My Big Fat Greek Journey

Needless to say, after my experience in Budapest where the people are as cold as its weather, I was so happy to be in Greece, where warmth exudes from both the sun and the friendly people.

After sitting in the airport all day on Friday so as to avoid the harsh people of Budapest, I caught my flight to Athens that evening. I can't even begin to describe the feeling I had when I landed in Greece. I had an overwhelming sense of relief to be in a place I had been looking forward to my entire trip.

I hadn't been to Greece in 7 years, and although I don't really remember specifics from the trip, I do remember absolutely loving Greece. I was so excited to see it again since I've matured and could really appreciate the history of this incredible country.

We spent 2 days in Greece seeing the sites - the Acropolis area, the temples, the Agora - and walking around the side streets exploring the markets and shops. We enjoyed relaxing lunches and dinners, full of fun Greek music and people.

Finally made it to the top of the Acropolis!

A cute market near the Parliament building

Zeus' temple

Archway to Zeus' temple

I stumbled into a flea market full of beautiful antiques

I loved the little side streets of the city

Zeus' temple

Zeus' temple

Part of Parliament

Greece's Parliament building

I loved the little Greek Orthodox churches scattered throughout the city

Another temple

An ancient bust of Zeus

Aphrodite

An ancient theater

Parthenon

Athena's original temple

An old theater near the Parthenon

An old library

On Sunday, we hopped on a flight to the island of Kefalonia. When making our reservations, we had decided that we wanted our trip to the island to be focused on just lying on the beach and doing nothing, so we booked a villa near the beach. After arriving at the villa, we realized we were in an isolated area of the island. Although beautiful, there were no restaurants around for us to even eat at and the wifi in our villa was pretty spotty.

We made a sporadic decision to call a taxi and head 15 minutes up the island to Kefalonia's capital city, Argostoli. On Monday we spent the day literally walking the island. We started in Argostoli and followed the water for about an hour, walking along the hilly coastline. We saw the island's lighthouse and enjoyed the beautiful waters. After this, we grabbed lunch and explored the cute little beach town of Argostoli. We popped into shops and walked along the water the opposite direction towards a beautiful lagoon area.

Part of the walkway near the water

Argostoli is also a port town 

An old reservoir where the water mysteriously goes through the earth and appears on the other side of the island

Along our walk, I loved taking in all of the beautiful scenery. I just couldn't believe how breathtaking Greece is! Taking long walks is my favorite way to clear my mind and relax, and this walk was stunning.

After living in England, I've come to appreciate the beauty of the poppy and was surprised to see it everywhere in Greece!

An old church I ran into. It was so picturesque!

An old empty house structure I saw on my walk

What most of the roads I walked along looked like

Kefalonia was beautiful - the water, the weather, the people. Our visit was during off-peak season and I believe we were the only tourists in the city. Rather than being distant and cold like the Eastern Europeans we had encountered earlier in the week, the people of Greece were so incredibly welcoming, making us feel as though we were literally a part of their families. Slight communication barriers didn't seem to stop them from making us feel loved and appreciated so the hospitality everywhere we went was absolutely amazing.

This trip didn't disappoint. It was just the relaxing break I needed after spending days in cold climates full of unfriendly people. Everything about my trip to Greece was amazing. I enjoyed lots of tzatziki, ouzo, carafes of wine, and galaktobureko, so of course I was automatically in a great mood. 

After being around such hostile people elsewhere, the Greeks taught me such an important lesson. I forgot how the simplest things - a smile, a wave - can make a person's day. Everywhere I went, every person I saw had a big smile on and just seemed so content. It reminded me how contagious good attitudes are and reminded me to always keep mine in check.

It's so easy for me to get bogged down by silly things, but the people of Greece reminded me that a smile and carefree attitude can instantly turn my own, and others', days around.