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Greece

marble memorial depicting a sleeping woman in Stamboltzi tomb, Athens First Cemetery
Greece, Travel Guides

Athens First Cemetery: An Open-Air Sculpture Gallery

Not Just a Cemetery For nearly 25 years, I’ve walked the same path through the Athens First Cemetery —not as a tourist, but as a daughter. Early on, I realized this place was different. It’s the grandest cemetery in metropolitan Athens—and arguably in all of Greece. Think of it as the Père Lachaise of Athens: a resting place for prominent Greek families, artists, writers, and statesmen, rich with sculptural artistry. And yet, for all those years, I only saw the memorials lining my personal route to my family’s tomb. I never wandered the other paths or paused to admire art…

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Klima, Milos
Greece

The essential guide to Milos

It’s been a while since I shared a guide about a Cycladic island. So now it’s time to share with you everything you need to know about Milos, one of my favorite islands! Milos is an island of volcanic origin. Thus its landscape and especially the beaches so diverse and unique. Whether you dream of sinking your toes into the sand or exploring charming fishing villages, this guide will be your one-stop shop for crafting the perfect Milos trip. Getting to Milos The island offers 2 options for getting there: ferry or airplane. Personally I prefer the ferry because I…

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Vizitsa, Pelion, Greece
Greece

2 days in Pelion (with tips for toddlers)

Back in Easter, we spent 2 days in Pelion. This gorgeous region in Central Greece, combines pristine beaches and breathtaking mountain landscapes. That makes it a perfect summer destination. For me though, Pelion is beautiful all year round. I have visited the area many times in the past. I usually stayed in Volos or Portaria. This time, though, we chose to stay Milies. In hindsight it was the perfect location for a family vacation.  Now let’s see what we did during our stay in Pelion. I’m also going to share tips for toddlers in the villages that we visited. Explore…

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inside Cpco Mat Jumelle hotel, Athens
Greece

How to plan your Visit to Open House Athens

I’ve been visiting Open House Athens events since 2017. I have a loose way of organizing which places I want to visit and in which order. My goal is to see as many buildings as possible in one day, with the least amount of queueing. The inspiration for putting my strategy in writing was a lady I met at last year’s Open House Athens. She was behind me in the queue for the Italian Embassy and holding the Open House map. The map had many notes on it and even information on which buses to take. I found it interesting…

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overview of Daios Cove, Crete
Greece

3 Days at Daios Cove

Last summer after almost 2 years of staying in Athens we finally went for vacations in Crete. A mix of COVID-19, pregnancy and postpartum kept us from traveling all that time. We saw family and friends and let our one-year-old daughter roam around. We also escaped for 3 days sans baby in Daios Cove. The choice of the hotel was a case of “Instagram made me do it”. That’s where I encountered many photos of the resort (and the beach) which enticed me.  It was worth it though! For the first time in my life, I spent 3 days in…

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Olympus Mountain, Greece
Greece

Hiking Olympus Mountain

Hiking a mountain (let alone Greece’s highest) was not on my bucket list. In the summer of 2019, the opportunity to hike Olympus Mountain arose. I just had an unsuccessful frozen embryo transfer; my husband was on a project in Abu Dhabi, and I wanted to keep myself busy. So, I said, what the hell, I might hike a mountain as well. As they say, “Life lies outside of your comfort zone”, right? The hike was organized by a former colleague of mine. We were a team of 10 people, half of them experienced and half novices. We spent a…

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Greece

The essential guide to Parga

I first visited Parga back in 1994! It was an interim stop returning home from Corfu. What remained from that first visit was the vague memory of an inland (albeit coastal) city with island vibes. It’s also accessible from Athens by car, no ferry needed. That’s why we chose Parga as a summer getaway for a few days last year.  Let’s see what the city of Parga and vicinity has to offer! Exploring Parga Parga is built on the side of a hill on the north side of a picturesque cove in the Ionian Sea. A medieval castle is built…

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