The traveler walks through doorways into new lands and is forever changed. Suddenly this unknown world we have envisioned and dreamt about is known. Throughout my travels on several Greek islands, I passed through doorways that told a different side to Greece, one I didn’t quite picture before I crossed thresholds. While too much preparation can lead to boredom on the road, there were a few elements to Greece I wish I knew before I put one foot in front of the other. Bring Cash and a Secret Stash for Out-of-Order ATMs While I was well aware of Greece’s financial woes, I didn’t think Continue Reading
How To Be Cute and Compact For Holiday Travel
The last time that I had to pack for “home” for the holidays, I was in college and still somewhat of an over-packer. I would lug home a giant suitcase, usually one that I had to check and wait for at baggage claim. After years of already being home for the holidays, with little travel required, I am now faced with returning home for Thanksgiving and packing accordingly. I can’t just run down to my apartment if my jeans split at dinner. And yes, that did happened one year but I blame the pants, of course. Coming home for the holidays has its packing challenges. An over-packed bag with no Continue Reading
Halki, Naxos Wishes You Were Here
I’m sipping on a Greek coffee, one with a color matching the copper pot containing it. Across the way I observe the typical Greek elder. Dressed in all blue, he encourages each passing tourist to stop in on the neighboring textile shop, like a billboard that has truly come to life. He doesn’t seem to work there. The shop owner could just be a friend. Regardless, he takes a seat on a wooden chair to advertise Halki’s treasures as I take a sip of strong coffee. Halki is a perplexing place for its location. Its atmosphere would have you believe it is buried in the heart of Naxos, away from Continue Reading
Santorini Secrets: Revelations in Greek Island Paradise
Santorini was my dream. I kept it locked away for a special trip. Once I got engaged, I knew exactly where I wanted to go for my honeymoon. I had long seen photographs of the picture perfect blue domes and whitewashed buildings clinging to red cliffs rising from the sea. However, like any place we long to visit, I knew that I had to arrive to Santorini with a sprinkle of hesitation. I knew that it would be touristy, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. At the same time, due to my redheaded temperament, I can easily get annoyed with hordes of tourists. While I am one myself, for whatever reason Continue Reading
Hora, Naxos Wishes You Were Here
I’m lost. I pass under one arched portico after another, down cobblestone streets into the old town of Hora. The port and capital of Naxos appears to be constantly dizzy, embroiled in its own explainable confusion. The streets have no rhyme or reason and a map is virtually useless. In Hora, you get lost. The people of Hora live in this maze sprinkled with restaurants, art galleries and shops. While a Venetian stronghold in the 13th century, today Hora is decidedly more casual than noble. It is an ordinary Wednesday and the restaurants are preparing for the night. The business casual of Continue Reading
Crossing Through Ancient Doors in Naxos
To travel, we must walk through doors. Some thresholds are wide, expansive and quite easy to cross. Others seem to be the opposite of gateways, at times closed off and hard to breech. On the Greek island of Naxos, the main port city of Hora bears the ultimate entryway. As my ferry chugged closer and closer to the port of Naxos, I could spot a doorway into another time. Disconnected from the main island by a causeway, the Temple of Apollo dramatically takes in the sunset each night. The masses crowd the hilltop temple to appreciate a natural constant to the world. True ruins become perches Continue Reading
What I Wish Someone Told Me About Traveling By Ferry in Greece
It was to be a three-hour tour to the remote island of Folegandros from Naxos. If I learned anything from my early years of watching Gilligan's Island, I knew all along that this wouldn’t be the case. As the seas grew rougher and my ferry seemingly went airborne with a few waves, I realized that the romanticized side to the Greek ferry experience was lost at sea. Unaware of our future at sea that day, we sat in the port terminal at Naxos hours earlier. Nothing more than a few beams of concrete protected us from the whipping wind. Poseidon saw our future at sea and it wasn't pretty. Before Continue Reading