Today we did a full day trip to the town of Sorrento. After a 2.5 hour drive from Pico, we caught up with friends of ours from Belmont who were at the end of their ten day holiday. We also caught up with another family from Canton who had just arrived in Sorrento to start the Amalfi coast leg of their holiday.
We enjoyed lots of drinks and laughs, popped in and out of many shops and bars, and it was great to spend the day relaxing with friends.
Paul and I made our way to the Bellevue Syrene hotel where we had stayed 25 years ago on our honeymoon and we all ate dinner at Tratorria da Emilia which we had dined at 25 years ago. While the food was good – I had spaghetti with clams, Paul had seafood risotto and D had pasta with seafood – the service was rushed which was disappointing.
Another highlight of the day was going to Sant’Anna Institute and several other local landmarks which Miss M had told us about from her semester abroad. A student let us into the gated Sant’Anna community and when I went into the main classroom building some of the staff was at the entrance. When I shared that our daughter had attended the school in the spring semester and shared her name, the ladies lit up with huge smiles and got super excited. While we know from Miss M what a positive impression study abroad had on her, it’s easy to forget that the students also make a tremendous impact on the staff each semester.
A 2.5 hour drive back to Pico – it was a long day but memorable for sure.
Spaghetti with clamsOutside Sant’AnnaArt at Bellevue Syrene
Today we focused on cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. We also started cleaning the living room moving some furniture into the spare room and the cantina, and Paul worked outside to begin clearing some of our land. We also did a half dozen loads of laundry and made four trips to the local market today:
First by me in the morning to buy more cleaning supplies. My credit card didn’t work and there’s no cell reception in piazza ferruci (the area where the bars and stores are) so I couldn’t call Paul for his card or cash
Second by me in the morning to get the items I had left behind
Third by Paul and D who went to get dinner ingredients and a bottle of wine
Fourth by Paul because we forgot an ingredient
Good thing the market is only a four minute walk away.
As Paul prepped dinner for us, the boys tried to open a bottle of red wine without an opener. When the cork finally went into the bottle, via hammer and screwdriver, the force was so strong that wine went everywhere — onto the freshly cleaned floor, fridge; walls, and ceiling. We’re so done with cleaning today that we’ll just remove the wine from the ceiling tomorrow!
Paul prepared bucatini alla carbonara with quanciale (thick spaghetti in an egg and cheese sauce with bits of pig cheek.) We didn’t have a pasta strainer and we employed D to manually crush the peppercorns since we didn’t have a grinder. We also don’t have any food storage containers for the leftovers so we’re improvising. I’d say overall first dinner at La Casa Pico was a success!
After dinner D took a walk to the castle, I did two more loads of laundry; and the boys went to the piazza to watch PSG vs Real Madrid.
Let’s take a step back and talk about some basics for our new followers:
The town of Pico is in a province called Frosinone (fro-zee-NON-neh.) Frosinone is in a region called Lazio and the capital of the Lazio region of Italy is Rome.
Pico is typically 90 minutes south of Rome and 90 minutes north of Naples and 40 minutes to several beach towns.
It’s set in the Aurunci (Ah-ROON-chee) mountains versus in the valley so the town benefits from a cool breeze on hot summer days. When we’ve run errands in neighboring towns in the valley, you can feel the temperate difference. The gentleman who sold D his guitar yesterday even commented on how nice the temperature is in Pico versus the lower situated towns.
The highs have been in the upper 80s during the day and it drops to low 60s at night. It is very hot in the afternoon sun, which reinforces why taking a siesta is so embraced here. The house and stores stay cool as everything is built solid with stone. We haven’t needed air conditioning and have one fan that we have been running when cleaning the bathroom and laundry room as they have less fresh air circulation.
Pico’s population is around 2,800 people which is double the size of Belmont High School. The town itself is 12 square miles, so three times the size of Belmont, MA.
The town has a medieval borgo, which means at its center there’s a castle and the architecture/buildings for the town are structured around that castle. Here’s a pic of the town from their tourism site:
Photo credit: visitPico.it tourism site
The town has a small but jam packed market, multiple “bars” which serve coffee drinks and pastries, alcohol, gelato, chips, granita, etc. The bars have indoor and outdoor seating and tend to be where people congregate.
We aren’t aware of any restaurants in town that are open Monday and Tuesdays. Thursday – Sunday there’s a delicious pizza place where we ate on our first night, and they are only open on Wednesdays in August.
There is a neighborhood gym (Palestra) and peeking through the window yesterday we saw weight machines and a ping pong table (random!) but it didn’t look open, no sign for hours or phone number. After two weeks of traveling, D is missing his gym membership; yesterday he worked out on the terrace.
Everyone we’ve met in town has been very welcoming. They are happy to speak with Paul, and I can follow along most conversations. It’s been three years since I was last in Italy so I’m out of practice with speaking to order food, exchange niceties with shopkeepers, etc, but it will come back.
There is a lot of abandoned property in Pico. Walking to and from the town center we see birds flying in and out of upper level windows that are open to the elements. Directly across the street from us is vacant on the first floor but occupied on the second. As we’ve learned with Italian real estate, property just gets passed down among family members and it’s common for people to own property in multiple towns. With property tax so low it’s easy to hold onto land or buildings and just let them sit unoccupied for decades.
In the morning we awake to the sounds of roosters, birds and maybe a cow? Sometimes we awake to India, the dog next door, barking at some perceived menace. At night we hear, but don’t see, secadas. Paul said there’s a gecko living in the caldaia (hot water heater cabinet on the terrace.) In other parts of Italy we’ve experienced a lot of mosquitos so one of our first purchases was a disposable, plug-in mosquito repellant which we’ve also bought on previous trips. We haven’t needed to plug it in here though. I think the mountain breeze helps compared to the places we’ve stayed in beach-side communities. Occasionally inside we’ve encountered small spiders but I’m chalking that up to the place being unoccupied for a decade.
Our friend, Carlo, runs the bed and breakfast in town: Nena Al Borgo Castello. When visiting we recommend staying at Nena!
Late morning D and I found Paul sitting outside L’Angolo Bar with a group of men talking about anything and everything.
Two hours, three croissants and cappuccinos later, we needed to start our day before stores close for siesta at 1 PM.
As we walked back up the hill to our place, Paul went into the bank, we stocked up on yogurts, milk, water and unrefrigerated eggs at the local market, and I popped into the local flower/gift shop which was proudly guarded by the friendliest black poodle who tried desperately to jump into my arms as I browsed the store.
Today’s waste pick up was the “indifferenziato” category but upon arriving back at the house Paul noticed that bin was missing. Our neighbor helped us find it — way down the street. Now we know our bins may not be left in the place where they are picked up. Or maybe the waste removal person doesn’t know that someone lives at the flat now and randomly tossed the bin upon emptying it?
In an attempt to get more errands done before everything shut down for siesta, we quickly hopped in car to reach the hardware store, the pharmacy and supermarket (at the last stop it was like a game show trying to grab what we could at the market before closing.)
The hardware store was an experience. It was larger than I expected and had every tool you could imagine plus air conditioning units, inflatable pools, and more. Thankfully Paul was able to converse with the helpful storekeeper and brought photos of what we needed, so she helped us find the correct replacement bulbs, a door lock core and an adapter for the washing machine. When we told her we needed latex gloves, instead of selling us a box of 100 she asked how many we needed. I was confused assuming we would be buying a whole box. As we only needed a few pairs, she took the time to select 4 pairs of medium and large-sized gloves, bagging them separately and labeling the bags with an M and L for us. So sweet! Paul will return there tomorrow to get spare keys made.
See top of photo. Every hardware store needs a witch
While the rest of the people in the region took siesta, we focused on cleaning our laundry room. Paul did the bulk of the cleaning to spare me the grossness behind the washing machine. It’s a small room located under a set of stairs which reminds me of Harry Potters bedroom. It’s big enough for the washing machine and several shelves, the vacuum cleaner, a laundry basket or two, and not much else. We deep cleaned the machine and ran two empty loads before throwing in the first of several loads. We have two weeks of D’s laundry to do so hopefully the machine will hold up!
This afternoon the boys moved a large blue wardrobe and the base of a convertible chair/bed into the cantina until we can figure out how to do large item or bulk trash pickup. The cantina is the size of a single car garage but the door is only wide enough for a Vespa or motorcycle. We’re using it as storage space for now and our friend’s motorcycle is parked there as well.
After siesta we went back down the hill to Piumanera, a small bar/cafe run by Tiziana and her husband Mimo. Paul had met Tiziana on a prior trip and we caught up with her and her friend Marinella over three cantaloupe-flavored granitas.
We promised D he could keep an acoustic guitar at the house, so off to Drums & Music in nearby Ceprano we went. Tiziana was excited to hear about the pending guitar purchase and asked if D could play to help lull customers in for a spritz.
For dinner we went to the town of Roccasecca to dine at La Magnolia, a restaurant we’ve eaten at previously. We lost the blog post on our visit to Pico (and Roccasecca) from 2022, and we typically refer to past posts to remind us of what we’ve eaten, where we’ve visited, etc. But we don’t need the post from 2022 to remind us of what we ate — it was that good.
The chef has won numerous awards, including a best pizza award from a global competition in Vegas, and an award for their spaghetti carbonara. Tonight we had spaghetti carbonara (it was soooo good), an antipasto platter, and three pizzas: fig and prosciutto, amatriciana and magnola which had two cheeses and prosciutto crudo.
We ended the night being serenaded by D with his new guitar while hanging our first load of laundry on the line off the terrace. 11:30pm is not optimal laundry drying time but we’re doing the best we can and enjoying every minute of it.
At L’Angolo Bar, Paul started the morning with an espresso and croissant while I had a cappuccino and a croissant filled with frutti di bosco (a multi-berry jam.)
At 7:30a Paul left for the Rome airport to pick up D but didn’t get back til close to 1pm due to an accident on the A1. It should have been only 2.5 hours roundtrip.
While Paul was stuck in traffic I accepted delivery of our first piece of furniture: a matterasso matrimonio aka European-size queen bed! I’m sure the delivery driver is accustomed to the narrow streets in villages like Pico as they had to park aways up the road as it’s only one car width wide.
We may not have bed sheets yet, but we have a lightweight duvet and five pillows so we’re excited for a solid night’s sleep. D will use the air mattress until we either buy a pull out couch or bed with trundle for the spare room.
Upon returning from the airport, Paul picked up some pizza, a spinach pie and an Italian version of a full size pig in a blanket for lunch.
I spent most of today cleaning the bathroom and spare bedroom. I also began clearing out the living room cabinets as Carlo left us a ton of glassware; crystal and plates — 99% of which we aren’t keeping. We boxed things up and D put the items in our cantina until we can figure out how to dispose of items that don’t fit in one of the five designated waste bins:
Multi Materiali: we know this is for plastic, and we think metal too but unsure and haven’t looked it up yet
Carta: paper/cardboard
Vetro: glass
Humido: compost
Secco Indifferentiato: other uncategorized trash
Each of the bins has a separate pick up day. (Note to self: add schedule to house doc for future guests.)
While Paul painted the bathroom, a very jet lagged D and I took a walk to the supermarket which was inexplicably closed, so we continued on to a cafe where he experienced his first true Italian espresso. It’s been three years since D’s been to Italy and at age 15 espresso was not something he consumed. Now as an 18 year old who runs on Dunkin, the art of standing at the counter to order and drink your espresso, the complimentary water, and paying after you have consumed your drink, was all new for him. The barista asked D and I if we wanted a glass espresso cup or one that was ceramic and I don’t know why. I’m adding it to my list of Italian culture questions for when we see our friend Antonella next.
By 8:30pm, we had enough of cleaning and painting, showered in our clean and freshly painted bathroom, and hopped in the car for a brief ride to the next town (San Giovanni Incarico) for dinner at La Locanda Cascata. It was nice to catch up with D on his Chicago trip over a starter of potato croquettes shaped like mini mozzerella sticks. For dinner, a liter of house red wine, D had capriccioso pizza, Paul had grilled steak, and I had ravioli in red sauce. For dessert, to share a ricotta pear tart and glass of amaro. We were all very happy and full from the day.
Paul and D ended the night with a walk to see the castle lit up at night.
Paul and I arrived in Rome a few hours apart from each other, and in our rental car began the trip south towards Pico. Departing Rome’s Fiumicino airport always makes me smile with the abundant Cyprus trees (which I love) and the highway median strip ablaze with magenta wildflowers. Such a stark difference from the ride to Boston from Logan airport.
Our first stop of the day was IKEA to pick up items for the house (plates, cutlery, cutting board, hangers, pillows, a duvet, pot holders, dish towels and more.) IKEA Rome is set up exactly the same as IKEA in MA or NJ with many of the same lines of furniture.
Our second stop was a small patisserie in Ceprano where we scarfed down focaccia sandwiches with tomato, arugula and mozzarella, an espresso, and a tiny beignet filled with chocolate and cream.
Next we went to what we’re calling “La Casa Pico” — the flat we purchased last year. Paul had previously shared many photos and descriptions with me that I wasn’t surprised by the size and condition of the place upon arrival. It’s going to be great, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure it’s livable for the future.
After touring the home, we walked into town to help me get my bearings and have another espresso (we were very jet lagged.) Being Sunday afternoon many places were closed, but L’Angolo Bar (the corner bar/cafe we ate at with the kids in 2018) was open. I remembered it from 2018 as it had a little bit of everything: alcohol, coffee bar, a Gelateria selection, a random selection of souvenirs, and a TV playing cheesy Italian pop music videos.
And what happened at the bar continued to happen throughout the rest of our day in Pico. At L’Angolo, Paul introduced me to Francesco and Giuseppe, a father son duo who served up coffee and small talk.
Walking back to the apartment I met Biaggio, a neighbor probably in his 70s, who had a lot to share about street parking tips and developments in Pico since Paul had last seen him in April.
We also saw India, the stray dog, and heard her barking at passerby’s throughout the night. Biaggio leaves a few pieces of cooked pasta on the street for India each day.
A short time later we drove through the mountain, down winding roads for 20 minutes to the town of Fondi where we went to Maury’s and Orrizzonte, two chain stores that are like a cross between Home Depot, Target and the Dollar Store. We purchased a new mop and broom, full size toiletries and cleaning supplies, an espresso machine with pods, a clothes steamer, an electronic mosquito repellant, moisture control containers (mold is a big issue in Italy), two chairs and a table for our terrace, and more.
Back around the mountain to Pico we returned with a car full of purchases. No sooner than we had started cleaning, our friend Carlo came by for a visit. After catching up with him, we spent several hours deep cleaning the bedroom: scrubbing and mopping the floor, cleaning light fixtures, baseboards, and doors to the terrace. With one room clean, we were able to set up an inflatable mattress for the night and we’ll turn our attention to other rooms tomorrow.
For dinner, as we walked three blocks downhill, Paul introduced me to Giovanni, the gentleman responsible for the cemetery and for some reason he was wearing a blue cape, like Superman without the “S.” Sitting with Giovanni were Mimo, the owner of Piuma Nera Bar.
And then, upon arriving at Pizzeria Senza Nome, Paul introduced me to our server, Domenico. We chatted with him briefly and had a wonderful meal of Peroni Nastro Azurro beers, a Capriccio pizza for me and a Rucola and Prosciutto pizza for Paul. Senza Nome does a brisk business, only open Thursday – Sunday for dinner (except August they are open on Wednesdays.) They had a steady stream of dine in and carry away orders for the hour we were there.
As we walked back up the hill, ready to call it a night, we saw our friend Carlo and his cousin sitting on a bench. We chatted with them (mostly Paul chatted in Italian and I did my best to follow along) and then another woman arrived who told us about the dozen of chingale (wild boar) at her home invading her garden, and then another woman arrived, and then an older woman (likely 80s) named Ana. Everyone who joined the group conversation in the square was introduced to us by Carlo as the “new entries of Pico” living down the street and they were very welcoming and kind. The conversation at the Fontana (drinking water dispenser) at the end of our street could have continued for hours but Paul and I were exhausted.
We accomplished a lot on day one, and are already looking forward to day two!
“Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?” -George Bernard Shaw
Over the past year, we’ve traveled domestically and internationally, forgoing capturing the details of those adventures here for a number of reasons. Fast forward to July 2025 and we’re about to embark on a different type of adventure that requires a bit of set up:
Thirteen years ago we tracked down Paul’s grandmother’s home in the town of Pico, Italy. Paul returned to the town in 2018 and we all returned again in 2022 (blog post is missing for some reason) vowing to spend more time here in the future. Over the past several years, Paul has been watching the Italian real estate market, researching places near the beach, and doing what many people do when they long to have a vacation home: dreaming, checking websites, researching, and dreaming some more. Some people just let the dream end there, but not us. We said “why not.”
After investigating many properties remotely, in January 2024 Paul flew back to Italy to look at a place in Pico. While that property was not the right fit for us, our friend Carlo showed Paul a place owned by his family, unoccupied for more than a decade. I’ll spare you all the details related to buying a property in Italy, but let’s just say that after hiring an attorney to help us navigate the process, ten months later we became owners of a one bedroom flat in the town of Pico.
In April 2025 Paul returned to Pico for five days, picking up the keys to our new place. He began to clean and organize all of the items left behind. He explored the area, finding a hardware store, a homegoods store, a furniture store who will deliver a bed to us this July, and arranged for trash/recycling/compost service. He snacked on mandarins from the tree in our yard and had Easter dinner with Carlo’s family. He opened an Italian bank account. He brought in a handiman to fix the caldaia (hot water heater), tested all the outlets and most appliances, and arranged for a handiman to fix various wall cracks and imperfections. Upon returning home, he figured out how to pay our Italian property taxes online and shared photos so Miss M, D and I could begin to envision life at La Casa Pico, because “why not”?
And so this next chapter begins. Paul and I are flying from Boston to Rome on Saturday, and D is flying from Chicago to Rome on Sunday. Posts going forward will be about this next adventure. If you want to see photos without extensive detailed commentary, follow @lacasapico on Instagram.
Today we began the last and final leg of the trip: a four hour drive from Corolla to drop off the boys at Raleigh-Durham airport for their flight back home while Miss M and I drive to her university to get her moved into her off campus apartment.
During the car ride we had an opportunity to reflect on our trip. This trip was a lot more relaxing than our past few summer vacations: I didn’t need to intersperse work days into our vacation time (I didn’t bring a laptop yet both kids brought theirs!) And, we didn’t have a long list of things we wanted to see or do in any given location before moving onto the next.
We really enjoyed our Outer Banks experience. While I never got to kayak through the marshes, every beach we went to was tremendous, never crowded and the water was never too cold.
The weather on the Outer Banks was unpredictable. From town to town, the weather could be dramatically different and the forecast changed throughout the day. We never needed a sweater at night but it wasn’t so hot or humid that we couldn’t enjoy the outdoors.
The Outer Banks is not as crowded as the Cape, it doesn’t feel as commercial, and we never experienced long lines or wait times anywhere. The stretch of main road that runs from the town of Kitty Hawk to Nags Head was the most commercial and that makes sense as the two bridges to the mainland are in those towns.
Heading North, once you leave Kitty Hawk, the main road goes from four lanes to two, and there are wood carved signs indicating which town you are in. My favorite was the sign for the town of Duck.
After long school years, four out of state trips for work over the past two months, plus a long weekend in RI, we were ready for this vacation. We’re fortunate to spend time together like this every summer and blessed that our kids get along so well which makes traveling with them easy and enjoyable.
We’re already brainstorming plans for next summer. Where do you think we’ll head to next?
Yesterday was our last full day on the Outer Banks so we did our best to soak in our favorite activities: tennis, pickleball, lots of time in the pool for Miss M and her college friend, and lots of time at the beach for a Paul and I.
D split his time between pool and beach, and when we were in the water we saw a large crab and hundreds of jelly fish. At first we thought it was a piece of plastic floating in the water but then noticed several nearby. We bolted out of the water and learned from a fellow beach goer that the moon jellyfish are harmless. It was unnerving nonetheless and we couldn’t get comfortable going back in the water.
After watching the sunset, Miss M and I took the golf cart for a spin around the community to admire the large gorgeous homes, noting the creative names given to the beach houses and displayed on placards. Paul continued to work on a 2,000 piece puzzle, the girls played Scattergories while watching a movie and we made one last late night stop for ice cream.
Keith Richards once explained the song Wild Horses was about not wanting to be on the road a million miles away from home and yet I can’t help hum the tune thinking of the wild horses we saw today, 650 miles from home.
We rented a Jeep (no doors or roof) for the day so we could go off-road to Carova Beach to try and spot the wild horses that live just south of the Virginia border. Only 100 of these Spanish Mustangs exist in the area and I’ve read they are the only community of wild horses remaining in the world.
Paul did great driving through the sand dunes and we ultimately spotted 11 horses and two deer in the neighborhood near the beach, munching on grass and just trotting down the road. It was beautiful to see them just out and about in the beachfront community.
For lunch we parked ourselves just a few feet from the Virginia border and enjoyed the quiet before heading back to town. 4x4s aren’t allowed on the Virginia beach so there’s literally a fence on the state line preventing cars from going any further. The beach was full of tiny clams and tons of sanderling birds pecking at the sand and scurrying away from the incoming tide.
Upon leaving the beach we swung by the free air station to re-inflate our tires. The air station is at the park where we watched sunset with our friends the other night and the site of the Currituck light house and former Whalehead hunting club.
Miss M’s friend from university has joined us for the remainder of the trip, so the girls spent the late afternoon in the pool and playing tennis while D went to the gym.
Within the Currituck Club community there’s a variety of stores and restaurants all accessible via golf cart, including the community’s very own Sugar Planet (a chain that we’ve seen all over the Outer Banks.) While Paul and I returned the Jeep rental, the kids picked up ice cream to end the night.
The past two days we’ve slept in, spent time in the pool, made a brief trip to the beach, and Paul and the kids took jet skis out to the bay.
D has grilled a lot of burgers (he’s primarily eaten burgers and eggs this leg of the trip) and we’re worked on several puzzles. The weather has been inconsistent, rain overnight and in the morning, clearing late afternoon.
We experienced the loudest thunder storm ever the other night due to the high humidity.
On Thursday night we had dinner with friends at their lovely summer home in Corolla and watched the sunset over the bay. They had bought a beach house here 30 year ago when there was only a dirt road from Duck to Corolla so the landscape has certainly changed.
On Friday night Paul and I went to dinner at Urban Kitchenand it was probably the best meal we’ve had in a year. They are only open Monday to Friday, they don’t take reservations, and the space probably only seats 20. The food was delicious and service fantastic too.
We deemed today “road trip day” as we planned to drive from the northernmost town on the Outer Banks (Corolla) to Hatteras Island 90 miles south, making a bunch of stops along the way. There’s a lot to see on the Outer Banks, and because of where we chose to stay so far north versus in the middle, we knew we’d need to dedicate a marathon day for site-seeing.
First, in the town of Duck, we grabbed a few hot, made to order treats from the original Duck Donuts (now there are 100+ locations in the US.)
Duck Donuts
Second, in the town of Kitty Hawk, a national park and museum dedicated to the Wright Brothers where we learned about their historic first flights, saw the starting point where they launched from and the markers for the very short distances they flew.
Third, in the town of Nags Head, Jockeys Ridge state park with North Carolina’s tallest sand dune (100 feet) where people can parasail, hike the trails, go sandboarding. It was too hot so I bailed after 100 yards but the boys went further than me to checkout the landscape.
Where I left D walking in the dunes
Fourth, also in the town of Nags Head, we popped into an outlet mall for some shopping and a quick lunch.
Fifth, at the beginning of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, we stopped by the Bodie Island Lighthouse which is unique because of its black and white stripes and the light is visible 20 miles out to sea.
Bodie Island Light Station
Sixth stop, further down the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, we passed a vast nature preserve but then spotted a place to legally park the car and climb between the dunes to get to the ocean. It was very windy with the sand pelting our exposed skin, but it was quite empty and serene.
Seventh stop, in the town of Rodanthe, we grabbed a quick espresso to fuel us for the rest of the day.
We passed through so many towns on our way to our main destination. The landscape is flat, the road ranges from one or two lanes, there must be building height restrictions since nothing is more than three stories. The national seashore is larger than I had imagined. It makes the stretch on Cape Cod look so tiny.
Finally we reached our eighth stop: the town of Frisco on Hatteras Island. In Frisco we did a two hour ride through the Buxton Woods maritime forest and onto the beach with horses! My horse, Madison, passed gas a lot and was smitten with another horse so she got easily distracted. Miss M is a natural born equestrian and did very well with her horse, Reba. D kept trying to get his twenty year old horse, Amos, to trot faster and NC law said he needed to wear a helmet since he’s under 18 so we had fun with that. Paul’s horse, Birdie, was a follower and just wanted to mimic Amos. We spent 2.5 hours with the horses and enjoyed every minute of it.
Dinner, pool, and margaritas at Lighthouse Sportsbar before driving nearly two hours in pitch black back to Corolla.
We’re currently spending one week in Corolla which is a town in the northern part of the Outer Banks. We’re staying in a large AirBnB in the Currituck Club which historically was an exclusive hunting ground used by Roosevelt, the Vanderbilts and their friends. Today, the Currituck Club Community has six hundred homes, three community pools, a golf course, tennis and basketball courts, a tiki bar and supermarket on the premises, social activities throughout the day, and more.
There’s a shuttle that runs throughout the gated community and crosses the two lane road to the beach, where beach valets are at the ready to carry your belongings for you. Or, if you don’t want to use the shuttle, you can use a golf cart which is the main mode of transportation around here. We have a six seater golf cart, complete with lights and Apple CarPlay, that comes with our AirBnB and 24 hours into our stay here it’s been perfect.
The AirBnB is three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, an outdoor shower, it has its own pool, a ping pong table, kayaks, multiple decks, and more. Miss M is in heaven with the pool and D took the golf cart to play basketball at night.
We spent a few hours at the beach riding the waves, but D can’t sit still and the pool was calling to Miss M so we spent the remainder of our first full day relaxing at the house.
Dinner tonight was at Upside, in Timbuck II, while the sunset, and it was delicious. Seared tuna, crab cakes, scallops and shrimp pasta with a lemon pesto sauce.
It’s been windy in the Outer Banks and Topsail Island…probably good otherwise the flies would land more frequently. At the beach the cranes (or whatever birds they are) fly so low to the water that I felt like they were going to crash into us. They flew directly at the car windshield when we were driving over the bridge last night. I’ve heard quite a bit about not disturbing the fragile ecosystem in the Outer Banks, and therefore I refrained from disturbing this peeper outside our bedroom window tonight.
On Topsail Island we were fortunate to spend time with our good friend Jim at his beach house. We had visited him and his wife back in 2017 and it was wonderful to catch up with him again in such as relaxing atmosphere. We spent two days at the beach where Miss M worked on her tan, Big D rented a surf board, and Paul and I did our best to not get sunburned.
D was determined to get up on the board and tried to surf for most of the day until the sun set.
On Monday we made our way to the third stop on our trip: the Outer Banks. It took about four hours to drive from Topsail Island and we passed fields of tobacco plants, collards and corn.
After grabbing dinner at a local brewery, we finally made our way to the northern most point in the outer banks: Corolla.
For our last night in Charleston, we enjoyed she crab soup, shrimp three ways (bbq, fried, scampi), and tons of hush puppies at Hymans. A memorable meal at a historic establishment.
The following morning we packed up the car and drove through The Citadel – a nearby D1 college and an impressive campus with its all white buildings and military vehicles about.
There was a lot to see during the four hour drive on the two-lane highway up the coast: changing vegetation, all different styles of homes, farms, plenty of chain stores and places to eat. We stopped at a farmers market for some peaches and bag of boiled peanuts. Typically Paul loves peanuts in the shell but these didn’t taste good to any of us: the shell was soft, the peanut itself didn’t have a lot of flavor, and Big D keeps saying they tasted like coconut.
As we continued to head north, we stopped in Wilmington, NC to stroll around the Riverwalk and grab some lunch (and fudge!). We then made our way over to the UNC Wilmington campus which was impressive and larger than we were expecting.
A short while later we arrived at our second destination of the trip: Surf City on Topsail Island in North Carolina.
The annual Lilla family summer vacation sort of snuck up on us this year. We had planned the flights and places to rest our head but not much else so unlike past holidays, we are being a little lazy.
For the past few days we’ve been enjoying Charleston, SC — the first stop on our trip. We’ve marveled at the 300-400 year old Angel Oak, gazed at golf course after golf course on Kiawah Island, relaxed on the beach at Sullivan’s Island popped over to Mt. Pleasant to see The Wreck of Richard and Charlene where scenes from Outer Banks were filmed, and drove over many bridges connecting the various land masses.
The WreckAngel Oak
The temps have been in the 90s and on the day we landed the “feels like” temp read 108! It’s super humid and buggy.
We saw The College of Charleston and walked up and down Kings Street taking advantage of the many stores blasting air conditioning to get a respite from the heat.
We spent much of today lounging in a poolside cabana. Miss M managed to bring a deflated pool floatie and goggles in her carry on luggage so she was very happy in the water whereas Big D is happier at the beach.
Yesterday Paul and D biked throughout the French Quarter. D’s bike gear broke and he went flying over the handlebars. Nothings broken, LOTS of scrapes and bruises, and we spent last night removing bike grease and blood from his clothes and nursing his injuries.
Food wise D loved the biscuits and sausage gravy from Callie’s Hot Biscuit, Paul loved the slow cooked meat at Rodney Scott’s, and Miss M and I have enjoyed the happy hour cocktails and snacks in the Lindy Renaissance lobby.
We’ve traveled to a lot of major European cities — Rome, Milan, Berlin, Vienna, London, Dublin, Paris, Yerevan, Barcelona and more — and while we’ve enjoyed our time here, I think I’d put Athens at the bottom of the list. It’s super crowded, dirty and the architecture is severely lacking. We all remarked that we won’t miss the hustling found in the tourist centers. But that isn’t to say it was all bad. The food is fantastic everywhere (and relatively cheap), the Greeks all speak English well, the rooftop bar scene is very cool, and there’s a great energy, as in all of those cities mentioned above.
Reflecting on the trip:
D enjoyed all the whole foods: every meal had a starch, vegetables, protein. Beers are cold and all the dishes are piping hot. The greatest moment for him was visiting Klio’s farm in Olympia. It was a pure moment. He also really liked the towns of Agrostoli and Ancient Olympia.
While she was only with us for a week, Miss M loved the Tzatziki and the pools at the resort.
Paul loved driving around the Islands, walking to the castle in Assos with D, picking up Ms. M from the airport with a sign, and all the beaches and the incredible color of the Ionian Sea.
And as I wrote previously, I’m happiest at sea level. The beaches and pools were my favorite part of this trip and already feels like such a distant memory.
We ended our trip with a walk up Lycabettus Hill (the highest point in central Athens) for a 360 degree view of Athens at sunset. Our third sunset of the trip! While it was packed with tourists, like everything else in Athens, it was a nice way to end the trip, looking out at the Olympic Stadium, the Acropolis, the port of Piraeus and the sprawl of white buildings spreading from the mountain to the sea.
Acropolis in the distance
We couldn’t just end with a sunset, though. Dinner at 10pm in the Plaka at O Thanasis again: tsatsiki, saganaki cheese, three kebab wraps and a pork souvlaki platter for Paul.
Kebab wrap, tzatziki, pork souvlaki
A quick dessert at Bufala Gelato before we wrapped the night at Attic Bar which had an amazing view of the Acropolis (and lots of girls posing on their rooftop swings with the Acropolis in the background.)
The breeze was blowing, the music was pumping, drinks were flowing and the tourists of Athens were ready to party while we called it a night at 1 AM for a 5:30 AM taxi to the airport. A beautiful end to another beautiful vacation.
Today is our last full day in Athens and we had no set schedule. We had a leisurely morning, popping in and out of some stores, toured the Central Market, and found another place to try hand pies for brunch: chicken with bacon for D, mushroom for me, Miss M thought she ordered “pizza” but it was a ham and pepper pie, and Paul had a cheese pie which was more like a closed pocket versus the triangle wedge shape we were having.
After more shopping we popped by Little Kook, a popular Alice in Wonderland themed dessert place but didn’t stay long due to the crowds. We grabbed coffee, pineapple juice and beer at a nearby cafe.
Little Kook
After dropping our purchases off at the hotel, we went to Dr. Fish, a day spa and nail bar. We embraced what the rehabbing shark said in Finding Nemo: “Fish are friends, not food” and went for the ten minute treatment. Paul had been to Dr Fish several years ago when he chaperoned his school’s culture trip to Italy and Greece, so this was one of the experiences he wanted to share with us. Paul and I sat for the treatment where you submerge your feet into the tub and the fish nibble off your dead skin. D sat in the chair but couldn’t stand his feet being nibbled on for more than five seconds because it tickled, and Miss M avoided the treatment completely.
After the “spa” it was time for more walking and food so back to Pan Dora we went. Majority of pies were gone for the day but we were happy to enjoy more spinach and mushroom pies while watching them prepare pies for the next day.
At 7:15am we met up with our guide Natalia and quickly made our way to the Acropolis to beat the heat and the crowds. We spent four hours with her walking through the site and the museum which was built only a few years ago.
The Acropolis was much larger than I expected and it’s truly breathtaking to envision it in its former state.
After all that time touring we were hungry, of course! Miss M had a Nutella crepe and smoothie but the rest of us held out for a storefront the guide told us about just a block away: Pan Dora. We had some delicious pies for brunch: mushroom for me, chicken for Damian, spinach and cheese for Paul. Absolutely delicious!
After resting a bit, we walked ten minutes towards Parliament to see the changing of the guards.
Then, more shopping before returning to the hotel for naps (for some of us.) Paul couldn’t sit still so he continued on by foot to The Panhellenic Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympic games in 1896. It’s the only all marble stadium in the world (we think) and inside are all the torches from all the past games.
D and I met Paul at Loukamades for a late afternoon snack: a “classic”box of loukamades with cream ice cream, honey, cinnamon and almonds. And an order of “Grandpas Special” which was loukamades with kaimaki ice cream, bugatsa cream filling, powdered icing sugar and cinnamon.
We then walked around some more, popping into different stores, and made our way to Ergon House, a fishmonger/hotel/store all rolled into one. It’s like a very tiny Eataly. Paul and I enjoyed aperol spritzes and D had a Kinder bueno cheesecake with chocolate and blackberry filling.
We went to O Geros tou Moria tavern for dinner. It’s in a touristy area but they have live music and occasionally a trio of dancers performed. Forgot to take food pics, but we ordered zucchini fritters, stuffed grape leaves, a cheese stuffed patty of meat, chicken souvlaki and mussels. It was our first day in almost three weeks without a Greek salad.
At one point, the dancers were pulling people up from the tables so they grabbed D and had him dancing with another girl who was traveling with a large group. At another point the musicians played an Armenian song we knew but with Greek words, but when they saw us singing along in Armenian they switched languages for the second and third verse.
After dinner we walked back to Loukamades for more desserts: hot loukamades swimming in honey and cinnamon, and loukamades with Snickers ice cream, chocolate praline, Kinder bueno & hazelnuts.
This morning we taxi’d outside of the city center to meet our guide for the day, Tolis (short for Apostolis.) It’s record breaking hot in Athens so we were happy to escape the heat for a day trip in an air conditioned van with five others.
After a few hours drive we reached Delphi. Greek’s believe that Apollo’s sanctuary at Delphi was the center of the world. There’s various stories as to the origin of the site — Zeus threw a rock and it landed at the site; two eagles let loose in opposite directions and they converged on Delphi, etc. Today it’s a UNESCO heritage site and there’s a decent sized accompanying museum.
Due to the heat, the site was closing at Noon so we had one hour to walk through which was plenty of time. We walked among the ruins, including the treasury, the theater and the Temple of Apollo, which was the sight of the oracle. After exploring the museum and its’ artifacts, Tolis and our driver took us to a town 30 minutes away called Arachova which is a popular resort town in winter as skiing is 30 minutes over the next mountain. Set high on the mountain and overlooking an endless valley of olive trees, it was very picturesque.
We grabbed lunch: spaghetti for Miss M, Greek salad and what I thought was a cheese boereg for me but it ended up being a ham and cheese spring roll thing (bouregkakia), zucchini flowers, pork chops for Paul and a burger stuffed with cheese for D.
Greek salad, bouregkakia, zucchini flowers
Afterwards, we walked a bit, saw the exterior of St. George’s church, and then had milkshakes to help keep ourselves cool from the heat.
Subway back to the hotel and then a rest in the air conditioning.
We did some clothes shopping, which we always like to do when in Europe since the prices are so good, and then went to Tylixto for gyros: an XL pork and chicken combo for Paul, chicken for me, pork no fries for D, pork for Miss M.
We strolled a bit after dinner, D grabbed a trio of semifreddo pops and then we went to 360 Cocktail Bar for drinks with a view of the Acropolis. A great way to end the night!
Yesterday we left the spacious luxury and calm of the resort for the congested city of Athens.
But first, a few final thoughts on the Grecotel experience:
We loved having a suite with our own pool and outdoor space. The privacy and convenience made this leg of the trip very special.
Paul and I teamed up and attempted to play tennis against D and we lost all three matches
We tried to take advantage of everything the resort had to offer, from aqua aerobics to lounging in the outdoor bed swings to using the outdoor gym and indoor pool and beach and other services and yet there was still more to experience. Paul noticed electric bikes when we were about to check out.
All of the hotel staff were friendly and attentive and just wonderful in general. The resort never felt crowded and there was no jostling for poolside or beachside chairs like we’ve experienced at other hotels
D enjoys every type of pool and for some reason loved the indoor pool with its Grecian columns and massage jets, but none of us wanted to be indoors with him. Wasn’t our private pool and the enormous zero entry pool and beach enough?
Last night post-dinner swim
The hotel drove us to our 7th and final stop: Athens!!
We grabbed lunch (finally a gyro for Miss M), shopped around the plaka and monistiraki flea market and then rested a bit before grabbing dinner a block from our hotel. We had some of the usuals — chicken souvlaki, Greek salad and a gyro platter. We also enjoyed zucchini croquettes and Paul ordered arnaki lemonato, a lamb roast with a lemon cream sauce and potatoes. The waiter unplated the roast from a clay pot table side. It was piping hot!
Cape Sounio is at the southernmost tip of a peninsula about 40 minutes south of Athens and it’s where we’ve spent the past few days of our trip. Its main site is the Temple of Poseidon, perched on a cliff and surrounded by the sea.
We’re staying at a resort during our time here, so our activities include breakfast, pool, beach, snack, pool, eat again, stroll around and then pass out from the food coma. The boys have worked out and went to play tennis, but Miss M and I have enjoyed catching up and relaxing.
Throughout the resort there are views of the Temple of Poseidon in the distance.
It’s been hot here so we don’t have much energy to do anything. Yesterday the staff brought around trays of watermelon slices poolside. Typically we eat our meals outside looking at the view of Poseidons Temple but yesterday morning it was muggy — which it hadn’t been all trip — so we opted for dining with AC.
The buffet has been unlike anything we’ve ever experienced and so far no two meals have been the same. On one night, for example, we counted:
At one station: 7 types of bread, three cheeses, two cured meats, 5 types of sushi, a bartender making two types of cocktails, more than a dozen dried fruits and nuts and seeds, and randomly a taco.
At the appetizer station: 12 different apps plus a dozen accoutrements including olives, hummus, tsatsiki, and other dips.
At the salad station: nine bowls of different salads plus seven bowls of individual vegetables, three types of dressings in shot glasses.
At another station: 11 entrees, spaghetti with red sauce or meat sauce, two types of pizza or calzone, and someone preparing a main whether it was gyros to order, slicing beef Wellington, or serving a whole fish baked in a salt cask.
On the dessert table: 17 items including melons, peaches, fruit bowls. Plus a crepe station and four types of ice cream.
All of the food has been delicious, all with a view of the Temple.
One morning the hotel brought us to view the Temple of Poseidon, just a five minute ride from the resort. The temple was built in the 5th Century BC and is one of the three main temples in Greece (the others being the Parthenon in Athens and a temple in Aegina.)
This temple is perched on a cliff, looking out to Cape Sounion and the Aegean Sea. According to Greek mythology, Poseidon’s power is second to only Zeus. As the god of the sea, the sailors and fishermen of ancient Greece prayed to Poseidon to keep them safe from storms and shipwrecks and often left animal sacrifices and other gifts at the temple.
We walked around a bit and marveled at the well preserved temple and its architecture.
On Friday morning we checked out of our hotel at 6am and headed to the Athens airport to drop off the rental car. I always breathe a sigh of relief when we return a rental car on one of these types of trips. Paul did a great job driving nearly 3000 km (approx 1850 miles) the first two weeks of this adventure. He navigated very tight parking spots, tour busses, trucks carrying watermelons, motorcycles, tourists who aren’t experienced driving European highways, and generally zipped us all over the place.
Our trip to the airport wasn’t just to drop off the car. We met Miss M at the arrivals gate after her 4:30a flight from Yerevan, Armenia to join us for the remainder of the trip. We knew Miss Ms flight arrived as a host of short Armenian-looking men starting coming through the arrivals gate, and all of the signs held by limo drivers were for names ending in IAN or YAN. Paul enjoyed standing with the drivers waiting with his sign for Miss M.
30 minutes later we checked into the Grecotel Cape Sounio resort for the sixth leg of this trip. We enjoyed the stunning breakfast buffet and then made our way to our suite/bungalow with private pool which we all promptly hopped in. Miss M shared stories about the past few weeks of her travels and we relaxed pool side enjoying the complimentary snacks and drinks provided by the resort.
I had to work that afternoon so the kids and Paul had massages and swam.
The dinner buffet was amazing and D was excited to try beef wellington after watching many TikToks featuring Gordon Ramsey critiquing the general public attempting to perfect it.
It was a long day but we are grateful to be together again.
The next stop (#4) on this adventure is Meteora — a UNESCO world heritage site. Meteora is six monasteries perched atop rock formations that reach upwards of 1800 feet. The word Meteora is derived from a Greek word meaning “suspended between sky and earth” and the sight of the monasteries perched on these unusual pillars coming up from Earth is a sight to behold. (Google Meteora for drone pics.)
We checked in to our hotel late yesterday (Wednesday), and since we were less than ten minutes from Meteora, the boys explored the area last night climbing on rocks, going into caves and watching the sun set.
Sunset
They had dinner at Taverna Bakaliaraka enjoying (according to D) the best Greek salad of the trip because it was swimming in dressing and has the largest chunk of feta. They had sausages and brought me spicy feta dip and bread so I could eat dinner while working.
The hotel, Doupiani House, was adorable. The closest you can get to Meteora, nothing fancy, but the staff, the view and the breakfast couldn’t be beat.
Our favorites at their breakfast buffet was the simit cookies (only know the Armenian word for them), rice pudding, halva (which we hadn’t seen since Olympia) and spinach bouregs. A lot of additional food was offered — salads, ham, cheese, yogurt, etc, but we were excited by the aforementioned things. It was also the first hotel with good coffee and the hotel staff made a point to tell us that everything they served was homemade.
By 9:10am we were parked at the Great Meteoron monastery and saw four others by 1:30pm. They were all unique and the views were incredible, but it was also hot. I brought my portable fan and had a thin wrap that I used to cover my head and arms in the sun.
There was 30+ monasteries at one time and now only six remain. A different one is closed each day of the week so we didn’t get to see the inside of Holy Trinity. It’s only a few euros to enter a monastery but you need to be properly dressed. We came prepared but it was fun to watch the nuns yell at men in Greek who didn’t wear pants. I heard one of the ticket takers say “the nuns do not like knees.”
Varlaam monasteryVarlaam monasteryVarlaam on left; Great Metereon on right Varlaam monastery courtyardHoly TrinityLook closely to see Paul; D took this after climbing to a vantage point
At lunch time it was 103 degrees. We dined on Greek salad, feta stuffed peppers, chicken souvlaki and pasta bolognese at Taverna Gardenia Plakias.
Leaving the small town, the car registered 107.6 degrees. It took four hours, including a brief pit stop for an espresso and ice cream to get to the city of Athens — our next stop.
Before checking into our hotel, we visited Olympic Park to see the stadium (they were setting up for the Guns and Roses show) and we tried to enter the basketball arena where the “Redeem Team” won in 2004 (and spoke with a man affiliated with the Hellenic Basketball Federation) but it was all locked up.
We’re staying by the airport tonight (Thursday, stop #5 on the trip) to pick up Miss M for the last week of this adventure.
Today we left the Greek islands portion of our trip. A few last observations:
Oregano is everywhere. Pull over to the side of the road to gaze at the scenic view? You can smell oregano. Want chips at the supermarket? Oregano Lays or Ruffles. Atop the feta in a Greek salad? Check.
We didn’t realize honey was such a thing. All over the islands there have been old women and men selling honey roadside….everywhere.
We also didn’t expect to see so many pumpkins and squash. We stopped at a roadside stand (see below) on the mainland to get some fruit (and a red onion for D) and for under three euros got plenty of snacks for the day.
The islands are a prime spot for selfies and boyfriends taking pics of their girlfriends. We’ve seen so many girls in tiny bathing suits and barely their dresses posing for the camera.
At one point D commented that we were living with nature. The doors to the hotel lobby are always open, there are no doors separating the outside and the hallways of each floor, no doors to the dining area, etc. At the hotel there were butterflies, cats roaming the hallways and rooftop pool/bar/dining area, we heard a rooster each morning, and because of the openness of the building birds had formed nests a top the electrical boxes strewn with wires.
There are stray cats everywhere. D formed an affinity to a white cat who visited him each day at the sitting area outside our door. We’ve seen male cats praying on females.
We’ve seen soccer and basketball courts every day of this trip, but no one playing on them.
And finally, we noticed the bottom parts of trees are painted white. Google tells us it’s a combo of Lyme, salt and water used to prevent insects from crawling up the tree damaging the trunk and its fruit.
By 10am we drove through Lefkada Town on our way to the causeway to get off the island, and it was the first time we were in a place that to me felt authentically Greek. Everywhere we’ve gone there have been license plates representing what feels like every European country, people speaking Italian, German, Portuguese, the waitstaff speak English to us (and in one case Italian.) But Lefkada Town, being a city and not a beach town, felt much more authentic. Clothing and home goods stores, cafes, and all kinds of shops. And for the first time I saw people who looked more middle eastern Greek.
By lunchtime we were in Metsovo, an adorable little town that looked like a mixture of German, Japenese (with all the wood), and bits of Alberobello Italy in the style of roof. D scoped out a great place for gyros and we wandered in an out of shops for a bit.
Surrounding Metsovo the smell was intoxicating. We pulled over on the highway leaving town so D could hop the fence to pick a bouquet of the wildflowers that smelled so nice. Turns out they are spartium or “Spanish broom” which is an invasive species that flowers in late summer found mostly in southern Europe, southwest Asia and northwest Africa.
By late afternoon we were in Kastraki at the base of Meteora. Our hotel has a beautiful view of the monasteries and is the perfect place to spend the night since I needed to work again.
Yesterday BOTD was Egremni and similar to Milos yesterday, this beach is only accessible by foot or boat.
After driving 30 minutes from our hotel, we parked at the entrance gate and walked 1 km (0.6 miles) down a winding road and then descended 400 stairs to the beach.
The stairs were built two years ago and we could see the remnants of the original stone stairs which were destroyed by a rock slide and earthquake eight years ago.
Look closely to see the stairs
Travel & Leisure named it one of the top places to view the clearest water in the world, and this beach is stunningly beautiful. No amenities, no food vendors nor men selling pastries here.
No fish swimming close to shore at this beach either. With all the beaches, the water gets deep very quickly, and the boys observed (with our goggles) how steeply the ocean floor sloped.
The beach is very long (2.5 km) and the stairs are pretty much in the middle. On one end, multiple boats deposited tourists to spend an hour or so on the beach, but they were barely a blip on our radar.
After five hours we began the ascent — up 400 stairs and walking 1 km in feels-like 106 degree heat. Thankful for Paul and D again who carried the two umbrellas and beach bag so all I had to do was use the base of the umbrella stand as a walking stick and get myself up the mountain.
D took this while waiting for Paul and I to climb back up the mountain
We spent late afternoon at the pool drinking aperol spritzes.
Dinner at Rachi in Exanthia, a short 20 minute drive from our hotel, straight up to the top of the island. There are actually three operations on the premises: Rachi, the restaurant; Fly Me Sun & Stars Bar; and Paragliding, with the “take off pad” situated between the bar and restaurant. Rachi had an incredibly cool, laid-back vibe. We shared a greek salad and cheese croquettes. D had lemon oregano gnocchi, I had the Bianco (a tempura crusted cod in a garlicky cream), and Paul had pork belly over a chickpea purée and prune sauce.
The meal was great, but did I mention that the entire operation is orientated west towards the Ionian Sea and the setting sun? We sat down at 7:30 and finished our main courses just before 9, as the sun was saying it’s final good bye for the day. A fitting good bye to the beautiful island of Lefkada.
Photo credit: DBar, people viewing the sunset from the launch pad, restaurant
Yesterdays BOTD was Mylos. You can reach Mylos a few ways:
By boat
By foot
From the pedestrian area where our hotel located is in Agios Nikitas, there’s a narrow dirt path that takes you up and over the mountain to the Mylos beach.
A 15-20 min hike in “feels like 101 degrees”heat gave us this view:
Upon reaching the shore, we immediately threw our things down at the nearest sun-bed/umbrella combo and ran into the sea. Clear blue water, sand, and while there are pebbles leading to the beach, for some reason these don’t hurt to walk on.
The fish found a small cut on Paul’s leg and proceeded to nibble on him for brunch.
Boat loads of people got dropped off at the beach, 20 at a time, but it never felt crowded.
There was a man walking the beach selling spinach and cheese pies and an assortment of pastries and drinks. Everything looked delicious, but we had just ordered ham and cheese sandwiches from the one stand at the top of a sand dune.
It amazes me that there is absolutely nothing in the water or on the beach. No seaweed. No trash. No plastic. I saw a cigarette butt yesterday for the first time. I’ve noticed less people smoking in Greece although there are ashtrays everywhere; lots of vaping including parents sitting at the dinner table with their kids.
As the day grew longer, the sand and rocks were painfully hot to walk on requiring that we wear our shoes down to the shore.
After four hours I hiked back over the mountain, returning to the hotel to work the rest of the day/night. Paul and Damian hung out a little longer and eventually trekked back and went straight to the hotel pool.
Since I had to work this evening, the boys brought me a chicken souvlaki and then later returned to the same spot for pork gyros: D’s in a sandwich pita and Paul’s in a deconstructed “Portion” as the Greeks call it.
After dinner, the boys took a walk and ended up sitting by the beach which they remarked that even later at the night, the water here is special.
Remember when I said some of the most beautiful beaches in Greece are on the Ionian islands? Today’s BOTD was Porto Katsiki and it was absolutely stunning. Sheer cliffs, turquoise water, white pebbles leading to the water and some patches of sand.
After parking for 10 Euro, we descended 86 stairs to the beach and found a spot for the day. There’s no sun beds here but we were prepared: borrowed a beach umbrella from the hotel, had our European style beach towels that we brought with us from the last trip, peaches and plenty of sunscreen.
The water was calm, cool and refreshing. The occasional wave (if you could even call it a wave) caused by one of the many tour boats going around the island.
All day there was a man walking up and down the beach with a tray piled high with donuts for sale.
Lunch was pork gyros and mythos beer, delivered to us on the beach by the people who ran the small parking lot.
After 5 hours at the beach we made our way to Cafe Panorama which Paul had read about ahead of time. A small place for a cold drink or snack with barstools perched over the sea and a beautiful view.
Late afternoon we enjoyed a swim and aperol spritzes by the pool.
For dinner we started with a cooked tomato, feta and spicy pepper dish. I had a Greek salad, Paul had octopus and calamari, and D had chicken souvlaki.
Tomato, feta, spicy pepperCalamari
For dessert the boys had gelato and I had portokalopita (orange cake) which was so good.
We’re one week into our three week trip and the boys are already nice and dark. D is evenly tan all over only using sunblock on his face. Paul’s athletic trainer tan has evened out and I’m still pale but getting there!
Despite being surrounded by water, the country is experiencing a water crisis. Fresh water is delivered to many of the islands and they cannot keep up with tourist demands.
The topography on the islands has been interesting. The mountains are dry, rocky and it’s amazing any vegetation survives at all. The heat, dryness and high winds make for the perfect conditions for wildfires and we saw one pop up last night on the hill directly across from our hotel. As we were going to bed we heard fire trucks arriving on the scene to put it out.
This morning we awoke to the sound of a helicopter and it sounded like they were landing on top of the hotel. It practically did. For at least 90 minutes the helicopter circled above the hotel dropping water onto the dry land. It filled up its water reservoir in the ocean, flew over the hotel, dumped water on the mountain, and went back to the beach to fill up again. We lost track of how many runs it made.
Flying over the hotelView from the beachD took this shot while on his morning run
Lilla Travels 