Introduction
We are David and Tamara. We live in Florida with our mini-schnauzers, work in the same hospital as a mental health therapist and a critical care nurse, respectively, and absolutely love to travel and soak up a bit of the unfamiliar. Athens and the Heart of Greece is our 4th Rick Steves' tour, so we obviously love them. For us, they are the perfect combo of camaraderie amongst easy going and intelligent fellow travelers, history and culture infusions by well educated and passionate guides, and free time to make our own discoveries.
About this tour
We have a long tour wish list, and it feels like every time we take a tour, we add two more to that list, so I think we will be at this for a while! We decided on Greece this time because David is really interested in ancient history, Tamara is really interested in photography, and after visiting many of Europe's biggest and busiest cities on prior trips, the idea of spending more time in smaller villages at a slower pace sounded intriguing. To see the full details about this tour, click here or on the picture of the map to the right to visit the Rick Steves' website.
Just as we have come to expect, every detail of this trip was planned to perfection, the guide was engaging and knowledgeably, and the tour members were easy to be around and people we could see ourselves hanging out with in "real life." We ate a lot of good food, learned a ton about history and local culture, laughed a lot, danced a little, and generally had an incredible time.
We decided that April was the perfect time to visit Greece to avoid some of the heat. Since we were going to be on the continent anyway, it seemed logical to add some time in Amsterdam to visit the Keukenhof Gardens during tulip season. As they often do with us (ahem, Tamara), our plans continued to expand and included Paris in the spring time (because Paris is always a good idea!) and a jaunt over to Bruges in between. It turned out to be a very good idea! We will include some pages on those visits here for anyone interested.
Tips for a happy trip
1) One of the most important things you can do is to pack light! You will be responsible for managing your own bags, so the lighter you pack, the happier you will be. There are laundry facilities available in several cities, and often there will be a hotel halfway through that will be willing to do your laundry for a small fee.
2) "Don't worry, be happy." Rick Steves' tours have a "no grumps" policy that you are asked to sign before the trip, and it really works! We have never been stuck with a sour grape, among the over 100 tour members we have traveled with. So don't sweat the small stuff, and if you have any concerns, share it with the guide instead of other members.
3) Get in shape and ready to walk. The tours are physically active, which is a huge plus. You stay in centrally located hotels that allow you to walk to many major sites. This also means they may be in older buildings that don't have elevators, so you have to be prepared to do a few flights of stairs. On this tour we walk several miles, stand in museums, and climb the stairs to ancient ruins. This is a selling feature - if you are going to go all the way there, you want to get up close and personal to the important stuff! So start training a bit at home and you will be much more comfortable.
4) Bring your stretchy pants. This is kind of a joke, but these tours have so much food! Seriously delicious food! The guides make every effort to expose you to a lot of different local specialties, and you are going to want to try them all! It is good to have a sense of adventure. The food on this tour is especially spectacular.
5) Do some research before you leave. Even though your Rick Steves' tour will have all the nitty gritty details pre-planned, so you don't have to worry about transportation or lodging or food on the tour, you are going to want to research things to do on your free time. Reading about the place before you go, and watching movies based on it, will give you a deeper understanding of what you see. All the preparation has the pleasant side effect of stretching out the joy you get from your trip. We would often go out for Greek food to talk about our planning, or watch even a goofy movie like "My Life in Ruins" or "Mama Mia" to enjoy the scenery. One of my favorite places to go for trip inspiration was the scrapbook archives on the Rick Steves website, or to the travel forum where you can read about other peoples' trips or ask questions.
6) Have fun, and take lots of pictures! You will see so many amazing things, and you will rely on your photos to help you remember your incredible journey. We like to snap shots of signs and the names of restaurants and sights to that we can remember exactly where we were when we get home and start to organize our memories.
Ready to travel?
Throughout the scrapbook, click the text on the photo buttons to progress to the next section. Hope you enjoy traveling with us!
