Turks and Cacios November 2017

We just got back from another wonderful Thanksgiving vacation to Providenciales, Turks and Cacios.  We again stayed at Seven Stars which must have been our 10th time or so!!!! It was a little bitter sweet as it was our first visit without Caleb joining us his college break was just to short to allow him to join us and it was one year since our friend Sean from Island Vibes was killed he was killed in a car crash the day after we were out with him on his boat....
We have been going to Turks since Caleb was about 4 yrs. old and we had just gotten Jade so should be about 14 years or so...We have stayed at Ocean Club West twice, Alexandra once, Somerset once and has to be the last 10 times or so we have stayed at Seven Stars....We keep going back because we love it so much!!! This year Pauls parents joined us as they have many times in the past as well as Jades friend Gabby....and good friends of our's the Kislins joined us as well as they had already booked Seven Stars on a recommendation we gave them.  A good time was had by all!!!

We arrived on Saturday Nov. 19th after a 3 hour direct flight from Newark we enjoyed a day at the pool and Paul ran to the Graceway Gourmet and picked up lobster and twice baked potatoes...All we had to do was reheat and eat...great way to end our first day....

Sunday the 19th we again spent the day at the pool and beach, taking a break headed over to Danny Bouy's to watch the Packer game...had dinner at Coco Bistro one of our favorites!!!!

 Monday just another day of pool, sun and beach....Paul and I had massages and facial's at the Seven Spa they were running a really good special and had a wonderful experience. That night we ordered take out from Garam Masala excellent Indian food and we also ordered pizza from Bella Luna excellent pizza.

Tuesday was a pretty rainy day...however, Noah and I didn't let that stop us!!! We still spent the day at the pool by evening time the weather cleared up and we had dinner at Somewhere, which just reopened from the hurricane the week before.

Wednesday we had an abbreviated pool, beach day as we had a family photo shoot scheduled and had to be ready for that by 4:30pm but we did make time to have lunch at one of our favorite spots the Conch Shack which just opened following the hurricane.  Wow!!! very much improved place REALLY nice food was still terrific!!! Following the on beach photo shoot we had a feet in the sand dinner planned we were happy the Kislins were able to join us so we had a really big group...Great night!!!!

 Thursday was Thanksgiving we had a BEAUTIFUL day the ocean was like glass!!! So we spent most of the day in the ocean...The girls took out the paddleboards and Cydney took Noah out on the kayak...That night as we did the Thanksgiving before we went to the Fish Fry for dinner.  Always a good time we had great food, the kids got to do some shopping we had a few rum punches and after along day we were tired and happy to make it a early night...I was very happy to see how busy the fish fry was!!!!

 
 Friday was the absolutely most beautiful day!!! Once again the ocean was like glass no waves!!! the kids enjoyed the ocean and paddle boarding....Dea and I enjoyed sitting in our chairs in the ocean and picking up shells!!!! A perfect day!!!! That night the 4 adults had a reservation at Coco Bistro so we once again picked up pizza and pasta for the kids at Bella Luna....

Saturday our last day!!!! We had to leave for the airport at 3pm so we spent the morning packing doing laundry and some time was spent at the pool.  Once we arrived a the airport we were very happy to hear all but one of us had been upgraded to first class.  Before we left Seven Stars Paul booked return trips for both Spring break this year as well as Thanksgiving next year!!! If it ain't broke don't fix it....See you soon TCI!!!

The Farr Family Big Fat Greek Vacation Santorini July 9th - July 14th

July 10th

We arrived into Santorini yesterday.  After a hair raising drive to find the villa we arrived.  We were greeted by the owners and given the 5 cent tour and the keys.  The view was beautiful....however, the villa its self was not the Luxury Villa we had expected.  It was old and not well kept.  Ok moving on... Today we decided to do some driving around.  We stopped at a lovely beach got a lounger and spent sometime at Perissa Beach.  The beach loungers are all owned by the restaurants across the street.  We paid $100 for a really nice lounger and were given a lovely fruit tray, Champaign and some sushi.  We ordered lunch and enjoyed the time spent there.  

July 11th

Today we spent the morning in the pool as this afternoon we were leaving on a sunset boat tour.  We had a driver take us to the harbor where we met our crew and our boat.  It was a great tour and it was a great perspective to see the island.  It was nice to be looking up at the island.  The crew served us a wonderful lunch, we toured beaches and the kids got to do some swimming and jumping off the boat.  The cruise ended with a beautiful sunset.  Later that night we had dinner at a seafood place in Amoudi Bay.  

July 12th

Today we had a guided tour of Akrotiri and Oia. 

July 13th 

Today was our last full day in Santorini and since this is a pretty busy place and lots of tourists I just wanted to spend a quiet day at the beach.  Paul and the kids toured Ancient Thira in the morning and then in the afternoon we went to Kamari Beach.  We again rented chairs and had a nice lunch, the kids walked around a bit and shopped.  

July 14th

Today we flew to back to Athens as we needed to catch our flight out to Newark in the morning.  I am always leery of airport hotels but THIS ONE WAS AWESOME!!!!! Awesome beds really nice hotel!!! much appreciated after the not so wonderful accommodations we had in Santorini.  Noah and I used the pool, we had a nice dinner and were well rested for our flight the next day.  

Greece was amazing!!! Really enjoyed Athens and Crete....Santorini however, beautiful was crazy busy, lots of people, buses and touristy.  

The Farr Family Big Fat Greek Vacation Crete June 30th to July 8th

June 30th

Today we flew from Athens to Crete only a 35min. flight…We arrived into Chania and had a short drive to our villa….the landscape was very beautiful here lots of mountains and tons of olive trees.  Our villa was beautiful and we had one of the best views we have ever had while renting a house!! There were a group of 6 villas 3 big ones and 3 small ones, ours was closest to the ocean and while we had 2 other villas around us it was very private.  We had a big pool and everyone had a bedroom, the kitchen was small but functional which was fine because we were not planning on making any meals at the villa.  We had dinner at Kariatis in Chania old town.  It was a bit of a drive and a bit nerve wracking as the roads were pretty twisty turny and not very wide…Old town Chania was very quaint lots of restaurants.  We had a nice dinner at Kariatis which had an Italian spin to it and headed back to the villa for bed.  

Our Villa Divine Villas

Our View

 July 1st

Paul had a winery tour set up for today…However, Noah and I decided not to go…I we needed some down time and I was just happy to be able to wash some clothes that I was content not going anywhere…So Noah watched Spongebob and ate Mac and Cheese (which we brought with us) and I did laundry….Pauland the kids had a great wine tasting with a full lunch.  We had a dinner reservation but Paul cancelled it as they were full from lunch.  After some swimming and hanging by the pool Caleb, Noah, Paul and I decided to venture out and grab a bite to eat later in the evening we did a google search and found a few restaurants close to the villa right near the beach Almyriki in Stavros.  We had a great dinner, there was a grassy area.  Noah made some friends and they were playing soccer.  He was a little apprehensive to approach them because they didn’t speak any English, but the language barrier quickly became nothing!!!! The kids were all really good at soccer so they helped Noah learn a few moves….He had a blast!!! 

Dinner at Almyriki

July 2nd

This is how they cooked everything

Dounias

We only had one outing planned for the day and that was to have a late lunch at Dounias. Dounias is a restaurant run by a family where all they prepare is what is grown on or lives on their farm.  The drive up the mountain to say the least was extremely nerve wracking for me!!!! Put it this way the minute we sat down I asked for wine and downed it…. This place was awesome, VERY rustic. They had a building with a small kitchen and a bathroom the wood fireplace where they cooked all the food in clay pots was outside in the front.  They had approx. 10 tables under a covered dirt covered patio and all the dishware and table linens were old school, like something my grandma would have had in the 1950’s.  Charming!!! The wine was served out of small metal pitchers and served in little glasses, for those of you who know me, I prefer drinking wine out of very small glasses… We basically ordered everything they were offering for the day which was about 8-10 different items.  Everything was AMAZING!!! Many dishes consisted of various kinds of vegetable’s in every way shape or form.  The POTATOES were crazy good…they basically cooked the potatoes whole and just stuck them in the coals to cook…charred black on the outside and fluffy wonderful on the inside.  The lamb!!! Again amazing cooked in a parchment paper.   We were stuffed but the owner insisted we finish all the lamb and started picking the meat off the bone as we didn’t apparently do such a good job…NOTHING goes to waste here.  They then brought a type of chocolate cake for dessert with a small pitcher of the raki they make on the farm.  Raki is a popular after dinner drink that is produced with the leftover grape skins from the wine making process.  It is strong stuff but it did help me have a better ride down the mountain!!!

Wine!!!

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Lamb

July 3rd

Today we had a full day tour planned we were picked up at 8am

we headed to Phaistos, which was the ruins from the Minoan palace dating to 15th century B.C.  the walk to the site was great...on the way up we came across many different types of trees...fig, black pepper, bay leaf and of coarse olive trees.  After we toured the site we headed to the beach town of Matala.  Matala was taken over by the hippies in the 60's. they lived in the limestone caves that surround the beach.  We didn't really swim as it was a pretty wavy day but Noah did get to experience his first topless sunbather!!! We ate lunch at a taverna right on the beach I wish I remembered the name of it because I had the BEST pasta ever!!! After lunch we headed to Rethimno. Rethimno is another beach town....lovely little town with shopping and restaurants right on the water.  We did a bit of walking around and stopped for a drink at a Oceanside bar.  We were all tired and loaded back in the car and headed back to Chania.  

Matala

 Rethimno

July 4th

Today we just hung out at the villa...the boys decided to take a short walk to the beach that was by the villa...well much to their surprise it was a nudist beach...4 old dudes buck naked...needless to say they didn't stay long...tonight we went to Salis in Chania for dinner.  It was a wonderful dinner.  While we were finishing dinner Jacob took Noah for a walk along the harbor (not far from where we were) and Noah FELL into the harbor!!! Jacob had to pull him out of the water...they came walking back and Noah was soaked!! I was having a mild heart attack...couldn't wait to get him home and showered!!! Never a dull moment!!!

Picture of the harbor

July 5th
Today we got an early start and were picked up at the villa by coach.  We headed to Heraklion to the Palace of Knossos. Beautiful drive and a good day visiting the ruins.  We finished Knossos and were heading back to the villa it was quite a drive from Chania so it was almost a full day.  

                                         

 July 6th
Today the only plan of was to visit Manousakis Winery.  It was a beautiful drive again up a mountain. We had a tour and lunch scheduled.  It was a beautiful property and we had some really lovely wines as well as a nice lunch.  We bought one of the rose's and decided to stop at a beach on our way back to the villa.  We stopped at Marathi beach, which was one our tour guide told us about the day before.  It was a nice beach very popular with the locals.  We rented chairs and swam and drank our wine it turned out to be a wonderful experience.

 July 8th
Today is Caleb's 18th Birthday!!!! We spent the day at the villa since it was our last day in Crete.  That night we had a wonderful dinner celebration planned to celebrate Caleb's birthday.  Our dinner was wonderful and Caleb felt very special.  We even had the most beautiful sunset!!!

July 9th
Today we were leaving for Santorini. We had to fly back to Athens and then on to Santorini.  It was a long day of travel It stinks because you can't really get to these islands direct unless you fly thru Athens and or take a ferry.

The Farr Family Big Fat Greek Vacation June 25th to July 15th, 2017

Athens

June 25^th

We flew out of Newark airport on Emirates Airlines direct to Athens, Greece.  It was our first time flying on Emirates Air Business Class.  It was very nice we had a great meal a few glasses of wine and a bit of sleep…. some breakfast and we were there….A little over 9hrs. flight….We arrived into Athens new airport…well it is new since we were last here in 1992….

June 26^th

We arrived into Athens and a driver picked us up and took us to our hotel the Electra Palace located right near the Plaka.  We had 3 rooms. One room was a suite with a sitting area, bedroom and bathroom.  The girls had a room that was adjoining to ours and the boys had a separate room a few doors down from ours.  It turned out to be a good set up for us.  The Electra Palace was a lovely hotel. During our first day, there we used the pool which was on the roof and it had a wonderful view of the Acropolis.  We walked to dinner that night it was about a 20min walk and had dinner at Papadakis.  We had a wonderful dinner everyone had some type of seafood, it was a pretty location.  We walked back to our hotel after dinner and a few of us went up to the pool on the roof to see how beautiful the lit-up Acropolis looked at night!!!!

The Acropolis at night 

View from our hotel

June 27^th

Today was going to be a full day, we all got a good night’s sleep and were ready to go we had a full day private tour of most of the main sights in Athens.  Our driver George picked us up at 8am and we set out for the Acropolis. We climbed up Filopappos Hill to The Acropolis. It is quite an amazing sight…and the views of Athens from the hill were spectacular!!! When Paul and I were here 25yrs ago the Acropolis museum was open on the hill however, now they have a new museum and we would be traveling to see that later in the day…. It was pretty hot, so we made our way down the hill and back to the van where George took us to our next destinations… We ended up seeing the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier & Ancient Agora.  We then stopped for a much-needed rest and some lunch.  We ate at a little taverna and had a wonderful lunch of grilled chicken the most awesome potatoes and again a beautiful Greek salad.  We were all getting tired (jet lag was setting in) but we made one last stop at the new Acropolis museum which was stunning!!!

That night it was just Paul, Caleb, Jacob and I going to dinner (the girls were watching Noah and getting room service).  Caleb picked tonight restaurant the Funky Gourmet.  This was one of those crazy expensive innovative multi coarse experience restaurants!!! I was a bit skeptical but really enjoyed it…

The kids at the Parthenon

View of Athens

Noah at the New Athens Museum

 Just a few of the courses we had at the Funky Gourmet....

June 28^th

Today we had a laid-back day…we walked around the Plaka and had lunch…we also went to the pool and hung out…the pool is small and it was packed especially since it is so hot!!!!

We had to take 2 taxis to dinner tonight…The ride to dinner was nice….it took us thru Athens to what we would call the suburbs…there were actual freestanding houses with yards and parks…it was nice…We arrived at Eleas Gi Restaurant to quite a stunning view, it was located up on a hill top in a very green area overlooking the mountains…. Dinner was wonderful!!! Again, we ordered too much food….and the waiters brought out dessert on the house and pretty much made us eat it…Once again full and tired back to the hotel to sleep….

Me chilling at the pool

June 29^th

Today we had a half day tour with George about an hour drive down the coast to Sounio and the Temple of Poseidon.   It was a stunning sight!!! The Temple was in really decent shape and the marble was very white.  After our tour, we drove back to our hotel did some swimming and walking around the Plaka before dinner.  On our last night in Athens we had dinner at Dionysos Zonar’s.  The view of the Acropolis was nice the dinner was just ok, guess that’s what ends up when you eat at a touristy place. Today, was our last day in Athens, tomorrow he catch our flight to Crete. 

Here are some of my take aways from our Athens visit….

I have to say Athens was the city I was least looking forward to visiting…however, I left very happy we were able to spend time there…The city was very clean, safe, the people were friendly and there was very little pollution as that was a problem I remembered from last time… It was very special to be able to visit some of the same monuments that Paul and I took 25yrs. ago now with our kids!!!!