In this latest series, I will be going through all the countries I’ve travelled to on my mission to visit every single country in the world. In this article, we will be covering country #71: Greece. If you haven’t gotten a chance already, read this story first to find out why I’m trying to visit all 193 UN-recognized countries.
VIDEO – Country #71: Greece
Blog post on Greece
- My Journey From Sofia, Bulgaria to Thessaloniki, Greece
- 5 Touristy Spots I Visited In Athens
- Santorini – Having an Amazing Time Exploring Fira and Oia (16 Pictures!)
- My Complete Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Greece Spending Breakdown
Thessaloniki
After a long grueling travel time from Sofia, Bulgaria, my girlfriend and I finally made it to our first destination in Greece: Thessaloniki.
After grabbing breakfast in our hotel, we made our way to the main sight seeing destination in this city which is the White Tower of Thessaloniki.
The walk there was quite pleasant as we watched people live their day to day lives. As well, walking on the port was quite serene.
Eventually, we made it to the White Tower. It was neat but I think the random guy rapping near the tower was more fascinating.
Arriving in Athens
After sight seeing in Thessaloniki, we took a lengthy train ride going all the way to Athens.
It was late at night when we arrived. Feeling exhausted, we hurried our way to the Airbnb that we booked for the night.
Unfortunately, we got stuck outside for a while as the owners were not home. After waiting for 30 minutes, one of the tenants opened the door for us. The owner never showed up but sent someone to help us out. It was kind of annoying as we were dead tired by the time we arrived. Regardless, the Airbnb was clean and we got a good night sleep.
Ferry to Santorini
Unfortunately, our good night rest was cut short as we had to wake up bright and early to catch the ferry going to Santorini. We felt like zombies getting up so early. After getting ready, we used Uber to get us to the port.
The driver was super friendly and informative as he told us stories of life in Athens. It’s pretty sad how high the taxes are in Greece. If you want to get ahead here, it’s not going to be an easy task.
Before long, we arrived at the port and boarded the ferry.
The ferry ride was rather pleasant. I took a nap the first hour and half because I was still sleepy. When I got up, Karen and I got some breakfast. We also took the chance to admire the beautiful Mediterranean sea on the deck.
Arriving in Santorini
We’re glad to take the fast boat as we made it to Santorini in no time. To save money, we decided to avoid the taxis and opted to take the local bus instead.
It took us near enough to our accommodation that we can walk the rest of the way.
After dropping off our stuff in our accommodation, we made our way to Fira.
Fira
We spent so much time walking around on the day we arrived in Fira. To be honest, we also spent a lot of time eating.
The food in Fira and surrounding areas was fantastic. From ice cream to Greek food to Chinese food, we had a blast eating. In between pigging out, we also walked all over Fira to enjoy the lovely view of Santorini.
Oia
The start of our second day wasn’t that great. We tried taking a bus to the eastern side of Santorini to visit a museum. From sheer bad luck, the museum was closed and we hade to make our way back.
This time, we decided to go to Oia which was our next destination in Santorini.
Oia is even more picturesque than Fira with the famous blue roofs and white houses on the hillside covered the place.
At sunset, tons of tourist flocked to capture the beautiful view of the sun coming down.
Athens at night
The next day, we bid farewell to our accommodation. The friendly owner gave us a gift to remind us of Santorini. Karen was touched by this warm gesture. Greek people are hospitable and friendly.
We arrived in Athens at sundown as we made our way towards our hostel. Karen and I got lucky and we were the only ones in the dorm room. After dropping off our stuff, we enjoyed some Greek food for dinner. Karen said she can never eat Greek food here in Canada again because she was spoiled by how good the Greek food was in Greece.
Before calling it a night, we also walked around and checked out several stores. Karen went on a souvenir buying spree to give to her friends and family when she flies back to Canada.
Athens by day
We woke up bright and early the next day excited to check out the Acropolis of Athens.
After breakfast, we hiked our way to the hill where the Acropolis was located.
I know some people don’t really like Athens. But personally, I loved it here. I enjoyed my time in the Acropolis even if there was a lot of tourist here.
After a fun filled morning exploring the Acropolis, we made our way down to do one last shopping for souvenirs. Then, we packed our bags and headed for the airport.
Departure
The journey to the airport was an adventure on its own. While we did get lost at first, we eventually found our way to the right metro that would take us to the airport.
From here, we would be flying to Croatia which is Karen’s last destination before flying back home to Canada.
Conclusion
I really liked Greece. It’s probably my favourite country in the Mediterranean at the moment. I’d love to go back one day and visit the Meteora monastery and other islands besides Santorini.
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