Part 1: June 9-14: Munich, Germany
Part 2: June 14-20: Skyros, Greece & Athens, Greece
Part 3: June 20-24: Corfu, Greece

The entire Maystadlian Vacation originated from a wedding! Mike’s mom’s best friend’s son and his fiancé were getting married in Skyros, a small Greek island where the groom’s father grew up. Kristy was invited and Mandy magically got the rest of us invited, too! If we were going to fly overseas for a very large, 3-day wedding event, we figured we might as well make a whole trip out of it. We discussed options and decided to start in Munich, head to Skyros, and wrap up in Corfu after a quick stop through Athens.

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

We woke up at 4:45am, not ideal for having been out late eating and drinking at a Michelin star restaurant the night before. C’est la vie. Mike and I packed up, checked every nook and cranny of the room as we do, and met Kristy and Patrick in the lobby at 5:30am. Mike left his old suitcase in the hotel room with a note, written in German and English, to trash, keep, or donate. I had the brilliant suggestion to be sure he left the bag *open* in the room as not cause any alarms! The 4 of us walked to the S Bahn train, with Mandy and Brian close behind.

The train ride was quick. I read, but was very tired. I find airports fairly easy to get around if you follow the signs, but our group of 6 was a strong group full of alphas and there was a lot of pulling in different directions. Language barriers do not help, either. We all smartly split up by couple to make it easier getting around. Either way, we made it to and through security and to the gate. Mandy and Brian went to the airline lounge while Mike and I grabbed a snack. The kiosk guy was super nice and filled my water bottle for me and the sandwich we got was very delicious. Or, I was very hungry. Kristy and Patrick joined us at the gate shortly after.

We had an hour until we boarded our 4 hour flight to Athens. I read, of course, to continue progress on my series. The book had sucked me in by that point and I was reading every free minute I had. Strangers kept talking me and I did not want to be unpleasant… but I wanted to read! We boarded and I asked Mike to let me read, regroup, and recharge during the flight. I ended up sleeping for more than half the flight. I felt bad for Mike because he did not sleep.

We landed in Athens and it was… chaos. Athens = chaos. Athens airport = double chaos. Plus, we all travel differently which only added to the chaos. We made it to baggage claim and Mike’s brand new, 12 hour old, proudly made in Europe, expensive Samsonite suitcase’s top handle was BROKEN. Broken. Not the part that extends and you pull from, but the part where you grab to pick up the suitcase. A very annoying part. He was rightly and visibly upset. What an unbelievable thing to have happen! I sent a tweet to Samsonite and Lufthansa (airline), but never heard back. He had to live with the bag being that way the rest of the trip and that was really frustrating for him. I called Samsonite when we got back to the USA and we sent the bag to get repaired. (Note: The bag was returned but not repaired properly as the handle did not lay flat anymore. We complained and sent it for round 2 of repairs.)

It was another, shorter, flight to Skyros. We checked our bags with the new airlines and went on a search for food. Mike and I wanted a gyro but they only had plates, not wraps. The sandwich we settled on had a sad gut-to-bread ratio but it was okay. Everyone did their own thing for food and making their way to the new gate. Security was a nightmare. Athens = chaos. There was still a lot of time before our next flight; I read.

Our gate area was small because the plane was one of those small, sardine planes. Everyone in the area was clearly headed to the wedding, too. The bride and groom went to school at Alabama so it was easy to spot who the wedding guests were. That is awful to say, I know. Kristy ran into the groom’s sister and aunt and introduced us. Given that Skyros is not a tourist-centric island, there was only 1 flight a day that held probably 50 people. For context moving forward: the families invited *250* people to the wedding and wedding-related activities.

Everything was a little delayed. We “boarded” the transport bus first that took us to the plane. It all reminded me of flying to Acapulco from Mexico City. We boarded the plane and off we went. It was a short 30 minute ride, yet somehow the flight attendant managed to do drink service with a delicious snack. Color me impressed. Our window views were pretty spectacular, too: clear blue waters and beautiful islands. We had originally entertained the idea of taking a ferry to the island, but I was very happy we flew instead.

Once again, it was chaos when we landed. The airport was quite possibly the smallest airport I had ever been to, only aiding the chaos. There were at least 25 people waiting to greet us, a mix of friends, family, taxi drivers, and car rental employees, which also added to the chaos. Mike and I booked a rental car because we were told taxis may be difficult to get over the next few days given how many people were attending the wedding festivities and limited flights and ferries to/from the island. I grabbed our bags while he checked out the car. Everyone else found their taxis or rides and started making their way to their hotels.

Mike did great driving the manual rental car! He could not figure out how to reverse but the car was on a small incline and we let nature take over. From there, it took a second to remember the skill, but it was like riding a bike and he was fine. We followed Kristy’s taxi for the 20 minute drive to the hotel and enjoyed the beautiful views. Well, I did. Mike focused on the small, winding roads. We knew we were in Greece when we turned a corner and saw a hill of the classic white houses! The car stalled out when we arrived at the hotel, but that was the one and only time it happened. Success!

Our hotel, the Perigiali, was a short, steep walk down a hill. It was beautiful and the staff was so welcoming. We all checked in and got settled in our rooms. We had last pick of the rooms, but I think ended up having the best one with the best view. There was a little welcome bag for us with wine, bread, honey, and an itinerary for the wedding festivities. Very cute and helpful considering we were unfamiliar with the island. Fun fact: when we booked our rooms more than 6+ months ago, we got the last 3 rooms available!

It was about 5pm by this point and while we were getting tired, the excitement from finally getting to Greece and being somewhere so beautiful kept us going. Mike and I wasted no time and immediately changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool bar. George, a man of many jobs at the hotel, was our bartender. Mike and I snacked, drank, socialized with George, and soaked in the Greek air and views. Slowly, more and more people joined us. I finally met Stephanie, the groom’s mom/Mike’s mom’s best friend, and more of their family.

We had a few rounds and settled before walked over to a nearby hotel where a lot of the family and more of their friends were hanging out. I met the groom and thanked him for inviting us to the wedding. It probably was not his decision, but I was thankful nonetheless.

There were “feral” cats everywhere! I put feral in quotes because a real feral cat would not come near a person, but these cats would lounge wherever and could not be bothered with humans. It made me miss my little outdoor babies at home!

Stephanie had drinks for everyone and cheese from the groom’s uncle. It was all delicious. Our hotel was not directly on the beach. However, this particular hotel was right on the water so we took the opportunity to get our toes wet and explore.

The bar snacks and cheese were not filling us up and we were getting hungry. I asked Stephanie where we could eat and she recommended a place only a 2 minute walk away, Stefano’s. Mike, Mandy, Brian, and I walked over and Kristy and Patrick joined us a little bit later. We decided to share a bunch of dishes so we could try more things. The Greek salad was, as expected, delightful. The tzatziki was incredible. The restaurant overlooked the east coast at the Aegean Sea, giving us a nice view of the sunset (yes, I realize the sun sets in the west).

It had been an early morning and long day of flights and getting settled. We were tired, but so excited to be in Greece. We finished dinner then went back to the hotel for a few more drinks. I do not know how late we were up, but probably a little after 11pm. There were no plans for the next day, meaning we did not have to set any alarm clocks! I showered and finally crawled into bed, very grateful and happy to be in Greece!

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Apparently, I scared the crap out of Mike in the middle of the night. I woke up to use the restroom and, not remembering where I was, stood in the middle of the room, as if I was possessed, before realizing where I was. Oops! Other than that, I slept great.

Mike was up at 6am sharp and ready to party. He made his way down to the beach around 6:30am and I stayed in bed for about another hour before going to join him. When I arrived, he had been stacking rocks (and named the activity ‘rocknstackin’) and listening to podcasts. I made myself comfortable next to him and read my book. It was very nice to just sit and be. He got in the water at one point and more power to him because I knew it was cold as ice. That would be a no from me. Soaking up the sun on the sand felt much more my style.

After a few hours, we walked back to the hotel for breakfast. The food was tasty and Mike was happy to have coffee. The orange juice was perfect and the sour cherry juice was surprisingly delicious. The pool did not open until 10am so we sat and chatted at breakfast. We had our butts in pool chairs at 10am sharp, though! There were no plans for the day so we settled in poolside and read, ate, and drank all day. The margaritas came in martini glasses and were difficult not to spill! Mike swam (the pool water was too cold for me), and I really enjoyed sitting there and reading my book in silence. His family came and went all throughout the day, doing their own things too. It was a very relaxing, peaceful day of nothing. The most disruption came from the sun and us having to shuffle chairs or umbrellas. I wanted to get a tan, but we both had to be very, very, very careful not to sunburn. We scheduled engagement pictures in Corfu and I did not want us looking like tomatoes in them.

We went back to our room around 4pm to get ready for the first wedding event: an evening boat cruise. The itinerary listed out where we needed to be and when including shuttle bus locations and run times. Super convenient! We met up with the family and made the short walk to the shuttle bus pick-up spot. It was our first time seeing most of the wedding guests; people were going all-out on their outfits. A lot were already burned, some more than others. People were late to arrive and get going and it was chaos. Mandy, Brian, Mike, and I had a separate “kids” WhatsApp chat going and we sent jokes back and forth to keep ourselves entertained.

The port for the boat cruise was about 20 minutes away from the hotel at Skyros Linaria, a fishing village. There was even MORE chaos when we arrived. There were so. many. people. The bride and groom arrived when everyone else did which blew my mind. If I were them, I would have arrived well before everyone else! They had a photographer taking pictures and arriving earlier would have meant 1) plenty of pictures before everyone got there and 2) being able to greet everybody upon arrival. Chaos.

Everyone boarded and of course headed straight to the bar for drinks. The bar area was on the main level and in a very tight space making it tough to access, but the bartenders moved FAST and kept things going. Their pours were huge. And strong. Very strong. I was going to order wine, but when I saw them pour Brian’s gin and tonic, I switched to a vodka soda. ROI, people!

The 6 of us found and claimed a table on the top level. It was the perfect spot for us! We could enjoy the weather and had plenty of room. I think I would have felt claustrophobic if we had to sit downstairs. I liked being able to see the landscapes, water, and sunset from our spot.

The only downside about sitting upstairs was that it was the only space for Greek dancing. We all got pulled in at some point, which was fun! But, how many times can a person dance in a circle… on a boat… until needing to sit down?! For me, not many. For others, no limit.

The boat cruised around on the west side of the island and dropped anchor near an island the groom’s dad and his family visited a lot growing up. It was a meaningful place for them that they wanted to share with all of the guests. They put a buffet out of incredible food and everyone ate up. We needed it after those heavily poured drinks. It was nice to be parked, but that was when all the bugs and bees came out. I had never been stung by a bee (or wasp, or anything) before and it was not about to happen on that boat. Nope.

Eventually, we got going again and headed back to the port. They had scheduled a cocktail party at 9pm for anyone not attending or not invited to the boat cruise. Everyone at the cocktail party bar cheered for us when we finally docked at 9:50pm. Operating on Greek time, baby! It was a short walk to the already-packed outdoor bar. They had a limited offering of drinks which was really frustrating, but I understood the logistics. Unfortunately, one of those drinks was a mojito and for some reason, the bar thought it would be wise to muddle every mojito one by one. Big sigh. I ordered 4 Aperol spritz to make it easy. Not my favorite drink. When we met up with the groom’s aunts, she was like “hell no” and managed to get me wine. It was nice knowing people with leverage!

The 6 of us plus the aunts sat off in a back corner away from the youngers. It was a fun time hanging out, but we were all getting tired. The shuttle bus back to the hotels was supposed to leave at 10:30pm (i.e., 11:30pm Greek time). We tried to get people to board the bus so we could get going! Mike and Brian high-fived people as they got on to get them hyped to go home. It was very entertaining. A drunk guy sat behind us and I had the most bizarre conversation with him. In one moment, he was “over me” (because I could not understand his slurred question) and in another moment, I was his “favorite person here” (because I made a joke). He seemed so drunk I would have been surprised if he remembered anything about our conversation the next day.

We were home and in bed by midnight. Once again, I slept very well.

Friday, June 16, 2023

I shockingly sept until a little after 10am. Mike had gone to get breakfast and I chilled in the room. Just as I finished getting my swimsuit on to prepare for another day of nothing, Mike came back and said his parents wanted to go to town. That sounded good to me! I changed clothes and the 4 of us were off. Patrick drove the manual car this time, partly because I think he wanted to and partly because he and Kristy had gone to town the day before and knew where to go.

Skyros Chora (chora = “village”) was a quick drive away. We walked up and down agora (the main street), popping into different shops and exploring. It was our first real encounter with the classic white buildings and blue roofs and it was so beautiful and picturesque. It was hot as hell in the sun, but there were enough shaded areas to make it comfortable. I was so obsessed with the vibrant pink and purple flowers, too. Gorgeous.

Somehow, we ended up hiking up to the Byzantine Castle. Our brains foolishly thought, “surely it is not that far away.” We learned. Chora had a “walking tour” of different sites, that we were not officially on, and we were able to see a few of those stops on our trek to the top. I do not have the brain capacity to look up every place we stopped, but I took pictures of the signs along the way in case that ever changes.

The castle was built on the highest point of Skyros and not all areas were shaded. We were *roasting* and absolutely drenched in sweat. All of us. It was quite the adventure! The signs were not always clear but at one turn, there were 2 old ladies on their own porches who pointed us in the right direction. They have probably seen thousands of people just like us get turned around.

It was hot, we were sweaty, but reaching the top was absolutely worth it. You could see forever in every direction. The castle itself had little left to it but it was nice to see and experience. I was very happy to be up there.

We hiked back down, making educated guesses on how to get back to town. At one turn, I noticed water running down an alley. I thought, “if we follow the water, we will get to the bottom.” It was a GENIUS thought because it led us directly to where we wanted to be and it took half the time with fewer twists and turns. Ya welcome. It was 1:30pm when we got back to town. We were all hurting a little bit and hungry. We chose, Mantzourana, a restaurant with rooftop seating and enjoyed a nice lunch. Everyone ordered a gyro. Whether it was because we were hungry or the restaurant was of excellent quality, we will never know, but that gyro was so delicious. A couple at a table next to us asked if we were in town for the wedding and we chatted with them for a bit, too.

We were back at the hotel by 2:30pm and wasted no time getting into swimsuits and parking ourselves back by the pool. I moved to our patio for silence so I could I finish book #2 and started book #3! I loved getting to explore the town and be active for the morning and equally loved getting to do nothing all afternoon. There was a wedding event in the afternoon, a Seaside Sip and Dip at Agkyra & Erma Beach Bar, but we chose to sit that out.

The next wedding event was the rehearsal dinner, which might have well been a full-on wedding reception. We got cleaned up, made our way to the shuttle, easily identified who went to the Seaside Sip & Dip based on burn lines and sobriety levels, and got bussed over to Aigaioris, the rehearsal dinner location.

It was breathtakingly beautiful with great photo ops. There were, once again, so many people. And, once again, a limited bar menu. They told us it was limited drinks for the 1st hour and then they would open it to full bar. And once again, the groom’s aunt shut that down and had them open the full bar. Hero. I had already had enough Ouzo to last a lifetime. It was time to move to wine.

They brought out the food and as I made a plate, I was told those were just the appetizers. There was so much food already! How could there be more coming? We ate our apps, drank, and enjoyed the views and weather. The couple we met at lunch joined us, but promptly left when the girl got too drunk. It was uncomfortable for everyone.

Waiters came around and passed out family-style portions of the main dishes: fish, fish, and fish. All delicious! As we ate, a few members of the wedding party and family gave sweet toasts. They opened up the dance floor shortly after. I love dancing at wedding and was ready to party, but the music was all Greek music and dancing in a circle. I eventually had to tap out. Luckily, that was around when dessert was served. I was too full to eat it but I tried a bite of Mike’s. Everyone said it was the single best dish they ate on the entire 2 week trip. Bold!

The first shuttle bus of the night was supposed to leave at 10:30pm. Mike, his parents, and I walked down the hill to catch it but it was not there. Right as we got down there, Mandy texted that they changed the music and Greek dancing was over, so we made our way back to the dance floor. Mike puked and rallied on our way back and Patrick found a drunk guy passed out by the entrance. What an adventure.

I accidentally got elbowed in the face on the dance floor and had to step away for a second which led a very entertaining moment in the bathroom. One of the aunts (by the way, I know the family member’s names… just trying to maintain some sort of privacy) was waiting in line by me and asked me how I knew the couple. I laughed and just said, “I don’t.” It took her a minute to realize she had not only spoken to me 100x already in the last few days, but that she had been sitting at the same table as me for dinner. She then identified me as “the one marrying Brian” and I had to correct her. I understood though; there were a lot of new names and faces and alcohol. No judgement, just entertaining.

The DJ announced the shuttle bus was leaving at 1am and we decided to head back. We recognized the wedding festivities were a marathon, not a sprint, and we wanted to be in tip-top shape for the wedding and wedding reception the next day. Mandy and Brian stayed back to party. I fell asleep instantly. Apparently I sleep better in Greece.

Saturday, June 17, 2023

I woke up around 9am feeling fresh and rested. Mike went for breakfast and I decided to stay in bed for a bit. We went to the beach afterward and rented beach chairs. It was overcast and windy, but not miserable. Mike stacked rocks and I read. Then it rained. The sun popped out every now and then, but it rained, rained, and rained some more. Kristy briefly joined us before it got too windy and we were over it.

We headed back to our room and decided to eat lunch at the hotel. The menu, however, was not appealing to us in that moment. Kristy and Patrick went to a restaurant down the beach, Juicy, so we walked over to join them. It was a cool little place right on the water with good food and drinks.

It was a slow afternoon. I read by the pool for a few more hours. When I started nodding off, I went back to our room and ended up taking almost an hour nap. Doing nothing was exhausting, apparently. I woke up at 4pm and we got ready for the wedding. The weather had cleared up quite a bit, too! (famous last words)

The controversial dress code was black tie optional and we all looked super sharp! Kristy, Mandy, Brian, and Mike headed to the shuttle and admired everyone’s formal attire as they loaded onto the bus. It very much felt like Greece Fashion Week.

Patrick had decided to skip and meet us at the reception later, which ended up being a smart call as it eventually rained on us. It was a 20 minute bus ride to the Saint Nicholas Holy Orthodox Church and the bus was obviously late leaving. The church was near the port and I truly thought our bus driver was going to drive us into the water with the way he drove. Terrified. We then had to switch to a smaller bus to get up the hill to the actual church.

We knew going into the wedding that the church only sat 40 people, meaning only the wedding party and immediately family would be inside. Everyone else would have to wait outside in the courtyard. However, we still wanted to go because the trip originated from the wedding… we could not skip it! They had snacks, drinks, Ouzo, programs, and fans for everyone. Luckily, it was not hot out. We admired the views and waited for the large wedding party to arrive.

It ended up being great that we were stuck outside because the Greek Orthodox Bishop they flew in from Atlanta insisted the church be in its “original” state meaning he did not let them turn the air condition on. Everyone inside was miserable. As the ceremony went on, the storm clouds returned. Shortly after it ended and we all threw rose petals at them, the rain started. I snapped a photo of inside the church before quickly making our our way to the bus. The bus driver was too busy enjoying the snacks and taking pictures of the newlyweds to unlock the doors so we could stay dry. The evening was downhill from there.

The bus took us down the hill and to the *outdoor* reception venue, the Kavoures Beach Restaurant. It rained the whole way. When we got to the venue, Patrick was already there along with a LOT of other guests who did not go to the ceremony or who had driven themselves. For whatever reason, our bus driver would not let us off of the bus. Initially, we assumed it was because the busses behind us had the wedding party and he was letting them go first. Sure, that made sense. Then, he got off the bus and started helping people out of taxis and directing cars. WTF?! The 20 or so of us on the bus were going crazy. Finally, after at least 15 minutes, Kristy had enough and honked the horn and he came rushing over. He asked us why we would want to get off the bus if it was raining, implying that he thought he was doing us a favor keeping us on the hot, humid bus. Dude, no.

The reception venue was cute as hell. The decorations stunning and the overall vibe was so awesome. You could tell how much work went into it, and it was a shame it was all covered in tarps and being rained on. There were limited covered areas we could huddle under. It was miserable. The poor logistics made me cranky.

• The bar was covered, but once again making mojitos one at a time. It was impossible to get a drink. So much so, that one of the aunts went next door to get a glass of wine! It was not until they opened the full bar where drinks started to flow a little more quickly.
• The tarps were covering the tables. Tables that were UNDER a pergola. Why were the tarps not ON the pergola to create more shelter and make those tables usable?
• Some food was out, but covered with tarps so we could not eat yet.
• The women’s restroom had no toilet seat.
• There was rumor they had the option to switch venues back to the rehearsal dinner location (which had a large covered area) when they heard there was a chance of rain, but they chose not to. While maddening, I also understood wanting things a certain way and at certain places. My cousin got married in a field at a park on a mountain in Colorado. It was pouring rain and she was insistent they get married in the field vs in one of the covered areas. The bride gets what the bride wants and the rest of us just need to fall into line. Again, while frustrating to know we COULD HAVE been dry in Skyros, I understood.

I do not know how, but Patrick finally got things moving along when there was a brief break in the rain. He tracked the weather and somehow managed to work with the owner to get drinks and food going. Our table was in an uncovered area, so we were one of the first to get food. Whew. We sat exposed and it sprinkled on and off, but we were able to eat and drink and that perked me up. We love a wine carafe for the table, folks. Brian stole an umbrella from the bathroom and Patrick had packed one so when it inevitably started raining again, I (and many other women there) used a napkin on my head to stay dry. By that point, the alcohol had made me care less. I fed a cat our leftover meat until the 6 of us decided we were over the weather and we got taxis back to the hotel. It was disappointing not to get to dance all night and really enjoy the reception and it made me wish we had stayed out longer the night before. Mandy and Brian had the right idea after all! The rain was a bummer but hopefully the bride and groom had a great time. We heard later that people stayed out pretty late, so maybe the evening turned around.

At the hotel, we decided to change into comfortable clothes then meet in the lobby to kick off Phase 10. It ended up being a really fun evening! We drank, played cards, and ate ice cream. We did not want to keep George up forever though and eventually called it a night.

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Sunday was, unfortunately, our final day in Skyros. Another rainy day, too. I magically did not have a hangover but my whole body physically hurt so much. I truly did not know why. We showered, packed, and checked out of the hotel up before meeting everyone for lunch at Stefano’s again. We had too many fries and the burger was tasty, but I bored and tired and ate too much. There was still another hour until we needed to leave for the airport so we hung out in the hotel lobby, which thankfully gave us a chance to see Stephanie and her family again to thank them for inviting us and say our goodbyes. Despite the rain, it was a really great visit and I had both a fun and relaxing time. It was sad to say goodbye to such a lovely place!

We loaded up in taxis and our rental car and drove to the airport. Mike did a great job driving, again! The airport experience was something else. Obviously everyone there was coming from the wedding and some people looked to be in rough shape. The bag-check, security, and check-in process were long and slow. As annoying as that can be, I do not get annoyed when there is nothing that can be done. Everyone (the youths) was asking questions and trying to see what was going on, but it was like… I have been to restaurants bigger than that airport, we were all going to get on the ONE flight, and it was what it was. No point getting upset. The only mind boggling thing was seeing how people travel and how unaware and unprepared they were. Good grief.

It was a short flight back to Athens. *shudders*

We grabbed our bags and found our driver. Kristy, very smartly and kindly, arranged transportation to and from the Athens airport for us. It made getting out of the airport and to our Airbnb very easy. 6 people with 6 large suitcases PLUS carry-ons would be difficult in regular taxis. The driver was super nice and friendly, too. He navigated the city like a pro.

We arrived at our Airbnb a little after 6pm. The host met us there to help show us around and get settled. The outside looked shady as hell and the elevator scared the crap out of me, but the actual inside of the apartment was great! The patio had a view of the Acropolis! We picked rooms, Mike and I got the one with 2 twin size beds, and settled in. We were only in Athens for 2 nights and it was not worth making a fuss over.

We had a brilliant idea to get food delivered to the Airbnb and eat on the patio overlooking the Acropolis. The guys would go out for alcohol, and the women would place the food order online (from Savvas, a place recommended to us by our driver) and figure that process out. It all went sideways when the delivery app would not take our American credit card. We tried calling the restaurant and they hung up on us. Welp.

The guys scoped out the restaurant on their outing in an effort to place a to-go order instead. Their experience was not great, so they decided to come back to the Airbnb, collect us, and have us all go out to dinner instead. Unfortunately, that meant we now had a lot of alcohol we were unlikely to get through during our short stay. Everyone was hungry and getting cranky. We knew European restaurants took forever and the idea of waiting another hour plus for food was not appealing, but our options were limited. Off we went. It was a short walk through a busy area. They were able to seat us on the roof which was actually pretty nice. We were all quiet and hangry until the food came out shockingly fast. The winning dish: loaded tater tots with lamb. 10/10, love loaded tots. We all perked up from there. It was a true miracle we got in and out of there in less than an hour and a half!

It was late, but we were fueled now. I absolutely hated walking through Athens at night. The whole place gave me anxiety and bad vibes. I wanted to just get back to the Airbnb to continue our Phase 10 game and enjoy some drinks on the patio with the Acropolis lit up behind us.

Maybe it was the long travel day or that we had hit the halfway mark in the trip, but he group vibe in Athens already felt off. Freakin’ Athens.

Monday, June 19, 2023

I woke up early to shower and get ready before everyone else. They all showered the night before, but I am a morning-shower person and wanted to be finished and out of the way by the time they woke up. Kristy and Patrick picked up breakfast at Artos Venetis, a bakery around the corner and it was delicious!

Kristy, once again, smartly and kindly, booked us a tour bus and guide who picked us up at 8am sharp. Our tour guide, Katie, was great! As our Dachau guide did, Katie gave us a history of Athens as we made our way to the Acropolis. She had so many educational and fun facts for us along the way; there was no way I was going to remember everything AND pay attention. The things that stood out were:

• The excess graffiti is because kids have no green space in the city and are bored. Sure.
• There is currently a huge nightlife in Athens because of Covid. People do not necessarily want to stay up for longer hours, but allowing so gives them an opportunity for their business to make more money.
• We have invented nothing. Everything comes from Greek culture. All of our words, ideas, everything originated from Greek. Katie told us 100x in 100 different contexts, we have invented nothing. It was kind of funny but a little depressing, no?

We arrived at the Acropolis around 8:30am. It was already packed, so I was glad we started there. Also, stopping there first allowed us to try and beat the overwhelming dry heat. Katie said they had more visiting cruise ships than ever since Covid restrictions relaxed making the Acropolis even busier than before. The line was not too long, though, and we were on our way in no time.

I visited Athens in 2016 and left thinking the Acropolis was incredible, but the city itself did little-to-nothing for me. My opinion in 2023 did not change. The Acropolis will always take your breath away and I was so glad to see it again, but more for the rest of the family to see it. Katie did a fantastic job explaining everything we could ever want to know, and then some.

We left the Acropolis around 10am and headed toward the Acropolis Museum, somewhere I did not get to visit in 2016. The museum was very cool and gave us a chance to see a lot of artifacts up close. It was overwhelming how much there was to see, but having Katie walk us through it was great because she was able to call out the most interesting or historically important things. It was really sad to hear about how much of Greek architecture and history was stolen and taken to other countries who now will not return it. It was incredible to see the few bits Athenians did have, but it would have been way cooler if they were allowed to own everything and have the full constructed pieces.

We grabbed a quick lunch at o Gyos Pou Gyrevis (for gyros, of course) before continuing on. Every restaurant in that area was clearly marketed for tourists. All were advertised as “the most authentic Greek food” or “best Greek food in town.” No doubt any of the places we went to would have been delightful!

The next part of the tour was mostly drive-bys of other historical landmarks: the Olympic Stadium, Constitution Square, National Library, etc. I think we went on the exact same bus route as my visit in 2016, so here an excerpt from my blog post 6 years ago:

“The bus took us past the Temple of Zeus, the first Olympic and only marble stadium, the National Gardens, St. Paul’s Church, Constitution Square, the Academy of Athens, the National Library, and several marble statues and Roman baths.”

We were exhausted and back at the Airbnb by 2pm. The fact was, no matter the very interesting history of Athens (not sarcasm, it was very interesting!), there just was not much to do or see outside of the Acropolis and Acropolis museum. There was no point continuing on when we were clearly spent. It was disappointing to hear later in the night that there were things people still wanted to see or do. I could only hope I did not play a leading role in ending the day early and having someone else miss out on what they wanted to do. I would have kept going if others did.

Instead, we all relaxed and did our own things, mostly in silence, for the afternoon. I read for 4 hours and stretched, finishing book #3. Brian had been to Athens before, but finally everyone understood why, during the planning process, I insisted we not spend more than 1 day there. Athens does not need more than 1 day.

Almost everyone napped except me because I was so engrossed in my book. We had dinner reservations at Kuzina, a place the wine guy at our Munich hotel recommended, and we were looking forward to that. We were hungry!

It was a short walk over to the restaurant and we were seated just outside the kitchen which was actually kind of cool. It allowed us to see the different foods and watch the process. It definitely kept me distracted as the family navigated the first real conflict of the trip. There were several points of failure that led up to the regrettable incident, more than one person cried, more than one person left the restaurant at various times, words were exchanged of varying tones and emotions. I did my best to stay silent.

The restaurant was cute and the food was incredible. The tasting menu was a great way to try several dishes, but the stand out item was the dessert. 15/10 – wow. It definitely out ranked the dessert from the rehearsal dinner in my opinion.

The overall experience was a little tense and awkward, despite how much wine I drank to ignore it. There were conversations about finishing our in-progress Phase 10 game back at the Airbnb, but the energy was not there. All of us were over it and immediately went into our separate spaces. I learned later that the core family had a chat on the patio to deep dive into the evening’s turn of events. It was great they took the opportunity to talk given that we had 4 more vacation days left that we all wanted to make the most of. Freakin’ Athens.

We had another driver picking us up early in the morning to return us to the airport to catch our flight to Corfu, Greece: our final vacation location!

Until next time,

Jillian