I took a step back from blogging the past few weeks, but it was for a good reason – Ian and I were off exploring Greece! I had been dreaming about traveling to Greece for years now and it felt surreal to make it a reality. Our adventure began in Athens and we were awestruck by the ancient history that is around every corner. From standing in the middle of the Acropolis to simple walking the city streets, you are bound to stumble across an ancient ruin.

We kicked off our Athens leg of the trip strolling around the alleyways near our hotel. To our surprise, most of the city is covered in graffiti. Locals say they barely recognize the graffiti anymore, but as a tourist it was very prominent. However, all of the vine covered alleyways that were home to restaurants and shops added a bit of charm to the street art.

The following day we woke up bright and early to beat the crowds at the Acroplois. We arrived right as the sight opened and were able to stroll around the grounds without feeling claustrophobic. It was a true “pinch me” moment to stand in front of the Parthenon after seeing it printed across the pages of numerous textbooks. Ian and I set aside the majority of our morning to soak in the sights and revel in the history that took place beneath our feet.

As the crowds started to flood the Acroplois, we headed off to burrow our way through the narrow streets that lead to the Anafiotika neighborhood. This area of Athens is nestled beneath the Acropolis and has been coined a little Greek island within the city. Some of the alleyways were so narrow we had to shuffle through them sideways, but this all added to the charm of this little city oasis.

We spent the remainder of our time in Athens shopping for souvenirs in the Plaka district, resting our feet in the National Gardens, and trying street food. We were tempted to pick an orange off the millions of orange trees that line the streets, but we refrained in case it was frowned upon. We didn’t want to jeopardize the next leg of our journey which would bring up to the island of Mykonos. Stay tuned for additional travel posts!