Category: travel

Travel Series: Naxos

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I’ve been asked a few times what my favorite island was on our trip to Greece, and besides Santorini, Naxos is my favorite small island that I would go to again. It was hard to pack my suitcase back up and leave Santorini, but we had a lot more of our trip to enjoy. It was also a difficult adjustment from being on a yacht the day before and then taking the ferry to Naxos. The ferries deserve their own post to break down how they are the most chaotic but organized way to travel. After a short ferry ride, we stepped off the ferry to Naxos Town and right away it was the perfect little beach town. Our hotel room wasn’t ready so we dropped off our luggage and decided to walk around for a bit and get lunch. I had heard that the Greek club sandwich was a must-have, and it did not disappoint! I knew it was going to be hard going back home after enjoying fresh ingredients and food.

Naxos is known for its unfinished Temple of Apollo, built in 530 BC, and today, only its door remains, the Portara. You have to walk along a jetty to get to that part of the island and waves are constantly crashing along the rocks. We stood on the jetty and let the mist hit us to give us a break from the heat. It’s a bit of a climb up, but worth it for the view. Also really weird to be standing in a spot that is that old. During our trip, it would hit me that where I was standing was thousands of years old because we don’t have places like that in America.

HOTEL
Antony Suites

After walking around for a bit, we got the text that our hotel room was ready, so we walked back to the hotel to change and head to the beach. This was one of our “let’s save money on a hotel because we won’t spend much time here” and instead I wish we could have stayed longer! It was so cute and had so many great amenities. It was a nice surprise to learn that the beach was only a block away from our hotel and an even nicer surprise to find that we could rent lounge chairs and an umbrella for 35€. In my dreams, I would spend every day at the beach like this, enjoying a mojito!

We spent a few hours at the beach and enjoyed some drinks and snacks. We didn’t want to leave the beach but we went back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. We had no plans for dinner except to walk around and pick a place. What’s nice about Naxos, is that there are a ton of restaurant options on the water and you can’t pick wrong. We went back up to the Temple of Apollo to watch the sunset and then had dinner at Meze Meze. What you need to know going to Greece (and even Europe) is that dinner is not quick and it’s going to take at least two hours. Fresh seafood is caught that same morning — grilled octopus, fish so tender it practically melted. I ordered the seafood risotto and even when I was full I could not stop eating! We finished up dinner at 11pm and my mind was blown by how busy the town still was that late at night.

We planned to sleep in the next morning, but I was up early, wanting to enjoy every minute of Naxos. Our hotel dropped off breakfast baskets and we enjoyed our Greek breakfast on the patio while we packed up to check out of the hotel. We had originally had an excursion planned that day which was cancelled due to water currents so we had to pivot.

We were told that we had to go see the castle built in the 13th century. We climbed to the top of the island to get to the castle and then took the long way back down weaving through alleyways and little shops scattered through the maze. After our walk, we decided we deserved a cold cocktail, so we stopped at Verus on the water. Drinks turned into food, and we spent the next hour just enjoying our drinks and food by the water. Not wanting to leave, we went back to the jetty near the Temple of Apollo and sat on a bench to enjoy the water. Naxos is an island that makes you want to slow down and just enjoy every minute of life.

That afternoon, we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and make our way back to the ferry to head to the next island. Looking back at it now, we didn’t do much in Naxos except walk around, eat, and sit by the water. Just walking along the waterfront and enjoying the silence was such a nice way to relax and unwind. Naxos is a great walkable city that makes you slow down and just relax.

Travel Series: Santorini

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The most asked question during this trip was when I asked my husband, “What time do we have to wake up tomorrow?” He was in charge of the itinerary and all logistics, which were numerous. We had an early alarm to head to the Athens airport to fly to Santorini. Now there are many ways to hop around the islands, and I was fine taking the ferry down to Santorini. But this was our honeymoon, and Jake was intentional about making sure we did as little traveling between islands so we could have the most time on each island. After a short flight, we landed in Santorini, and the hotel arranged a car service to pick us up from the airport. Seriously, this man thought of everything to make sure everything was taken care of.

HOTEL
The Saint Hotel

This was one of our big splurges for the trip, and from the minute we got there, I didn’t want to leave. The staff, amenities, the VIEW — everything was perfect! We had lunch and a cocktail by the pool. I’m now obsessed with the Greek version of a Caesar salad, and nothing will ever compare. We then went to our room to change into bathing suits to enjoy our own private pool on our private patio. The hotel treated us to a free bottle of wine and fresh fruit, which we enjoyed while relaxing on our patio lounger and in the pool. Watching that first sunset while sitting outside is something I will never forget! We eventually showered and changed to head up to dinner at the rooftop bar and restaurant.

The next morning, breakfast was delivered to our room, and we ate outside on the patio. This was the kind of vacation where you view sleep as a waste of time when there is so much to do and see!

We spent the morning in the pool and relaxing before heading to the spa for a couples massage. Jake really thought of every single detail to make sure this trip allowed us to do a lot of sightseeing, but made us slow down and relax as we enjoyed this time together.

outfit details
maxi dress

From there, we headed to the hotel pool and bar to lie in the sun, enjoy the pool, and order a few drinks.

While we wanted to stay in the pool, we had to get changed for dinner to celebrate our official seven years of being together. August has always been a special month for us because it’s our dating anniversary, so every August we like to go on a trip to celebrate our dating anniversary. Now, we hope to keep doing some sort of trip to acknowledge this milestone. As if the trip wasn’t enough, Jake gifted me a diamond necklace with the same diamonds that are in my wedding ring set.

outfit details
anthropologie dress

SO funny story, we were walking to dinner, and there are no sidewalks in Oai besides the painted blue path for pedestrians. A local pointed out that the blue of my dress perfectly matched the blue path and jokingly told me to make sure no one walks over me. I was very intentional about my blue outfits for this trip, just didn’t realize I’d be THIS GOOD!

THE BLUE DOME

Yes, it’s the touristy thing to do in Santorini, but it’s just something you have to do. At sunset and sunrise, there is going to be a long line to get that perfect picture, but the line really does move quickly, and the group behind you will most likely offer to take the picture for you.

DINNER
Ambrosia

There are a lot of options for restaurants in Santorini, and I’m so happy we selected this one for dinner. It had a great view of Oai and the water at sunset. The staff were amazing, the food was delicious, and the view was remarkable. The celebrity of the evening was the cats we saw making their way up the mountain for dinner time. After dinner, we walked around Oia and enjoyed watching the city all lit up.

SAINT YACHTING
Yacht

The hotel we were staying at has a collection of yachts for guests to use for a fee. It’s something we saw as an amenity months ago, and when I saw the price, I just laughed and said maybe in another lifetime. The goal of this trip was to make the most of it, and Jake said that the budget went out the window when he booked the yacht for a sunset cruise. This whole thing was a surprise to me, so we woke up that day knowing we were going somewhere that late afternoon, but I still had no clue what he had planned. Jake finally told me that he booked us the yacht for a sunset cruise, and that explained why he bought me new swimwear and a cover-up.

I think my favorite favorite part is when we were waiting on the dock to get on, and people started pushing their way in front of us to take a picture of the boat. Finally, our crew asked the people politely to step aside so we could get on board and a guy holding up his phone, taking pictures of the boat, turned around and saw Jake and me standing there and said, “This boat is for you??!!” Everyone on that dock was shocked that the guy wearing a Star Wars baseball hat and I were the ones getting on the boat. Jake and I laughed and replied with “Yep! That’s ours!” as we stepped on.

pictures do not give this view justice!

We sailed around Santorini and then stopped around the island to swim before heading to a part of the island you can only access by boat for dinner. Sitting there at dinner, it was a moment where I thought I never wanted this day to end! We then got back on the boat and sped off to sail back to port and get the perfect view of the sun setting.

We went to a lot of islands on this trip, and we only spent a little time on Santorini, but this is an island I would come back to over and over again. We are already talking about coming back again and really exploring the island more.

outfit details
crochet cover up // sarong // similar swim bottoms

Travel Series: Athens, Greece

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I recently came back from my two-week honeymoon in Greece, and I’ve been getting the same question: “How was it?” If I have two minutes of your time, “It was great! We did a lot and also were able to really slow down and relax!” But if you really want to know, pull up a chair and let’s talk about my trip to Greece!

Travel Day

This isn’t our first trip across the Atlantic. We went to London in 2022, and I was unaware the whole time that we were actually going so Jake could propose to me. This trip, Jake upgraded our seats to nice big, comfy ones, and I kept joking it was my favorite part of the trip. I’ve gotten to that point in my life that the seat upgrades on long flights are just worth the extra money. We slept on the plane as much as we could, so when we touched down at 8 am in Athens, we were ready to start our day!

Going to a country we had never been to before, Jake planned ahead and ordered a car service to pick us up from the airport to the hotel. Once we got there, we realized we could have figured out a taxi/Uber, but it was nice to walk off the plane with our luggage, and a guy with a sign with our name on it was there to pick us up. Again, it’s one of those things that you get older and are worth the money.

I need to make a note that Jake planned this entire trip himself. I literally just showed up with my passport! He created the full itinerary and had some input on what I should wear, but he planned everything himself.

HOTEL
Esse Athens

While most people immediately book hotels that are most famous while traveling abroad (Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, etc.), Jake loves to find a really pretty high-end luxury hotel. We thought we wouldn’t be in our hotel that much because we had a busy itinerary in Athens, but we loved our hotel so much that we wanted to stay there longer! It also had the best view of the Acropolis from the balcony!

TOURISTY MUST DO’S
Acropolis + Parthenon

Okay, so here’s the trick. Book the guided tour. It’s just a few more euros than the regular ticket, but you get to skip the line, learn the history, and the tour guide makes the sea of people move for your group to get past. There is also enough time to wander off by yourself too! It also includes tickets to the museum, which is a must while you are there as well, to really understand how old this history is.

Athens National Garden


We had a few hours after we landed in Athens before our hotel room was ready, so we walked around and ended up in the Athens National Garden. It was a great way to take a break from the heat and stumble upon some ancient ruins just casually among some really old trees.

Boat Tour
Athens Day Cruise


Jake found a boat cruise that allows you to go to 3 islands in one day. He upgraded to VIP, and at first I was like, Oh, that wasn’t necessary but boy, did we realize how much the upgrade was worth it! Other guests sat in chairs on the boat deck, while we were able to enjoy air conditioning on coaches, a private bar, and drinks and meals were included. It’s very well organized, and we were able to see the islands Hydra, Poros, and Aegina.

PLAKA



Our hotel was located in the town of Plaka, and we had so much fun just walking up and down the streets exploring. Plaka has a ton of great restaurants, little shops, and gelato shops!

Mount Lycabettus



It is located on a very tall hill (more like a mountain!) that you can walk up or take the cable car. I recommend the cable car because it is a long way to the top! But once you are up there, it is the best view of all of Athens. You can see the Acropolis, the Aegean Sea, and really see how large the city of Athens is. Once you get to the top, you can walk around and sit to take in the view. There is also a restaurant and bar, so we had Aperol Spritzes and Greek salads to celebrate our first day in Greece!

Ruins

I was blown away by how the modern-day city of Athens has built its city around the ruins and respected its history. You’ll be walking around and then walk into the ruins of a building that was there for thousands of years.

Sunset Dinner at St George Lycabettus Hotel

outfit details: dress
This was a recommendation from one of Jake’s coworkers, and wow, I’m so happy we did it! Great view of the sunset and the Acropolis with a delicious meal.

London Trip: Day 9 Pints in Regent’s Park

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We needed an extra cup of coffee this morning because this was our last full day in London and had a lot to do! We enjoyed a full English breakfast at the hotel restaurant and made our plans for the day. My most helpful travel advice is to plan what you want to do before you go and have your day mapped out before you head out. We were able to pack so much into our last day because we had it mapped out with where we were walking and where we were taking the Underground.

While we were here, we wanted to stop by the London office of the company he works at. They were in the process of moving offices so we stopped by to say hello to his coworkers and see the new office. It’s next to St. Paul’s Cathedral and I wish we had more offices with this view here in the States!

We walked around St. Paul’s Cathedral and it really is magnificent. I was hoping to be able to go inside but they charged money for people to go inside and it was just a bit too pricey for an entrance fee. While we didn’t go inside, the grounds around the cathedral were beautiful. It’s definitely worth making time to just walk around it, not so sure it’s worth the 25 Pounds to be able to go inside though.

From there, we took the Underground to Kings Cross Station to catch a train to Hogwarts. JK! But we did go to Kings Cross Station and visit the Platform 9 ¾ gift shop. It’s a bit of a queue to get inside the store but the line moved quickly. There is also a photo area where you can get a photo of you traveling through the bricks to get to the Hogwarts Express. There was a long line to get a photo and we were trying to accomplish a lot this day so I said we could skip it since we had already gotten photos of the same thing at Harry Potter Studios.

We got lucky and the sun started to peak through the clouds. Of course the sun finally makes an appearance on our last day! We then made our way to the Sherlock Holmes Museum and got tickets to visit the museum. If you don’t have time for an hour to visit the museum part, you need to make time for the gift shop. It’s perfectly currated for the best souvenirs and gifts!

By the time we finished up at the Sherlock Holmes Museum, the clouds were gone and the sun was shining brightly! Jacob wanted to take me to one of his favorite parks in London, Regent’s Park, so we started to make our way there. We had to stop at a pub when we saw that they had takeaway pints for the park. We both grabbed a Camden Hells and made our way through Regent’s Park.

Can you imagine being able to walk through this park every day??

Next up on our list was shopping at Harrods! I was hoping to treat myself to a nice handbag while we were there but I wasn’t in love with anything. In the lower level there is a Harrods Gift Shop with much more reasonable prices 😉 I fell in love with this large tote bag and also got the matching cosmetic bag as a nice souvenir. We picked up a few other items for gifts for our friends and family while walking around the very large floor of Harrods souvenirs.

We left Harrods and made our way to Piccadilly Circus to walk around. It’s London’s version of New York City’s Time Square. We walked around enjoying the bustle of the street and did some window shopping. Piccadilly Circus is filled with so many restaurants and stores that you could spend the whole day here.

We chose to walk back to our hotel so we could walk past Big Ben one last time. For our last night, we decided to get dinner at the restaurant at our hotel and it was the perfect way to end the night. We got all dressed up and enjoyed a nice dinner and drink to celebrate our last night in London. We spent the dinner talking about our favorite parts of the trip and planning our next trip back! It was also hard to say goodbye to our beautiful hotel, The Royal Horseguards.

London Trip Day 8: Tower of London

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By day eight, we were exhausted from the time change and all the walking we had been doing. So we stayed in bed and ordered room service to the room. We had such an amazing hotel suite so I wanted to enjoy a slow morning enjoying it! When in London, you must have an English Breakfast at least once!

With a slow morning, we enjoyed our brekkie and some coffee before getting dressed for a full day of sightseeing. Be sure to pack layers because the weather is constantly changing! One thing that made this trip so eventful is we had our full itinerary planned in advance so we could fit so much into our days without feeling rushed to do everything. We tried to do one big thing a day and made time to walk around the area before heading to dinner. It also helped that Jake had been to London in the past and he knew what to do in a day to make sure we do a lot but not too overwhelming.

We walked to the Tower of London, a famous London monument, that was on our list of places to visit. In our heads, we had planned to be there for two hours max for some sightseeing before going to our next stop. We had no idea the property was so large with so much to see that we didn’t even see everything. The Tower of London has a lot of historical significance which is why I originally wanted to go but there were a lot of other exhibits; torture, weapons, jewels, etc. to see.

We left the Tower of London with plans to visit again because we could spend hours walking around the large property. Next on our itinerary was dinner at the Sherlock Holmes pub that everyone includes on lists of things to do in London. I hate to be that person to pop that bubble, but it’s fun to walk past and walk in to see the decor, but I found it not worth the hype. The wait was too long for a table to sit and eat and I was secretly relieved. We grabbed a beer at the bar and decided to walk around to find another pub to eat dinner at. One thing I LOVE about London is there are so many pubs with amazing decor and themes to choose from. It seems like everyone after work goes to a pub to grab a pint with their friends and I wish we had that in America.

Since we were hungry but not starving, we decided to walk through the neighborhood, Covent Garden. The neighborhood is appropriately named because just like other parts of London, there are parks every few blocks. Whenever we found a park, I would insist we walk through it to enjoy the greenery because I love how neighborhoods are developed around green spaces. It’s something I also wish we had more of back at home because it was so lovely to walk through. Jake had been to a restaurant in this area on his last trip so we took the long way to do some sightseeing and see The Royal Opera House. Next trip I hope we can find a reason to go inside!

There are plenty of amazing restaurants the challenge is which one to pick. After a week of pubs, we got dinner at an Italian restaurant, Cafe Concerto, and it was such a fun vibe! I love the pubs but it was nice to get some pasta and a cocktail. They had my new go-to, Pornstar Martini on the menu so I was a very happy girl! Some days we had dinner reservations but my favorite dinners were ones we just walked around to sightsee and picked a place when we were hungry.

With a full belly, we made our way to Trafalgar Square, another must-see when in London. The city was alive at night it was hard to walk back to our hotel even though we were both exhausted. There’s so much to do and by now I was starting to be able to walk around and still find our hotel. Luckily, to find our hotel you just needed to find Big Ben since our hotel was next door. A part of me wanted to stay out and grab another drink, but I was happy to get comfy in our hotel room because we had a busy day planned for the next day too!

London Trip: Day 7 Kensington Palace

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Each morning I fell in love with our hotel suite even more! We would call room service for tea or coffee to enjoy while we got ready for the day. With a busy day ahead of us, we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to make our way to Kensington Palace.

We were lucky to get a sunny day to visit Kensington Palace. There was an exhibit at Kensington Palace when we visited, From Crowns to Couture, featuring some looks from years past MET Balls and some historical royal fashions to see how trends have changed over the years. It was an amazing exhibit that even Jacob enjoyed and allowed us to walk around the palace. The pictures do not fully capture how historical and amazing this building is.

After we toured the inside of the palace, we made our way to the Kensington Cafe to get some tea and scones before we toured the palace grounds. Have you ever seen a cuter tea set?? I promised myself I would start drinking more tea once I got back home to the States.

Kensington Palace is located next to Hyde Park so we made our way back to our hotel through the park. We came across a cafe by the lake and got Pimms to enjoy while walking which was a nice treat! We kept joking about how different parks are in Europe because they invest in their upkeep and the wildlife is abundant. We had to keep pausing for ducks to cross the walking paths and the swans run the parks and they know it! I love our parks in Philly but there is really nothing like the parks in London here in the States. It may be one of my favorite parts of our visit because everywhere you looked, there was something else to fall in love with or see.

Peter Pan Statue

We quickly changed into something warmer to walk around and find a Pub to eat dinner. There is a pub on every corner in London and you can’t go wrong. We ended up at the Horse and Guardsman and I’m happy we did because the decor was everything I imagined a British pub to be!

We walked back to our hotel as the sun was setting and I just held Jacob’s hand as we walked saying to myself, “I can’t believe we are here”. Seeing the city lit up at night, cars driving by, and the hustle of the city brought me so much joy to be a part of.