Greece and France - June and July 2018
We have some of the coolest friends. In 2018, we were invited to a destination wedding in Santorini on June 30th. One of Kevin’s friends from high school was getting married and his now-wife loves to travel. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to go. I was in residency, and residency programs end June 30th, so normally residents are not allowed to take off in June, especially not the last few days of the program. I talked to my Program Director, who graciously agreed to let me take off and was so excited for this opportunity I had.
Since my residency was ending, we decided to extend the trip a couple days for vacation before I started my “big girl job” and entered the real world (side note: in retrospect, I wish I had taken off longer, like a month - and now I encourage current residents to do so).
As we were looking at flights to Santorini, we noticed a pattern that most flights from here would have to connect either in Athens or Paris. It made sense to use that to our advantage and our trip itinerary was built from there. Keep in mind that at this point in our lives, we were poor (I was finishing residency and was making a resident’s salary). If we were to do this trip again now, we’d probably stay in nicer places - not that any of the places we stayed were dirty or unsafe - but my point being, we did not have a luxurious Instagram-worthy Santorini accommodations.
This trip was over five years ago, so I don’t remember all the details. Things may have changed since we were there (with covid) but these were our experiences:
Greece is highly cash based. We laugh about this now because Kevin and I had been in Athens for a couple days before going to Santorini, and Kevin gave our friend (not the who was getting married, but who would be meeting us in Santorini to also attend the wedding) heads up that he definitely needed to bring cash. Either he didn’t listen or didn’t believe us (knowing him, it’s the former), but he only brought like €60 with him. Obviously, that did not get him very far and he ended up renting a car to get around because that was the only option he had that he could use his credit card. The moral of the story is that you should always listen to Kevin because Kevin is always right. This friend has not learned this lesson and I may or may not have learned this lesson myself.
The flight between Athens and Santorini is super short - like 40 minutes. We took off, they immediately served drinks once we reached altitude, then descended. Because Santorini is an island and islands often have wind, landing in Santorini was a little unsettling. I don’t get nervous flying, but you could feel the wind pushing the plane, so if you do get nervous or sick while flying, just a heads up.
By that same token, however, while it was hot in Athens and in France, the wind made it quite nice while on Santorini - cooled us off quite a bit.
Paris is overrated. I’m glad we went and saw the sights, but I don’t feel the need to go back. As expected, Parisians are rude to Americans, even if (especially if?) you try to speak French (I took French in high school so I could speak some French, though not well). It is really hot and humid in the summer and they don’t use air conditioning or deodorant - we smelled a lot of other people’s body odor. The trains are hard to navigate if you are not familiar with them and people are not willing to help - including people who work in the station. We weren’t even really impressed by the food - croissants, yes of course, but in terms of actual meals, eh. Water does not come with your meal for free, like it does in the US. One restaurant only sold Evian water so we had to buy water for €10 (and Evian doesn’t even taste good, in my opinion) - my recommendation is to go to a grocery store and buy a one liter water bottle for like fifty cents and carry that with you.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Travel Day
We took a redeye from Newark and got into CDG at about noon. We had to change terminals - I remember walking - and the check in gate for the next flight (Aegan) wasn’t open, and didn’t open until like an hour before the flight was scheduled to depart.
We got into Athens late - we landed at about 21:00. I remember struggling to find the train that would take us into the city. I remember once we got off the train (I believe a subway, actually), it was dark, there were still quite a number of people out. The roads were cobblestone - rolling suitcases not ideal. We were lost, or at least it felt like it. Luckily, one kind gentleman stopped and offered to help us find our way. A lot of storefronts have those metal gates that pull down over the entrance, and there is a lot of graffiti - I associate these things with unsafe areas, like in NYC - I don’t know if we were actually unsafe or if that’s just the way things are there. When we finally got to our hotel, Kimon Athens Hotel, it looked like there was no one there, and since it was late, I feared no one was actually there and we wouldn’t be able to check in, even though my research said our hotel had 24-hour reception. There was someone there, just hidden behind the desk which looked like a stack of books or suitcases. To be honest, I don’t remember much else about this hotel.
Day 2: Athens
We got breakfast in the neighborhood of Plaka and tried Greek coffee - a small cup of thick viscous coffee. It had a creamy mouth feel but was more bitter than normal coffee. This neighborhood was really cute, with flowers everywhere. The streets were quiet even though it wasn’t that early.
There is something analogous to the CityPass, where you can buy a sheet that has tickets to most of the big attractions (see photo above), and it turns out to be cheaper than buying tickets individually at each. We did this since we planned to see as much as possible in this one day.
We started with the Akropolis and Parthenon. There were already a lot of people out. I felt like we were being herded, like it was rude to stop or slow down to appreciate the view. Once at the top when people spread out, it was better but still crowded.
We used Google Maps and our ticket sheet as a guide of where to go next: Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch, Temple of Hephaestus and Ancient Agora. We walked by the Roman Agora. We had lunch in a town square, at a restaurant called The Greco Project.
After lunch we went to the Panathenaic Stadium - the only stadium in the world to be built completely of marble, and it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896. There is a museum and gift shop - if you follow a long cave-life corridor located at the back left of the track. Kevin ran a lap or two around the track, and they even had podiums to pose on. From the top level of seating, you can see the Akropolis.
We walked by Zappeion and through the National Gardens of Athens.
In the afternoon, we sat at a café for a bit to rest. Kevin tried a freddoccino - our first one of the trip and a drink we highly recommend, but get it sweetened!
This café was in Syntagma Square, and as we were sitting there we must have been looking at Google Maps and learned just at the end of the square was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After we finished our drinks, we went over and shortly after, a lot of people started coming and formed a crowd. We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time - every hour on the hour is the ceremonial changing of the guards. For their hour shift while they guard the tomb, they remain completely motionless, and during the changing of the guard ceremony, it seemed like they use the sounds of their steps to synchronize themselves - it was obvious they are well-rehearsed and that they take their jobs seriously. It really was quite impressive.
We did a lot of walking, saw a lot of ruins, but definitely feel it was doable in one day.
Day 3: Travel to Santorini
We had a leisurely start to the day, grabbed some breakfast on our way to the airport to catch our 13:30 flight. When we got in to Santorini, our friend picked us up (you know, since he rented a car) and we checked into our hotel, Central Fira Hotel. It had the cave vibe but no in-room pool, but it was close to the main square.
The weather was perfect the entire time we were on Santorini. We walked around a bit and found ourselves at Iriana Café, which had views of the caldera - just gorgeous. We ordered baklava, a freddocino and a couple beers and relaxed enjoying the view.
That evening, the couple had arranged a welcome dinner at Metaxi Mas in Pyrgos. I don’t know what we ate, but the food was really good. We tried the local liquor, ouzo.
Day 4: Wedding
Before the wedding, we walked around Fira for a bit with no real objective other than to enjoy the island.
The wedding was held at Santo Winery, which overlooked the caldera. The outdoor venue space had panoramic views. What a gorgeous place to get married! After the wedding ceremony, the reception was at a local restaurant that I don’t remember the name of. A bunch of us went into Fira after to hang out.
Day 5: Exploring Santorini by ATV
We rented an ATV for the day to drive around and explore the island which was fantastic. I want to say it was about €40 for the day. It was an easy way to get around, just be careful though because a lot of the roads were on the sides of cliffs and we were tailgated by trucks a couple times (locals are much more comfortable driving on those roads than we were).
We made a bunch of stops, just places on the side of the road that looked cool. The main ones were Red Beach and Perissa Beach. At the end of the afternoon, we rode north to Ammoudi Bay and then up to Oia for sunset. Google Maps can be deceiving; Ammoudi Bay is at sea level (obviously) and Oia is above it. There is a path you can take to walk between the two, but we drove around instead.
The road to Ammoudi Bay was lined with cars and was a bit of a steep walk down. After we parked, we followed the path down along the water, past/through outdoor seating of restaurants. The trail continued on the far side around the bay. At the end of the trail is a swim area. There was a platform you could swim to to do a cliff jump, so of course I had to. It was a cool place to hang out even if without doing the cliff jump.
We had dinner at one of the restaurants right on the water, Taverna Katina. The grilled octopus was delightful.
Catching sunset in Oia is the thing to do - there’s that iconic photo with the windmill. It starts getting really crowded in Oia way before sunset, as people claim their spot. I recommend if this is on your list of things to do, to also find a spot early - earlier than you’d think - and don’t leave! We found a spot with an unobstructed view that, at the time, was away from the crowds. It was down an alley that led to what seemed like someone’s roof (lol) but then a bunch of other people ended up joining us there.
The other thing to keep in mind is that we had to drive back to Fira in the dark to return the ATV. I wish we had a little more time in Oia because it seemed like a fun place!
Day 6: Travel to Versailles
We went to Iriana Café one more time before leaving Santorini and enjoyed one last freddoccino with the stunning views. Kevin tried a different drink that was also really good but we don’t remember what it was now.
We flew from Santorini to Paris (ORY) and took a train to Versailles. After a long day of travel, we were tired by the time we got to our hotel, Hotel la Residance du Berry. We had dinner at a restaurant across the street from our hotel, and to start off the France leg of our trip properly, I ordered escargot and Kevin ordered crème brûlée!
This was probably the worst night of the entire trip because our hotel did not have air conditioning at all - other hotels this trip had some sort of ventilation at least to get air flow. Kevin probably got maybe one hour of sleep. I remember at one point in the middle of the night, he got up to take a shower to try to cool off. It was brutal.
Day 7: Versailles
In the morning, we walked to the Palace of Versailles, a fifteen minute walk from our hotel. We spent the majority of the day there in the palace and the gardens and the Queen’s Hamlet tucked away in the far corner of the the palace grounds, learning about French history.
In the evening, we took a train back into Paris and then from Paris to Bayeux. The train into the countryside took about two and a half hours, and was beautiful and peaceful. Our hotel, Hotel Le Bayeux, was a ten minute walk from the train station and luckily our room at air conditioning - the only room this trip that had true air conditioning.
Day 8: Bayeux (Normandy)
If you haven’t seen Band of Brothers (on Amazon Prime), I highly recommend it. It’s a show about “Easy” Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne during World War II. We had seen the show prior to our trip, and when planning the trip, visiting Normandy was one of our must-do’s. We found an Omaha/Band of Brothers Tour through Overlord Tour. It seemed like a well-rounded experience, so that’s what we decided to do.
Bayeux is a small town and highly walkable. We met up with our tour group at 8AM. Our first stop was Longues-Sur-Mer Battery, which was a German battery used to defend against the Allied forces on D-Day, as it is located between Omaha and Gold Beaches. It is the only battery in Normandy to retain its original guns.
We got to walk on Omaha Beach, which was kind of eerie, to realize that where we stood is where people were killed. A little further west was Pointe du Hoc, which is significant in the Allied victory. Americans scaled the 100-ft cliffs to undermine German artillery positions located on Pointe du Hoc, therefore, preventing the Germans from firing on the troops that were landing at Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day.
It just so happened that the day we took this tour was the Fourth of July, and we felt it was significant but also a coincidence that we were visiting the Normandy American Cemetery as part of the tour.
There is a well-known story about how a parachuter, John Steele, got stuck on the spire of Sainte-Mère-Église during the D-Day battles. He dangled there for hours pretending to be dead. Nowadays, the town of Sainte-Mère-Église is a big historical tourist town.
Our tour made a couple other stops, including the Crash Site of the C47 #66 at Beuzeville-au-Plain, Marmion’s farm, Brecourt Manor (I remember this from the show - the scene where the US soldiers used trenches to take down the German’s machine guns), and Carentan, a small town that fell to the 101st, giving the Allies a continuous front between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach.
Angoville-au-Plain is a tiny town but was important because two American Army Medics used the church here as an aide station. There are (supposed) blood stains on the pews and the church now has stained glass windows honoring the two medics and the American parachutists.
The tour ended back in Bayeux at 18:00. We grabbed some dinner before catching our train back to Paris at 20:00. Our hotel in Paris was the Hotel Apollon Montparnasse.
Day 9: Paris
Our first day in Paris we did all the “essential” Paris things, starting with pain au chocolat from Des Gâteaux et du Pain. We enjoyed our pain au chocolat outside le Louvre - we didn’t actually go into the museum because I felt like there was too much to do and see, and Kevin isn’t into art much anyway. It was still nice to admire it from the outside. From here, we walked to and around Jardin des Tuileries, to Pont Alexandre III and the Seine. We walked the Champs-Élysées, stopped in the Renault store and Ladurée for macarons, continued onward to l'Arc de Triomphe, le Tour Eiffel and the Champs de Mars. We really just walked around the city all day to see as much as possible.
For dinner, we found ourselves at Bar du Central. We each had a grass-fed steak-frites, which was quite good!
Day 10: Paris
What better way to start the day than underground with skeletons? We had tickets for the Catacombs with an audio tour. I’m not sure what I expected, but it was cool. The Catacombs hold the remains of over six million people, and were created to help eliminate the overflowing cemeteries.
This was another day where we walked and walked and saw highlights of the city, including Jardin du Luxembourg (we had picked up eclairs from l'Éclair de Génie and ate them in the park), Pantheon, Notre Dame (we didn’t go inside, but were lucky enough to see it before the fire just nine months later), Conciergerie, Place Dauphine and Pont Neuf. We visited Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides and Musée de l'Armée.
We had dinner at a restaurant called L’Alexandra. It was a very small place, nothing fancy. I remember I had duck confit and we had some sort of apéritif that we didn’t really like.
As we were walking around, there was a lot of excitement in the street. It wasn’t until we got close to our hotel that we realized people were watching France play in the World Cup quarter final game. We didn’t stop to join them but it was pretty cool to be there and witness their excitement.
Day 11: Paris and Travel Home
We spent the morning back at the Jardin du Luxembourg to relax and enjoy our last remaining hours in Paris before catching a bus to the airport for our flight home.
Concluding Thoughts
Aside from our friends getting married, our favorite adventure from this trip was the Band of Brothers tour. We enjoy the history and seeing the places where such significant events took place was so cool. Also, the French countryside is beautiful. It was nice to get away from the city.
I would visit France again - I want to visit the French Riviera, for example. And I would give Paris another chance too - I think I just need to go with someone who loves Paris to show me, and not go in the summer. Paris did not impress me this time around.
I don’t know if I would visit Athens again - the history and the ruins are cool, but maybe if I knew my Greek mythology better, I’d appreciate it more. I’d certainly want to visit the Greek islands again. I feel like it’d be a totally different experience now that we can afford slightly nicer things. I’d also like to see the less touristy islands.