Welcome to our Journo! My name is Priya and my hubby’s name is Advaith and today is our one month wedding anniversary. We are a couple that loves to eat and enjoy food from all around the world. Based in Houston, TX we have the opportunity to check out the super prolific food scene from all the different cultures. We created this Journo to help you join our adventures! Our first stop will be our honeymoon in Greece 🇬🇷 Bon Appetit and Bon Voyage 🍽✈️

We arrived at the airport and got in our steps going from the different terminals and gates lugging our luggage. Check-in in these pandemic times is much more complicated so we had to show the airline staff our COVID vaccine card, passport, Greek PLF form, and proof of a negative test. Thank goodness for smart phones where all this can be digitized and stored because we would be carrying around a folder of all these documents. Actually that doesn’t sound like a bad idea 🤔😄 Anyways after all that boring stuff during check in we took the escalator up to terminal D and ran across Hugo’s 🤩 It is one of our favorite places so we took a seat and ordered our favorites.

Tortas for the lady

Taquitos for the gentleman.

So we are here with our head and bodies in the clouds 🌤 inside of this KLM flight to Amsterdam. Everyday with my hubby Advaith (pictured above), I am on cloud 9 but today we actually get to be physically in the clouds 😃

One of my favorite things about long flights are all the movies, music, and TV shows they offer on board. For this 8 hour flight, while my hubby immersed himself in his Kannada dictionary and linguistic books, I decided to watch The Sun Is Also A Star. The thing that made me finally choose this title after much browsing was seeing that it was directed by Ry Russo-Young who also directed the indie flick Nobody Walks. The thing that draws me to her movies is the exquisite cinematography and the multi-faceted but simple characters. This film (pictured below) is about two people who come from different backgrounds but want the same things. The female lead Natasha is a pragmatic young woman who doesn’t believe much in love and sees it as a series of chemical responses. The male lead Daniel is a romantic who is impulsive, smitten by Natasha, and wants to prove to her that love is much more beautifully complicated. The characters deal with issues involving deportation and getting into medical school which makes this movie appealing to those who believe in working for their own American Dream. The ending initially seems like it might be unhappily realistic but being an American film, there is an expected dose of optimism at the very end.

Sometimes life can be like the movies if people believe in their own optimism about a happy ending and finding love. If these two very distinct characters can connect, there is hope for all of us. We just have to believe in it and be our authentic selves to let the world give us that opportunity 😇

We rummaged through the duty free shops and found these cute kissing dolls with their ethnic costume and clogs. They’re so cute 🥰

Also I got to visit the Chanel store pop-up.

Then we had some food at Amsterdam Bread Co. Advaith had mustard soup and a hummus-avocado-pomegranate sandwich and I had a veggie focaccia bread.

So we have landed and have one more flight to go to reach our final destination of Santorini. While we waited, we stopped by a place called The Pasta Maker and they had these sandwiches. Advaith got the Mezzaluna with carob infused bread and I got the vegan burger.

We are each other’s brown sugar ❤️

This Greek coffee is the cutest thing ever. It is fun sized, strong, and flavorful.

Last night we got into Santorini and retired to our cave house in Oia.

These are the views from our deck which also houses a hot tub 😃 After our long flight we hopped into the hot tub and it was soooo relaxing and peaceful. The weather here is in the high 50s and a bit cloudy this morning.

These roaming dogs seem to be enjoying the weather too 😎

This morning we descended down these stairs from the city to reach the waterfront where the windy weather caused turbelent waves.

We were so brave that instead of taking the bus back to Oia, we did the AllTrails hike from Fira to Oia.

We both ordered the chicken souvlaki wrap which came deconstructed on some pita bread. I liked how the dish was served on a wood roti board. I also liked how the meat sizzled as it slid off the skewers. The waitress suggested we have a side of fries and I immediately took her suggestion and asked for a side of mayo.

My hubby enjoyed the dish too and was nice enough to eat my yogurt dip too. After all those steps we were ready to eat something hearty. This pita contained most of the food groups: veggies, meat, bread, and dairy. Colorful plates are good looking and good for you.

It is quite nice looking into the Mediterranean Sea and it’s volcanic remnants. So peaceful in the morning to be at the waterside.

My husband enjoys the views too.

This morning we started breakfast at Pelican Kippos which is our favorite place for breakfast on this island. Today I was being indulgent and got the Nutella waffles with bananas 🍌

& of course Greek coffee which came in this cute little vessel. I’m not much of a coffee drinker in America but I like the smoothness and small size of Greek coffee. I also like that no sugar or cream needs to be added for it to taste good.

These little sparrows flew by for a little bite.

After lunch, one of the sommeliers named Maria came by our table and asked if we would like to participate in a wine tasting with this other foreign couple from Chile. Since the weather outside was frightful, I thought it was a delightful idea.

She led us underground into the wine cellar where there were wines for days in all the crevices.

The majority of the wines were local and from Santorini. We went about three stories underground to look at the most expensive ones which were over 900 euros. The thing I found most interesting was the storage of the wine in all these tiny cave rooms. The layout looked very artistic and luxurious. It was a blend of the natural world with the man made world.

Our tasting came with cheese, bread, roasted tomatoes, and olives which I especially enjoy because I’m a foodie above anything else. We tried a total of five different types of wine.

The first one we tried was called the Aidani. This wine was very light and a little fruity. I’ve personally never been to a tasting so it was new to me to swirl the wine and smell it before taking a sip. Maria said this went well with vegetarian food like grilled eggplants and tomato dishes. The next one we tried was called the Santorini Assyrtiko. She told us that this one was more earthy and strong. It is made of this white grape called Assyrtiko which is indigenous and only found in Santorini. This one was aged in the stainless steel vessel. The one we tried after was the same one but aged in a barrel. According to the wine connoisseur, barrel wine is more exquisite and has more flavor.

The fourth one we tried was called Mavrotragano and this was the only red wine. Maria told us Santorini is more known for their white wines because they have more white grapes native to the island. This Mavrotragano wine is known to be better with the heavier meats like steak. It has a strong taste so it commands stronger food.

This is a vodka gun made by the Russians. I don’t know why it was there but with Santorini being a tourist island, I think this place stocks everything.

Greek appetizers: cherry tomatoes, crouton sized sesame bread, kalamata olives, & apertif for digestion.

Our first appetizer was Santorini Tomato Fritters with a tzatziki dipping sauce. These were delicious and they tasted like giant pakoras.

The next appetizer was soft feta cheese balls served with sundried tomato mayonnaise. The cheese balls were soft but in my opinion, the mayonnaise stole the show. It was creamy with a bold flavor.

My dish was a mushroom risotto and my husband got the seafood saffron risotto.

We finished off our meal with this crème brûlée. I was expecting a small ramekin but instead got a salad plate full of dessert 😃

It will be a short flight across the Aegean Sea.

Our hotel The Marblous Athens

They were so nice to leave us these cute treats 💄

We are now having a late lunch at Ella Greek Cooking down the street. We are starting with Dolmas 😃

Mushroom risotto for him

Fresh Greek salad for me 😁

The building this place was in housed several stories of gadgets. One floor had a toy store. Another floor had tech accessories. Another floor had comic books. Something for everybody.

Advaith got the Fredoccino and I got hot cocoa with pure chocolate ☕️

I like how the Greeks include a tiny cookie with their teas and coffees. It is a nice little custom.

We really liked the cozy and modern layout of the breakfast area. It’s very minimalistic but colorful.

This is the first part of our breakfast.

This is our tour bus for the day. It was a mini bus with super comfortable seats. Our tour guide for the day was named Kostas which is short for Konstantin. Aboard this truck was another couple from Colombia/Switzerland.

This is the Olympic stadium.

This is the entrance to the Parthenon on the top of the Acropolis. The Parthenon is the actual structure while Acropolis is the rock that it is put on. Acro means top while polis means city. This is supposed to be the highest point in Athens. This is the entrance to the area that houses the Parthenon. This whole structure was originally a castle with the various structures.

This is the first original theatre. It had three parts, auditorium, orchestra, and stage. The word thespian came from the first Greek actor Thesbes.

This is a photo with no filter. The canal is 6 km long and it accommodates ships up to 10 tons. Now, not many ships sail through here but it is a tourist attraction

This is us showing off our sweatshirts.

We like being romantic.

This is our tour mini bus. It has wi-fi which I love 😍 and places to plug in your phone for charging. According to our tour guide it is 3 months old.

We visited the Sanctuary of Asklepios who is the guy responsible for the medical staff symbol with the snake and staff. A lot of these columns housed egg sculptures in them and the guide told us that they symbolized regeneration because medicine is all about healing and regeneration.

Unlike the Parthenon which only has one major temple, there are two temples at Askeplos. One for the living God and one for the dead God. The dead God is represented by the snake.

A fun fact our guide told us that people take basket of snakes and release them. Where the snakes go is where the clinic stands.

Lotus is a symbol of eternity.

Talk about ionic, Doric, & Corinthian.

The Epidaurus Ancient Theatre holds 15,000 people. The sound is produced in the small lower circle and is projected to semicircle.

Our tour guide was at the bottom and he demonstrated that every seat in the theatre can hear the sound from the stage. He then told us that the actors stood in a triangle and that two of the three die in tragedy and the last standing moves to center to deliver a monologue.

Our guide stopped the bus on the side of the road to get us these fresh oranges which are in season 😃

These oranges were also served at this cute restaurant called King Menelaos.

This Gemista was delicious. We made them last night during our cooking class but this one was so moist and well seasoned.

Today we visited the Archaeological Museum Of Olympia which showed the ancient ruins of the original Olympic Games and surrounding areas. For the first part of the tour we visited the museum which housed the relics and afterwards visited the actual site.

These little bronze animal figurine s looked like toys but they were actually sacrifices and offerings. The Greeks never offered human sacrifices and very rarely did animal sacrifices. The ones shown here were found at the Altar of Zeus.

This cauldron here was estimated to have fed the athletes before the Olympics. The pot was surrounded by decorative Griffins which are mythical creatures that are half eagle and half lion.

This is the general costume of an Ancient Greek warrior going to battle. Based on the helmet, this guy looks like he is a footman rather than a horseman.

The helmet of a footman generally has a nose covering and the Corinthians were generally given that role.

The helmet of a horseman usually lacked a nosepiece and were common worn by Macedonian Greeks. The Macedonian Greeks were generally taller and more buff and for that reaso \240they were given the role of the horsemen.

This is the Treasury of Megara and like its name suggests, it houses all the treasures. The top triangular area is supposed to depict a fight between all the ancient Gods but they are not preserved that well so all we see are fragments. This structure was actually outside of the ruins but it was put in the museum because it was obviously a treasure.

This is the Statue of Nike. Nike was a goddess who was the fastest during ancient times. There are two original statues of her, one is here in Olympia and the other one is in the Louvre. I like how this statue shows movement with the bottom of her dress flowing back. Also she is stepping on a tortoise and missing her wings.

This is the bronze helmet of Miltiades. It was an offering from a marathon runner to the temple of Zeus.

This is a painting of the sculpture of Zeus that is supposed to be in the Temple of Zeus. This structure is supposed to be 40 feet all.

My dining partner and life partner 🥰

Bread with olive oil

My Greek Salad. It has become a favorite on this trip because it is so tasty and hydrating and it comes with a block of seasoned feta!

These zucchini fritters were so delicious with the creamy tzatziki sauce.

My date agrees 😍

This is Symposium Feta and this is basically a feta cheese baked in a porcelain pan with veggies and seasoning. My type of food!

This is my hubby’s dish. He loves seafood so it is very fitting for him.

Today is the last day of our tour and we are visiting the monasteries of Meteora with our tour group.

To become a monk or nun at these monasteries you must be 21 years old, three years of training and adapt a biblical name. The name day is more important than the birthday.

The yellow flag with two headed eagle is one of the Orthodox Church. One head means east and the other means west. It is derived from the Roman eagle. The three Greece used to be Rome, Constantinople, and St. Petersburg?

The monks wake up every morning and visit their future grave. They are vegetarian. After that they go to the church and pray and chant for 8 hours. Then another 8 hours they work. That leaves 8 hours for rest.

Flying back to Houston from Amsterdam.