Planning the honeymoon was J’s task. It’s the way most guys to get involved because, let’s be real – they don’t care if your table overlays are ivory or ecru. Being a bit of a control freak, it was hard to let go of the task, and it was hard to believe J would be up to sorting it out whole heartedly. But he did. Yay!

My initial honeymoon visions ranged from spending our days in Tahitian bungalows with direct access to lagoons in the south Pacific, to Maldivian villas with direct access to lagoons in the Indian Ocean. The problem with either of these ultra romantic getaways, is that they are, um… too romantic. I ask, what’s more romantic than sitting on a private veranda with your brand-new husband, enjoying the pristine white sands and crystal clear waters, with no one around? Now let me replace “romantic” with “BORING”. You dig?

Of course I wouldn’t give up a chance to visit either of these places any other time, but for our honeymoon, we were both looking for a mix of relaxation, culture and excitement. Between J and I, we’ve been to a decent amount of places around the world (though none of them were together) so a lot of places got cut. We wanted our first overseas trip together to be somewhere where neither of us have been, it had to be hot, it had to have beaches, and it had to have history and culture. J nailed it on the head – cue Greece & Turkey!

We planned our Eurasian getaway over a span of 17 days, starting in Athens. Side note: one of the smartest things we did was schedule the honeymoon a week after we got married. Traditionally, couples leave for their honeymoons a day or two after the big bash, but we really needed those 7 days to get our bearings, go through our gifts, buy last minute things for the trip, and just enjoy a little bit of normalcy. Yet it was immediate enough for us to enjoy the trip as true newlyweds.

Athens, Greece

We arrived in Athens on May 23. This was around the start of the high season in Greece, so pricing for everything was decent and there wasn’t a huge influx of tourists. As there were no direct flights from Toronto to Athens, we flew Toronto > Rome > Athens with Alitalia. It was the cheapest option when we booked, and in hindsight, I will pay more for a ticket because we will NEVER, EVER fly with Alitalia again. The plane was filthy, food was bad, and the seats were unbearable (my seat had a huge lump in the middle so I was pretty much sitting on a llama for 8 hours). And it was packed! Must be the ticket prices.

When we got to Athens, we took the metro from the airport to the Akropoli station. It wasn’t too difficult to decipher the system (especially if you’ve lived in London before), and we made it to our destination in about 40 minutes. The Akropoli station is outside the Acropolis (suprise) and our hotel was conveniently 2 minutes away from it. I’d like to emphasize  – don’t be afraid to ask people for directions. I’m not one to ask, because I “like to” figure things out myself even if it takes an extra hour, but J had the guts to ask and we saved ourselves about an hour.

We stayed at the Athens Gate Hotel, which we absolutely loved (read my review on it here). It was really trendy, charming and clean, albeit small. I loved their bathrooms. So clean! The wall art was great, too.

The best, best thing about this hotel was their restaurant, which is where the morning buffets were. Check out this view, taken from our table on the wrap around roof terrace:

Not every hotel had an amazing terrace like this. In fact, we couldn’t find any other.

We spent our first day exploring the city, and managed to make it up to the top of the Acropolis. We were originally going to do that the next day, but we walked through the ancient Agora and somehow got halfway up there, so thought we might as well go all the way. Rookie mistake: we had no water or liquids of any sort with us. Walking through the areas around the base, there not many stores. It took a while to find a tiny little corner store nestled in the steep staircases. I thought I was going to die at one point – climbing on a hot day with no water is the worst thing you can do. So if you’re ever out there, remember to stock up on water!

The Acropolis was breathtaking. The view over Athens was something to write home about, too. Though I don’t have a bucket list, this will get checked off on it when I create one.

The hike was bearable, so heading to the top of the Acropolis is a must in Athens. Nothing you can’t handle without a pair of comfortable shoes, sunscreen and like I said, lots of water!

We attempted to make a day trip out to Glyfada, a luxury seaside resort area south of central Athens, but sadly got lost. Luckily on our way on the tram, we passed by a bunch of beaches, so stopped off there instead. You pay something like €5 to get in, and then enjoy an entire day on a clean, private beach with the music pumping and slick bodies tanning. Not a bad way to prepare for an upcoming week on a Greek island!

Next: part 2 of 3 – Santorini, Greece

My girls and I are booked to head down south for a week!!!! I have the greatest friends in the world.

Where we are going to be, leathering up our bodies.

Last weekend J and I dropped in on Chicago, US of A, and spent an afternoon at Navy Pier. Enjoy some of the moments I captured!

It was a long day!