St. Andreas Beach Katakolon Greece

     We arrive at St. Andreas beach, and I have to say, this is a lot nicer and a lot less noisy than the previous one we went to in Albania.

 The umbrellas are free but you have to purchase €3 of food or drink, which is easy enough. Being that I just had breakfast not too long before, I had a bottle of water and a lemon granita. The sand is a little rocky so it's good to bring water socks.

 We left 1/2 day and went back to the town of Katakolon and did a little shopping along this cute quaint little town. Then we stopped off for a beer and Ouzo to top off the day. 

Katakolon, Greece

I read someone else's blog about the fun train. So we got off the ship and turned right through the main town. After a few blocks someone was selling tickets for the train, 6€ round trip, which takes you to a winery, then the beach. I didn't realize til I got to the end that the fun train was a  different vendor but basically the same. So if you walk to the end you have 2 vendors to choose from and they go to the same beach,  but different restaurant side by side

We went for a slow scenic ride to the winery on a 40 acre estate and paid 3€ for a glass of wine. 

The Mercouri (or Merkouri) estate is one of the Greek wine industry's charming pleasures. Its owners and employees are intelligent, sunny and relaxed. The estate itself, a working farm that has been family-owned for nearly 150 years, is breathtakingly beautiful; tastefully preserved and stunningly landscaped. Good taste is so pervasive at Mercouri that we were not the least surprised about the originality and universally high quality of their wines. 

Here is a link about the estates. Mercouri Winery Estates

 Walked around and took some scenic photos. It would be a great place to get married. 

  They had 2 very large , beautiful dogs in a fenced in area, where we were all taking photos of. They also had peacocks wandering around and lots of photo ops. After about 30-45 minutes the train  came back around, but not everyone got off, so we barely squeezed in to get to the beach. We kind of had to be assertive to get in as no one wants to scoot over,  so we didn't sit near each other, but at least we got on. This fun train looks like a zoo train, so not a whole lot of room and I didn't want to wait another 30-45 minutes for another one. 

 

#Katakolon #Greece #travellingtheworld #lovetotravel #vacaylife

Mediterranean Cruise from Venice to Barcelona

Mediterranean Cruise #2 Starts Now

I wanted to take a cruise that started in Venice so I could spend a few days in this romantic, historical and amazing city before I can't for some reason. The last time I was there was over 20 years ago, so now was a good time to revisit with my husband. I went in July which is probably the most crowded and the hottest months of  the year. 

Note to self: never go in the summer again! I will only go there in May or maybe September/October. The crowds were ridiculous and the heat wave was unbearable. It will zap your energy, and I usually have a pretty good amount. But it wasn't like I was surprised by the amount of people and crowds. I just know that in the future, I think I would rather be in cooler weather than hot and humid while travelling to hot places. 

Our itinerary was similar to below map. But these were our ports listed below.

Day1 -Venice

Day 2- Dubrovnik, Croatia

Day 3- Sarande, Albania

Day 4. Katakolon (Olympia) Greece

Day 5 -Sea Day

Day 6- Naples, Italy

Day 7-Civitavecchia (Rome) Italy

Day 8- Livorno (Florence/Pisa) Italy

Day 9- Monte Carlo, Monaco

Day 10- Toulon, France

Day 11- Sete, France

Day 12-Barcelona, Spain

#Mediterranean #Venice #Greece #Cruise

Corfu, Greece

View from the ship leaving Corfu.

This is the alternate port we go to, since we aren't going to Turkey. We are only there a half day and we forgot to set our clocks forward an hour, so we can't do the taxi to the beach thing because we don't want to risk not getting back on time. So we take the local shuttle into town which is 5 euros . It's really hot so it's worth it to get the shuttle instead of a 15 minute walk in the hot sun. The streets are pretty shaded so it's a nice walk and great prices through this little town. I bought a Med. style necklace, baseball cap (Corfu of course) earrings and soaps. The soaps are only 1 euro each so you can't go wrong, and pick up a few. The wine is also cheap and we have been trying to pick one up in each town. On the way out we stop off for a drink and WiFi at a place called Pomegranate. This place is pretty close to the shuttle so we don't have to rush and wonder how to get there. Check the menu prices before ordering otherwise you might be shocked in the difference you pay. 

FUN FACT ABOUT CORFU:

 Corfu is one of the greenest islands in Greece. There are more than 2 million olive trees on the island of Corfu adding to its lushness and the food tables

Back to the ship early for nachos, beers and mocktails. 

Guess this sound!

 

 

 

View from the ship leaving Corfu.

Crete Greece

Crete Greece

Beach day! There are no excursions to the beach so we are going to DIY. Today was one of those days where everything went too smooth. We got into port at 12:00 and will be there till 8:30. Instead of trying to figure out the bus for 4 people we decided to grab a taxi to Amadourro beach. The sign for it outside has a price for 15 Euros. So for once we happened to be one of the first 20 or so off the ship and headed for the shuttle to the terminal (which is mandatory) and then hopped on the shuttle front row (that never happens) and were first on the shuttle to the waiting taxis. We pointed where we wanted to go and the taxi driver said the other beach (I think it was called Kaliterous or something like that) for 17 euros and was supposed to be a little better, and they are only about 10 minutes or 4-5 miles away. When we got there we saw umbrellas with lounge chairs (bring your own towels) they rent for 2 euros a chair. 

So for 8 euros we got 2 umbrellas and 4 chairs. They have free WiFi, showers, toilets, changing rooms and a snack bar with everything from wine, beer, snacks, food items and ice cream bars. Someone will bring it all to you, but we didn't know what we wanted so we ordered 2 beers, 1 ouzo, lg. bag of chips, fries (which was huge and came with bread) 3 granites' ( lemon, melon and strawberry) all for 21 eruos. Remember the day before was 20 euros for 1 beer and 2 smoothies so we felt like we got the deal of the day. The water is crystal blue clear and really warm, so we go in a few times getting into the water and try to "go pro"  a few moments before getting knocked over in the waves. There are speakers that play new world/cultural dance music  and you have that  "I can't believe I'm sitting here at a Greek Mediterranean Beach having a drink with a cool breeze blowing over us" moment. 

We asked the taxi driver Thfo to pick us up at 5:00 and he was there exactly at 5:00. Just in case there were taxi drivers waiting there to get you back so I don't think there is a problem getting back. We again were the first ones to get on the shuttle on the front seat and no lines to get on the ship. It was seamless and probably only a once in a lifetime effortlessly moving from one place to the next like we were the only ones there. The Greek Gods were shining down on us. 

FUN FACT ABOUT CRETE

 HEALING POWERS OF CRETAN AIR

The air on the largest Greek island is said to have healing powers and can even perform miracles. In fact, Hippocrates or the “father of medicine” stated this himself!

#Crete #Greece #vacaylife #travelingtheworld #Lovetotravel

Mykonos Elias Beach

Mykonos Greece Elias Beach

Our last port day before disembarkation in Athens. We have an all day Princess shore excursion. First we went to Elias beach for a 3 hr fun morning in the crystal blue waters, where you can see the bottom of the ocean, and all the little treasures. It's about a 30-45 minute drive out there and it's a beautiful resort. OK the lounge chairs and umbrellas are nicer and they are right at the edge of the water, which is going to cost us. Remember I said Crete was 2 Euros a chair? This is 25 Euros for 2 chairs and umbrella for the first 3 rows and the last rows are 20 Euros each. They change prices according to season. So there are 4 of us and of course we are going with the front row and that will cost us 50 Euros. Good thing they take credit card. 

We hear that Leonardo Di Caprio is in town, and there happens to be a yacht in the water with the name "Plan B" on it, which we recognize as Brad Pitt's production company name. Maybe he's lending it to Leo, but we never find out. The water is colder than yesterday, but I force myself to go in because I have to, (it's the Greek Mediterranean) and my husband wants to use his GoPro and film me swimming haha. So in we go and swim around in the salty sea water, and I just can't get used to the clear water that you can see to the bottom. One of the great things about this place is they have free Wifi.  So posting pic's on FB of this beautiful place, checking in on the home front and relaxing in the shade, I want to stay here forever. We spend about 3 hours at the beach before we leave for lunch.

#Mykonos #EliasBeach #vacaylife #travelingtheworld #lovetotravel