Greece – Athens & Samos
Vacation relaxation
We made it to Greece! Second times the charm. We were supposed to go a year earlier but Tess got sick the night before and we couldn’t go. This time everyone was happy and healthy and we set off on our first Mediterranean relaxed vacation.
We started in Athens then flew to Samos and ended the tripp back in the capital.
Quick facts: Samos – the Greek island in the Aegean Sea – belongs to the North Aegean Islands region. It is one of the country’s largest and most fertile islands and is located on the west coast of Asia Minor, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, very close to the coast of Turkey.
Trip highlights: Casa Cook Samos – having our very own pool!
Points: Local Beer 7/10 points, local wine 6/10 points (sorry Greece), Food 8/10 points.
Proven concept
We have done this before (Italy) where we spent a night or two in the capital before heading to our main location. This works very well, you get to see the big city, get a taste of the food and culture and you don’t have the stress of catching another flight on arrival. So Athens it is!
Food tour
As you might know, we like to start with a food tour, it’s the perfect way to try the stuff you can’t miss while also getting some local tips on where to go and what to eat. This one was no different. We tried souvlaki – naturally – some Greek pie and pizza as well as greek desserts.
While wondering the streets around our little cute hotel we had our potentially best meal in Athens. A Greek/Lebanese place where we also saw the cutest older couple.
Samos here we come!
A short – and loud – flight from Athens to Samos we were super excited to arrive at our hotel. A new luxury hotel that Tess found and put in her “travel dreams” folder until now.
A driver from the hotel picked us up at the hotel and took us a short drive to the hotel where we were greeted with a nice drink and a sit down by the pool.
While waiting for our room we went to the restaurant on the beach for some lunch. This was delicious.
We said hi to the cute little kitten that hung around trying to charm his way to some food. He was pretty successful.
Then, it was finally time to see our room!
Our room
This is our room. We were too excited to take photos so these are the hotel’s photos.
Then there was this
Our own pool, nice weather and a lot of reading. Thats pretty much what happened these days. It was awesome!
Samos city
We went for dinner a few times, and it was good not great. Tess kept trying different Greek wines – good not great.
There was a lot of cute cats though. And the people are friendly.
Thank you Samos!
We really enjoyed our stay!
Athens
To be honest we had two things we really wanted to do in Athens, one was see the Acropolis and the second was go on a sail boat for a day. We did one of those things.
We took a tour to the top of the Acropolis with a guide that was good and friendly, however we thought we booked with a local person and a small group – this was not the case. There were several groups – a little chaotic – and much people. Lesson learned – not all Airbnb tour descriptions can be trustred.
The tour was good though and we really recommend seeing this with a guide – it would have been really boring without the information and stories she provided.
We also went to the Acropolis museum which was huge and interesting, but the tour was better.
This cat lives on the hills of the Acropolis and people who work there take turns feeding it. He was very pretty.
Food and stay
Apart from being in a very hipster looking neighborhood the hotel was just fine. The only odd this about it was the tub on the balcony.
No we did not try it.
More souvlaki and ouzo and walking around the city. We liked it but lets be honest – it needs a power wash.
We found a great place in Athens that had Chicago style beef sandwiches. The owners were great and the sandwich was awesome – we went twice.
Efcharistó
Thank you Greece! We enjoyed visiting you!
Jamas!
