31 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in Best Of, Tons of Pictures
Tags
2014 was an amazing year. Thanks to miles & points we were fortunate to visit 10 different countries over 5 different trips for a total of 70 days spent outside the country. Most of it in business or first class, and most of it just for the cost of taxes or credit card signup fees. Definitely not something I would have thought was possible only a few years ago.
Over 71,000 miles flown internationally. Good times.
So what does that look like? A little something like this.
30 Tuesday Dec 2014
Tags
Baby Selfish, Japan, Kyoto, Nara, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo
Mrs. Selfish and I decided to take our Selfish Year journey as an end cap to our fading young-adult years. We had always enjoyed traveling as young professionals, and decided a year abroad together would be a great way to “get it out of our systems” prior to having a kid.
Boy were we wrong.
A year later and I’m more addicted to traveling than ever. In fact, after settling in San Francisco, we ended up spending over 3 of the next 15 months outside of the country.
So when we found out Mrs. Selfish was pregnant, I immediately did what any other miles & points enthusiast would do in my shoes and started planning Baby Selfish’s first international trip.
Yep, back to Japan!
29 Monday Dec 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Hyatt, North America
This is post sixteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
Finding decent award flights from Europe to the States is a pain. Finding decent award flights from Europe to the States during the Summer is a nightmare. As America’s go-to playground during the Summer, everyone and their mum seems to head to Europe during the June – August timeframe.
Ideally, Mrs. Selfish and I would have flown Athens to Frankfurt to San Francisco, but 5 months out I couldn’t find any availability. Instead, I settled for the best known award trick – flying through Canada.
Since we had 14 hours overnight to kill in Montreal, I was pleased to find the Hyatt Regency Montreal, a category 3 Hyatt (now Category 2 in 2015). I also discovered an old childhood friend lived in the area, so we decided to meet up for dinner.
Mrs. Selfish and I missed our ferry from Mykonos to Athens, but managed to catch the next one out.
Pro-tip: Mykonos has 2 ports, and which one you use is determined by the ferry company, NOT the ferry destination.
From there we stayed at the Athens Hilton one last time, before boarding a morning flight to London, where we grabbed some fish and chips, before jumping on an Air Canada flight bound for Montreal.
Like EVA airlines, Air Canada doesn’t really have much of a 1st class section in their fleet, but their Business Class was excellent and we arrived at 6pm.
28 Sunday Dec 2014
This is post fifteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
Visiting the Greek Islands was a dream for Mrs. Selfish and I, and they certainly are beautiful. This is not to say that the trip was perfect, however. Our trips frequently aren’t, and we tend to gloss over some of the crappier parts of traveling: food poisoning, scams, mediocre foods, gross hotels, etc.
I have often found, however, that our experiences are tinged by our expectations and for better or worse my expectations usually match the pictures I see online: a solitary monk visiting Angkor Wat in the morning omitting the tourist hordes just off camera, the perfectly framed cafe in Paris minus the next door McDonald’s, the Great Wall of China at sunset with the silhouetted screaming hawkers pushing their wares.
Stunning… so what’s the catch?
So here, in no particular order, are the many downsides of visiting Santorini and Mykonos. Hopefully they help you make your own informed decisions when traveling to these high profile hot spots.
Donkeys are everywhere in Santorini. Thanks to Oia’s narrow streets, it’s nearly impossible for a car to maneuver, so donkeys are used to haul trash and tourists around.
27 Saturday Dec 2014
Tags
Delos, Europe, Greece, Island Hopping, Mykonos, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
This is post fourteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
Mr. Selfish and I weren’t too overly impressed with Mykonos. We felt that the crowd was too young and drunk for our liking. Nevertheless, if we hadn’t spent two nights in Mykonos, we wouldn’t have taken a day trip to Delos, which was awesome.
Delos is known as one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. According to mythology, it is the birthplace of the gods of Apollo and Artemis. Although Delos is still being excavated, a great deal of excavation has already occurred. Mr. Selfish loves ruins and was in heaven.
26 Friday Dec 2014
This is post thirteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
While researching the Greek islands, I discovered that Mykonos is known as a huge “party” island. Against our better judgment, particularly since we are not (and never have been) rambunctious party-goers, Mr. Selfish and I still decided to spend two days in Mykonos. It just looked so lovely in all of the photos I saw online.
Well, we were not let down. Mykonos is indeed as pretty as the photos but also full of young, loud, and drunk party-goers as its reputation would have you believe. Mr. Selfish will go over the party side of Mykonos in a later post. This post will focus on all things pretty in Mykonos.
25 Thursday Dec 2014
Posted in Uncategorized
Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, or Festivus!
From,
Mr. & Mrs. Selfsih
24 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, Greece, Naxos
Tags
Filoti, Greece, Greek Islands, Meat Town, Naxos, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
This is post twelve of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
Fresher is always better when it comes to food. We know this, but at home it’s hard to beat the allure of convenience that a super market promises.
Restaurants have been quick to pounce on the rising foodie trend, however, with phrases like “locally sourced” and from “farm to table.” It’s both annoying that we have to use these phrases and a sad state of affairs that most of our food is actually imported from farms over half a continent away.
This is not the case on islands, where the food is often incredibly fresh since the economics of the island often force them took cook only what they grow there. I first noticed this during our Selfish Year trip to Tasmania, which consistently had some of the tastiest, freshest eats I’ve ever had.
So when I found out that Naxos had a town the locals were describing as a “meat town,” Mrs. Selfish and I immediately jumped in our car and headed there for lunch… and then dinner… actually I kind of want some now.
23 Tuesday Dec 2014
Tags
Europe, Greece, Island Hopping, Mount Zas, Naxos, Portara, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Temple of Demeter, Zas Cave, Zeus Cave
This is post eleven of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
When I was researching which Greek islands to visit, it was clear to me that we should visit the renowned islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Since both of these are very popular islands, I wanted to visit a lesser known island as well. I ended up settling on Naxos because it was easy to travel between Santorini, Naxos, and Mykonos and because it is supposedly the island on which the Greeks vacation.
Naxos ended up being my (and probably Mr. Selfish’s too) favorite island. It was so much less touristy than Santorini and Mykonos but equally beautiful. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t visit Santorini or Mykonos. But if you want to experience a more low-key Greek island, then Naxos should be on your list.
This is the view of Naxos as you’re approaching on the ferry from the water.
22 Monday Dec 2014
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, Greece, Santorini
This is post ten of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
Santorini is a major tourist trap – there’s no use mincing words here. Despite that, it is also one of those must-see-before-you-die locations.
Unfortunately, like most tourist traps Santorini (and in particular Oia) is filled with over-priced mediocre restaurants whose main selling point is the view. Fortunately thanks to some local recommendations and the power of the Internet we managed to score a few good meals.
Located at the Western most part of Oia, the Amoudi Fish Tavern can be found right at sea level, which is always a good sign when one is looking for fresh seafood.
21 Sunday Dec 2014
This is post nine of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
On our way from the airport to our accommodations in Oia, Mr. Selfish and I asked for recommendations from our driver. We were wary of the many tourist traps in Oia and inquired about any less popular restaurants. Our driver informed us that we had to go down to Amoudi Bay, where the hoards from the cruise ships typically didn’t go and the seafood was outstanding. We were glad we listened to him.
20 Saturday Dec 2014
Tags
Europe, Greece, Island Hopping, Oia, Santorini, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
This is post eight of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
Since I’ve been frantically preparing for Baby Selfish, Mr. Selfish has taken on the responsibility of finishing up our 2014 trip reports, which was fine with me. But, then the other day, I heard someone refer to this blog as “Mr. Selfish’s blog.” So, here I am, back to writing trip reports. There’s no way that this blog is Mr. Selfish’s blog!
The main reason that I wanted to visit Greece was to bask in the views of Santorini. I’ve never seen a bad photo of Santorini, and after having been there, I must admit that it is difficult to take a bad photo of it.
19 Friday Dec 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Europe, Greece, Santorini
This is post seven of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
After an activity-packed stay in Athens, Mrs. Selfish and I left the Hilton Athens and headed to the airport. Our destination, Santorini: one of the most beautiful islands in the Aegean Sea.
The flight was brief, and before I knew it we were in a van bound for Oia, the beautiful cliff side village filled with jaw dropping views that have become synonymous with Santorini.
18 Thursday Dec 2014
Tags
Agora, Arch of Hadrian, Athens, Mt Lycabettus, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Temple of Olympian Zeus
This is post six of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
While the Acropolis is arguably Athen’s main draw, there are plenty of other sites to see if you’re a ruins lover, many of which can be accessed for free with your Acropolis ticket.
Rising 200 meters above the rest of the area, Mt. Lycabettus is a great way to get panoramic views of Athens. You can get to the top of the mountain one of two ways – walking, or paying 7 euros to take the funicular up to the top.
Since it was a boiling 88 degrees, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to conserve our energy and take the furnicular.
17 Wednesday Dec 2014
This is post five of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:
I have a mixed relationship with museums. I love walking through them, but scarcely read anything. This means that an average museum trip for Mrs. Selfish and I is usually less than 2 hours.
We’ve blazed through the Uffizi in Florence (where we almost missed the Birth of Venus), the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, and the Museum of Natural History in NYC, to name a few. Undoubtedly we missed much.
So when it came to Athens, I was debating whether or not we should even head indoors. With 3 full days in Athens, however, it became clear that we were running out of things to do, so we decided to head to the National Archaeological Museum and the Byzantine Museum. Good thing too, as both proved to be well worth the trip.
Considered (by Wikipedia) to be one of the greatest museums in the world, the National Archaeological Museum has one of the largest collections of ancient artifacts I’ve ever seen.
I love me some Greek statues, so this was well worth the trip. It was also nice to actually see the statues in Greece, as opposed to other European museums where they were “on loan” or had been looted from Greece hundreds of years ago. Entrance to the museum was 7 euros per person. Continue reading
The Selfish Years 