Athens #Greece day tour #tryitTuesday

TRY It Tuesday: Greece Edition

I know if you are like me, you are anxiously waiting until you can take your next trip.

If you are going to Athens, you are probably trying to decide which tour should you take.

I decided to purchase the Athens Half Day Tour on Viator.com

The tour was described:
Immerse yourself in the ancient sights of Athens on a private 4-hour sightseeing tour. The half-day excursion makes it easy as spinach pie to complete your Athens bucket list without breaking a sweat. Comfortable WiFi enabled transportation takes you to the Acropolis, Temple of Hephaestus, Panathenaic Stadium, and more. Get a taste of modern Greece with a viewing of the Changing of the Guard at Syntagma.

We will visit the world’s cradle of civilization, the ACROPOLIS, the temple of HEPHAESTUS, the ancient agora, the PANATHENAIC STADIUM and the Columns of Olympian ZEUS. We will watch the changing of the guards at SYNTAGMA and we will enjoy the wonderful ATHENS view reaching the sea from LYCABETTUS Hill.

I was excited.

The tour was super basic. And I’m using the “tour” loosely. You are essentially paying for a taxi driver to take you around to popular tourist sites. You still have to pay to see everything.
Entry to the Acropolis was 10Euros (because it was off season)

Entry to the Panathenaic Stadium was 5Euros

Our guide was nice but he didn’t speak a lot of English. He tried to make sure we enjoyed ourselves. But there were times when I gave up explaining what I wanted because he could not understand me.

I guess they don’t want you asking the driver any questions, lest you think he’s a tour guide. You are supposed to pay extra for a tour guide.

He picked us up at our downtown hotel and took us to as much as he could in 4 hours but traffic was a little crazy. We went to the ACROPOLIS, the PANATHENAIC STADIUM, and Columns of Olympian ZEUS.

We saw the changing of the guards at SYNTAGMA and then we took pictures with at LYCABETTUS Hill. I think we ran out of time to see the temple of HEPHAESTUS and the ancient agora.

TOW Final Word
All things considered, if you want to visit sites and have someone else worry about the transportation, this tour is for you. Other than that, I would suggest you pick a different tour.

Santorini Palace #tryitTuesday #travelpick

Jan21

TRY It Tuesday: Greece Edition

Santorini Palace
https://santorinipalace.gr/

Since we were taking our dream vacation to Santorini Greece, I wanted to stay in a hotel that was in the well-known white building style. The room rates were reasonable enough that I decided to upgrade our room to an ocean view with a balcony.

That proved to be well worth the money. Our ocean view room was beautiful and I liked sitting on the balcony each morning.

I did not get in time to eat breakfast. I usually make an effort, but I read a lot of reviews that said the food was mediocre. So, I did not waste my time. We slept in each morning and walked into town for an early lunch.

Since it was late November, it was too cold to get in the pool. But it was relaxing to sit in the lounge chairs and soak up the sun.

The heater did not work well in the room. Maintenance tried to fix it but is was still a little chilly for us. The front desk did provide us with extra blankets and offered to change our room. Since we were only there 3 nights, we did not change rooms.

I loved the location of the Santorini Palace. It was centrally located for the entire island in my opinion.
It was about a 10 minute walk to Fira (the island capital).
The trail to walk to Oia is close as well. We did not do that but it is an option if you want.
It was a 15 minute drive to Oia (famous for beautiful sunsets), 20 minute drive to Akrotiri (red sand beach), and 20 minute drive to Perissa (black sand beach)

I liked the quiet of the off season, but if you go during tourist season, be prepared for it to be crowded.

TRY IT TUESDAY – Travel to Sylvan Valley Lodge and Winery #tryittuesday #travel #NGeorgia

Nov12

TRY IT TUESDAY – Travel to Sylvan Valley Lodge and Winery

We headed to the Sautee Nacochee area for our anniversary weekend. Hubs said that he wanted to go to the Georgia mountains but did not want to go to Helen, GA since we have been there before.

There are so many places to visit, why go to the same place twice?
I looked and it seemed that the Sautee Nacochee area would be an interesting place to visit.

I wanted us to do something different and searched for bed and breakfast in North Georgia. I chose Sylvan Valley Lodge and Cellars because it was listed as a bed and breakfast winery. I picked on the “Great Outdoors Package” which included breakfast each day, a picnic lunch, maps to area trails, cheese and charcuterie plate, and a wine tasting of area wines.

Little did I realize when I was making the reservation, Sylvan Valley Lodge is 5 miles from Helen. We ended up eating dinner each night in the big town of Helen.

About the cabin:
We stayed in Cabin #23. The cabin was nicely decorated with rustic finishes. There was a queen bed and garden tub in the bedroom. However, there was no TV in the bedroom. The living room area had a fireplace. Very cozy!

The internet and DirecTV satellite service was spotty especially when it started to rain, which was most of our trip. I mentioned that to the hosts and they said they are supposed to be getting fiber soon. Hopefully, they have it by now.

About the Great Outdoors package:

Breakfast was included for each day we were there. It was delicious. I made sure not to miss the first meal of the day!
Farm fresh breakfast: 2 cage free eggs, Nitrate free bacon, toasted English muffin with local wine preserves (My pick since it seemed to be the best value)

Other options included Norwegian style pancakes or Breakfast sandwich with eggs and all natural pork sausage

We did the area wine tasting on our first evening there before we went to dinner. Host John Boyes took his time explaining where the fruit for the wines were grown and talked about the history of the area. It was an informative experience.

At check in, they provided us with the maps of the hiking trails in the area.

They said to let them know when we were going so that they could prepare the picnic lunch. The lunch came in a little brown insulated lunch bag that was too cute! There were 2 sandwiches, cookies, chips, bottles of water. It was just enough to fill our hunger without being too heavy.

The maps were useful because when you are exploring the mountains, cell reception can be unreliable.

TOW Final Word: If you want a relaxing, intimate vacation in the mountains, Sylvan Valley Lodge is the place to go. I recommend choosing one of their packages to get the most out of your stay!

747 Duncan Bridge Rd.
Sautee Nacoochee, GA 30571 United States
P: (706) 865-7371
https://www.sylvanvalleylodge.com/

Try It Tuesday: Caye Caulker, Belize Central America #traveltuesday #travel #TryItTuesday #review

Sep10

Try It Tuesday is also Travel Tuesday because I am focusing on a destination!

Caye Caulker is a small Caribbean island off the coast of Belize. It is a long narrow island divided by a narrow channel called the Split, where there’s a bar and a sandy beach. To the south is the island’s only settlement, known as Caye Caulker Village. The north of the island is home to dense mangrove forest and diverse birdlife, protected by a forest reserve. The Caye Caulker Marine Reserve has dive sites on the Belize Barrier Reef.

It is accessible by water taxi or plane. We chose the water taxi San Pedro Express and it cost $50BZ ($25USD) for a round trip ticket.

What is there to do in Caye Caulker? Relax, eat, and enjoy life!

Where to stay in Caye Caulker? There are so many options. I recommend Caye Caulker Condos (https://www.cayecaulkercondos.com/) or Sun and Sea Guesthouse (http://www.seaandsunguesthouse.com/).

Tips when traveling to Caye Caulker
✔️Take small bills (vendors accept USD but give change in BZ)
✔️Look down the side streets for food vendors
✔️Ask if the motel/inn has free bikes or kayaks included with your stay
✔️Confirm if the room includes a private bath and air conditioning
✔️For the best room rates, go in the summer months (November-February is their busy season)
✔️Stay near the Split to be close to everything

TOW Top Picks
Breakfast: Jenny’s To Go – the best fry jacks! Try the salbutes too.

Lunch: Enjoy delish grilled lobster or stewed chicken

Dinner: Wish Willy – best lobster and steak! Get there early though. He sells out quickly.

Look out for guys with carts…
Guy with cart proclaiming loudly “Taste Belize!” has good coconut tarts
Guy with cart selling tasty chicken tamales on Tuesdays and Fridays
Guy with cart and yellow umbrella has yummy pineapple cake

Try It Tuesday: Exfoliating Foot Mask #tryitTuesday

Nov13

Exfoliating Feet Mask

From Amazon – About the product

Clear away years of callouses. Make any cracks in the heel a thing of the past. Your feet can look like they did back before everything. There’s smooth beautiful skin still there, waiting to be revealed.
Not painful nor irritating, our foot peeling mask works gently and safely. Application of our foot exfoliator takes minimal time and can be used while doing other things.
Healthy feet can be yours, without a hassle.
Working within 7-9 days, you’ll be amazed at the level of exfoliating possible. Layers of hard skin fall away, leaving only the softest to remain. It’s a baby foot peel for baby soft feet.
Want to strut around in high heels? Got a pair of shoes that, before, you would never wear because of your feet? Clear away the bad skin and bring on something that looks good—no matter what shoes you wear.

TOW Opinion
I am so disappointed with this.

I should have known to stay away once I read the instructions. It says that after leaving the booties on for 90-120 minutes, wash your feet. Over the next few days, the “dead skin will peel off”.

Supposedly, the skin underneath will be soft and supple. I was leery of the “skin peeling” aspect, but I thought “How bad could it be?”

If you find yourself asking THAT question, stay away!

In reality, the skin on my feet have been peeling for more than a few days. If that sounds gross to you, imagine living it. Ugh!!!

After I showered each night, I was peeling skin off my feet and sweeping all this skin off of the floor. I have NEVER had my skin to peel like this.

Plus, the skin underneath was tender and felt raw.

I was not able to wear sandals because my feet looked horrible. It was hard to walk as it felt like I was walking on egg shells.
Thankfully, after all the skin from the “treatment” peeled off, my feet were back to normal.

I bought this because I thought I could save money instead of paying for a pedicure. I was wrong. This has been a horrible, traumatizing experience for me.