It’s a long standing joke with all of our friends that my husband is Mr Organised, particularly when it comes to holidays.
We have all of our holidays planned out for 2018. I mean with two small boys, although our attitude to travel has changed, our desire to has never waned. It just means that my husband get’s a little more creative with his searches, a little more ruthless when weeding out places to stay. All the while satisfying our desire to show the boys the world. Heading to new destinations, exploring, adventuring, living.
Next year we are off to France, staying in a villa with friends and their children.
The year after? The world is our oyster.
Well.
Except for the fact that my husband has visited over 60 countries of the world’s 208 and likes to try go somewhere different at least once a year.
And has travelled Europe.
Except for Greece
In countless trips abroad, InterRailing across Europe, he has never been to Greece. And I have.
Though we’d be looking more at the family homes to rent in Greece end of the spectrum than the Club 18-30 hedonistic two weeks of my time on the Greek Islands, you know with the two small boys and all, I still think that this would make the perfect family holiday.
Especially in a villa with friends, it’s the future of holidaying with children. The children play together, there are built in babysitters, and most of all a chance to get a break. One of my favourite holidays as a child was going away with all of my cousins, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles. Staying in a massive villa. Entertainment provided in the forms of my cousins who were more interesting than just my brother.
A home away from home
A family home away from home if you will.
Space to put the children to bed, then go down and enjoy each others company without being confined to the hotel balcony, or bathroom in the worst case scenario.
Being able to feed the kids as soon as they wake up at 5am, rather than shuffle quietly around a hotel room waiting for the breakfast buffet to begin. Not to mention the countless snacks that they demand.
The chance to really unpack, spread out, and have access to a washing machine for the million and one dirty clothes that you know you’ll be left with.
All of the benefits of your own space with the luxury of being able to explore new surroundings.
And what surroundings Greece has to offer.
Crystal blue seas and white stucco houses
From the beautiful Mediterranean sea, gently lapping on the sandy beaches. To the white stucco house nestled in the cliff tops. Greece is a work of art, a beautiful serene place which will make you gasp in wonder.
And if you’re five years old and don’t really do much in the way of gasping at beauty? The sandy beaches and the crystal clear sea speak for themselves. I mean, who doesn’t love the beach? Wherever we go in the world my pair are desperate to head to sandy shores, to immerse themselves in the shallow waves, and to run wild and free with nature.
Food to enrich the soul
I love food.
All kinds of food. Especially Greek food.
From the freshest and crispest of Greek Salads, the tangy feta and salty olives.
To the sumptuous melt in the mouth meatballs.
That’s not forgetting the deliciousness of creamy Tzatzki. Or the traditional moussaka. The fresh fish caught that day.
With so many traditional Greek dishes to try, it makes sense to stay somewhere where you can bring as many clothes as possible so you’re sure to have something to fit at the end of your stay!
The history that seeps into your soul
Those Ancient Greek stories, myths, fables. The story of how Athens claimed it’s name from a battle of wills between Athena and Poseidon. The legend of Icarus who flew too close to the sun, then plummeted to his death. The mystery that surrounds Pandora’s box. King Midas with his Golden Touch. Watching how the myths of yesteryear interweaves with life as we know it today.
The stories that capture the attention of the very young to the very old. Brought to life in the very villages where the Gods were once said to have stood.
With a marathon running husband, how could we overlook the legend of the first every marathon? Where Pheidippides ran from the town of Marathon all the way to Athens to inform of the great military victory against the Persians, before collapsing and dying.
That’s before we even get started on the beauty, and preservation of Greece.
It’s status as an UNSECO World Heritage site, as defined:
“The monuments included on the World Heritage List are selected and approved on the basis of their value as the best examples of human creative genius. They exhibit an important interchange of human values and bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or has disappeared. They are directly linked to important stages in human history and for this reason they have outstanding universal significance and are a part of mankind’s common heritage”.
~ UNSECO ~
With eighteen separate monuments listed on the site from the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, to the Acropolis, to the medieval city of Rhodes.
History at your fingertips.
And so dear Husband
As I know we will soon be looking, ready for our 2019 summer adventure, what do you think about Greece?
I can testify Greece is a work of art. It’s a country I’d would love to have a long stay in just to take beautiful pics of its landscape.