Four Gelatos & A Fortress
Hello, Shalom & welcome back to our pre-Shabbat edition of Maya in Greece! I’m basically the better & older version of Emily in Paris.
First things first, our driver today was named Theofilos (pronounced the-oh-fill-ohs because Greece loves vowels). According to him, Chania in Crete is the most beautiful place in Greece, but Nafplio is the second most beautiful. Which honestly tracks because both places have the whole “tiny winding streets + flowers everywhere + old town + aggressively picturesque” thing going on.
But today, we were going to Nafplio (don’t ask me the correct pronounciation please) with our new friend Theo on a private tour (oooh, ahhh). Yes. We bit the bullet. We went private. But we needed to get out of Athens & options were SLIIIMMMMM.
Anyways, naturally, I have added Crete to my mental “places I now need to return to because I accidentally became emotionally attached to Greece” list.
Important things Theo taught us today:
Oia is pronounced EE-ah, not oy-ah. I’ve been wrong this entire time.
Vinsanto wine is Santorini’s famous dessert wine made from white grapes & apparently very sweet.
Pyrgos is one of the island’s castle villages & has amazing views.
Greeks casually live surrounded by ancient castles like it’s normal behavior.
He also recommended a café called Kafeneio & another called Candouni, which he described with the passion of a man who has absolutely sat there for four hours drinking coffee while staring into the distance dramatically.
Is any of this relevant to you? No. I’m just here sharing though.
Anyway. Back to today.
Our first stop was the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean & Adriatic seas. Sounds lovely in theory. In practice? This thing is INSANELY high up. Like “don’t look directly down unless you want your soul to briefly leave your body” high up. And apparently people bungee jump there? I’m sorry but voluntarily launching yourself off a cliff surrounded by sharp rocks feels deeply unnecessary (YES, SAYS THE GIRL WHO WENT SKYDIVING I GET THE IRONY). But that’s somebody else’s personal growth journey, not mine.
Evan spent most of the drive talking basketball with Theo, which honestly transcends language barriers. Men will truly find a way to discuss sports in any country, under any circumstance.
Then we drove up to Palamidi Fortress in Nafplio, which sits high above the water with views that genuinely do not look real. Greece continues to have the bluest water I have ever seen in my entire life. Like if someone edited saturation all the way up on earth itself. The fortress was built by the Venetians in the 1700s & later became important during the Greek War of Independence, which means this place has HISTORY history. Also: murder holes. For those unfamiliar, murder holes are literal openings in castles where defenders would drop things on enemies below. Oil. Rocks. Probably emotional trauma. Love that for them.
But genuinely, the views were unbelievable. Mountains, water, terracotta rooftops, tiny boats. Every five minutes I was like “okay THIS is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen,” only to immediately see another prettier thing.
Also I am learning how to say thank you in Greek: ef-cha-ree-sto. Am I pronouncing it correctly? Absolutely not.
Then we explored Nafplio itself, which was honestly one of my favorite places we’ve visited so far. It’s quiet & romantic & covered in flowers. Tiny alleyways, little cafés, bougainvillea climbing everywhere, shops with handmade soaps & ceramics. The kind of place where everyone somehow looks relaxed & moisturized.
We stopped for lunch at a place called Old Mansion & sat outside under these flower trees that looked straight out of a Pinterest board titled “summer in europe ✨.”
I got souvlaki. Evan ordered artichokes & dolmades because apparently he’s entered his sophisticated vegetable era. Then came the real event of the day: The Tour de Gelato. Basically it’s like the tour de france, which we experienced on our last trip. Except it’s just us eating gelato around the city. One gelato shop wasn’t enough. Or two. Or even three. I am STILL on my quest to find stracciatella everywhere we go, which unfortunately one shop did not have. Heartbreaking. Tragic. Please respect my privacy during this difficult time.
HOWEVER. That one place had pomegranate sorbet & I need everyone to understand this may have been the best sorbet I’ve ever had in my life. It literally tasted like someone blended an entire fresh pomegranate into happiness. I almost went back immediately for another.
On the drive back to Athens, Evan resumed his international basketball diplomacy tour with Theo because apparently every teenage boy in Greece wears Jordan shorts. I fell asleep for an hour because I am, spiritually, a pooped panda. When I woke up, Theo started giving us Athens recommendations. His main advice regarding food was basically “it’s all good,” which honestly? Respect for the confidence.
Back in Athens, we grabbed drinks with a side of the Acropolis because that’s just a normal casual thing you can apparently do here.
Then came our Uber experience. Our driver could not find us because Evan’s phone basically gave up on life, & then once he did, the man spent the ENTIRE ride communicating with other drivers via WALKIE TALKIES. Like. An app for walkie talkies. On his phone. On speaker. At one point I genuinely felt like we were involved in an underground transportation operation. During the drive though, I got to catch up with my best friend N (shoutout to you girlypop), who has a huge competition this weekend, so shoutout to N & L because they are absolutely going to crush it. That chat honestly made my whole afternoon.
Okay. Side note. The rash situation has evolved. It has now spread from my leg to my side which is honestly not ideal behavior from my skin. I’m starting to think it’s some kind of bug bite situation? But nothing hurts & I’m not dying, so currently I’m just drawing circles around it with a pen like a girl scout field medic & hoping for the best because we genuinely do not have time for medical drama right now.
ANYWAYS. As I write this we are headed to our next island & I am VERY excited. (As I edit this I am in my bed on said island)
Here’s your hint:
wine tour
two boat tours
four nights
two private villas because apparently we are committed to the content lifestyle now
I would say this is the stop I’m most excited for but honestly I still don’t think anything can top Zakynthos. Sorry. That island changed me.
Also according to Emile (shout out to you for reading my blog, love you long time, extra best friend points for you), ice cream helps regulate blood sugar because of the fat content. Which means my four (ahem, five) gelatos today were basically medical treatment.
For those following along at home: my blood sugar DID remain in range all day, so honestly science supports me here.
At the airport we tried loukoumades, which are little Greek donuts with honey. Very good. Very dangerous. We agreed they probably taste even better NOT in an airport terminal though.
Now for stats because we haven’t done those in a while:
sunscreen vs maya: sunscreen won A LITTLE BIT (mostly). however I forgot the TOP OF MY HEAD exists so now my scalp is a little burnt which feels unfair biologically.
gelato count: 9 (kayak still remains undefeated)
times i’ve heard hebrew this trip: honestly more than greek at this point
nails chipped: 3/10
times i bungee jumped today: 0 because i value peace & survival
turkish bathrooms I have had to pee in: 2. i don’t want to talk about it.
coke zeros consumed: an infinite amount
And finally: our flight tonight was only 25 minutes long which feels fake. We landed safely on our next tiny island, though I couldn’t really see much out the window except bright lights reflecting off the water. I genuinely do not understand how pilots land on these microscopic runways surrounded by ocean. Like thank you for your service because I would absolutely panic.
Right now we have a hotel driver bringing us to our first villa. Supposedly we have a private pool. Do we actually? You’ll find out tomorrow. Lila tov & shabbat shalom, everyone 💙