As I was getting my cultural and historical fix in Athens and Northern Greece , I knew that for Monicca, this whole trip was leading up to her personal highlight, Santorini . Sure I knew from all the pictures and movies shot here how beautiful the island is; but what got me really excited was when I read that the Legend of Atlantis was actually based off of this island! To get a chance to explore the so-called most beautiful city in antiquity, destroyed by the gods because of its citizens’ hubris ? Count me in! * The departure gate at Athens’  Eleftherios Venizelos . You know you’re going to have an epic time when all your fellow passengers are wearing shorts and sandals .

One usually thinks of the Holy Land as a place for prayer, reflection and soul-searching. However, it is also very much an entertainment mecca, historical time-capsule and religious Disney Land all-in-one; where instead of rides, you have places that you have only read about growing up. Check out these amazing activities: 1. Go boating in the Sea of Galilee. A charming wooden boat + cool and windy weather + lively Jewish music + dancing = Relaxation

One of the highlights of the cruise was getting to dock on the world-famous Amalfi Coast . Compared to the hectic, run-and-gun tours of Florence and Rome, our visit here was very relaxed and pleasant as we really got to take our time and sight-see, enjoy the food, sip some coffee and people watch; the way the Italians love to do! Easily, the Amalfi Coast is one of the most incredible locales in all of Italy . And that’s saying a lot since almost every city in Italy has it’s own character and charm! What it lacks in history (Rome), art (Florence) and majesty (Venice), the Coast makes up for with sheer breath-taking beauty! * The town of Sorrento , where many artists and poets have found love and inspiration throughout the centuries.

Before I continue on the Eurotrip, I would like to write a special thank you to our cruise liner and it’s staff, Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas , for taking excellent care of us on our Mediterranean Cruise . For the whole week that we were cruisin, I was pampered, fed (A LOT) and treated very politely by everyone on board.  So Kudos to the Captain and his mates! * The Barcelona Pier is just awesome, looking a lot like an airport terminal complete with restaurants and souvenir stores, which my dad (guy on the right) took advantage of.

After the insane shopping and sight-seeing of Barcelona, the excitement of being in Europe for the first time got bogged down by every traveller’s worst enemy, jetlag . As we started our Mediterranean Cruise, I had to fight to stay asleep. THANK GOD, our first stop was the charming and sleepy town of Villefranche sur Mer . With picturesque scenery (see above) and a laid-back, relaxed vibe, sur Mer was our most hassle-free and uneventful stop in the whole trip, and that’s a GOOD THING .