travels.of.tara

August 31, 2022

Here we go, time for another big one! Later today I’m off to Greece for a 19-day solo trip. I am so ready to challenge myself, be in motion, and see, do, and eat amazing new things just because I want to.  

It’s another one I started planning before the pandemic, always targeting September as my travel month because it is still summer in Greece while less crowded as kids go back to school. 2020 came and went in misery; 2021 was a slow crawl back to life anchored by domestic travel, but now, 2022 is my year. Covid is still around, but life has become much easier, and the persistent pandemic anxiety has dissipated enormously. Travel, too, has become easier, with Greece among the countries that has removed all entry restrictions, while the U.S. has removed its testing requirement to reenter the country. Covid felt like more of an afterthought in trip planning this time. When I finally bought my plane tickets, all the way back in January, it felt like a major symbol of recovery.

So why Greece? Well, I am a firm believer that you don’t need a reason to visit a place, but in this case I’ve got a few. The country calls me in a unique way, and despite what I’ve heard from some folks it has nothing to do with Mamma Mia (though I rewatched it the other day, and ok, I get it).

While I don’t have any Greek blood, I have two relatives through marriage with ties to Greece. Cousin Mike grew up there, moving to New York when he was 14. When I was in high school I had a school assignment to interview an immigrant (what a cool project!), and I spoke to Mike about his experience settling in Astoria, a heavily-Greek neighborhood in Queens. I never met cousin Susan’s first husband, but I got to know his Greek roots through her cooking – homemade spanakopita at every family gathering – and her sons my age who embraced the culture. My childhood babysitter Nicole, whose mother is still great friends with my mother, married a Greek man and moved to Athens, so I sometimes hear about life there.

It seemed to make a lot of sense when in 2019 I moved to Astoria, which I love deeply. In the last week I ate dinner at an authentic Greek taverna with a Greek server, walked by the bakery that baked the cake used in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, passed the Greek cultural center two blocks away from my apartment, and stared out the window from my yoga studio at the Greek flag flying high on a neighboring rooftop. And to really feel Greece in Astoria, you can walk by Athens Square Park near my subway stop on 30th Avenue, where you see statues of ancient Greek philosophers and stone columns, surrounded by old men smoking and speaking Greek. It’s delightful.

These influences and my excitement about travel led me to start teaching myself the Greek language about 9 months ago, mostly using the Duolingo app. It’s hard to learn a language well without immersion and speaking practice, though I practice every day so I know the basics, and it has been really fun learning such a unique language with a different alphabet than the one I know.

So it all makes sense that I would choose to go to Greece! I can’t wait; it has been such a long time of anticipation. The planning doc is 27 pages long (though to be fair there’s a lot of white space to keep it organized). I like to plan my trips, especially for solo trips so I feel comfortable and don’t miss anything, but I also plan in some flexibility and time to just wander and slow down. This one’ll be jam packed; there’s so many places to go in Greece and it was hard to choose just a few! Here’s the basic plan:

Aug 31 – Fly overnight NYC Newark to Athens

Sept 1-2 – Athens

Sept 3-5 – Organized tour of mainland historic sites

Sept 6 – Athens; overnight ferry to Crete

Sept 7-9 – Chania, Crete

Sept 10 – Bus to Heraklion, Crete

Sept 11 – Ferry to Santorini

Sept 12-13 – Santorini

Sept 14 – Ferry to Koufonisia

Sept 15 – Koufonisia

Sept 16 – Ferry to Athens

Sept 17 – Athens; fly at night with overnight layover in Stockholm

Sept 18 – arrive NYC

This’ll be my first time using my Global Entry and TSA pre-check, which I feel like is more valuable in just feeling like a serious traveler versus the benefits of skipping lines and leaving your shoes on. We’ll see. I’m leaving almost 2 hours to get to Newark, NJ via transit. I’m hoping this is the worst part of the trip.

Onward, adventure!