Mediterranean – Angela's Great Adventure

Greece – Chania

November 7, 2018November 6, 2018Posted in TravelTagged Crete, Europe, Greece, Mediterranean, TravelLeave a comment

Last week, it snowed for the first time this season in Luxembourg… So now I’m writing about my summer beach vacation 😂

A bunch of us living in Luxembourg took a friends holiday in June to Chania, Greece, which is on the western end of Crete. Crete is the largest island in Greece, and also where you can find the Minotaur and Mt. Ida, the birthplace of Zeus.

We were staying in an Airbnb in Kissamos, about a 50 minute drive from the Chania Airport. Note, if you don’t have an EU driver’s license, you’ll need an international driving permit to rent a car in Greece. We got in pretty late in the evening, but found a nice dinner spot by the beach with a really warm and friendly owner, who introduced us to the local drink, raki.

20180616-DSCF0043 — Venetian Lighthouse in the Chania Old Town

20180614-IMG_5148 — View of Kissamos from our Airbnb

Day 1 – Elafonisi Beach

After an ambling breakfast, we drove an hour to Elafonisi Beach in the southwest corner of the island. It’s by a super scenic lagoon with shallow, turquoise waters, and white & pink sand. Although it was a bit windy, we walked across a sand bar to the Elafonisi island and hiked to a chapel at the end of it called the Church Agia Irini. After we got back, we had dinner at Fish Tavern in Kissamos.

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Today was a good day pc @maggieats . . . . #vsco #vscocam #travel #tourist #ig_europe #beaches #greece #crete #kreta #swimsuit #beach #sand #waves #clouds #sky #mediterranean #sea #elafonisi

A post shared by Angela H (@huangee) on Jun 14, 2018 at 4:42pm PDT

20180614-IMG_5162 — Pink sand at Elafonisi Beach

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48 Hours in Malta

July 16, 2017November 6, 2018Posted in TravelTagged 48 Hours, Europe, Malta, Mediterranean, Travel1 Comment

Contrary to popular belief, or at least my belief, Malta is not full of Maltese dogs running around everywhere. I didn’t see a single one… 😦

Sand colored buildings, rocky cliffs, and blooming desert shrubs. Malta is part of the EU and is made up of three main inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. It used to be part of the British Empire, so people drive on the left and English is an official language (Maltese is the national language). N doesn’t like driving on the left, so I finally got to pull my weight with some of the driving.

20170530-DSCF9253 — Qrendi coast next to the Ħaġar Qim Temples

Straight from the airport, we tried to go to the megalithic Ħaġar Qim Temples not too far from the airport. Unfortunately, we got there just before closing time, and they wouldn’t allow us in. We were still able to walk around the outside of the UNESCO site and check out the amazing blue ocean.

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Italy – Sicily

July 12, 2017November 6, 2018Posted in TravelTagged Europe, Hiking, Italy, Mediterranean, Sicily, TravelLeave a comment

Day 1: After exploring Milan and Venice by myself, I met up with N in Florence for one night, then we flew to Catania in Sicily. We rented a car and stayed at this lovely little Airbnb with a family of kittens in the courtyard, and spent our first evening walking around the center.

We got dinner at Trattoria Vecchi Sapori, and at one point, a parade of horses came trotting down the street in front of us. Accompanied by music, each horse was dressed differently and trotted differently. Before I could figure out what was going on, it was over.

Day 2: Woke up to crying kittens and mama cat. The kittens had fallen from their perch into our patio. N saved the day and helped the kittens back into their nest.

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