We’re in Greece! 🇬🇷 It was quite the day of travel, but we made it and found our Airbnb and had delicious food and have plans for tomorrow.
We woke up in Atrani around 5:45 and finished up some last minute packing. We said a teary goodbye to Atrani and made our way through Piazza Umberto for the last time. The owner of our Airbnb’s sister owns a taxi and was coming to drive us to Naples. We would have done the ferry if the timing worked out, but our flight was too early. The drive was NUTS! I am so glad we didn’t even consider renting a car. The way two cars and a couple motorbikes fit on the road that’s not much bigger than one lane in America is wild. It was a beautiful drive and we even got to see the sunrise!
We made it to the Naples airport - Chris stowed some newly purchased items in Zoe’s bag that we had left in storage, and we successfully navigated finding our airline, checking our bags and finding our gate. We also ate another delish sandwich 😉 Who cares what time it is!? It’s always a good time for crusty bread and mozzarella!!
We made it through security and found an appropriate selfie spot.
We had to take a bus to the tarmac and then boarded the plane from the front and back. They passed out chicken sandwiches and veggie sandwiches instead of pretzels - they were pretty good too! Zack and Zoe missed the sandwiches. In their defense, we didn’t sleep much last night.
And just like that, we were in Greece!
No wandering town looking for an ATM, Bender was on that early today!
And then it was time for another taxi - from the airport to the port! This driver was a friend of our Athens Airbnb owner and he was fabulous. We talked American and Greek politics, he gave recommendations for what we needed to eat and see in Athens and Aegina and was the perfect ambassador!
It took us a second, but we found our ferry. We chose the fast one, so the ride only took 40 minutes.
Ferry selfie!
Aegina is adorable. Our goal was to grab something to eat and then get our bags to the Airbnb - but we are so looking forward to exploring tomorrow! Shopping, lots of pistachios and tzatziki are in the plans.
Dock selfie!
This was the view from our lunch spot. The owner used to live in Connecticut and spent time in Florida on vacation. He set us up with a table right on the beach.
Right on the water!
Zoe and I had beet root, sour apple, feta and pistachio salad. Delish.
We got our first tzatziki and a spicy feta spread. 
We made a friend at lunch. She seemed to know the employees weren’t going to bug her if she stuck right near us.
Zack got the special of the day - a tuna steak in a yummy sauce, and Chris got peppers stuffed with rice, raisins, almonds and tomatoes. Fantastic lunch!
And I had my first draft Alfa - very drinkable beer! No notes, would (did) order again. 
Then it was off to find a taxi to the Airbnb. We did not take a horse and buggy - it was too far, and we have too much luggage. But I thought about it! Next stop Vrachokipos!
It’s honestly hard to describe Vrachokipos - and the pictures don’t do it justice. It’s not super fancy, but the grounds and views are amazing. More info here https://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/vraxokipos.html
We were met by the manager who showed us to our villa and showed us where the water and beer were in the community kitchen. Everyone kind of passed out for a bit and then Chris and I went exploring.
View from our balcony - video in Facebook comments.
Espresso and a new kind of beer. Can you guess who enjoyed which beverage?
I want to take her home with me.
More. Steps. Definitely feeling it.
The dock at the private beach.
Of course Bender got a swim in!
And then we sat and enjoyed the end of the day while the kiddos slept a bit longer.
Around 8:30 or so we finally convinced them it was time to head to dinner.
Views for days.
We walked to the Souvala area for dinner. There were a few restaurants to choose from - but our airbnb guide suggested this one.
Right on the water again. We are definitely here before the super busy tourist time. Aegina actually seems pretty quiet!
More Alfa!
We did more tzatziki, along with some melon with prosciutto, and some feta with honey and pistachios for apps.
Zoe kept the cats under control for us all.
This salad was delish. Sun dried tomatoes, pickles, feta, pomegranate, yogurt sauce and pistachios. Are you picking up the trend? Aegina is famous for its pistachios! So many of the dishes include them! This salad was named for Aegina - and Zoe and I both enjoyed one.
Greek meatballs for Zack.
Souvlaki and pita for Zack.
Pistachio pesto for me!
Zoe had chicken.
And Chris had moussaka - but I forgot to take a pic. Everything was delicious!! At the end they brought us mini magnum ice cream bars. Perfect ending. Loved our walk home. Such a pretty place!
Just to make things a bit more interesting- the boys trapped and relocated a lizard that had take up residence on the wall. We all did a bit of work and then it was time for everyone to go to bed so I could blog in peace 😉.
So excited to explore Aegina town tomorrow and find some fun souvenirs! Thinking I’ll be bringing back some pistachios. Hope everyone had a marvelous Monday! 🫶🏻
XOXO, the Benderz
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