Greece Part I - Santorini!

Our trip to Greece started with a flight from JFK to Athens. We left New York late in the afternoon and arrived in Athens the next morning. After a two hour layover at the Athens airport, we boarded an Olympic Airlines plane and made the half hour flight to Santorini. We stayed in Oia at Oia's Sunset.





Our friends, Chris and Laura, were already in Santorini when we arrived. We met them for dinner on our first night in town. The restaurant had a perfect caldera view of the famed Oia sunset.







On our second day, we took a five hour cruise around Santorini with Chris and Laura. It was definitely a highlight of our trip! We highly recommend Blue Lagoon Cruises! There were six of us on the boat, plus two crew members. At lunch, the crew grilled a delicious meal. Drinks flowed freely throughout the day. The boat stopped a few times for us to get out and swim. Cruising on the Aegean Sea in a beautiful catamaran was a total dream come true!


















Our third day in Santorini, we took the bus from Oia to Fira, which is the busiest town in Santorini. Fira has lots of shops and restaurants, and is much more frenzied than Oia. We were glad we chose to stay in Oia. Later in the afternoon, we returned to Oia and spent the rest of the day exploring.



















On our fourth and last full day in Santorini, we went to the beach. There are a few different beaches to choose from, and we decided to take the bus to Perissa. The beach is lined with cafes that have lounge chairs in the sand. You pay a small fee to use the chairs, and you can order food and drinks to be delivered from the cafe.





We had a really amazing time in Santorini! Thanks to Chris and Laura for spending time with us on their honeymoon!

Next post - Athens!

Boston, Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard

I apologize in advance for the length of this post! I've been wanting to take a trip to Boston and Cape Cod since we moved to New York. One of my favorite things about living here is the close proximity to so many great destinations. You drive less than an hour and you're in completely different terrain. We drove through four different states in 4 hours!

Our trip started with a night in Boston. We picked up a rental car in the city after I got off work on Friday afternoon. After working out some issues at the rental car company that threatened to end the trip before it started, we were on our way. At around 8:45pm on Friday night, we made it to Boston. We checked into the Courtyard By Marriott, which is located downtown on Tremont Street in the theatre district. Our friends, Matt and Tammy, picked us up and we went to dinner in the South End at Gaslight, which is very similar to Pastis in NYC. After a great dinner, we had drinks at The Butcher Shop, an interesting little place that's a butcher shop by day and a wine bar by night. The next morning, we spent a few hours exploring downtown Boston and walking along part of the Freedom Trail. While I was enjoying the history lesson, Joe wasn't really in the mood for it, so we had a nice lunch at Marliave, headed back to the hotel to get our bags, and drove to Cape Cod. The drive from Boston took about two hours. The town we chose to stay in, Provincetown, is at the furthest tip of Cape Cod. I chose it because the town is very lively and totally walkable.

We stayed at the Inn at Cook Street. The place is very cute and looks like it came straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog. I choose the "Four Seasons" suite for us to stay in. What I didn't realize was that the room was right next to the kitchen and common room, so mornings were noisy. For the most part, we really enjoyed staying at the inn. We were one block from the ocean, and a very short walk to lots of restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and the harbor. It was the first B&B we had ever stayed in, and we found the group breakfasts a bit awkward. The food was delicious with a lot of variety, but Joe and I are both introverted types and would have preferred breakfast by ourselves.





The second day in Cape Cod, we drove over to the Cape Cod National Seashore. The beach was beautiful, but it was a bit cloudy so we didn't lay out. Afterwards, we drove around exploring Provincetown some more.





The next day was the first official day of Summer. We drove an hour to Woods Hole, where we took a ferry to Martha's Vineyard for the afternoon. The ferry took us to Vineyard Haven. We had lunch at the famous Black Dog Tavern. The view of the harbor was lovely and the food was great, too. Of course, we had to buy something with the famous black dog logo. I have a small obsession with totes, so I got an L.L. Bean style tote with blue handles and a black dog on the side.









After shopping in the boutiques at Vineyard Haven, we took the bus over to Oak Bluffs. I'm not sure if we were coincidentally there at the same time as a seniors tour, but it struck us how many elderly people were there. It was very different from Provincetown, where the vast majority of people are young and lively. After exploring Oak Bluffs, we boarded the ferry and headed back to Woods Hole. The ferry rides were fast and very scenic.



Our remaining time in Provincetown was spent reading books at the inn, and walking into town for meals. We had lots of delicious seafood. We especially enjoyed the lobster rolls and shrimp rolls.









On Tuesday, we made the approx. 4 hour drive back to the city. We really enjoyed our road trip, and it left me wanting to see more of the East Coast!

The Catskills

We're back! Joe and I have been traveling almost non-stop for the last month and a half. Our travels began in Texas, where we saw friends and family, I met my beautiful cousin, Elise, and we attended the wedding of our friends, Chris and Laura. Then we went to Greece! After a few days back in NYC, we were off again on a road trip to Boston, Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. Last week, we spent three nights in the Catskills. We've had a great time, but it's good to be home!

I'll write about our most recent trip first and then work backwards.

Last Saturday afternoon, Joe and I picked up a rental car in the city and set off for the Catskills. It was an hour long drive to Woodbury Commons, an outlet mall upstate (every town outside of the city is referred to as "upstate"). After a few hours of shopping, we drove north for another hour and arrived in the small town of Catskill, NY. I chose an inn for us, The Kaaterskill, based on a recommendation from a blog I like to read - Hither and Thither.







The Kaaterskill is amazing! It's a perfect retreat from the city. The inn is located on a beautiful farm. They have horses, goats, sheep, and lots of adorable bunnies and chickens that entertained us. The rooms each have a jacuzzi, fireplace and kitchenette. We stayed in the "Church" suite.



On Sunday, we hiked up to Kaaterskill Falls, which was a lot more difficult to reach than we anticipated, but totally worth it!







On Monday, we drove around exploring the neighboring towns of Saugerties and Woodstock. For our last dinner, we decided to use the grill at the inn and have a nice meal on the picnic table outside.



Many hours at the inn were spent reading books and soaking in the jacuzzi. It was the perfect relaxing vacation we needed after our other (more stressful) trips. I can't wait to go back to the Catskills in the fall. It will be even more beautiful, and I'm dying to make smores in the fireplace!

The Weekend

I picked up the keys to our new apartment today! Joe and I went over there this afternoon to take some fragile items. It's smaller than I remembered. We'll definitely be heading to Ikea soon to get a wardrobe. The closet space is seriously lacking. It's cute though, and has more square footage and rooms than we have now, and we'll be closer to so many more shops and restaurants. I'm particularly excited about the Tasti D Lite around the corner. I discovered their samoa cookie flavor today and it rocked my world.

We have a really busy weekend planned. We have to finish packing. Joe is a TA and has to grade 60 final exams. Saturday night, I'm going out with girlfriends for dinner and dancing. On Sunday, we're hosting a picnic brunch in Central Park. The movers come early Monday morning.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Here's Joe in our favorite picnic spot. It's where we'll be brunching on Sunday.

Summer Travel

I'm planning a few upcoming trips that Joe and I are really excited about! He doesn't start working until July, so we plan to travel as much as possible until then.

On May 24th, we're going to Texas. We'll fly into DFW to see family for a couple of days, and then drive to Round Rock to meet my new cousin, Elise Sophia Wood. From there, we're going to College Station for the wedding of our friends, Chris and Laura. Then, we're spending a few days in Austin, where some of our friends from Columbia will be joining us.

The first week in June, we're traveling to Greece! We'll be in Santorini for four nights, and then spend three nights in Athens. In Santorini, we're staying in Oia at Oia's Sunset. Our friends will be in Santorini at the same time, which I'm so excited about! I still need to book our hotel in Athens.



The third week in June, we're going to Boston, Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. We rented a car. It takes about four hours to drive from NYC to Boston. I love that New York is so close to so many great places! We'll be spending one night in Boston and then driving to Cape Cod. We'll be spending three nights in Provincetown, at The Inn at Cook Street. We'll take the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard and spend a day there.



Our fourth and final trip in June is to the Catskills in upstate New York. We're renting a car and driving to Catskill, New York, which is about two hours from NYC. We're staying at The Kaaterskill. I read about The Kaaterskill on this blog. We're staying in The Church suite. It looks amazing! We plan to do some hiking at Kaaterskill Falls, and explore the nearby towns of Woodstock and Saugerties.