We were invited by some family to go to Greece this Spring (sans kids). We immediately said yes and got to booking flights. It has been on my bucket list for years! We flew through Heathrow airport, it was a quick and easy layover. We had just enough time for a coffee from a cute little van before boarding the last leg to Athens. The British blackberry gin on the flight was to die for. We flew British Airways, the service was impeccable!
We arrived in Athens around 2p. My nephew Mathew and his girlfriend Shreya were already there waiting to take us to a beach club before dinner.
We had dinner at a perfect little spot and watched the sunset. The food was delicious. It was a great first evening!
The next day we walked around town and visited the Athens National garden. I loved the turtles! They had so much personality.
We saw the changing of the guard at the Presidential mansion, that was pretty cool.
There were so many beautiful churches everywhere. I loved this tiny church near Syntagma Square "Church of the Agia Dynami (Holy Power) with a big building (I think it was a hotel) around it.
We had lunch at a cute rooftop restaurant in Plaka that had a view of the acropolis. Their freddo espressos were SO good!
We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and exploring Plaka. It was such a cute little town with lots of shopping and cafes.
That evening we went spent a couple of hours at the Acropolis Museum before dinner. That was fascinating.
We had dinner at a rooftop restaurant with a view of the Acropolis. The food was great and the view was even better!
The following day we drove a few hours to the Port of Kyllini and took an hour (ish) ferry to Zakynthos island. We stopped at a cute little cafe on the way. The owners of the cafe were locals and they were the nicest people. The freddo cappuccinos were delicious too!
The ferry was spacious and very comfortable. It was fun to see all the little islands along the way.
The view of Zakynthos from the ferry was picturesque. The water was stunning. The ferry came into the Zante town main port. We rented cars, stopped by the store for some dinner items, and drove to our villa.
We stayed in Amoudi. The villa was gorgeous and had a view of the sea. There was a short walk to a small beach area and some bars and restaurants.
Lance perfected the coffee making. I had delicious espressos by the pool every morning.
Lance woke up early every morning and would walk down to the water and watch the sunrise. He got some gorgeous pics!
The first morning in Zakynthos Lance, Peter and I drove a short ways to Alykanas Beach. We wandered around looking at boats and beach clubs, and walked on the beach. We even saw this big turtle swimming around.
Later that afternoon we brought the rest of the family back to the beach for some snorkeling and sun bathing. A couple of Mythos may have been consumed as well. 😜
The next day we drove into Limni Keri and chartered a boat from Big Blue boat rentals.
We started at Shipwreck beach and worked our way back down to the Keri caves.
The captain was amazing and spent all day showing us the most beautiful cliffs and caves along the coastline.
Shipwreck beach was absolutely beautiful. No one is allowed on the beach so the boats take turns getting close to the ship to take pictures.
The lifeguard boat was pretty cool! Luckily we never saw him doing any work.
The water was unreal shades of turquoise and blues. It was crazy how far into the cave we could take the boat.
We stopped to swim and snorkel here. On the other side we could swim into a cave. It was so cold, but the water was so blue and clear. Amazing!
After spending the day on the boat we were water logged and wind blown. We stopped at a seaside bar for some Mythos beers and seafood. Lance got sardines. 😶
We had a personal chef cook us dinner at the villa one night. Katiaifi and salad to start, then lamb followed by baklava for dessert.
Lance and I walked to breakfast one morning. The view was beautiful and the homemade bread was still warm from the oven.
We spent a day shopping on Alexander Roma Street and St Markos Square. We had a delicious mango cheesecake and found lots of souveneirs.
We had the most amazing gyros at Milo's restaurant. They put french fries in them!
That evening we walked to dinner from the villa. We ate at Amoudi Seaside and literally sat seaside. It was a gorgeous place and the food was amazing as well.
The corner store near our villa sold homemade wine and olive oil! We didn't discover this until late so unfortunately never got to try it.
We walked in the evening and went to a fun bar for a nightcap.
We had so much fun on the Big Blue boat that we decided to rent our own boat one day and see the other side of the island.
We did lots of swimming and some cliff jumping. Lance loved driving through the caves.
On our last night we had dinner at The Mill for "Greek night." There was a huge BBQ meal, lots of drinks, fire dancing, plate smashing, and many conga lines. Lance may or may not have been thrown in the pool. 🤣I mean, it was his 50th birthday!
We had an amazing time to say the least. I wish we had more time to explore other islands! I'm already planning the next Greek trip...
