I interviewed my middle son to see how he summarizes our family travel experiences. These were his thoughts around the time of his senior year in high school.
“Traveling gave me a better understanding of different cultures….the bigger picture of the world. It opens you up, shows you, makes you aware of the world–not the bubble of America.I liked the bus tours even better than some of the museums because someone is speaking to you and it’s more interactive.”
(On most of the museums, cathedrals, castles, etc…we had a private tour guide so he’s referring to museums where we may not have had a guide.)
Meeting relatives in Greece for the first time…..
Learning in interactive childrens museums:
a childrens museum in Scotland;
Trying new experiences in foreign environments:
deep sea fishing in Mexico
At 18 years old, he set off on his first independent trip. He went to Greece for 5 weeks; 3 weeks at a camp and 2 weeks on his own with a friend. He stayed at the monastery, Mount Athos, for 6 days and wrote about his experience in a journal…..a tradition we started when he was a little boy traveling with the family. He presented us with this idea of independent travel a year earlier. It took some faith on our part and a lot of meticulous planning but entrusting him with responsibility on this journey was worth it. It turned out to be a successful trip and a huge learning experience! Below is his six day journal of that experience.
I interviewed my sons on their thoughts on traveling. It was very interesting to learn what their impressions were.
What did you learn through traveling?
“Traveling showed me what life outside of America is like. There are cultures very different from our own. Traveling gave me the best memories of being with my family. In Spain and the Mediterranean, they have siestas—taking a break out of the day. Americans are about “work, work, work” so this siesta was different. There were no restaurants open to go to. It showed me that some countries prioritize leisure and family time more.”
What were the pros and cons of traveling?
“I realized America has certain conveniences like 24 hour grocery stores. Our roads and parking are better in America. Our van practically got stuck between buildings in Seville.”
What was your favorite trip?
“I think my favorite trip itinerary was: Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Lichtenstein, France, Germany, England and Greece a few years ago because I like being in the Mediterranean and close to the sea. Greece is my favorite country and that was our last stop on this trip.”
What was the most exotic trip you’ve taken?
“India was the most exotic trip I took because it’s a total 180 from America. There wasn’t a lot of English spoken and we didn’t eat the street food. It was definitely a third world country.”
What people skills did you acquire through traveling?
“I learned patience and understanding since there is a language barrier when you’re traveling. Each side has to understand what the other is saying. I don’t focus on the negatives because there’s too many good things that happen.”
What advice do you have about long flights?
“My advice about long flights is watch movies, take good music and sleep.”
This son went on a trip to Ireland with his college ruby team to play in a 10-day tour. They raised their own funds for most of the travel expenses and then stayed in youth hostels. He mountain biked, played guitar in a pub at night and played on an Irish rugby team for one of the games. (link below)
Halfway through starting this blog, I interviewed my three sons, separately, to get their feedback and impressions about traveling. My youngest son was deliberate and engaged about sharing his experiences. I was surprised to learn that his favorite trips were not the ones I thought they would be. He was always so good about “going with the flow” on the highly educational trips. It turns out, he liked the R & R trips the best–the ones with the relaxing geographical features and excursions…..
“My favorite thing about our trips is experiencing things you can’t find in your hometown. The best parts are the beaches, new environments and seeing how different things can be…..like the bazaars we’ve been to. The worst part about traveling is going through the airports and not being able to get to what you want to do when you want to.”
“My favorite trip of all time was Switzerland because it started with Switzerland and it ended with Greece. The tiny little city of Churwalden up in the Alps was my favorite place. The weather was cool and the air was fresh. We didn’t have to go into a city to sightsee….it was just calm. I also loved Hawaii because of the nice beaches and the natural wonders that are unique. We had fruit at breakfast that we’ve never even heard of before.”
“My advice is to always be ready to be going somewhere and be sure to have the energy to do it. Getting enough sleep and eating the right foods help you have the energy. The craziest thing I saw was a naked man walking down a major street in Spain. The best artifact I’ve seen was the thorn from Jesus’s “crown of thorns” in the Seville Cathedral. The most fun thing I did was ride the waves in Hawaii and Mexico. My favorite transportation was ferries. I liked the short distance of going between countries. On the plane, it’s good to always have music and earphones. Appreciate your time while you are there and keep a journal. I’m glad that my mom made me keep a journal because I enjoy reading it now!” Below is a blog about his pre-school travel journal entries.
Porto Katsiki is considered one of the top beaches in the world.
Lefkada is on the Ionian Side of Greece. Porto Katsiki beach was so blue it looked like a blue paint can had fallen over into the sea. We had to reach the beach by staircases of 100 steps or more.
100 steps or more to the beach
We stayed in a villa near Karia, a village which is nicknamed the “embroidery capital of the Greece. Nydri is the larger town nearby. It was a good 20 minute drive down the mountain to get to the port town of Nydri.
Restaurant recommendation: Taverna Kara Boulas
Excursions on Lefkada were totally different from any of the other Greek islands we’ve been to. Lefkada is old-fashioned in the way that it’s not touristy and it has an authenticity to it. When you look onto the port from the mountainside, it looks like a 1950’s postcard.
A full week there was perfect. You can walk right up to any boat on the port and ask for the two cruises I recommend. Captain Gerasimos’s boat with the huge eye on the mast is the one I recommend.Our villa was a paradise to come home to everyday.http://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/lefkada-villas.html
Excursions to check out:
star gazing cruise (from the port)
Onassis cruise (from the port)
amusement part in Nydri
The Fort of Aghia Mavra
photos by Patrick and GIna
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On the island of Lefkada on the Ionian side of Greece, there is a star gazing cruise you can take out of the port. Our Greek American friends told us about it and we joined them for one of the most magical nights we’ve experienced as a family. The boat took us to a remote, uninhabited island. We climbed off the boat, down a ladder and were handed a beach mat. We set up our mats, waited for the Greek food picnic buffet to be set out. We skipped rocks, ate our picnic food and waited for the sun to completely set. Once it was pitch dark, our captain started his lecture about the skies….the astronomy and all its glory! He pointed out satellites, comets, constellations, space station, (with the naked eye) and Saturn through a telescope.Many people fell asleep but I stayed up for the whole thing. To lie there with my 10 year old son fast asleep in my arms, was something I’ll never forget. All of us alone at midnight on a beach of an uninhabited island; gazing at the stars and listening to stories and astronomical stories….in beautiful Greece?!— nothing like it!
comet (from internet)
photos by Patrick
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On the island of Lefkada in Greece, we took two cruises: the Star Gazing cruise (on another post) and the “Onassis cruise”. The Onassis cruise was a “bucket list” event for me because I’ve always wanted to see Skorpios--which had been the private island of Onassis. Ari Onassis married Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis “Jackie O” on the island of Skorpios. This cruise’s captain had worked for Onassis as a youngster and was able to tell us anecdotal tales. He had photo albums onboard with newspaper clippings of the famous couple…and of Maria Callas (the opera singer) too!
the Onassis scrapbooks
We visited 4 islets, swam in a cave which was rumored to have hidden a submarine (?), went to an islet with an ancient olive press “factory”, had a picnic on a beach and snorkled and ended up on Skorpios –a public access beach on the private island.
swimming in a cave
We drank espressos when we started, mojitos in the afternoon, and had Greek “caviar and champagne” which is really olives and ouzo shots.
Greek “caviar and champagne”
the captain let our son pull the masts up….
pulling up the masts
I looked out onto the turquoise blue Ionian sea with the wind in my hair, the sun on my face, in our bathing suits, relaxed on beverages, my arm around my husband and my gaze on my sons dancing and steering the sailboat which was a pirate ship replica and I thought, “This is a perfect moment of life.” People were Greek dancing in their bathing suits, everyone was relaxed and intrigued at the same time for what was around the corner as we toured 4 islets. Sailing, walking, hiking, drinking, eating, snorkeling…..
reading scrapbooks, steering a boat, pulling masts, learning about an olive press, taking photos of native island women in their traditional dress….it was an assault of the senses in the best way.
Corfu is an island on the Ionian side of Greece. It is also referred to as Kerkyra. The lushness of Corfu comes from rainfall that happens on this island which is rare for a Greek island. Most Greek islands are rocky and barren. I found Corfu to be as lush as Hawaii. The flavor of the island was Italianate and Venetian since it is so close to Italy. We loved Paleokastritsa area and its magnificent beach.
The caves on the Paleokastritsa beach were breathtaking. We rented a boat and sailed through them. Seeing fish this way was fun for the boys. The colors on the rocks of the caves were stunning. The villages we drove through the mountainside were darling! Our villa in Paleokastritsa was called Villa Fiorita and the bougainvillea was front and center on this picturesque scene.
click on villahttp://www.greece.com/hotels/Ionian_Islands/Corfu/Villa_Fiorita.html Every morning, I’d make Nescafe in a vriki (a copper coffee carafe) and some tea for my husband and we’d sit outside on the balcony while our sons slept in. This gave us time to caffeinate and journalize about the events of the past day while it was still fresh in our minds. I did all the writing and my husband helped fill in the blanks. It’s a great way to stretch out the vacation by being present in the moment and cognitively strengthening and embracing our experiences. Lakones was one particularly colorful and quaint village where we saw people just sitting outside, quietly and peacefully, enjoying the night.
The evening dinners were not just delicious, but an opportunity for entertainment, too! The waiters were also dancers who dazzled us with the dance tricks we had never seen before. Corfu is a must-see for Greek islands!
waiters dancing on tables on top of fire
Sightseeing:
Achilleon Palace
St. Spyridon Church–houses the body and relics of the saint
Corfu town– many kumquat products
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Athens is the capital of Greece. Millions of people live there. It’s everything you expect a capital city to be—populated, busy, exciting, full of monuments, shops, restaurants and traffic. Taking my sons through Athens was daunting as we had to be careful with subways, crossing streets, etc. My husband and I had seen Athens many times before as individuals or as a couple but seeing it through my sons’ eyes for the first time was precious to me because we had studied Athens for years and I was eager to show them our ancestral homeland. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Art/
The Parthenon can be best understood and appreciated when you watch the video about it in The Acropolis Museum. To know what the Parthenon actually looked like in its original design is important because the stone color of it now is from years of erosion and pollution. Observing the marbles and the sculptures within it’s top layer is something you can appreciate best in person. The link above explains the architectural design of the styles of columns of various temples and buildings. Below are the “Elgin” Marbles housed in the British Museum in England. The controversy of the “Elgin” Marbles is a subject worth reading about. “Stealing Athena” by Karen Essex is a good book for adults to read about this topic.(last two photos from the internet)
Top things to do in Athens:
Parthenon
Acropolis Museum
National Archeological Museum
Plaka
Monasteraki
Mt. Lycabettus
Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
Syntagma Square
changing of the guards
Zappeion (National Gardens of Athens)
Benaki Museum
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Santorini is a Greek island worth mentioning in its own post here. So much to do for families!! It is the most photographed island of Greece ( if not the most photographed island in the world!). It’s historic volcanic eruption reached South America even and has created the breathtaking caldera views. There are so many excursions to enjoy on Santorini. A recommended stay of 4 days will give you the opportunity to do it all!
Besides the fulfilling shopping, eating and sightseeing, Santorini offered specialty excursions like:
sailing out to the active volcano,
swimming in the hot springs,
riding donkeys,
parasailing,
going to a winery,
museums,
scuba diving,
beaches,
Akrotiri museum (a buried city) was thrilling.
The everyday views and observations made us fall in love with this island. I have flown to the island and I’ve ferried there. The high speed ferry is a great option!
As touristy as Santorini is, we still saw local residents living among the luxury and posh clifftop villas. Who can resist visiting with a local? It enhanced our stay as we were on a break from visiting relatives in Athens and my father’s village.
An excerpt from my book, A Magic Carpet Ride:
“People gathered around dusk to watch the sunset and capture it on film. There we were, tourists and locals gathered together, waiting pensively for that moment when something incomprehensible like the sun works its magic in the form of a sunset. It’s a rhapsody and a kaleidoscope all in one. Like the starlight and moonlight of so many other nights I’ve enjoyed while traveling, it brings me back to the epiphany again, that we all share the same moon… the same stars. This cliffside view of the caldera has beauty that is ironic. The volcano that was so disastrous all those years ago, reached distances clear across the world. Yet, here in Santorini, all you see is beauty in the horizon. It’s hard to equate that something so disastrous and naturally violent can originate from a place of such beauty and calm…. Far out on a promontory, there was a couple getting dinner served to them. We saw a group of people assembling to watch the famous sunset. The sun was still shining on the side of a church so we posed for a family shot. We drove back to Fira and had dinner at Naoussa Restaurant, which was recommended to us.”
Hotel recommendation: Irinis Villa in Imeroviglio (which used to be a pirate look out point) or Chromata.
Restaurant recommendation: Naoussa and every single restaurant, actually!
Oia: drive up to Oia, the whitewashed clifftop village to watch the world famous sunset, shop in artsy boutiques and have dinner or dessert. Click on link below to order my book.
I highly recommend Santorini! I’ve been four times and I still want to return. Stories and recommendations on international travel can be found in my book:
A Magic Carpet Ride by Gina Michalopulos Kingsley. Proceeds will be donated to charity.
photos by Gina and Patrick Kingsley (except for those from internet)
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*The suggested reading books I’ve included on most countries’ posts are for children and/or parents to read. Some parents have told me that reading a children’s book on a country gives gave them a simple “bird’s eye view” into what could otherwise be a complicated or complex history in adult versions.
Santorini at night is a whole other experience..I recommend taking a siesta so that you can reserve your energy for walking around the port town for shopping and dining. We like staying in Imeroviglio for our villa location. It used to be a pirate look out point.If you can walk down to Fira or Thira as it’s sometimes called, it is a good way to get exercise and avoid looking for a parking spot. The view in Imerovigli or Oia is worth it. It’s also a nice break from the city center. Driving up to Oia could take 20 minutes and that’s best enjoyed at sunset.
Make an evening out of Oia…take your sunset family pics, eat dinner up there and stroll through the boutiques. I have been 4 times to Santorini and I know I’ll be back!! There are so many excursions to do so stretching it out over several days gives you more energy to enjoy each outing.
world famous sunset at Oia, Santorini
Follow this lesson plan to build trip itineraries with your family:
experiences. These were his thoughts around the time of his senior year in high school.
photos by Patrick
