In 2014, I explored Greece with my friends MJ and Linda. Our 10-day trip took us to Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete. We ate incredible food and watched many breath-taking sunsets. We got lost while trying to read Greek road signs, drank craft beer, marveled many historical sights, wandered the bright white pathways, and greeted every street cat and dog we encountered.

As with my Spain trip and video, I shot clips in hopes to create a summary video, and here it is! Check out this Greece Travel Video to get a view of our trip and inspire you for yours!

I wish I had taken more video, but I’m glad I took plenty of photos to look back on the memories of this trip. We planned this trip through tips from the Internet and friends. Our trip was a bit of a whirlwind because of the number of places we crammed into a week, but we saw some key places in Greece that are unforgettable. Be sure to check out my other posts about Greece for more recommendations on activities and restaurants.

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Goodbye, summer and hello, autumn! Thankfully Texas weather was in the know and it’s already much cooler. I had a fantastic summer and crossed several to-dos off the list. 

Hike Pedernales Falls State Park

Ashley, Linda, Bob the Dog and I enjoyed a morning at Pedernales Falls State Park. It has trails for all levels of hiking and some great views.

Visit Jester King Brewery

I’m slowly crossing off Austin’s breweries off my list and Jester King Brewery’s sour beers were interesting. It’s not something I would drink often but I did enjoy it. The brewery and area around it (including its neighbor Stanley’s Farmhouse Pizza) is a fun place to spend an afternoon.

Try paddle boarding

Finally crossed this off my to-do list! Ashley and I didn’t fall off, and I would definitely do it again though I would prefer a kayak to a paddle board.

Visit the beach

I made it to the Texas coast this summer and wrote about it here. I crossed ‘learn to surf’ off my life list on this trip.

Make a dish with peaches

I love peach season. It’s one of my favorite fruits. I made light shrimp tacos with peach salsa.

Spend time on the lake

My friends hosted a birthday event on a party barge which was lots of fun. Lots of sun and swimming.

Go to a concert

I saw Kitten, The Antlers and OneRepublic in concert. My favorite was the fun OneRepublic show at the Austin360 Amphitheater. The band is incredibly talented and energetic, and they kept us dancing for much of the show.

Take a long trip

I went on this little trip to Greece that I’ve been sharing about on the blog. You can read about my favorite sights on the trip and the delicious things we ate and drank.

Eat at 5 new restaurants

Trying new restaurants is also a fun and easy goal to accomplish. I tried Garbo’s, Cipollina, Justine’s, Blackbird & Henry, Monkey King Noodle Company (chicken noodle soup pictured above), and Kin and Comfort (pork buns pictured above), among a list of other restaurants. (Check out my ‘flavors of the month’ posts!)

Eat a snow cone

How to survive a Texas summer: stay indoors as much as possible, stay in water if you’re outside, and consume frozen treats. I’ve always enjoyed the snow cones at Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs. Be sure to get Tiger’s Blood as a flavor.

 What fun things did you do this summer?

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We enjoyed so many memorable dishes, drinks and desserts on our trip to Greece! These are some of my favorites.

Greek Salad
I had a couple of Greek salads during the trip and they were always refreshing. They usually include tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers, onions, olives, and a block of feta cheese, all drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with pepper and a few capers. Of course, I found that everything tastes a little better when you’re overlooking the view of the sea in Santorini, smitten.

Spanakopita
This buttery and flaky spinach pie pastry was a great breakfast and snack during our trip. Here it’s pictured with a glass of fresh orange juice. Yum!

Gyro Meat and Gyro Pitas
One of my favorite meals was a simple three euro gyro chicken pita eaten standing up beside the restaurant. Simple, fast and so good! The word ‘gyro’ describes the way the meat is cooked: on a broiler that rotates, making the meat very tender and moist. In Greece, the meat is usually chicken or pork, though lamb is popular in other countries. The pitas usually include tomatoes, onion, French fries (fried potatoes) and tzatziki sauce. For dishes, the meat was served with pita or the components of the gyro pita.

Seafood Pasta
Seafood Pasta was a favorite dish among us, and we ate a lot of it on the trip. My favorite seafood pasta plate had perfectly cooked noodles with a slight seafood taste and was accompanied with fresh shrimp, mussels, and squid.

Moussaka
Moussaka – a dish with a similar feel to shepard’s pie – was tasty and a good comfort food. We had some that had a bottom layer of potato slices and it usually includes eggplant.

Octopus
I had one fantastic octopus dish. It was caramelized in sauce, very tender and only slightly chewy. Delicious!

Mussels
We consumed an abundance of mussels on the trip. With pasta, rice, and on its own, mussels were a light and flavorful option. My favorite was this dish with rice.

Santorini Brewing Company Beer
We were recommended the Santorini Brewing Company, which was a short bus ride away. Their beers are Yellow Donkey, Red Donkey and Crazy Donkey (IPA). Funny story: we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss our stop so we asked the ticket person if he knew where the brewery was on the stop. He said he would tell us and sure enough, when the stop was coming up, he started slowly yelling YELLOW DONKEY…YELLOW DONKEY…YELLOW DONKEY so that we would get up and get ready to get off the bus. Slightly embarrassing but we’re glad we didn’t miss it! We had tastings of the beer, which were very enjoyable and on par with other craft beers I’ve tasted. They ship 90% of their beer around Santorini and the rest of it to Athens, New York and Oslo.

Baklava
This baklava, a snack after the beach and while we were walking along the Mykonos shops, was very good. Slightly drenched with honey, the perfect amount of sweetness, and of course, the delicate, flaky layers.

Yogurt and Honey and Nuts Ice Cream
Probably my favorite dessert of the trip, this yogurt and honey with nuts ice cream was a refreshing mid-afternoon treat as we sat at a rooftop Santorini restaurant with a view of the sea to read. Yogurt with honey and nuts is traditional but since Greek yogurt is a hit or miss with me, I was excited to see something traditional but in ice cream form on their menu.

Cupcake
Similar to my dessert experience in Spain, cupcakes are not popular in Greece. By chance, La Petite Baguette was a bakery we kept walking by from our place in Athens to the Metro. They had a sandwich board advertising cupcakes so I had to stop in and look. What was presented to me was a one euro mini chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate buttercream frosting and a dab of cream cheese frosting in the middle and sprinkles. Taken in two bites as an appetizer on the way to dinner, the cupcake was good and I’m happy to say I ate a cupcake in Greece!

We ate at a handful of great restaurants during our trip, and these are the ones I’d recommend:

–Aperanto Galazio in Mykonos: restaurant on the Kalamari Beach. The seafood dishes were great here. (Seafood pasta pictured above.)
–Mama’s House in Santorini: good for traditional Greek plates, specifically the Mama’s Kebap plate (pictured above) that includes gyro meat
–Obliex in Santorini: try a delicious 3 euro gryo pita. It was my favorite pita of the trip. I had a very juicy chicken gyro pita (pictured above).
–Volcano Blue in Santorini: great Greek dishes, specifically mussels and rice (pictured above). Sit upstairs for a fantastic view.
–Roka in Santorini: this restaurant is tucked away on a side street but they had the delicious octopus dish I mentioned above. They also have a patio to watch the sunset.

What is your favorite food dish or memory during your travels?

Also check out: My 10 Favorite Sights in Greece

The post Eating and Drinking Through Greece appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

I just returned from a fun girls trip to Greece with my friends Linda and MJ. We did a lot of traveling, island-hopping, eating, picture-taking, laughing and memory-making in 10 days. We started and ended in Athens and also visited the islands of Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. Here are ten of my favorite sights we saw. 

1. Ornos Beach, Mykonos

Ornos Beach is a small, family-friendly beach a short bus ride away. It’s lined with restaurants. The beach felt a little crowded because of its size but the water wasn’t crowded at all.

2. Knossos Palace; Heraklion, Crete

We ended up spending less than 24 hours on Crete! (Poor planning, oops.) We went to their famous sight – Knossos Palace. The palace, now an archaeological site, is the setting of the Minotaur’s labyrinth in Greek mythology. It was hot walking around, so we didn’t see the whole thing, but it was interesting to see. Pictured above is the throne room.

3. National Archaeological Museum; Athens

Most of Greece’s artifacts can be seen in this museum. This was the first thing we saw in Greece and it was a good introduction to all the history we would see.

4. Animals of Greece

Everyday we saw cats and dogs wandering the streets of Greece. While MJ and Linda were enthusiastic about taking photos of them, I took the above photos.

5. Atlantis Books; Oia, Santorini

This enchanting bookshop was a great memory in Santorini. We had read about it in a “best bookstores” article and added it to our must-see list. We spent time talking with one of the owners, browsing the shelves and each picking out a new book.

6. Kamari Beach; Santorini

This black “sand” beach is about a 20-minute bus ride from Fira. Though the rocks on the beach make it tedious to get in, the water felt great.

7. Santorini Brewing Company; Santorini

After a suggestion from a friend, we put this brewery on our to-see list. It didn’t disappoint. It’s a small shop but well on their way to big things. We tasted their three beers: Yellow Donkey, Red Donkey and Crazy Donkey. We had a short tour of the brewery and admired their branding.

8. Sunset and view in Santorini (particularly Oia)

The sunset and view from Santorini was what made the trip. The predominantly white-building city is built on top and on the side of the island, making it a beautiful part of the view. We admired several sunsets and wanted to stay and enjoy the calmness and beauty.

9. Acropolis Museum; Athens

Opened in 2009, the Acropolis Museum is a good starting point before walking up the Acropolis. It contains many artifacts from the Acropolis and a good view from the bottom.

10. Acropolis; Athens

The Acropolis, the remnants of Athen’s Golden Age days are high above the city and about a 20-minute hike to the summit. The Acropolis monuments include the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, Propylaea, and Temple of Athena Nike. The history and grandeur of the structures were inspiring and though it was hot, it was worth the visit.

Also check out: the memorable dishes and drinks we had in Greece!

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