Final Tips for Stress-Free Packing

• Pack less than you think—there’s almost always a way to do laundry, and you can pick up forgotten items when you arrive

• Nest your items—use socks to stuff shoes, and pack toiletries in small, compact containers

• Roll and compress clothes—your future self will thank you!

• Swap liquids for solids—bar products are a sustainable, space-saving way to travel light

• Embrace versatility—the key to efficient packing is choosing pieces that can be mixed and matched to create unlimited outfit combos

The first song caused goosebumps and throughout the play I realized my mouth was wide open in awe, the talent of the cast was unfathomable.

Meteora was a place out of a fairytale and like nothing I had ever seen. We arrived by train and bus to this tiny city in the middle of Greece to be dazzled by towering peaks, capped with monasteries.

It was now far past our bedtime, but we were two drinks in and feeling silly. We found a beautiful square and had our own little photoshoot before crashing for bed. 

Coming from a country that has so little interest in protecting its citizens, especially the children of the country, I felt emotional the whole time we were in Serbia.

Our tour guide did NOT lean into the Dracula theme which was sort of disappointing but nevertheless we got to walk around on our own and immerse ourselves in the story as we meandered through each room.

That night we toured the Uchisar Castle, Lisa took a photo that incidentally included a mob boss (assuming) and we went to dinner in a cave restaurant owned by a very sweet family. The food was excellent and when we arrived the father of this family was planting seeds in the garden.

Little things not to forget:

• The glee of being a human bubble

• Walking down the steps of the cistern and seeing the room open up, jaws on the floor

• Stepping foot into the palace kitchen and realizing “this looks familiar” – feeling like I was part of history.

Be sure to check out the quirky museums: (Tomato Industrial Museum, Wine museum and Atlantis Experiences). They won’t take too much time and you can learn some interesting history of the islanders lifestyle and theories of ancient Greece.

Take a boat ride around the island: Specifically with Pauly and George. Almost half of the island is off limits to tourists w/ basic cars. The only way to see some of those incredible beaches and caves is by boat.

Here’s what we learned in our time in Athens

Off we went to the Shola market, where we saw so many incredible spices and herbs and the stalls were filled from things such as chickens, to traditional Ethiopian dining tables to socks. Our tour guide said it was the standard market in the city that everyone goes to for just about everything – himself included.

Every tour guide we had was so kind, all our taxi drivers texted us after saying they were so glad to have met us and locals helped us whenever they could. Every morsel of food was 10/10 and being there at the end of Ramadan was very special

That night we went to an Iftar buffet. This is a nightly buffet that restaurants do all over the city for people after a full day of fasting. We went to one at the most magnificent hotel on the waterfront set between two palaces.

At some point on day 2, Erik had been chatting with a new friend, Lahiru, and he got us invited to the next days Sinhalese New Year! We had been hearing about it when we were in Sri Lanka but were so surprised to hear that they planned to celebrate on the island.

We awoke the next morning with time to shower, apply deet and sunscreen again and head out without breakfast. Don’t worry, we would be back in time for breakfast by 8:30 am. We were greeted at the gate by Suraj, our TukTuk driver. He was delightful and all smiles.

The show was absolutely incredible, Madam Butterfly. The story is horribly heartbreaking, and Mr. Pinkerton is a complete loser, piece of trash, but the staging, the fireworks, the huge floating ‘sun’ on the water – everything came together to be a breathtaking performance.

So many beautiful things on the last 3 days in our camper van. 

Lots of drive time these days but lots of beautiful things to see in the mountains. Wow! A gorgeous part of the country. 

On these days we had some really fun, both planned and unplanned, activities. Each day brought new topography and incredible sights. Enjoy!