we skipped the scorching beaches and went to explore the nearby city of Rethymos. It's an hour away by car and very similar to Chania but different. The harbor seems smaller but the town seems more vast (though not by much). Rethymos has a fortress at the top which differentiates it from Chania. Costs 4 euros to enter or for a family of three, 10 euros total. It was nice to see but I think I'm done with seeing castles/fortresses/rocks from centuries ago for a good while. I saw some earlier this year in Cartagena, Colombia and then in Denmark and in Nova Scotia and in Rhodes.

There is a mosque at the top. The fortress was built by Venetians and then took over by Turkish forces at some point. You can go in but I was already sweating and didn't want to make the walk over!

Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the pretty narrow streets.

Around 3 pm we went back to Chania. I went for a quick dip at the pool, then we had dinner nearby (was good but don't feel like recapping it. Will say that Cretan cheese called graviera is delish!) and walked around Chania again as well.

What lurks in the alleys? Restaurants and shops of course!

I had planned for us to go to Balos Beach or some other beach but didn't have time for it. Kind of wish we did though but I was curious to check out Rethymos too. So much to see, so little time!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 10 (Crete)

October 2, 2016

I can't believe this is my tenth day of vacation! It doesn't feel like it. I know there are some people who don't like being away from home for more than 7-10 days. Not me!!!! I could totally continue on for weeks. I feel like time has flown by and I'm sad to go home next weekend. Sigh.

Today was a beautiful day. Woke up at 6:30 am for breakfast at the hotel and then shot down to Elafonissi Beach, which is in the southwestern part of Crete. The drive down is about 1.5-2 hrs, depending on the route you take and traffic. Luckily it's the end of the season so not too much traffic. There appears to be different ways to get down there and Google maps seemed to take us the most 'safe' way. I read about hairpin turns and no guard rails on narrow roads. While we did encounter this, the route we were on seemed to only have 15% of this. Otherwise I thought the drive down was fine though very windy.

We arrived close to 11 am and there was plenty of parking. When you walk in, there's like three main areas where you can choose your lounge chairs with umbrellas. They charge 8 euros per umbrella and two chairs total. There's also some food and bathroom facilities (gotta pay 50 cents euros to get on) but probably better to bring your own food if you can. Choices are limited.

Anyway I thought Lindos Beach in a Rhodes was nice but this totally took the cake. I loved it here!!!! You're surrounded by beaches and water all around since this area is kind of shaped like an island. As you walk in, towards the left is the seaside where water is more rough (but not really). To the right is where it's reeeally calm because it's more enclosed.

The calm side, where I frolicked much of the day

It's really hard to capture the scope of this place. You can wade out very far out and still be in knee or hip deep only. Even though we came on the first Sunday of October, it was still warm enough to spend the day swimming in the water. Plenty of fish swimming around too. Best to bring swim googles to really enjoy this place.

Elafonissi is also known as pink sand beach. You can see flecks of this at the shoreline of the sand. It's subtle but there.

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. See the slight pink in the shoreline?

Wish we could stay longer but left at 3 pm for the drive back.

I hung out at the hotel pool a bit before showering and heading out to dinner. Dinner was unremarkable so won't comment on it. But I love walking around the alleyways of Chania at night. Very lively and lots of shops and people watching!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 9 (Crete)

October 1, 2016

Woke up at 8 am and packed our bags to head westward towards Chania. Left at 9:45 am and arrived close to 1 pm. It is a long drive but the pretty scenery helps past the time. Plenty of gas stations along the way and easy to follow the highway.

We are staying at Samaria Hotel which is sooo much nicer in terms of comfort and amenities than the past two other places we stayed at. I booked thru Expedia but I used rewards points too so I got $200 off the rate. I always try to book a flight/hotel package with Expedia to accumulate these rewards points. The beds are so comfy and there is a nice pool with a nice lounge area too and breakfast is included with the rate. The hotel is just on the outskirts of the center of town and parking can be found for free on the south side of the hotel. You can pay for private parking for 8 euros too but we were able to find spots three short blocks away.

Afterwards we wandered around the maze-like streets in the center of town and found a great place for a casual lunch. It's a very local place (no website!) called Draft Bistro Cafe. It looks like a drinks only place but they have a small food menu. We got the club sandwich and the chicken sandwich and it was soooo good! I know, it's just a sandwich but everything was fresh, tasty, and light. Way better quality than most sandwiches I've had in NYC and sooo cheap. With the sandwich you get crispy potato fries all for under 6 euros!

So good and so cheap, all things considered

Then we wandered around town a lot. I like it here much better than Rhodes Old Town and Agios Nikolaus. Rhodes seemed too touristy. Agios was too quiet. Chania has the right mix of charm, locals, and tourism comfort.

Chania Town from the lighthouse side (to get here have to walk allllllll the way around)

Dinner at night was at Theodosi, which is highly ranked on Trip Advisor. The views are nice but the food was hit or miss. Prices were ok but I guess I wouldn't really say this is a must, especially since the drive here is a little difficult thru the winding streets. We came right before sunset and had a nice view though.

During dinner a cat jumped onto the table behind us and ferociously licked whatever was left. Some may find this cute, I find it gross!!

When the waiter saw he shooed it away but yech. There are tons of stray cats and dogs all over Greece and I guess this is how they survive.

I will say one thing I appreciate about eating out in Greece are all the complimentary desserts! We have gotten different things each time, though it's mostly been ice cream with fruit. Not complaining though!

After dinner we wandered around more alleyways in the main area which was really nice. A lot of cute and more interesting shops than Rhodes but definitely catering to tourists.

I don't know why but growing up I always thought if I came to Greece, breaking plates would be a thing. This is what I get for getting all my culture from watching Full House on TGIF when I was a kid!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 8 (Crete)

September 30, 2016

Today was spent visiting Elounda in the morning and then Agios Nikolaus in the afternoon. Elounda is just 15 min. north of Agios Nikolaus and full of luxury hotels and resorts. The water here is just as nice as Rhodes but seemed a bit rougher. There's free parking by the beaches around Elounda but just need to look for and follow the signs. Otherwise we saw some lots that charge 3 euros for the day.

Most people do the day trip to Spinalonga, which is an island that housed a former leper colony. Had no Interest to visit it but it's very close by to Plaka Beach in Elounda.

After walking around Plaka Beach, we headed to the center of Elounda for a nice lunch at Lotus Eaters. Owned by a British man and his Romanian wife, the view from the restaurant is fantastic and the food for the most part was good as well.

Not a big fan of octopus but I wanted to try it here so got it. Tasted like chicken! But I hate the look of it so couldn't finish it!! I had the pasta too because I was getting tired of a Greek food.

Afterwards we walked around all over Agios Nikolaus. It is a cute beachy town but not much else to do. The beach in Rhodes was much nicer. Overall it's nice to come here for a slow pace of life but not sure that it's a "must see." However the colors of the water against the backdrop of the barren mountains do relax me from my NYC life!

I will miss vistas like these in the winter

Lastly, had dinner at To Karnagio which was good and our cheapest meal yet!!! Had grilled shrimps (yes...again) with chicken souvlaki and an Asian noodle dish (nice change from Greek food). Also potatoes/fries in Greece are so much more fresh and tastier than in the USA so been eating a lot of that too on this trip! and Greek frappe coffee is delicious!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 7 (Rhodes/Crete)

September 30, 2016

One of the reasons why we spent four nights in Rhodes is because the only flight from Rhodes to Crete was on Thursday. It doesn't fly out before then. So far our experience with Aegean Airlines has been quite nice. Lovely attendants and good snacks on the plane. Also, no issues with delays so far. Our flight to Heraklion in Crete wasn't until 5:45 pm so we had tons of time to kill. We woke up a bit later than usual and then walked around Elli Beach, which is right be where our hotel was located but never had the chance to walk around.

You can stand under my umbrella ella ella ella...

Afterwards we did some browsing at the shops nearby. There's Zara, Mango, H&M and the British chain Mark & Spencers. Didn't buy anything but was a good time killer. Really wanted to have lunch at Tamam (my favorite so far) before we left but they don't open for lunch until 1 pm. So we headed back to Mama Sofia's, where we went when we first arrived and wow do they know service!!

They remebered us and welcomed us back. Even though it's been three days since they saw us, I guess it's easy to remember three Asian women since there were hardly any other Asians around the time we were there. The owner of the place greeted us warmly and took care of us. The food was even better this time around. We had the grilled prawns which were so flavorful and very fresh. Also mussels again, a shrimp salad and this time beef souvlaki. For dessert, instead of little chocolate ice creams we got watermelon and honey dew fruit with delicious ice cream. I don't even know what the flavors were but they were unique and perfect finish to lunch.

We checked out of the hotel at 2 pm and still had time to kill so we drove around and just took more pictures of the beautiful Aegean Sea. I love the sapphire and turquoise colors. It's so pretty I want to drink the sea!

We had a hybrid car but had to fill up the gas for return. For the 2.5 days we used it, we only spent 15 euros on gas. Then we headed to the airport to drop off the car. Rodos Car Rental has a spot near all the car rentals at the airport, in both the parking lot and at the arrivals terminal where you pick up the car. Just park the car in the rental parking lot and drop off the key at the car rental desk at Arrivals.

The flight to Crete was short and sweet. By the time we were handed our refreshment drink, it was time to land. And one way was only $45 USD! We landed at 6:15 pm even though the time said we would land by 6:35 pm. However, by the time we were bussed over from the plane to the terminal and picked up our luggage, it was 6:35. I had read really bad reviews on the Rhodes airport but since we came at the end of high season, things were smooth. Aegean Airlines has been great so far and the check in desk is at desks 7-12 (middle of the terminal). There is no separation for domestic and international flights.

When we landed at Heraklion airport, had to wait for our car rental which I booked for 7 pm pick up. I rented from Dimitris Auto rental Crete based on Trip Advisor recommendations. We got an automatic for 5 days for $190 euro which includes insurance. A rep picked us up and drove us to the lot to get our car and go over the paperwork. The only 'negative' was that she gave us the car with a quarter tank of gas left! So we had to go find a gas station since we had an hour drive to Agios Nikolaus which is where we stayed on our first night in Crete.

GPS with Google Maps is hit or miss. Mostly hits but sometimes it doesn't identify places well (like a non existent gas station in Rhodes or taking us thru private property instead of public). So just really pay attention when driving especially in Crete where the local streets can be so narrow!!! And it's so easy to miss a turn because you won't expect a street to be there. Or you might not be able to turn because it's one way and not two. So best to study directions a bit before going somewhere.

It took us an hour to get to Agios Nikolaus from the airport and we got a bit lost trying to find our accommodations. Stayed at Mantraki Apartments which is owned by the cutest old couple. We were a bit worried because reception closes at 9 pm but we made it in time and the room we have is so adorable with two balconies. It's not fancy but a step up from the last place we stayed at.

We had dinner late nearby at Bel Katsoralakia. Decent food at decent prices. Would recommend. At this point I've memorized the Greek menu. It's all the same offerings I feel like it doesn't matter too much where you go!!!!!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 6 (Rhodes)

September 28, 2016

Not much to report today! I initially planned out all these things to see around the island. But I really want to relax and not rush around like all my other trips so today we went back to the same beach as yesterday. This time we got there an hour earlier which makes a huge difference in parking!!! We checked out Anthony Quinn Bay beach on the way down to Lindos and it was nice but felt cramped and small.

Anthony Quinn Bay (named after an actor in some movie in the 60s because he wanted to buy it after the film was made)

Headed back down to Lindos where I spent glorious time swimming in the clear salty sea. Also, I figured out why people say the walk down to the beach is steep. There are two entrances to go down after you turn left from the entrance of town. The first entrance on the right is quicker to get down to the beach but is steep. If you continue on down the initial turn and bypass the first entrance to the beach, it's a gentle downward slope to the other beach parking lots and also to a restaurant with a huge sign that says this way to the beach.

The entrance to the pathway down all the way to the beach below. Just keep going!

Afterwards we went back to the hotel to shower and then out for dinner. Went to this place I did not love but it was very beautiful to sit outside. I felt like I was in a movie. Quaint restaurant built of stones on a quiet pedestrian corner of the medieval town. But the food was hit or miss. Mostly salty and just ok.

Walking around the Old Town at night is really nice though. I will say that Disney's attempt at replicating cute little European villages is pretty spot on because I felt like we could be in Epcot Center!

Also...beer is sooooo cheap here. We bought these two for less than 2 euros!!!

Tasty German beer. Tried a Greek one and wasn't a fan, too dark for me!

Lastly, forgot to mention that at midnight last night, I felt my bed rumble. Then it started to move and the room shook. Turns out there was a 5.2 earthquake that hit Symi and we felt it in Rhodes!!!! Was a freaky 15 seconds. Apparently earthquakes are a bit common here. No one talked about it here the next day!!

Greece 2016 Trip Report: Day 5 (Rhodes)

September 27, 2016

Today we got out of Rhodes Town and rented a car from Rodos Car. We got a Toyota Hybrid (save on gas!) for $150 for three days. Includes insurance! Anyway the car rep met us at the hotel lobby at 9 am (I made the rsvp online months ago) and explained everything to us. Luckily there's free parking near our hotel so nothing to worry about there.

I read somewhere that Greeks don't really eat breakfast the way Americans do and that seems to be true. We were starving so we went to pick up breakfast at the nearby McDonalds because we wanted something fast and easy. I walked in at 10 am and everything on the boards were burgers. I asked if they had a breakfast menu and she said no, just McToast. So I got three grilled chicken McWraps instead and off to the beach we went.

Drove all the way down to Lindos and luckily found parking off the side of the 95 highway at the very top (just past the supermarket and all the buses at the entrance of town). It was packed by the time we arrived at 11:45. There is beach parking closer but when we walked by I saw how narrow the streets down there are and it was pretty full. So you take a risk going down there if you're arriving at prime time. We ate our wraps in the car (which by the way was actually good!!! Much bigger than the American ones, like double the size, and fresh!) then walked down to the beach. I was afraid the walk would be strenuous but it's really not. If you're remotely fit you can make it. It took us about 15 min to walk down to the beachside and we paid 15 euros for three chairs and umbrellas. Hung out here all afternoon and it was very relaxing. The water is super calm and clear.

The beach in front of Lindos town and below the Acropolis

Afterwards we walked inside of town a bit. We had zero desire to walk up to the Acropolis here but that's an option for tourists. It's just like Rhodes Old Town but seems a bit nicer and more modern. Tons of restaurants and shops. I love all the hats here!! So cheap but they look stylish unlike the pricey ones in America. Got myself a new sun hat for $8 euros. The brim waves out, it doesn't sit flat.

Then we went to have pizza somewhere on the way back to the hotel. Not gonna bother mentioning where because although it was run by a lovely family, it was ok. I'm addicted to NYC pizza and so this was just meh to me, although it was freshly made and not greasy. The rest of the evening was spent walking around the newer part of Rhodes Town. Overall a chill day!