The Subtle Art of Traveling Europe & Missing Major Attractions
Few things excite me more than big cities, sandy beaches, and misadventures. This is a tale about the latter, as many things worth telling sometimes are.
The plan: Spend a few days in London to catch the new Harry Potter play (and visit some dear friends), then rent a car to travel along England’s southern coast. We planned to visit Canterbury and write tales of our own, see the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters, pass through Stonehenge and bask in the Roman Baths of Bath. We meant to make our way to Stratford-upon-avon and check out Shakespear’s birthplace before ending our adventure in Cambridge.
The wrench: A starving artist brother-in-law and the priorities therein…..
The (new) plan: Spend a few days in London to catch the new Harry Potter play & visit some dear friends, then meet up with bro-in-law in Athens for a few days before moving on to sunny Santorini.
London
If you’ve not been to London, make it a thing you do. See all the touristy things, eat all the fish and chips, drink all the ale. Just….don’t expect to see Big Ben. That guy is very much under construction for at least the next decade. We did not do our due diligence on that one.
However, you can still walk across the street and see Westminster Abbey…and it is so very worth it. More than just a church where royals are crowned and married, it’s also something of a graveyard for the rich and famous. The tombs of each of the Tudors, save for Henry VIII, can be found here, as well as those of Geoffrey Chaucer and Charles Dickens in Poet’s Corner. For any history buff or literature fan it is an absolutely surreal experience.
Photography is prohibited inside the church, so there are no photos I can share of the interior.
And, if you’re a Harry Potter fan at all, I would highly recommend seeing the new play if you happen to be in London. The cast is fantastic, the special effects are impressive, and the theater where it’s shown is simply stunning.
Athens
Everyone told us not to spend too much time in Athens and I wish I hadn’t listened to them. It’s your quintessential European city where cafes and restaurants are open late, traces of ancient Greece can be found at every turn, and the streets are narrow, hilly, and full of history.
We arrived in Athens late on a Sunday night, hungry and thirsty for wine, but expecting to find nothing open. Walking through the Kolonaki neighborhood, we stumbled upon the sweetest little wine bar. We took a table outside about 10 minutes after midnight, ordered a bottle of wine and toasted to my husband’s 36th year on this earth. The wait staff brought us a beautiful array of olives, cheeses, and breads and we watched the locals mill around the cobblestone streets.
Upon our arrival at our Airbnb, our host informed us that the Parthenon is open until 1 am and that we should absolutely go see it at night. Normally, one might google this to confirm this to be true before planning an entire day around this information…but not us! We took it at face value and spent the only full day we had in Athens eating delicious meals, visiting the National Archaeological Museum, and generally taking our time about making it to the Parthenon. We caught a glimpse of it along our trek, which only served to pique our excitement about seeing it illuminated later that evening.
After the sun fell that evening, we hopped in a cab and made our way out to the ruins in the rain, stopping to buy ponchos to keep us dry on the walk up to the site. We arrived at the gate and were greeted by two guards who informed us that the Parthenon had, indeed, closed 30 minutes prior. We had missed it entirely.
Santorini
The next morning we packed our bags and headed to the airport to catch an early flight to sunny Santorini. We were bummed about missing the Parthenon but ready for sun, sand, and blue + white dusted cliffs.
We arrived at our “cave house” in Oia (pronounced “ee-ah”) and were pleased to see our Airbnb did not disappoint! We were right on the cliff overlooking the Caldera. Once you get into Oia proper, there are no bikes, cars, or wheels of any kind. Just tons of walking through narrow stone pathways adorned with book shops, cafes, clothing + jewelry shops, and fun little places to buy keepsakes.
On day 1 we wandered to the northern most point of Oia to share a glass of wine, eat some of the BEST tzatziki I have ever had, and watch the sun set over the Aegean.
On day 2….we were completely rained out. All was not lost, however! We still braved the cold, rainy weather to get some shopping done, visit a cafe, have a little dinner, and walk home barefoot and wet with a few bottles of wine, some of the most amazing olives I’ve ever tasted, and a beautiful selection of cheeses.
Day 3 was arguably the best day we spent there. The rain left the city and its streets glistening and ready to be dirtied anew with fresh footsteps. The third day was simply beautiful. We decided to partake in a food tour with Eat & Walk Santorini Food Tours in the nearby town of Fira. It did NOT disappoint. I highly recommend a walking food tour anywhere you visit if you can find one. We learned so much about the island’s history as we ate and drank our way through Fira & Firostefani. We tasted some of the most amazing and complex olive oils, sampled some of the very best local food, and drank way too many glasses of amazing local wines. The tour ended with a spectacular sunset view, a bottle of white wine, grilled octopus, and a cracked iPhone screen. The only true marker of a good time had.
Home Again
Our trip, however marred it was by our inability to see major landmarks, was well worth the journey. I learned two things: 1) You can’t plan for every situation. You’ll end up planning yourself out of a good time. 2) Colorado and it’s many colors still has my heart.
