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Bloggings, Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Travel

On our way to Isla Mujeres, Mexico!!

August 22, 2015 Andi Leave a comment

I will start off by saying it has been a long time since we have been on a proper vacation! Our last one was in Puerto Rico over a year ago, so it felt really good to get back into it again. So today it was nice because our flight from Chicago to Cancun did not leave until 12:30, so we were able to sleep in a bit. It was a direct flight on American Airlines. We arrived in Cancun around 4 pm and the process of getting through customs was pretty fast compared to most places we have been. Then it was the moment of truth–how would the transfer to the port be that I purchased? We are staying on Isla Mujeres so I had been researching ways to get from Cancun airport to GranPuerto, I found a company called CARM Tours and Transfers. A guy was there waiting for us at the airport and the van was nice, clean, and air conditioned. The transfer to the port was so smooth and I think we only paid about $30 USD (round trip) for the both of us. Totally worth it for the price and the piece of mind. The drive to the port was great we got to see some of the Cancun resorts and pretty much decided we never need to stay there.

Once we got to the port we got round trip tickets for the ferry to Isla Mujeres. I think these were about $11 USD per person. I was worried about getting sick on the boat because I am always getting seasick, so I went to the convenient store to get some chips and soda. I really wanted pretzels because those have been really good at keeping seasickness away but there were none so we got Cheetos and some weird pizza flavored chips. I also found Dr Pepper here so of course I had to get one and take my picture with it because that’s the tradition in every country we travel. Of course at the port I saw my first of many cats.

The ferry ride was great, very smooth. We sat on the top and a man was playing music.

Once we got to Isla we walked to our hotel, Ixchel Beach Hotel. Ixchel was about a 10 minute walk from the port and it is situated on the best beach of the island, Playa Norte. The walk was so hot, I was sweating like crazy! The check in process was easy and fast so we got settled in quickly.

Then we were hungry so we decided to get some food at Mamacita because we got a 10% discount there with our hotel stay. It was not that great. I got a beef burrito but it was mostly filled with a weird variety of vegetables. Don accidentally ordered a cheeseburger because he thought the waiter said it was a steak or something haha. But his cheeseburger looked pretty good. We each had our first of many drinks on the island, a Sol. We also had a few furry visitors while we ate.

Next we went to a bar called Kokonuts. We had giant margaritas there and some tequila shots. We talked to the bartender about American football and Fireball. They actually have Fireball here on Isla. After Kokonuts we walked and got some ice cream. And this was our first night in Mexico.

Bloggings, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Honeymoon-Sightseeing in Athens, Acropolis, Plaka, and Protests!

September 27, 2011 Andi Leave a comment

Today we woke up at 645 so we could be ready to be picked up at 8 for our Athens sightseeing excursion. The bus drove us by many of the sites and then we got out at the new acropolis museum. We had a guided tour through the museum and then we were free to roam for awhile until we walked up to the acropolis. The museum was cool, outside you could see the archaeologists working underneath the museum..here’s a picture.

The walk to the acropolis was pretty amazing. The sights were so beautiful and a little scary because the marble was slick! We took a lot of pictures.

And then came down for lunch in the plaka. The plaka was the first place where we had people begging us for money. Mostly children begging. At the restaurant where we ate children would come up to you and play music for money, but the restaurant staff kept kicking them out. It was sad. The meal that I had here though was one of my favorites in Greece, stewed meatballs and rice.

We had the rest of the day to do whatever so we decided to take the tram and go to the coast. It was hard for us to figure out how to pay for the tram but I guess we did it right! We rode to the end but there wasn’t really anything there so we got back on and got off at a marina. The marina was beautiful and had a nice little mall. We left the marina and walked the coast for a bit. We saw people fishing, swimming and snorkeling. It made me want to snorkel!

Of course on our walk we found cats!

Then we took the train back to the plaka right in front of the parliament building. There was a protest happening here and it was cool to see. There were tons of police and riot police. Luckily it wasn’t violent.

Then we walked back to the hotel and started packing. Around 830 we saw a sign saying there would be a strike for cabs and all public transportation the next day. We were a little worried this would interfere with our ride to the airport. Luckily there was a Gate 1 representative at the front desk and she told us not to worry they would send a private bus to pick us up.

We went to a little place and got some gyros and beer to bring back to the hotel for our last night in Greece. It was the best gyro I’ve ever had; even though I’ve only had a few…it was amazing! It was hard to believe our honeymoon was ending, it was amazing. I never dreamed I would go to Greece for my honeymoon. It was the best experience. After eating we went to sleep to await our 230 wake up call to go to the airport.

Bloggings, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Honeymoon-Mykonos, Delos tour

September 25, 2011 Andi Leave a comment

Today we woke up around 730 and got ready. We had breakfast at the hotel. The bus came and picked us up at 9 for the Delos tour. From the hotel we went to the port and we had to walk all the way to the other side to get on the boat. We talked to a few people we had seen before like Michelle and Steve. We also made friends with an old couple that had been at our hotel. They were from North Carolina.

Of course on the walk we saw this lovely cat…

On the boat to Delos we talked to a woman about getting seasick and traveling. Delos is an island that has ancient ruins from about 5000 bc. There was running water and toilets, even a sewage system. It’s an active archaeological site and it was pretty cool. The water surrounding the island was pretty, so blue. The tour was guided and lasted about an hour and a half. It was very informative. We saw the remains of an old house and a huge house with marble. There was also a theater and the birthplace of Apollo. I will just put some of the best pictures here…

After the tour we had a snack at the café and then headed back to the boat. The boat brought us back at 130. It made us so tired. We got back and ate at a little restaurant and then walked back to the hotel. We followed the coastline so we could see the windmills.

When we got back to the hotel we jumped in the pool and laid out. We slept, relaxed and read. I love Mykonos.

Bloggings, Reviews - Travel, Snorkeling, Travel

Honeymoon-Mykonos – Snorkeling Beach Marathon!

September 24, 2011 Andi Leave a comment

Our alarm didn’t go off this morning. We wanted it set for 7 am, because we wanted to go to the bank and get more euros. Then we had a 9 am pick up for a car rental. Maybe the reason the alarm failed to go off was because there were power outages all over the island. So we had no power and also no shower. The power luckily came back on soon and I was able to take a shower, while Don went to the bank.

He came back with no euros though because the front desk failed to tell us banks are not open on Saturday. So after breakfast we walked to a place to get some euros. Then we got a call at 9 am from the car rental place. The guy was out front and ready to take us to get our car. We rented a smartcar. It was kind of purple and Don drove it first.

We wanted the car so we could go beach hopping. We went to Psarou Beach first. There were people every where as Don tried to park the car on a hill. It was challenging because the hill was so steep and the car had such a weird brake/accelerator system. Finally we walked down to the beach and the beach had a bunch of nice chairs and tables. The beachfront had a bunch of restaurants on it also. Even though it was busy, it was pretty quiet. We had to have lunch from the restaurant to sit at the chairs or pay 10 euros for 2 people. We figured we would just have lunch since we needed to eat. We ordered a cheeseburger and pizza. The pizza was very good.

When we first got in the water it was cold, but then it felt good. The water was so clear and the salt in it made it sparkle. Don wanted to snorkel so we got our snorkels, good thing because it was awesome. On the side there were rocks with tons of fish and sea life. Fish were surrounding us. It was so cool. I think it was my favorite beach of the day.

Next we drove to Kalafatis Beach. It was much quieter; people were mostly sleeping. There were a few restaurants on the side but we didn’t go there. We wanted to snorkel. There were big rocks with tons of sea life. I think this was Don’s favorite beach. It was fun to just ride the waves and see the fish doing the same.

Next we went to Kalo Livadi. We thought we would snorkel again but the beach was sandy with no sea life really. We saw a few fish following us around but mostly it was a beach to have a good time. We mostly just laid out and tried to get dry. The sun felt so good.

After this beach I tried driving the car. The car was very rough shifting, probably because it had the option to be a manual and it was also very hilly. Going uphill felt like you were just going to fall back down it. But after awhile the driving was okay. I did fine. Don was the navigator. We decided to stop at one more beach, Lia. It was surrounded by rocks, kind of like a mountain. We saw some people hiking. There were hardly any people at this beach. We just walked around, but didn’t get in the water. We took some pictures with some random dog. It was very quiet there. There was a restaurant that seemed kind of weird but relaxing.

Then we took the car back to the rental place. My first time driving in a foreign country was not too bad. Driving in Greece was crazy though! There were bikes, atvs, people and other cars all on these tiny winding hilly streets.

After we returned the cars we got a ride back to the hotel and took showers. Then we went out and had some gyros at a little place not far from the hotel.

After eating we did some more exploring. We found a little desert café place. We had a chocolate cake thing with ice cream. It was probably the best desert I’ve ever had. The people running the place were so nice also.

We got back to the hotel pretty early, but we were tired. But before we got home…we found cats…

Bloggings, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Honeymoon-Santorini to Mykonos, worst boat ride ever!

September 23, 2011 Andi Leave a comment

We woke up this morning and had breakfast at the hotel.

We made sure we were all packed then we waited for the bus to come to take us to the port. The bus came and went to several different hotels and drove us to the port. The drive was crazy because the port is at the bottom of the island so we had to drive down a cliff. We had a snack of Greek fries and a coke before getting on the ferry.

Saying goodbye to our tour guide in Santorini

The ferry to Mykonos was about 3 hours. We left around 1230 and Don and I were separated. We were in the same row but there was a giant space between us.

I made friends with a couple I sat with, Michelle and Stephen. They were from NY. They were traveling with some friends. They were pretty cool. The first half hour of the ferry was fine but then the waves got huge and the boat was just rocking. It felt like sometimes the ferry would flip over. One of the workers started passing out extra puke bags. Tons of people were puking and the waves were just constant. I was feeling horribly sick, but I wasn’t alone Michelle was also. We didn’t puke but it was completely horrible.

When we finally got off around 4 our tour guide took us to the bus to take us to our hotel. Then he told us he would be at our hotel around 450 to talk to us. When we got to our hotel there were only stairs leading up to it. We were with a bunch of old people so they were not very happy about this. We got to our room; it was room 42. The hotel was very nice, it was called Hotel Despotiko. We walked around the hotel grounds and it was very pretty. Better than the one in Santorini.

We met with the tour guide to talk about Mykonos. Then we went to walk around Mykonos City. We decided to upgrade our 5 hour ferry ride to Athens to a flight. I just couldn’t do the ferry again. Plus the flight would leave at 11, and the ferry wouldn’t leave until 2 pm and take 5 hours, so we would have a little more time in Athens. Don liked the idea of the flight also. So now we have a 40 minute flight to Athens so hopefully all goes well.

We had dinner at a place on the water and watched the sunset. The sunset was absolutely beautiful.

Then we just walked around and took a lot of pictures. Mykonos was very pretty. I was still feeling dizzy all night from the boat. Here’s some of our best pictures from Mykonos city and check out all the cats I met!