MYKONOS.. Part 4

This post is going to be more photos than words.. Mykonos is just so beautiful and photos are much better than my ramblings.  We left Piraeus and took the Ferry to Mykonos early morning around 7am.

We stayed at Aeolos Hotel Mykonos > If anyone wants an amazing resort only minutes from the city with the most amazing hospitality from the owners. Book here! Make sure you book early on as they get booked out fast. The owners Panos and his family are simply amazing. You come as strangers and leave as family.

They picked us up from Port and had all our bags taken care of. #winning

We stayed on the island for 5 days so we had plenty of time to party, sun bake and see the sights.
Mykonos did not disappoint.

The first afternoon we basically dropped our stuff at the resort and took the walk to the mykonos city to get some food - I don't know if it was just us and we took the wrong pathway but my god there was 101 stairs to get down into the city. Not to mention it was nearly 30 degrees. - I realized how unfit i was. Ugh
All I wanted to do after lunch was sun bake by the pool at the resort so that's what we did.

Our first night we decided to hang out at the resort with some others we had met (and the boys wanted to watch the world cup - Of course, the time we go travelling the world cup has to be on and the main priority for those two was getting to somewhere that had a tv lol!)

The next morning  we had the choice to hire a car or scooter - We went with the car we only planned to have it for 2 days anyway.  This little while car rolls into the driveway and I had to laugh. It was super cute.

We started at one of the end island and drove. I'll admit the Boyfriend did most (all) of the driving as he felt I cant drive the best back home, let alone on the opposite side of the road and in a manual car in a foreign country. I thought that was for the best too. Some of the roads in Mykonos are so narrow! We came nose to nose with a bus on, what I could consider a one way street. End result: We ended up reversing all the way back up the street so the bus could get through.
Bus: 1 - Us: 0

We stopped at Thalassa Beach Bar - Which is near Kalafatis beach.
Perfect view for lunch.

The food and drinks where pretty expensive but tasted amazing!
I went with the chicken salad and I was surprised with the amount of meat that was in it.

After a massive day of exploring and driving around, we hit up the pool again

The nightlife on the Island is next level. I'm just going to say this and hopefully no one reading this gets offended.. Mykonos is full of Gays (Men especially!) I could tell you so many stories of incidents that we had with the Boyf and his little brother being mistaken for being a couple, and I being the sister or friend.
Some of the guys staying at the resort - had a few cracks at the boyfriend. I thought it was rather funny.

One thing that I loved about Mykonos was the streets. They were all paved and traditional. We spent alot of time in Mykonos city down near little Venice and the water.

I'd never been somewhere just so damn pretty.
Everywhere you turned - photo opportunity. The food, The People - Spot on.

One of my favorite places was Elia Beach - We spent our last full day here getting black and laying on beach beds eating and drinking.

The one thing I'll remember about Mykonos was the beaches, by far they had the best beaches that it'd ever seen and the water was perfect for swimming.

The perfect way to end the best 5 days on the island.

Next stop > Santorini.

ATHENS - THESSALONIKI - KOZANI -.. Part 3

I was so excited to get to Athens, but that was short lived ha! We arrived in Athens just after 4am. We were already tired from our our 10 hour layover in the Barcelona Airport.

Lets strart with the negatives - I booked most of our accomodation via Bookings.com (which for all of it except athens accomodation was great!) I chose to stay  at the Achillion Hotel - and from the reviews it was a 4 star hotel only minutes away from Athens city centre with amazing facilities and amenities. 

Reality hit - We got out of the Taxi who then told us they dont accept cash (Thank god Dim speaks fluent Greek..) We got out of the cab and looked at this small narrow hotel wedged between to run down buildings. I double checked the address - I kid you not. Nope this was it.  

We checked in at the desk and the receptionist mentioned to us that was it 5am and that she had been waiting up all night for us to arrive (possibly, the only guests saying in this hotel lol!) Even though we had called the day before telling her we had an overnight flight and she was okay with our arrival time. So I stood there patiently while she gave the boys a lecture in Greek.

She took us up to our room, the first thing I noticed it smelt like smoke - fresh cigarette smoke. First glance the room looked okay, and then we turned on the lights. Holy Hek this was nothing like the photos on the website. We weren't going to be fussy because we were tired and just wanted to sleep. Jumped straight into bed and within 5 minutes D was outta that bed.. Bed Bugs I kid you not. I called Bookings and they spoke with the receptionist - I wanted a refund and was scanning the area for other hotels. This was not worth the money we had paid for it. 

I had a little freak out - When the sun came up and this was the view. Yeah.

There was a knock on our door and it was the hotel manager who wanted to know what our "issue" was. I explained to her that this was nothing like the hotel was represented on their website and we weren't happy with the state - She then told us that she only posts the photos of her best room on the internet. (What the!) That room was already booked so she took us to another floor and showed us another room. It wasn't much better but it was clean and didn't stink. We only had one more night so we just accepted it - mainly because she refused our refund.

Besides the accommodation drama - Athens was nice. 

We were only in Athens for 2 days before heading inland to visit some family

Like other cities we also jumped on the Hop on Hop off Athens > Piraeus bus which took us past most of the sights. We jumped off at Piraeus which is breathtakingly beautiful and got some lunch.

The food in Greece - Sensational.

Lunch with a view. The water was so clear and beautiful.

No words can describe how beautiful Athens is by night time. We went to the Roof top bar A For Athens for a few drinks and looking down on the Parthenon - Amazing.

The next morning we caught a plane from Athens to Thessaloniki as we went to visit the village that the boys dad and grandparents lived in before making their move to Australia. 

Note: Never fly with Ryanair again lol.

We were told the place we were going to the where his great yiayia lives is small with about 50 people. I didn't really believe it until we got there! I had never seen anything like it before. Its a little village outside Kozani wedged in between mountains and a massive lake in the middle - at night time the lights from the little villages along the river shone down onto the water and it looks phenom. 

In true Greek style we had the biggest feast waiting for us. It brought a tear to my eye when the boys got to meet their great yiayia again - the last time she saw them was 20+ year ago.

While it was quiet words cant express how beautiful it was! Just standing there and only hearing birds was the most amazing feeling. it was so quiet and peaceful. We stayed one night with his great Yiayia and then the other two nights with some other family members. 

How white we were before we hit the islands!

We headed back to Piraeus after 4 days inland to get ready for the islands.

We had a day to kill and there was H&M on the corner street of our hotel. I told the boys to leave me for a good hour and got up close and personal with H&M. I hadn't been to the one in Melbourne yet, I dont have time for those massive lines. 

Athens was nice - It was really just a stop over before visiting family inland and hitting up the islands. We came back to Athens again after the islands which was far more exciting and those stories are to come. 

Next stop MYKONOS! 

BARCELONA ..HOLA (PART 2)

For as long as I can remember I've loved the thought of going to Barcelona - the food, the people, the sights.So there was no way we could miss Spain when doing our Europe trip.

We were in Spain for 4 days.

We flew with British Airways from London > Barcelona - There was only 12 people on our flight! Bonus. (I'd heard so many negative things about BA, but I found them a breeze to fly with... staff and all)

We stayed in Sant Marti which is just on the edge of Barcelona's city centre.

We got a taxi from the airport, the taxis are little yellow and black cars so cute and they reminded me of bumble bees. (?!) We got ripped off hardcore by the taxi who dropped us at our hotel, the taxi ride was 20Euro and D's little brother gave the driver a 50EURO note, who then got in his car and drove off.

Barcelona: 1 - Us: 0

Well played.

Even for June, Barcelona was bloody hot! When we got out of the airport I felt it and it was 7pm.
Our first night we went for dinner somewhere local in Sant Marti because we had no idea really where we were other than we were about a 5 minute walk from the beach (one of many).

The first thing.. The food - Honestly -AMAZING.
I would go back just for the food if I could.
One thing with Europe no matter where you went, someone was trying to sell you something.

We had just sat down to eat and this old fellow came up to us and suggested to D he should buy me a red rose, now lets be honest - D isn't the most romantic guy so someone else suggesting he should be, got the cold shoulder - until the old guy went in for the wallet that was sitting on the table. (I kid you not!)
I ended up with a red rose.

I'm still not too sure how we managed to buy a train ticket but we did and it lasted us for the whole week. I was pretty impressed with that seeing as i cant read any spanish! One thing I was kinda bummed about that I found in barcelona - esp at restaurants if you didn't speak catalonian or spanish - they ignored you, which I found really odd! For somewhere so full of tourists.

Sagrada familia was hands down one of the most beautiful buildings I saw. It was worth the 2 hour line up. Followed closely by Gaudi.

What trip to Europe wouldnt be complete without visiting Sephora?
I tagged along with the boys to the Barcelona FC camp nou experience - I'm no soccer (football) fan but I thought it was such fun.

The next two days were consumed by soaking up the sun and laying on beach beds. Seriously, its the holiday life when you only have to walk a short stroll from your hotel to the beach and get served food and drink from the bar while laying on your butt all day sunbaking.

The beach that we called home for a few days was Barceloneta Beach and Bogatell - Both amazing beaches. The water was just perfect for swimming.

La Rambla is a must do if you visit Barcelona, not just for the shops but also for the food. Watch your bag though the amount of people who try and side swipe you is crazy.

Speaking of food, and who doesn't love food - One place I couldn't wait to see was the La Boqueria Markets. I'd seen everyones post on this place prior to going and I was so damn excited.

If you're a fellow Melbournian - Picture the Victoria Market x 100. People are everywhere and the amount of FRESH food in there is crazy. I ended up buying 4 Juices by the time I had left the markets. I loved that they had fresh fruit - cherries, pineapple, kiwi - everything chopped up in cups. There was even fresh coconut smashed up and packed in a little bowl. Talk about, thinking ahead.

Sugar overload.

The shopping in Barcelona, Where do I start!? Designer and Non-Designer this place has everything.

I did almost give the boyfriend a heart attack by telling him I'd just bought a handbag worth more than what our holiday cost us. His face = priceless.

I did love the bag tho. Sadly, it stayed behind.

I did however buy a pair of sunnies. I have the hardest shaped face to try and match sunnies to and i'm so fussy when it comes to sunglasses. Is it just me?

VAT Refunds were my best friend. - It was like guilt free shopping.

Pity my suitcase and baggage allowance didn't feel the same way.

I loved barcelona - from the sights, shopping, food (mainly the food, I won't lie) Sangria and the beaches.

Heres some more random photos..

You know how I said in my first post, I had a spread sheet going to make sure that I was completely organised this kind of back fired when we had a 10 hour wait at BCN airport waiting to go to Athens.

That was fun,airports are always fun for people watching!

Next stop > ATHENS. 

EURO TRIP.. PART 1 LONDON

I went on my first ever over seas trip this year, and yes I'm 25! I know I know. I was beyond excited and started my countdown far too early. I went with D and his little brother.

LONDON - BARCELONA - ATHENS - THESSALONIKI - MYKONOS - SANTORINI - LONDON - MELBOURNE. 

We escaped the dreaded winter and went for the whole of June.

I am pretty OCD when it comes to organizing things and had an excel spread sheet to make sure that I had everything from flights, ferry to accommodation organised and locked in.

We flew with Emirates - I was freaking out and kept asking all of my friends how I would manage to sit through the long ass haul to London (It wasn't that bad, as we had a stop in KL and Dubai, but that was still 16 hours!)  

We had a 2.20am flight and got to airport with plenty of time to kill in duty free. Is this not the best place?!

The boyfriend moved me along pretty quickly as he realised I had the travel money card in my handbag.

But then I realised I have only 10kgs spare in my bag and I'm going to Europe.. Stuff duty free (or at least until the way home.)

We were already half an hour delayed for boarding time.. By this stage I was over excited and just wanted to get onto the plane and sleep, I'd been running around all day packing last minute things.. you know how it is

I'm the first to admit it - the flight was a b*tch. Worst part of my whole trip haha I told myself it was going to be bad, but yeah no dice for me. At least I could curl up and try and get comfortable, but I dont really like being in small confined places for too long. D's little (not so little) brother was sitting in the isle seat and sleeps like a log so trying to get up and get him to move so I could go for a walk was almost impossible.

It was 7 hours to KL and by the time we arrived it was 11am and freaking hot.

KL was a quick stop over - I was actually really intimated by the police in KL!! Yeah, weird I know.

We were meant to have 2 hour stop over in Dubai before getting out next flight, but because we were running so late.. We jumped off the plane to see which gate our connecting flight was linked too and it was flashing final boarding call. Worst ever! Dubai airport is huge and we had no idea where we were going, but we sprinted and made it with only minutes to spare.. Not our best moment!

Oh hey Dubai.

I really couldn't fault Emirates, staff were constantly coming around the cabin offering drinks and we got 3 solid meals (plane food, is what is it) but it wasn't that bad! The staff were amazing.

We had a baby a few rows infront of us that the mumma couldn't settle one of the flight attendants came and took the baby for a walk.. so nice of them

We arrived in London around 6pm. It took us so long to get through customs and the UK border but eventually ventured out the underground. Holy hek I thought Melbourne had alot of train lines but we have nothing on London!

We were staying just outside of Central London - I'd slept most of the leg from Dubai > London so I was wide awake.. We settled into our hotel room went for a walk to get dinner I could see the London Eye from our hotel, I was like a little kid in a candy store.

We were only in London for 1 full day so we mastered the Underground again and got off at WestMinster 

We jumped on the hop-on-hop off bus tour which went for about 1 hour but was so good to see all the sights of London. Pretty good for only $12 AUS

In true London style we went to visit the Queen at the palace. Buckingham Palace is absolutely beautiful we also go to see the changing of the guards which my god - attention to detail. I clearly would fail at that job.

We went on the river cruise down the River Thames on the boat, which again was awesome to go past some amazing well known buildings and icons. 

I got to catch up with one of the girls I went to school with as she now lives in London, (She's also a blogger, so Kristen if you're reading this.. Hi!!) And she took us to one of the local goodies for Dinner. Wahaca - Amazing Mexican food. 

London was amazing, I absolutely loved it! I could almost see myself living there. We were lucky with the weather for the 2 days we were there, no rain and the sun broke out.

Next Step.. Barcelona - I've decided to break these posts so they aren't huge posts.

Have you been to London before - Did you like it?