Marian and John Huff, along with one of their sons, John’s cousin Teresa, and her husband Ronald, took a wonderful 21-day trip to Italy and Greece this fall. Their son, John D., was celebrating his 40th birthday and was the youngest traveler on the trip. He was a big hit among the group, helping others with their technology and devices along the way!

They each packed only one carry-on bag for the entire duration. Marian was able to fit a different outfit for each day into just one bag! Teresa has been a great resource, teaching them how to maximize overseas travel from how to use points to fly business class, selecting the best tour groups, packing light, and making sure they see the local culture, not just the tourist spots.

Marian said the food, especially in Italy, was delicious and fresh. The local wine was incredible, and they made sure to bring some home! It was impressive how free of preservatives, healthy and tasty all the food and drink were, compared to here in the states.

The views were so picturesque and stunning, and some of the history was fascinating. Not to mention, they experienced an actual 6.0 earthquake while they were there! Earthquakes are common, yet there are many 2,000-year-old structures still standing. They traveled with Odyssey Tour for Greece, and Italy was on their own. It was the perfect combination. Follow along for the itinerary.

9/13 – We flew Air France Business Class to Naples, Italy, arriving on 9/14. We hired a driver to take us through approximately two hours of beautiful scenery to Sorrento.

9/15 – We hired another driver to take us up the Amalfi Coast, stopping at Positano, Amalfi, and Rovello. The scenery, food, and shopping were absolutely the best.

9/17 – We again hired a driver and guide to take us to Herculaneum. This was extremely interesting, from the many skeletons found in the boat storage areas to the sophisticated plumbing throughout the complex. I was fascinated to learn how much of Herculaneum is still under the homes people are living in today!

9/18 – We toured a working family farm at Massa Lubrense, where they grew olives, grapes, lemon, and orange trees, fig trees and had numerous pigs, sheep, and chickens. We learned how each item grown or raised compliments the others to make a perfect ecosystem. We had one of our very best home-cooked meals at this farm.

9/19 – We flew Air Alitalia to Rome and then took a flight to Athens, Greece. We stayed at Elia Ermou Athens Hotel, overlooking the Acropolis.

9/20 – Hired a driver and car from the hotel Concierge to drive four hours one way to Meteora, an area in Thessaly (Central Greece), and Kalampaka. The thing that makes Meteora so special is the monasteries on the top of rock towers, that are over 600 years old and still in use. The views are breathtaking, and the history is fascinating. We toured three of the monasteries and ate at a quaint garden restaurant, recommended by our driver.

9/21 – Our Odyssey tour began, with 17 total members taking a walking tour of the area near our hotel, the historic lower Plaka district, and Hadrian Street. The hotel was near the Government buildings and Embassies, where we saw dignitaries and a protest, against vaccinations, during our visit. No one complained about masking, and EVERYONE wore masks indoors and willingly showed vaccination cards to enter restaurants and public places. We visited the Acropolis Museum (https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr) that chronologically displayed excavations dating from 6 BCE. Odyssey provided our welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

9/22 – We traveled to Delphi, where we visited spectacular ruins, a magnificently preserved 4th century BC theater, the best-preserved stadium, and the Delphi Museum.

9/23 – We checked out of the Elia Ermou hotel in Athens and visited the National Archaeological Museum

 (https://www.namuseum.gr), with the richest collection of Greek Antiquities as well as collections dating from Roman, Mycenean, and Classical times. From the museum, we departed via a comfortable roomy motorcoach to the Peloponnesian Peninsula in Greece’s southernmost region. On the way, we stopped at the ruins of Corinth, dating back to 400 BCE. Paul the Apostle wrote his two letters, First and Second Corinthians, here. We stayed at the Kandias Castle Resort & Thalasso for the next three nights. This was a huge resort, with a large pool complex, located on the Aegean Sea.

9/24- We explored the Peloponnesian Peninsula, visiting Epidaurus, the birthplace of Epidaurus, the Greek god of medicine, a 2,300-year-old theater with perfect acoustics, seating over 14,000. After a lovely lunch, we toured the ruins of Mycenae, one of the oldest archeological sites in Europe, representing the pinnacle of Greek civilization from the 15th – 12th centuries BCE. In the afternoon, we visited the Venetian/Byzantine town of Nafplion, with picturesque narrow streets and waterfront cafes and restaurants.

9/25- We traveled to the port of Metohi, where we boarded a private boat to Hydra, the car-free Saronic island, where donkeys provide the transportation. The semi-circular harbor of whitewashed buildings was filled with shops, markets, and galleries for us to explore.

9/26- We left by motorcoach to Athens and stopped to see the Corinth Canal. From Athens, we took a short flight to Crete, arriving in Heraklion. We settled into the hotel Aquila Atlantis and took a walking tour of the town center and dined together at a local restaurant.

9/27- We began the day at the Heraklion Archeological Museum. Nearing the end of our museum tour, we experienced a 6.0 earthquake, which was definitely felt, along with many 4.0 – 5.0 aftershocks!

In the afternoon, we visited the palace of Knossos, the political center of Minoan civilization and home of King Minos, the Labyrinth, and the Minotaur. We continued to feel aftershocks from the quake all day into the evening. One person was killed at the epicenter 11 miles away, but in the city of Heraklion, there was no noticeable damage to buildings, and business went on as usual.

9/28 – We drove to Crete’s eastern coast and tiny port town of Elounda, where we boarded a wooden boat for a private ride through the Bay of Elounda to Spinalonga, a former Venetian Island fortress, later occupied by the Ottomans, who used it as a leper colony from 1903 – 1957.

The history was interesting, but the scenery was spectacular! We returned to Elounda by boat and traveled to the colorful harbor side town of Agios Nikolaos with galleries, shops, cafes, and tavernas for lunch. After lunch, we toured a Cretan olive farm.

9/29 – We departed Crete by high-speed ferry for Santorini, where we began by visiting a local family-owned winery for a tour and tasting. The afternoon was spent exploring the picturesque town of Fira and the village of Firostefani.

9/30- We began the day at the Santorini Archeological site of Akrotiri, a Bronze Age Minoan settlement that was decimated by the Minoan eruption in the 17th century BCE. The afternoon was spent walking through the blue and white painted shops and homes of Oia.

10/1 – We took a late morning flight to Athens, where we enjoyed a final exploration of Athens and enjoyed our farewell dinner.

10/2 – We flew into Newark, NJ, on an Emirates Business Class flight to end our trip.