Running thru life... Rolling with the punches

If you know me you know that I am a little OCD. 
I blame both my mother and my father equally. 

So when my best friend from Scotland called to say that her husband was being transferred to London the old Laura would have flipped out. 

We purchased tickets a couple months ago to go visit them in Scotland. 

I took a deep breath and told her I would call the airline and see what we could do. 

I called the airline - Airfrance and they were extremely pleasant and helpful. 

OMG- I love European Airlines. 

American airlines in general could learn from their customer service.

I explained the problem and within 5 minutes they had a solution. 

I did have to pay a small fee to change the tickets

but well worth it since the tickets themselves were substantial. 

I explained this all to my husband and he was taken back with how calm I was. 

He exact words were... "what did you do with my wife?"

My answer was "there is no sense in getting upset over it... it is what it is."

So now in a great change of events we will be going to London. 

While this could have totally stressed me out- it did not.

Maybe in my last year of my twentysomethings I am starting to realize that you just can not sweat the small stuff. 

Any suggestions on what to do or see? 

Running thru life.... Exercising while on Vacation

If  you follow my blog you know that working out is a part of my life- mostly for stress relief but also I just feel better after.
When we were packing for Greece, my hubby and I had a conversation about our workout plan while in Greece.   We both packed our running shoes, 2 workout shirts, and a pair of workout shorts. 
It was perfect for what we needed- along with our ipods, and collapsable water bottles.

This is how our working out went.
Athens- walking all day. 
We both packed a collapsable water bottle which proved to be worth it and saved us from having to buy bottle waters.  We walked probably a total of 5-6 miles that day and it involved alot of hills.  Good workout!

Mykonos
The resort we were staying at had a full gym. 
I was excited about this!!! 
Joe and I got in the routine of going to breakfast every morning, laying out by the pool/beach for an hour or two to let our food digest and then hitting the gym for about 1 1/2hr.  I did the eliptical and ran, Joe ran and did some weights. 

Santorini
The place we stayed at did not have a gym so we found other ways to get good excercise.
WE WALKED EVERYWHERE.
10 km walk to Oia
3km in to town and 3km back (almost every day). 
The walk into town was not an easy walk either because it was all hills. 
A work out for you calves!!

How do you workout on vacation?

Running thru life... Greece Reflection

When we got back from Greece everyone asked us how it compared to our honeymoon in Madeira.

My answer:  It was amazing but totally different. 

For our honeymoon we went to the island of Madeira and stayed for 10 days.

We relaxed at the pool, went in to town, did a small boat tour.  

All and all it was totally relaxing.

Greece was site seeing in Athens, followed by relaxing by the beach in Mykonos, followed by hikes, wineries, and a sunset cruise in Santorini. 
It was amazing!!!!!!  

I do have some words of wisdom that I would like to offer if ever planning a trip like this

1) Do your homework. 
I started working on this trip last July.
We started to book airfare around September
Hotels in November. 
Finshed up ferry coordination in Feb/March.
Finalized everything in April. 
I knew exactly what we were getting into- how much walking would be, expectation for food, transportation, weather, etc

2) Set a budget
This is the most important thing ever - especially when traveling to Greece.
The Greek Island are by no means cheap.
Also having everything pre- arranged and pre- paid for was wonderful.
Our airfare, our hotels, our ferry ride were all paid in advance. 
Having a budget helped us determine where we could stay, what we could do, etc.
Our travel agent kept us with in our budget by making great suggestions. 

3)Use a travel agent. 
I AM SO HAPPY WE DID THIS. 
With the flights, ferries, transportation arrangements, and hotels-
this would have been difficult to coorindate on my own. 
We did not want to do a group tour because we are just not into big groups.  If you are a group person you can get a group package that already has everything arranged for you and you might not need a travel agent. 

4) Use your Travel Guides. 
We purchased two travel guides for this trip
1) Top Ten Athens
2) Rough Guide to the Greek Islands
Both books were excellent. 
Top 10 Athens had detailed maps and hit on the major attractions.  Since we were just there for 2 days it worked well for us.
After this trip Joe and I are now huge fans of the Rough Guide Series because it is pretty accurate. 
We only ate at Rough Guide places and did not have a single bad meal and all were very reasonable. 
The Rough Guide also helped us in Athens with the Metro, and in planning our trip. 
It helped us plan financial for our spending ahead of time.
We will be buying a Rough Guide to London!!

5) Be ready for adventure
Joe states I now have mad street cred because he was actually worried about going on this trip with me because of all the traveling that was going to take place.  But he says I was a champ at figuring everything  out, planning our events, and even the 10km walk I went on with him. 
This is not a trip for someone who wants to lay at the pool day after day (unless you just go to Mykonos). 

This trip was amazing.
 I just put together our Kodak book and ordered it online,
I can not wait to get it!!

On to our next adventure.... London

Running thru life... Food in Santorini

While in Santorini we had a wide range of dining experiences... all good!!

Each day we started out with breakfast at the inn either in the dinning room or on our balcony.

This is something Joe and I have come to love when traveling.  We love having breakfast included in our stay.  It is one less meal we have to worry about and since in Europe breakfast is served until 11 or 12 we often make it more like a brunch so all we have to plan for is dinner.

Our first night there we walked in to the town of Fira and ate at both a restaurant that was recommended by the Rough Guide and the innkeepers. 

Nicks Taverna

It was a little dive.... but amazing food.

The owner himself waited on us.  

I had the lamb meatballs and Joe had the chicken platter.  

Amazing.

Our total bill was not even 15 euros (and that was with a half carafe of wine).

It was a charming place.  

Above is actually a picture of Nick himself.

The following night we stopped at Mamma Thira's.

Both recommended by our innkeepers and the Rough Guide.

We were outside looking at the menu when a older couple came out and told us we have to eat here.

"We come here every year and eat here at least a couple times each time we visit."

We were sold...

This was hands down my favorite dinner. 
We were able to sit on the top floor and had a seat right by the window looking out at the sunset.  

 

For dinner I had the Scallop Risotto with Asparagus Sauce.

AMAZING.....the scallops actually came in their shells.

Joe had the lamb which was also excellent.

This dinner was the most expensive meal for us right around 40 euro (including tip). 
This included 1/2 carafe of wine, appetizer, and two excellent dishes.  

We would go back here in a heartbeat.

Our third night we ended up having a light meal consisting of meat on a stick for me and a Gyro for Joe from one of the little venders on the street.  Add a beer for Joe and a diet coke for me and our whole meal cost us less than 10 euros.  It was excellent!!  My new favorite things is meat on a stick.  It is so delicious!!!

Our fourth night we were on the sunset cruise so Joe had a wonderful dinner while I did get a little nauseous and did not eat that much.  When we got back I was starving. 
So I went down and asked Christos if he would make me a sandwitch or something.

He gladley smiled and asked if he could make me a Santorini Salad.

I said sure....

A couple minutes later...

This was the second favorite thing I ate while I was in Santorini. 
I will have a future blog on the recipe.  It basically was made up of a very thick big crouton,  cherry tomoates,  greek cheese and yogurt, mint, and spices.

OMG!!!!

We also tried that night Orzo which is a greek liquor drink.  Joe really liked it.  

Very similar to Pastis.

Our final night we had a very small dinner and finished up with Mojitos on our balcony.

The food in Santorini was amazing. 
Again I was happy to have the recommendation of the innkeepers and also the Rough Guide as prices in Santorini were the highest of any place we visited.

But we stayed within budget!!!! 
And had amazing food!!!

Up Next: Reflections on Greece

Running thru life... Our last day in Santorini

Our last day in Santorini we decided to head into the town of Fira via footpath (3km walk each way) and to see some of the sites there.  

Our first stop was  the Museum of Prehistoric Thera.

This was amazing to me.  

Recently a city has been uncovered that was barried under the rocks.

It dates back to BC.  

They are now just starting to work on uncovering everything.  

This had some of the pieces.  

Absolutely amazing.

This is a pictures of the covered site... rumored to be the lost Atlantis.  

This city itself is not open to the public currently but hopefully will be in the futures.  

It gave me chills walking thru that much history.

We then walked around town a bit and did a little shopping for some gift we had to bring back.

Finally, we made our way to the only Catholic Church on the island.

This is something I wanted to see since I am Catholic.

These were the two domes that welcomed you.

The church inside was absolutely breathetaking.

We then headed back for some much needed pool time before our long journey home.

Up next... the food of Santorini

Running thru life... The best thing we did in Santorini

While reading up on the different places we would be visiting. 

Everything advises you that a sunset cruise in Santorini is one of the best things to do.

IT WAS!!!

It was by no means cheap but it was a splurg that both Joe and I will not forget!

Our inn keepers knew exactly which cruise to recommend to us.

The cruise line was Blue Lagoon Cruises and our ship was Triton.   

Some boats are big and can fit 30+ people on them, but ours does a max of 8 people. 

Christos made a short call and 5 minutes later we had appointment aboard the Titan. 

The cruise included transportation to and from your hotel to the ports,  4-5 hour cruise with guide to explain the island, dinner fit for a royal, swimming, and of course... sunsets.  

The cruise company came and picked us up from our hotel. 

We were fortunate that the morning of the cruise the weather was terrible- we decided to stick it out and go on the cruise regardless of the weather.  

So glad we did. 

The weather as you see was amazing. 

The cruise consisted of us and one other couple!!

 Picture of the port in Oia where our 4 + hour journey began.  

Breathtaking!!!

 

Getting ready to leave port!!!

Sailing along the cliffs

Stop for a swim break

So happy

Seasickness hit every woman on the ship. 

Apparently lemons are good remedies.

Me smelling my lemon

Sunset

 Perfect way to spend our two year anniversary!!!!

The food we had was amazing.  

Fresh prawns, calamari bigger than my wrist, fresh steak, greek salad, pasta, veggies.  

OMG!!!

Running thru life... another day in Santorini

The first day in Santorini belonged to Joe.

The second day belonged to me. 

Our day started off with a wonderful breakfast followed by our Smart Car being delivered to our hotel. 
We then set out on an adventure to be filled with the sites of the island, wineries, historic landmarks, and beaches. 

We stopped a small mini mart and picked up some cheese, soda and bread for a light lunch to have during the trip. 

First we stopped at Santos Wines. 

Santorini is know for their white wines and their Vinasanto which is a sweet white wine. 

Santos Wines is one of the biggest wineries. 

The have a gorgeous patio where you sit while you have your tasting.

We decided to split a tasting with cheese. 

Our tasting. 

The wine here was good but nothing to write home about. 

The cheese, olives and tomato spread were delicious.

 The views were exceptional!!! 

Us on the edge of the Balcony. 

We then headed thru Prygos

to look at

the oldest church on the island. 

We stopped at another winery, which Christos has recommended to us.
Canava J. Argyros

It was a small small winery. 

We tasted in the same room that the wine was prepared in. 

It was excellent.

They had pictures of all the national magazine's they had been in. 

When we asked the lady if she could take a picture of us, she insisted she take it in the barrel room.

One of my favorite pictures of us on the trip.

After we drove along the edges to the different beaches.

The black beach

The red beach

We stopped on a hillside to have a nice lunch with the stuff we had purchased at the mini market. 

It was a perfect day! 

We returned back to the hotel and sat at the pool until early evening.  

Up next.. the best thing we did in Santorini