The Greek Isles

For the past few years, Matt and I have made a tradition of visiting the Mediterranean in September. We love the Mediterranean coast – the weather, the culture, the food – and September is the perfect time of year to enjoy its fruits as the crowds begin to thin out, the high-season prices start dropping, and the weather cools a bit to a manageably glorious temperature. I may have just revealed too much…Anyway, after doing Begur, Spain in September 2007 and the Algarve in Portugal in September 2008, we made the Greek Isles our home from September 5 to 13, 2009.

There are dozens of islands off the coast of Greece – varied and wonderful in unique ways. To make it easy on ourselves since we only had one week, we chose to stay in the Cyclades region. After months of consideration and very minimal research, we chose to visit Naxos and Santorini.

We flew direct from Amsterdam to Athens mid-morning on Saturday, and arrived around lunchtime. With plenty of time before our chosen ferry departed to Naxos from the Piraeus port, we decided to be all local and take the metro there. As we sat in the metro trying to figure out if we were on the right one, a Greek/Canadian man befriended us and took us under his wing. All we had to do was get off when he did and he’d point the way. Well, turns out that this man was not all too familiar with the new train system (presumably put in place for the 2004 Summer Olympics), and took us on crazy route that , after 3 metros and one bus, saw us sprinting to reach our boat a few minutes before it left the port.

Having just made it, we crashed in our seats for the first hour and a half of the trip, but then ventured to the outside deck to catch the sunset. We reached our destination, Naxos port, in three hours, and amid all the Greek tourists spotted our hotel car. We stayed at the Hotel Naxos Kalimera (“kalimera” means good morning in Greek) on Agia Ana beach – a clean, homey place with a firecracker of a proprietor. She was definitely the highlight of this hotel, offering rides to the beach (only a 10 minute walk) and into Naxos town whenever we wanted, and you heard her laugh before you saw her, since she always had her friends coming by for a chin-wag. She chauffeured us off to “her” restaurant, where we had the first of many abundant meals and glasses of Jesus wine (so dubbed by me because it is what I imagine red wine must have tasted like in the times of Jesus – watery and a bit tasteless). We had arrived in Greece, and this pleased us.


Our days in Naxos were marked by lolling around on the beach all day, lunching on crisp fried calamari (highly recommend La Trattoria on Prokopios beach), watching the sunset over chilled cocktails, and having incredible dinners. Our third day was windy and cold, so we skipped the beach in favor of renting an ATV. Matt drove, and I hung on the back for dear life as we bumped along on the dirt roads around the island. It was so much fun and the scary parts (like the near vertical inclines) only made it better in retrospect. Our reward was reaching a whimsical little town at lunchtime that was high on Matt’s legitimacy scale.
>


On the fourth day, we took the morning ferry to Santorini. The trip was only about an hour and a half, and the weather had improved from the day before to a mild, sunshiney morn. We arrived at the port to a frenzy of people touting hotels and rides. This ferry ride was also distinct in its number of foreign tourists – and they were all getting off at Santorini. Luckily, we had booked a hotel in Oía, which is on the north part of the island, tucked away far from the touristy mayhem. Our hired cabbie took erratic turns, passing tour buses on our way up the mountain, and about 20 minutes later, a bit woozy, we arrived at the Perivolas Traditional Houses. This place was a total splurge and worth every penny. Like many of the traditional houses in Oía, the hotel was carved onto the sunny south side of the cliff, offering picturesque views of the sunset over the caldera, and the rooms resemble caves that stay cool in the heat. It was pure luxury here. We rested our weary travel muscles (not really) in the sun by the infinity pool, reading and snoozing and, of course, eating. Dinners were had in the town, which was a short walk away and as enchanted a place as you could expect.



Though it was hard to leave the supreme comfort of our hotel, we did manage to get out and about during the days. Our second day we walked to one of the beaches in Oía, about a 45 to 60 minute walk from the town. All of the beaches in Santorini are black sand. Another day we did a catamaran tour around the caldera, and visited the red and white beaches – the sand at these beaches are still black, but the cliffs enveloping the beach (you can only get to the red beach by boat) are red and white. We also swam out to the hot springs, which were more like warm springs. They really should find a way for your boat to pick you up directly from the springs – having to swim back from the warm to frigid water was very unappetizing!


Our last night we walked down the steps from Oía to the Bay of Ammoudi, a little fishing village with a great restaurant. We toasted our fabulous trip with copious amounts of lobster and wine.

I’d say that for those wishing to visit the Greek Isles, doing both Naxos and Santorini is a good, well-rounded choice. If I may use a doll analogy here, if Santorini is Barbie – beautiful and remarkable, though maybe a bit cold and, dare I say, arrogant – then Naxos is Strawberry Shortcake – charming, inviting and sweet. Both offer the visitor different aspects of Greek culture, and both are not to be missed. This trip will definitely go down as one our favorites!

Madrid

In a preemptory celebration of our one year wedding anniversary Matt and I ventured off to Madrid for the weekend. We had decided to make Madrid our destination of choice as,though I've never been there, it seemed like a place I would like. Matt had visited it as a student while studying abroad in Florence, and had dubbed the Prado as one of his favorite museums ever. Coincidentally, the weekend before our actual anniversary, Matt had a business trip that would take him to Paris and then on to Madrid for the end of the week. It seemed silly for him to fly back just to fly out there again a week later, so instead I booked tickets to out there to meet him, and we would spend the weekend there.

I arrived pretty late on Thursday night, leaving frantically to the airport straight from work. It should be noted that whilst at the airport, Dutch people cut me in line on 2 separate occassions. Boarding was on time, but we were delayed - we apparently sat on the tarmac for a long time, but as per my usual MO on flights, I completely conked out as soon as the airplane doors shut. I tend to do this, then wake up a few minutes after we've reached our altitude, and spend the entire rest of the flight trying to sleep and not being able to. But I digress.

When I finally arrived at our hotel, Hotel De Las Letras on Gran Vía, just before 11, Matt was still out boozing and shmoozing at dinner with work people so I got room service and watched one of my favorite Buffy the Vampire slayer episodes dubbed in Español until he arrived, rather hammered, convincing me out of my pj's and onto the rooftop terrace to meet his buds. As he was talking to me, he lost his voice - it didn't come back all weekend. I played dutiful wife and got some heels on and was my charming self - the rooftop terrace at De Las Letras was indeed a happening place, and the guys (who are basically his competitors and were all on the same property tour) were very nice and we had a particularly boisterous debate about what is actually stated in the American Bill of Rights. When Matt’s eyes started crossing – and he still didn’t have his voice – we wisely called it a night. On Friday Matt had more tours to do, so I had some one-on-one with the city – I walked around with my giant map (Madrid is big), had some café at Plaza Mayor, bought a fedora and some macadamia nuts, spent leisurely hours at the Reina Sofia museum, ate a chorizo sammy and headed back to the hotel to await the hubby and chat with mom on the phone. I was officially smitten – the city is spectacular. That night we had a typically Spanish late dinner and stopped at one of the indoor markets, Mercado San Miguel off the Plaza Mayro, for churros and chocolate for dessert.



On Saturday we hit the pavement, exploring that great city. It was another gorgeous day, so we took to the park – El Parque del Buen Retiro – for a leisurely stroll and a coffee. Eventually we meandered over to a neighborhood called Salamanca – a colleague of mine has a friend that lives in Madrid, and this guy recommended a place in this neighborhood that he and all his friends agree is THE best tapas place in all of Madrid. We decided to give it a shot, and it’s probably safe to say that he is most likely right in this assumption. We arrived at 1:30, which was perfect timing because we were able to grab the second to last table before it was jam-packed with poshly dressed Spaniards looking for a beer and a bite. We overdid it a bit (as usual) with our order, but the fried anchovies were spectacular, and the waiters were totally on top of that chaos.




We headed back to the hotel with a bit of time for a brief siesta before meeting Gavin, one of the guys Matt did the property tour with, and his girlfriend who were also spending the weekend. We had decided on Thursday night to all go to the Real Madrid game. Unfortunately by that point there were no 4 seats together so we had to split up. We took the metro over to the stadium (the Madrid metro is awesome – so convenient, clean and easy!) then had the confusing task of figuring out where to pick up our tickets. Of course all eyes were on me since I speak un poco Español – eventually we worked it out. The game was awesome – Madrid was playing Tenerife, and Tenerife actually gave Madrid a run for their money in the first half. But Kaká came in the second half (to my great cheery glee) and Madrid ended up beating them 3-0. The stadium was absolutely packed. And strangely enough, there aren’t too many occasions to buy, buy, buy – as there are in the American stadiums. You’re hard pressed to even find a soda vendor inside the stadium. Some people brought their own snacks and drinks, but mostly it seemed like people just pop in for the game then head out for dinner. Soccer games are great because they are short enough that it’s not such a big commitment to attend one.

Saturday night we found a little spot looking out on a palace to have dinner. Madrid is a very picturesque city, with beautiful, majestic architecture and a lot of greenery. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how Spain once ruled the Western world, but being in Madrid you definitely get a sense of the grandeur.


On Sunday we hit up the Prado – which of course took up most of the morning. There are some great pieces in there, and conveniently enough they provide a brochure with their most famous works and which room it’s in, so we were able to just zip in and out and see the best things. It was again beautiful and warm out, so it was hard getting in that cab to drive to the airport in the early afternoon. A short flight later, we were at home, watching the Giants game.


Madrid is now on my list of top 5 cities in the world – in fact, it has replaced Paris for my number 3 spot. Though both cities are equally beautiful, Madrid just has this openness that Paris is lacking. In Paris I feel a bit like an outsider – sometimes I think that the Parisians do that on purpose. Maybe it is a factor that I understand the language, so it is easier for me in Madrid. Whatever it is, there is now a very real love affair between me and Madrid. It is definitely a place we will visit again.

Matt's Birthday Extravaganza

This August past, in celebration of Matt's 29th birthday I arranged for the two of us and 15 friends to terrorize Amsterdam for 3 hours on a sunny Saturday aboard the famed spectacle, the party-fiets (www.partyfiets.nl). The party-fiets (FYI: fiets is the word for bicycle in Dutch)is a Holland oddity - I don't think there are any other places in the world that offer this kind of fun. It is basically a traveling bar, seating up to 20 people, with 12 of these seats being stools with bike pedals attached at the bottom, around a bar stocked with (at least) 30 liters of Heineken. The whole contraption is steered by a "bob" (designated driver) at the front, but the horsepower comes from the pedaling fools.

And before I continue, allow me to pat myself on the back for arranging a time where 17 busy expats could attend, convincing them all to dress as pirates, and keeping this whole thing a secret from Matt for two whole months. Yes, you read right - we did this dressed as pirates.

Up until the moment of the big reveal, Matt thought I was taking him to the zoo for the day. You would think my skull and crossbones T-shirt may have raised a red flag, but it didn't. Further to that, you would think that upon arriving at the bar beforehand at 11:30 in the morning ("For a drink." "A drink??" "Yeah...a coffee or whatever...") and seeing 4 of our friends already there and wearing pirate hats, that he would think something was up. He was happy enough to drink a beer while we let the suspense linger for a bit, then finally we broke the news. This was especially momentous because Matt has been wanting in on this beer-bike for as long as we've been in Amsterdam. This past summer, being a particularly warm and sunny one for these parts, there were lots of these things roaming the city, and it pained Matt everytime he saw one - our friends dutifully said "That's lame" even after our plans to do it were underway. He hadn't a clue.


Needless to say - I mean, we're talking beer and pirates here - it was one of the most fun days I have had in my adult life. I can't even say "adult" because we acted like kids. Brandishing our swords, wearing eyepatches, drinking beer while furiously pedaling up the Amsterdam canals, shouting "LAND LOVERS!" in a pirate voice at passers-by, and basically trying to top each other in creativity and basic retardation. Everyone had the time of their lives. People on the streets were snapping pictures. Probably the most memorable moment was when we rolled our carnage down the P.C. Hoofstraat, the fancy high street in Amsterdam. All the yuppies dressed up in their finest garb to peruse Chanel and Ferragamo stopped in their tracks and stared, mouths agape.


>
We ended the day at a bar with bottles of Prosecco, and with Matt drunkenly taking a dip in the Ij river. Insane fun. The next day I hosted a dinner party for 6 in further celebration of Matt's birthday and my good friend Jen's birthday, where we had more laughs while recapping the day. The current plan is to do this again, dressed as cowboys, and while singing kareoke (if you can imagine, there is a kareoke-fiets). Stay tuned...

Cinque Terre

My great friend Jen - who will soon be leaving me to head off on a new adventure in Canada - and I recently headed off for a weekend in Cinque Terre seeking sun, wine and laughs. We found all of these, in abundance.

Cinque Terre is a coastal region on the Italian Riviera. Its name translates into "Five Lands" and consists of the villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage. We picked to stay in Riomaggiore, following the advice of friends.

To get there, we flew into Pisa, then took a somewhat convoluted train route from the airport to Pisa Central, then to Spezia Station, which links the local Cinque Terre trains to the main line. We left Amsterdam at lunchtime on Friday, and were sweating it out in our little sundresses and drinking Prosecco by 7 pm.

Being that it was July, we were expecting to be swarmed by tourists and were pleasantly surprised to find the towns relatively quiet. There were tourists, of course, mainly from the U.S. and Australia and also lots of Italian tourists, with a dryheave-inducing spattering of Dutch (though to be fair, the one Dutch couple we actually had an interaction with, albeit brief, was quite pleasant and polite).

The weather was hot, hot, hot and we loved every second of it. Except when we found ourselves hiking across 4 villages, in our flip flops and bikinis - then were sweating profusely and had to disrobe slightly. We were unprepared for how difficult the hike would get. It wouldn't be exactly difficult if you were expecting to hike - and some were, given the many hiking boots, spandex shorts and walking sticks we saw - but again, bikinis and flip flops do not a proper hiking outfit make. We were expecting a leisurely stroll, with stops for wine and dips in the sea. This was pretty much the case until we reached Corniglia. From that point, things got steep, and dusty and tiring and sweaty. Oh, and did I mention I got stung by a bee? Luckily we had many laughs to keep us going! When we finally reached Vernazza, we treated ourselves to leisurely lunch on a seaside terrace, then spread our towells out on the rocks for some serious people-watching (and judging).

The towns were all quite similar - small, with a few seaside-type shops and wonderfully authentic Italian trattorias. I would certainly recommend a stop if doing a southern Italy trip - but anything much more than a weekend here might be excessive. The vistas were wonderful, and the accomodations very basic (mostly apartments). Vernazza and Monterosso were pretty clearly the most touristy of the towns, more built up and with more options of places to stay and eat. We were happy with our choice of Riomaggiore.

We capped off the trip with a stop at Pisa old town on our way to the airport. Somehow I was more impressed with the tower the second time around - the first time it didn't look to be as lean-y. I think it really depends on the angle you see it at. It is pretty ridiculous that the tower is still standing, but even more ridiculous were the tourists around the tower taking photos of themselves that made it look like they were holding up the tower - so we took photos of them instead.

Mama Mia!

Last month Matt and I traveled back home to the US to attend the wedding of our lovely friend Mia. Mia owns a bridesmaid boutique in Baltimore, so she is front-center in this whole wedding business. And her wedding was the glorious affair we all expected it to be! She looked stunning in her gown, and never have I seen a more smiley bride. We wish her and Christian a great future together, full of joy and warmth and love =)



Aside from the Isse-Antalics nuptials, our trip home was filled with visits with friends and family, nonstop eating (true to form, we didn't get the chance to feel hunger during the entire trip) and lots of laughs. From Baltimore to New Jersey to New York to the Hamptons, we enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to everyone that helped make our homecoming feel like just that!