Greece 2019

Greece | Jun 15 - Jun 26, 2019

We traveled to Greece early June 2019. Harris was our Kim Kim local specialist who helped us plan the trip. He was always responsive and helped us refine the trip down to each detail. He was in touch with us throughout the trip as well, providing tips and suggestions , making sure everything was going as planned and problem solving as needed. Our trip was in two parts. The first part was just two of us traveling in the Peloponnese Peninsula with a car rental. The boutique hotels we stayed in were perfectly comfortable and friendly, with a lovely breakfast . The breakfast at the hotel in Napflio (Amymone and Andiande suites) included everything fresh from the owner's farm. In Mystra, ( Mazaraki Guest House) our breakfast was served in a basket delivered to our room so we could eat on our balcony overlooking the beautiful valley. All historical sites and tours with private guides were impressive and fascinating to say the least. We toured Olympia with our excellent guide Antonia , and Mycenae and Epidaurus with the knowledgeable guide Ilias. In Olympia we had a very charming meal at the Bacchus Inn which if we had more time we would have stayed there over night along with enjoying their hillside pool and excellent house wines. The food and wine everywhere was always outstanding especially the remarkable seaside village of Limeni where we feasted on FRESH seafood that was caught and grilled very near to our waterside table. Nafplio was also a wonderful seaside town with many outside dining spots and unlimited fun small boutiques. Another highlight was our visit to Monemvasia, which was an ancient island village on the Aegean sea, one of a kind, with soaring views of the turquoise blue water. Our auto rental was an Audi 3 which was perfect for the winding sometimes narrow Greek roads and on the perfectly engineered smooth highways.
The second part of our trip was returning to Athens to meet with our three adult children. Our welcome dinner at Mauro Provato ( Black Sheep) was excellent. We toured the remarkable Acropolis. It was extremely crowded. I had been there 38 years ago and at that time was on the rock with myself and a traveling companion and not another soul! Such a difference!! We visited the market place named Monestraki where the shopping was exciting and very worthwhile. We traveled on to the islands of Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini by high speed ferry. The ferries were a wonderful way to travel, very comfortable and fast! We enjoyed a "strawberry moon" festival in Mykonos, a wonderful hike with our brilliant guide Matina and a Greek night of dancing and plate smashing at the Flamingo on the water front in Naxos. On Santorini, we enjoyed the breathtaking views of the caldera, shopping, an ebike tour at sunset (with guide Dimitri) and a catamaran sunset cruise and barbecue, our favorite event . We sailed to three different beaches and could swim off the boat at each location. The cliffs and colors were amazing. Thanks to Harris and Kim Kim for helping us plan this wonderful journey.