My Athens Wish List

In my last post, I started my new travel-at-home series with Greece. We virtually went to Athens and we had a great time getting away from the real world for a few hours. I'll be continuing the series ever couple of weeks or so throughout this pandemic (and possibly longer, because it's a lot of fun, honestly, and a great way to get in the feeling of travel for a lot less money while you save up for that next big trip). 

Photo by Darryl Low on Unsplash

Today I want to show you my Athens wish list, for when we get to travel again and I finally make it to Greece. It's high on my travel list and now's the perfect time to do some planning of trips, even if they are years away.

The Acropolis

Though the ruins are pictured on my backdrop, nothing can really compare to the real thing. I love soaking up the history of a destination. Not only is this a great way to do that, but it's also a wonderful place to take in the city view on one side and the sea on the other. And the views of it lit up at night are breathtaking, even in pictures.

Photo by Aleksandra Zelena on Unsplash

The Acropolis Museum

After exploring the ruins, the museum is next on my list to see the amazing architecture of this semi-new building, check out artifacts found at the site of the Acropolis, and learn even more about the structure and what it was used for. There's also Greek artwork here that I can't wait to admire.

Lunch or dinner on the rooftop of Athenswas Hotel at Sense

With the Acropolis as a backdrop, is there a prettier view for dining outside? This French-inspired Greek restaurant is a splurge for a budget traveler, but you know I'm all about eating local foods when I travel, and lamb and red mullet from Greece, both sound delectable to me.

Looking for must-eat food in Greece? Keep an eye out for these Greek specialties and these 6 must-try foods that might be a little more palatable for those who aren't as adventurous (my husband's Greek family makes all 6 of those at gatherings).

Varvakeios Agora

You can learn a lot about a place by visiting their grocery stores and markets. It's usually one of the first places I go when I land in a new place. This market is like two in one, because on one side it's open-air and sells fresh fruits and veggies, and on the other is a covered meat and fish market. Can you imagine what a fantastic meal you could put together here?

By Moonik - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Benaki Museum of Islamic Art

I'll be honest. I don't know that much about the Islamic culture, but this collection of over 8,000 pieces of art, considered among the most important in the world, seems like a good place to start. It is part of the Benaki Museum Collection which also has a branch of Greek Culture, so this is definitely a group of museums to check out.

By Joanbanjo - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Hadrian's Arch

This arch, built in AD 131, was the gateway from old Athens to new, Roman section. It's one of the most important surviving monuments and an iconic landmark. Even better, you can visit for free.

By DerHexer - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kerameikos Cemetery

By now, you probably know that I am fascinated by cemeteries. I love seeing how people honor their dead and how different cemeteries are around the world. This is an archaeological gem in the middle of downtown Athens that doesn't seem to get nearly enough foot traffic. The original cemetery was covered by new ones and finally uncovered in the 1860s. Quite a lot of pottery and artifacts were found here, and you can see quite a bit at the Kerameikos Museum, right next to it. 

Photo by David T on Unsplash

Monastiraki Square

Full of fruit sellers, street performers, and people hanging out, this gathering place used to be a convent. Unfortunately, the buildings were destroyed by years of excavation, and then the train and metro lines later down the road. I feel like this is a wonderful place to people watch while also grabbing a snack.

By Jean Housen - Own work, CC BY 3.0

National Garden

I love just chilling out by walking through gardens when I travel. This Garden, completed on behalf of King Otto and Queen Amalia in 1860, is home to more than 500 species of plants and trees, and stray cats, apparently. Besides plants, you can view the Olympic stadium, built for the 1896 games and enjoy an open-air cinema, duck pond, playground, and small zoo.

Clearly this is just a small sampling of things to do in Athens. There are also beaches and shopping and awesome cafes. It sounds like a lovely, relaxing getaway though.

Have you ever been to Greece? What are your recommendations?

Traveling To Greece From Home

It's no secret to anyone right now that I won't be traveling anywhere until at least 2021. Well, that started to get depressing, so I decided to do something fun and new for our weekly date night. This week we "went" to Greece. 

In June, we threw my husband a travel-themed front yard quarantine party. We had food and drinks from the "snack cart", put up a plane backdrop, gave away travel "souvenirs", and socially distanced on the front lawn with family and friends that dropped by during our 3 hour come-when-you-want timeframe. I had an Athens backdrop from that which I didn't use, because it was slated to rain, so I didn't want to waste time setting up  things that wouldn't actually get seen. 

Well, it didn't rain, but that's fine. I had been looking for a way to use this backdrop since. On Friday, I came up with a brilliant idea to use it to "travel" and now I've got a whole new idea for date nights during this quarantine period when we can't travel and we're basically only getting takeout or delivery once or twice a week. 

I got out my photo backdrop frame, set up my Athens backdrop on it in the backyard, dragged our bistro table and chairs onto the lawn and put together a cute little setting for two. While I didn't do a Greek menu, because it was a million degrees this last weekend, I had a charcuterie board that I put together on this fun cheese board I was gifted a while ago. I brought out the good wine goblets and filled the bottom with frozen berries for a summery addition to my sparkling rosé and apple/raspberry cider. 

We enjoyed the breezy summer evening and put on a podcast about Greece, which made it feel like we were on a city tour. If you've never been on a Big Bus tour, I highly recommend it. You sit on the top of the bus and listen to either a live tour guide or plug in headphones that are given to you when you board to hear a recording about things you're actively seeing. 

Not only that, but I set up a planter I had in the garage from our wedding and used a solar powered fountain for bird baths to create an old-world fountain feel. 

In the future, I think we will use this travel date to also talk about future travel plans, including what we'd do on these trips if they were real.  This no-plane-or-packing-required trip only cost us a whopping $50, including food, but only because I already had the tablecloth, cheese board, and glasses. I would have spent that money on delivered food anyway, so we got a bit more for our money this week.

Things you can use to create your own "trip" to Greece:

• Santorini background
• Podcast on Greece
• Olives from Greece
• Make your own cheese kit
• Greek seasoning for your roasted veggies or meats
• Greek cookbook
• Greek Key wine glasses
• Regional wine
• Loux soft drinks
• Ouzo from your local liquor store
• A cheese/charcuterie board or gorgeous snack platter
• Colorful tablecloth to brighten your table

You don't actually need any of these things either. Just use what you already have at home. It's just fun to have a theme and go a little all-in with it. I hope you'll try to make your non-travel time more creative. Make it fun. Make it romantic. Make it educational. Cook together. Take an online class. Go on a virtual tour. Dress up or don't. However you like to travel! This is an ultimate budget-friendly trip for the armchair traveler right now. 

Where should we "go" next?

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I may be compensated should you choose to make any purchases through them. This allows me to keep this blog running for you. 

Shereen Travels Cheap Turns 10

Thursday marked a whopping 10 years of doing this blog and it both feels way longer than that and also way shorter. Generally, I like to reflect back on the previous year and talk about the coming year. The last 6 months have been pretty unusual, so this is going to look a bit different.

Photo by Chris Jarvis on Unsplash

Despite the uncertainty of the world, we were still able to take our usual fall trip last year. We went to Edinburgh for a family wedding, where I worked with Visit Scotland to bring you the best of tourist attractions in the city, and we also gorged on a ton of phenomenal food. The next week we hopped over to London, where I worked with London Explorer Pass and packed the rest of the trip with more great food and so many free activities. 

My mom and I were also able to get in our trip to the Travel Goods Show in March before everything shut down and we were aware just how bad it was. New Orleans was a wonderful little getaway, even for the few days we were able to be there. We got some sightseeing in and I was able to connect with a lot of awesome travel people - new friends and old. 

All our trips after March were cancelled or postponed: Spring was going to take us to visit family in Vegas for a secondary wedding reception, but that got postponed to September. July's annual Vegas trip was outright cancelled. September's pushed reception has been postponed for an undetermined time. Our Orlando trip in September has also been cancelled. I originally made backup plans for January, but as of now, that's looking to be a no-go as well.

This next year is pretty much all up in the air, dependent on how Covid gets handled. At the very earliest, July might be our best bet for travel. We'll also be looking to Orlando at that time, assuming everything's back up and running for the fall. 

At the moment, we haven't really even talked seriously about any road trips. The closest we've come to traveling was driving 40 minutes away to drop a package at a friend's house, who was actually home, so we donned our masks and took a tour of their gorgeous new property. I also took a little detour to our airport to see what was going on there.  It was hard to feel like not getting on a plane was the right thing to do at the moment, but I consoled myself by spending some money in the shops (I purchased some gifts, so I accomplished two things in one) and remembering that by staying home, I'm keeping everyone as safe as possible. 

We might try to do more drives to get out of the house on the weekends, since we both basically work from home and then also do weekend stuff at home. This weekend I've planned a "destination" date, which will still be at home, but hopefully much more fun than what we usually do.

So, I hope everyone is doing well. I'll continue to post travel things for you to plan those awesome trips for the future. I'll also be doing plenty of posts from my home entertainment and things around Portland on my Instagram. Because at some point travel will be safe again and we're all going to see the "new" world and, hopefully, some of you will consider coming to visit this great and beautiful city.

What destinations were you planning to visit this year that you've had to postpone?