About Us

Hi! Welcome to our first travel blog!

We are an interracial couple in our 40s with no kids (DINKs). We currently live in the DC-metro area of the United States. I’m the wife and the writer; my husband will review the blogs. I’m White, he’s Black.

What’s different about our blog? For starters, we’re not monetized. We hate ads and don’t want to make you look at them. Second, we don’t have any upcoming travel plans, so the first few blogs will be about past travel.

Trip Overview

• Total spending: $9000 (For two; includes everything except souvenirs)
• Duration: 9 day trip. 3 nights per location, split in Rome and Athens for the return journey like so: 2 nights in Rome, 2 Athens, 3 Santorini, 1 Athens, 1 Rome.
• When did we go? May 2024
• Weather: May was perfect! It was a little bit cold in Santorini, so we couldn’t swim. A few clouds in Athens. No rain. Not too hot.
• Luggage: 1 medium-sized checked suitcase each, 1 backpack each, 1 overnight bag, 1 camera bag. I packed a linen purse and a tote in my luggage to use for going out.
• Packing list: Light layers, swim gear, comfortable shoes, pants not shorts (except for the boat cruise), hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, water bottles

Planning Our Trip

We take a minimum of one international trip each year and a few trips in the U.S. We choose international destinations by taking turns. In 2024, I chose the Mediterranean. We both wanted to visit more than one country. Italy was at the top of my bucket list, and he wanted to see Greece.

We started planning in October 2023 and decided to aim for May 2024 to avoid peak summer travel season and still be able to enjoy warm weather. We enjoy touring historic sites, eating good food, and lots of natural beauty, so we decided to prioritize Rome, Athens, and at least one Greek island.

We chose a Costco Travel package to keep our travels in Greece simple. Costco handled most of the logistics. For $3000 total, it wasn’t the cheapest option, but it was within the budget we agreed on. We handled our own arrangements for Rome and our flights to and from the U.S. The travel package to Greece included our flights from Rome to Athens.

We booked Air Portugal from DC to Rome, with a stopover in Lisbon. We used Expedia to reserve a reasonable boutique hotel in Rome’s historic district, a 30-minute walk from Termini Stazione. Due to our early morning return flight to the US, we chose an airport hotel for the final night of our stay.

Costco Travel handled everything in Greece: plane tickets, transportation from the airport and ferry to our hotels, ferry tickets to Santorini, and hotel reservations. We chose from a selection of hotels in the package. We aren’t luxury travelers; we balance mid-range hotel stays with higher end, depending on the location and how long we’re staying. On the high end, we’re willing to pay for hotels between $200-400 for a good night’s sleep and a beautiful view.

For language preparation, I took Italian in college so I refreshed myself two months prior with Duolingo. He took on Greek using Pimsleur languages. But we were able to use English everywhere we went.

One month out, we started planning daily activities. We prefer a mixture of structured and open-ended vacation time, so we planned a few tours at the sites we wanted to prioritize (the Colosseum and the Acropolis), and left the rest open. We used Get Your Guide for three tours, booked 2 weeks in advance.

Rome

Logistics: From the airport, we took a shuttle bus to the city center for $8, but we don’t recommend this. A Trenitalia train from the airport to Termini Stazione would have cost $17 and been much quicker and more comfortable. That’s what we did to return to the airport on our second day. To get around town, we walked and took the metro, which cost $15 for both of us over 2 days.

What we loved: The sheer density of attractions in a mile’s walk around the historic centre. On our first morning walk from our hotel to Termini Stazione, we saw the Chiesa di Santa Maria Vittorio, the Fountain of Moses, Pizza della Repubblica, Basilica degli Santa Maria Dei Martiri, and Basilica dei Pappalle di Santa Maria Maggiore. From Termini Stazione, we took the metro to Circus Maximus and walked to meet our afternoon tour for the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. Get Your Guide’s English tour was $90 each for 2.5 hours and included admission to both sites. Our guide was funny and knowledgeable. We recommend the combo; we enjoyed Palatine Hill as much as the Colosseum!

Our hotel was near the Museum and Crypt of the Cappuchin Friars. We visited on our second day; this was the most surprising highlight of our trip (tickets $12, less than 2 hours). From the photos on their website, you would assume it’s a morbid experience, and it is, but in the best way. We were both moved by how the friars made art out of death, and beauty out of bones.

On our return trip, we stayed in a airport hotel, far from the main tourist sites. Since Ostia Antica was only a few miles away, we decided to explore off the beaten path instead of going back to the city, and we’re glad we did! It’s a gorgeous, well-preserved archeological site that feels more like a garden. Tickets are about $20. We used the FreeNow rideshare app to get there, because it was recommended over Lyft or Uber, and it cost us $50 each way from our hotel (a short distance, but near a large city with traffic, it was expensive). We would have taken the train, but that would have required going back into the city which defeated the point for us. From the city center, we recommend looking into that option.

What we didn’t love: Even before peak season, the crowd at the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain was smothering. But the worst part was that my husband was the target of a racist interaction with one of our fellow tourists.

We were waiting for the group tour to start, and he was getting something out of my backpack while I was still wearing it. Then, a young White, German woman assumed he was a thief and accosted him. I heard him say “Get off me! This is my wife!” When it became obvious he was telling the truth, she only smiled and did not apologize; she seemed to think it was funny. It was not. If we had both been the same race, she wouldn’t have jumped to this conclusion; if he had been White, she wouldn’t have confronted him. Then we had to be on the same tour with her for 2.5 hours, but with about 20 people in our group we were able to keep our distance.

It’s obviously not the city of Rome’s fault that we had a racist encounter with a fellow tourist from another country. To be clear, some of the bad experiences and good ones that I write about will be unique to us. You will experience completely different things. My intentions for this blog are to be more than a generic travel resource. I want it to be a story of us that you can share.

Best meal: Giano Restaurant in Hotel W. Beautiful courtyard seating and the grilled octopus was a revelation!

Honorable mentions: Cocktails at b-Cool bar near the Trevi district. Fun, affordable, and a great selection of fruity drinks. I had my first Aperol Spritz here and that ended up being my drink of choice for the rest of the trip.

Athens

Logistics: Arrived on a late night flight and met our Costco Travel agent who gave us a folder with details of our stay, including our ferry tickets. We spent one full day in Athens before taking the early morning ferry to Santorini. Costco arranged our car from the airport to the hotel in Kallithea. To get to our morning tour at the Parthenon, a 15-minute drive, we had trouble using the rideshare apps and ended up asking our concierge to call a taxi.

After our tour, we walked to the Ancient Agora, and from there, took the metro and bus back to our hotel. Our hotel was near a bus stop but almost a mile from the nearest metro. The bus stations do not have ticket kiosks, so we had to walk the farther distance on our return journey to purchase new tickets.

Costco Travel also arranged the taxi to our early morning ferry. We had assigned seats, but still recommend getting to the ferry early to be near the front of the line.

What we loved: Our evening food walking tour with Get Your Guide was the highlight of Athens! (Okay, it was my highlight. Of the two of us, I’m the food-obsessed one, but he also enjoyed it.) We enjoyed sweet and savory bougatsa, fresh olives and deli meats on Evripidou street, a delicious family-style dinner with a view of the Acropolis, then lukumades for dessert. We were with a small group of about a dozen tourists, and everyone we spoke with was a delight. Our guide was gracious and a true foodie; she spoke with everyone and facilitated a warm and lively conversation within the group.

We also used Get Your Guide for the Acropolis and Parthenon tour. I can’t stress enough how glad we were that we signed up for the earliest available tour at 8am. Our guide wisely rushed our group to the top to get pictures before the crowd caught up. After pictures of the Parthenon, she showed us several points of interest and took us back down; even an hour later, the steps up were completely crowded. It was a cloudy day so our pictures aren’t great but of course it was worth it!

The Ancient Agora was way less hectic, and we enjoyed the museum and the many points of interest, including the picturesque Temple of Hephaestus. Just outside the Agora are many shops and restaurants, and it’s right near the Monastiraki metro. On our return trip, we only had a half-day in Athens, so we spent it souvenir shopping and had dinner at one of the restaurants with a view of the Acropolis.

What we didn’t enjoy: My husband came down with the flu! We both regretted not masking up on the plane. We learned that on Sundays the pharmacies in Athens are not open, and we had trouble finding medicine. He settled for cough drops purchased from a kiosk near the metro.

Best meal: Does the entire food tour count? If not, I’ll give it to the first stop on the tour, Bougatsadiko Psirri on Psirri Square.

Santorini

Logistics: We took the fast ferry from Athens to Santorini, which is just under 5 hours. Our travel agent met us again, and a taxi took us straight to the Ambassador Aegean hotel where we stayed 3 nights. The hotel arranged a rental car for us – a last-minute decision that wasn’t included in our package. Akrotiri is on the quiet end of Santorini, far from public transit. For our first trip into Akrotiri, we walked, but with the low shoulders and winding roads, we felt safer driving and decided it was best to get a car.

For the second day, we had booked ahead for a boat tour of the volcano and Therasia; we didn’t plan to have a car so we added the fare for a shuttle bus to and from the hotel to our ticket. But parking at the dock would have been very difficult, anyway.

What we loved: Akrotiri and the Ambassador Aegean was the perfect choice for our stay, especially since we were both ill. He got worse on the ferry ride over, and I came down with the flu a couple of days after we arrived. The hotel called a doctor for us who came to our room. The fee was reasonable, about $100, and my husband was able to get reimbursed by his insurance when we got home. We picked up our prescriptions at the pharmacy in Akrotiri. While we would have preferred to be healthy, we planned to relax and take it easy in Santorini, anyway. We still enjoyed the gorgeous views from our unique, cave-like room with our own personal pool and sundeck. It was a little windy and cold for swimming, but that didn’t stop me from trying!

Exploring Santorini in our rental car was another highlight, especially since it was a last-minute decision. We visited the Akrotiri archeological site and the black sand Perissa Beach, and drove to dinner in Fira on our second night.

What we didn’t love (but we liked it): The one tour we purchased that wasn’t from Get Your Guide was the Santorini Caldera Cruise, and we had a mixed experience. I think we both would have enjoyed it more if we had been well, but if we had it to do over, we would shop around and find a cruise with fewer people. The half-day cruise we purchased for $55 included two small cruise boats that held about 50 people each. It was like Hunger Games finding seats and lining up to get on and off the boat.

The tour included a visit to the volcano, visible from the caldera. I was too tired for the hike but he went to the top! Next, the tour stopped at the hot springs for a very quick, muddy swim. Finally, we stopped for nearly two hours at the small island of Therasia. We had lunch in a cafe at the port, and my husband hiked to the top (see the picture below). I opted to stay at the cafe and read a book. When we returned to the port at Santorini, we had trouble finding our return shuttle, but we eventually got on the right bus and got back to Akrotiri. We do recommend taking a similar boat tour if you have the time.

Best meal: Pentozali, a Cretan restaurant in Fira, popular with locals as well as tourists. Hands down the best meal on our trip! We shared several small plates. I enjoyed the dakos, which is like a bruschetta, and a dish with black-eyed peas that tasted like home to my Southern palate.

Honorable mention: Theofanis Food Experience in Akrotiri. A fun, touristy place where they break plates. Known for good desserts but all the food was good. They had live music the night we went.

Looking Back

What we would do differently: This was a wonderful trip but we both agreed it was too hectic. To slow down the pace, we would either stick with one country or add a night in Rome and Athens. We did appreciate that because we were visiting EU countries, we only had to go through customs once each way, in the Lisbon airport. So if you can take the extra time and it fits your budget, it’s worth it to see both countries in one go.

And obviously, we would wear our masks on the plane and bring cough medicine.

What we missed: We chose not to visit the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, but would have with more time. In Greece, we would have liked to visit Mykonos and Crete.

What’s next? Thank you for reading our first blog! For the first year, I plan to write about one of our past travel destinations each month – some in the US, but mostly international. The next blog will go live in February. I already know what I will write about; subscribe to find out! (Hint: it’s a very romantic destination.)