All about Greece.

After a solid day at sea, we finally landed at our first stop, Olympia. You know, where the first Olympics were held.

 Matt just had to touch.

 So many ruins!

 Photobombing Chris

 Just us.

 All over Greece we saw this pretty purple tree.

Not pictured: our trip to a Greek winery where we sampled all of their wines and had a bite of cheese, bread, olive oil and outstanding tomatoes. Mmm.

Lunch was late in the afternoon and worth it. The salad was a last-minute decision and our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. But man was it good.

 I had these meatballs (really meat-ovals) with potatoes.

 Before heading back to the boat, our guide took us to this great beach and outside restaurant/cafe.

 Time for some Ouzo! Here's our group from the left, Joyce, Chris, Laura, and Irene.

 ...and too cool to sit with us was Mike.

 Oh Ouzo. We could have stayed here relaxing longer, but that darn boat was leaving.

The next day we woke up in Athens. Once we got away from all the very insistent cab drivers at the port, we made it over to the ruins for the day and had a guide show us around.

Here's an old theatre.

 Climbing higher...

 Parthenon!

 Inspecting photos....

 Aw, so nice.

 Selfies! Chris looks so into it.

 Matt and Chris were in Athens last year for work and totally meant to get to this, but in the dark of night they just couldn't find the giant thing, so we had to walk over.

 Victorious!

 All the boys.

 As is customary, Matt had to take some pictures through the trees, or in this case some green bush.

We also had lunch. Matt and I shared this plate of fried zucchini

 And lamb! The dino helped, too.

Not pictured: we totally found a frozen yogurt place that sold Greek frozen yogurt. Tart, tangy, thick and creamy. Topped with oreos of course. An excellent way to end the day before heading back to the boat.

Greece was friendly and delicious. I think I'd like to go back and check out more beaches and/or islands...

I survived a 10-day Eastern Mediterranean Cruise

But only just barely. I guess in all the excitement of visiting Greece, Turkey and back to Italy, my immune system got a little wacked out too, because I ended up a bit flu-y. I felt so horrible that I went to the ship doctor and got antibiotics and cough syrup. And had to miss checking out Istanbul. So sad.

Still, I managed to be healthy for the majority of the day trips to Olympia, Athens, Izmir and Naples. The trip essentially covered all the oldest parts of the world, seeing as how we were in the concentrated area where civilization really started. Each excursion was a plethora of ruins (and old dust) and chock full of history.

Ten days was a bit too much though. Considering my grad school classes are only 8 weeks long, I really had to be doing work around the clock before I left and am now definitely behind. (Blog posts for the next few weeks might not be as robust as a result).

Here are some teaser pictures for you, because I know that's why all of you are sticking this out and reading:

Olympia, Greece.

 A little feta with your salad, anyone?

 Greece beach!

 The gang drinking Ouzu.

 The Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

 The boys.

 Izmir, Turkey.

 Istanbul, Turkey.

 The top of Mount Vesuvius outside of Naples, Italy.

 So high we can touch those clouds!

 Vineyard at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.

 Our second trip to Pompeii.

 (I even found my pillar I took a picture with two years ago!)

All in all, we had a good time and got to hang out with our friends. There were running jokes, amusing events and brushes with minor celebrities. Who knew that Flavor Flav enjoyed cruises? Not us until we realized he was on our boat.

More details to follow! Hope everyone has a great week and I can ditch this sickness!

On a trip, back on Monday the 14th!

In the meantime, here are a few travel-related articles I've read recently that might interest you:

10 Things Never to Say to a Flight Attendant

50 Things Every Traveller Should Know

Travel Tips

French Road Trip Hotel Review

Since we were staying in so many different places, we needed to book four different places.

Lyon was an easy choice - they have a Hilton. We used points. It was one of the nicest Hiltons we've stayed at, partly because of the room, and partly because we suspect we were the only ones on the floor.

Since we have the nifty Hilton card, we automatically get a bump to the executive floor with access to the lounge. The room was a junior suite with TWO bathrooms!

When we got there we knew we were in for a good time, because there were macaroons waiting:

Here's the bedroom...

And also the sitting area....

Both of which face the Rhone river.

After checking in, we walked down to the lounge where it was tea time. When the Hiltons have an executive lounge, you're in for a good time. Not only are there breakfast and free drinks throughout the day, but they also have sweets setup for tea time in the afternoon, and then assorted happy hour treats (including booze) for the evening. Really, there's so much to eat that if you wanted to, you could totally just nibble throughout the day.

The lounge, of course had views of the river as well...

And this awesome statue. I feel like I need this in my life.

For breakfast, they had some of the best scrambled eggs I think I've ever had. The French really know what they're doing, because their eggs turn out so uniformly fluffy and in small bits, it's simply perfect. Paired with some sliced ham, bacon, assorted cheeses and your choice of Nespresso coffee, it was an outstanding way to start the day. And since we were some of the only people on the floor, the lounge felt like it was our personal space.

I didn't partake, but Matt tried out the whirlpool one evening and really enjoyed it.

Avignon:
I didn't post any photos from Avignon, but we stayed at the Hotel Danieli, which was smack dab in the center of town. You really couldn't beat the location, but the room was on the lower end of the spectrum of niceness. It was only a three-star, which in European jargon meant that it was on par with a lower-end U.S. hotel (Days Inn, anyone?). The bed wasn't great, you only got two teeny pillows (very common in Europe), and the room itself was slanted. What was nice was the size of the bathroom, which was spacious unlike other similar hotels. I wish the towels weren't so scratchy, though...

Matt picked it, and I picked the next one.

Montpellier:
Which was better? This one. While it wasn't in the center of town, the Park & Suites Elegance was really nice for the price we paid. This chain of hotels caters to the business crowd and those on extended stays, so each room has a little kitchenette, including a microwave. Since we don't have a microwave, this was a novel thing for us, and I was more than happy to heat up my banana bar for breakfast. Mmm.

This guy was also a three-star, but you wouldn't guess it. It's very new, bright and airy. Overall, I liked it.

Beaune:
Oh, Beaune. We wanted to treat ourselves for the last night and decided on the four-star Abbaye de Maizieres right in town. I mean, why pass up the opportunity to spend the night in an abbey from the 12th century?!

I mentioned it in an earlier post, but it was incredibly nice. When we checked in the receptionist walked us upstairs and explained the history of the building along the way.

I loved the exposed brick in the room...and what girl doesn't love a unicorn on tapestry?

Coolest bathroom ever....

And can we talk about the linens and towels? All logoed and the best quality I've ever had anywhere. I felt like a medieval queen sleeping on such a comfortable bed on top of the finest sheets.

All in all, France has some nice hotels if you look for them. We just started using Hotels.com to book because when you do 10 nights, you get one for free. I really like incentives to continue traveling...

All about French Wine

I get it now, guys. I have a basic understanding of French wine.

You know how you find a bottle of French wine and you have no idea what's going on? It's not because it's in French (probably doesn't help the situation), but it's because it's in this weird coded language that you need to understand in order to figure out what's inside the bottle.

This is why Matt and I paid a visit to Shannon via her company, From Vine to Wine while we were in Lyon.

Shannon is actually a California girl- grew up in the Napa region, surrounded by wine, decided she loved wine, and up and moved to France. She also married a Frenchman, which made it much easier to stay in France and truly enjoy wine even more.

Anyways, even though I originally signed up for the regional tasting, upon our arrival Shannon said we'd probably be better off getting an overview of all French wines. Matt and I agreed, since our biggest frame of wine reference was of the Italian variety. That and the Champagne region of France, which is small in comparison to the other wine regions.

This and more is what we learned!

So basically, what appears on the bottle is the vintiner for the wine, and based on this, you should know where the wine is coming from. Location, location, location. Based on where the wine is coming from, you should THEN know what kind of grape is being used.

This is the overly simple version. When you start thinking about it, you go wait- how am I supposed to just KNOW that? And the truth is, you're not. You just learn. Or bring your phone with you into the store and Google search.

The top foil also contains clues- apparently the green stands for appellation d'origin controlee (AOC), or something about having a geographic indication, and the blue is for vin de pays (VdP) and vins de table (VdT), both of which allow the contents to be from different areas in France, as long as they actually come from inside France.

Still with me?

Shannon also had these spiffy maps and posters up in her tasting room which Matt and I must have, including a periodic table of wine. Oh man, she really brought out the nerd in me that day.

Here's the setup we had. Note the yummy sausage and cheese. Not pictured- a basket full of crusty bread. Mmm... oh hey, she put our names on the chalkboard, too!

Do you know what is going on here on the chalkboard? No? Better call Shannon so she can explain it all.

I seriously found this all fascinating. I really liked the classroom environment, especially since I could sip and take notes. Definitely a great way to learn.

Since she knew we would be driving, Shannon also suggested that we visit one of the producers that we tried, so the next day we had a great tasting at M. Chapoutier and walked out with even more wine.

Here we are at the store, filling out our selections...

Oh wine, you tasty thing, you! I'm glad that I started to demystify French wine during this trip. It really makes it all taste better when you "get" it. We even felt confident getting some boxed wine!

Happy sipping!

Eating in France: My picks

It's no secret that I love eating. Matt does too. That's how I know we're so well matched- we sometimes don't share food with each other, which is a mutually understood and accepted thing.

I tend to give myself a lot of freedom when I go to France, because they do a lot of things very, very well. Here's what I love to savor.

Beef Tartare.


Starting out with the scary stuff right away!

This one takes some getting used to. It's finely chopped raw beef that is seasoned and mixed with equally fine onions, sometimes capers, and possibly some other things. It's served cold, but more on the room temperature side of cold. This is typically served with french fries, and ohmygosh, can I just tell you the insane levels of pleasure you can have with one bite of cool beef and a hot french fry in your mouth?!

I'm drooling a little just thinking about it.

Café Gourmand.


This is probably my favorite way to end a French meal that doesn't involve cheese. The idea is that you get a little coffee (an espresso) and then the chef plops down any number of tiny little desserts onto a plate. Sometimes they're just petite versions of the regular size desserts they have, but oftentimes it's filled with stuff not even listed on the menu.

It's a mystery dessert tray! Oh yum!

And most places will offer a tea version if the espresso isn't your thing.

Foie Gras.

Definitely the most controversial thing I eat, I know. It's goose liver that is super fatty, lending to its rich and buttery consistency. It's pressed into a mold and sometimes served with bread and jams, and sometimes is seared. I had it on our most recent trip as an appetizer and it was accompanied with fruit-specked bread wedges and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Orangina.



It's so very French. For those who don't know, it originated in France and it's a slightly carbonated citrus-y soda. It's not overly sweet, which makes it perfect for sipping at an outdoor cafe with lunch.

Badoit Sparkling water.

I'm a water snob, it's no secret. I'm also an Evian-lover, too. I don't know what it is about French water, but the stuff is good. This one in particular is sparkling, and its carbonation comes naturally from traveling through gas and rock deposits. Until the 1950s, you could only get it at pharmacies. How elite. There is just enough carbonation to give it a nice taste, but not so much that it comes across as salty.

Truffles.

One of those mushroom-y things, the truffle is prized in French kitchens. They're found in specific areas and aided by truffle hogs, who have an ingrained truffle sense. It's so aromatic and wonderful in a variety of dishes. I like it in the form of a risotto, or, as was the case on our most recent trip, in the form of truffle oil drizzled over my creamy cauliflower soup. I even got Matt into it the first time we went to France.

It goes without saying I adore eating all the French cheeses, croissants and macaroons, as well as sipping all the wine I can get, too. But the above stuff is a bit harder to come by when you're not literally in France. Next time you're there, consider trying one of these tasty treats.