Pua lani
Pualani Joined: June 20th 2007
Logged in: January 4th 2012
Logged in: January 4th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
Home Sweet Home...Lanikai Beach in Kailua, Hawaii
FYI...press "play" by double clicking on the "My Journey of a Lifetime" video icon to the left. Replaying the past two months in my head like a motion picture film, I can’t believe that I am sitting here on my final flight from Europe returning to the United States. As I scroll through my digital photos, I remember each moment as if I am still there reliving the experience all over again. A part of me is definitely ready to return home to Hawaii and to start living my “normal” life again. But another part of me feels like leaving Europe is bittersweet. This trip has been more than I ever could have imagined it to be. Throughout my journey, mostly during those times when I was by myself in a foreign city, I was able ... read more
The Parthenon (Temple of the Greek Goddess Athena at the Acropolis)
Our flight from the island of Mykonos to Athens took only 30 minutes. Once we arrived in Athens and collected our very heavy luggages, we took a cab directly to the Economy Hotel. As its name suggests, the Economy Hotel is a budget hotel and pretty much offers little to no amenities, but is located near the only point of interest that we wanted to see in Athens, the Acropolis. The lady at the reception desk provided us with a map of the area and highlighted the route to the Acropolis. On the way there, we stopped at a local souvlaki eatery and ordered our last gyros of the trip. I forgot to take a card from the restaurant, so I don’t remember the name of it, but it was really tasty. As we continued ... read more
Dinner at Avra's in Mykonos
We decided that today would be our lazy day. After taking our time getting ready, we walked into town and found an outdoor Italian eatery called A Modo Mio, where we ate a makeshift brunch (fried calamari, vegetarian omelet, and seafood linguine). We spent a couple hours just enjoying our last lunch in Mykonos. Although our original plan was to check out another beach during our final day in Mykonos, we decided to walk around town and finish up our souvenir shopping. It was definitely easy to pass time perusing the many back alley shops. Somehow we did just that and by the time we were finished it was already dinnertime. We headed back to the hotel and got ready for our last dinner in Mykonos. Based on Thao’s online research, we chose to eat at ... read more
Waterfront in Mykonos
After our 12 hours of rest, we rolled out of bed and walked up to the main lanai area where breakfast was served until 11am. Although breakfast is not included in the price of our stay, we didn’t feel like walking into town for a bite to eat. Yiannis’s mom made us an omelet and a panini, and we hung out on the lanai overlooking Mykonos’s old port. During our meal, we met a girl from San Francisco who works at Yahoo and who was traveling with three of her friends. We talked to her for a bit before heading out to the Fabrica Bus Station. There are many beaches in Mykonos to choose from, so we decided to check out Psarou Beach on the south side of the island. The bus ride from Fabrica ... read more
Heading to Paradise Beach
We left Omiros to start our first full day in Mykonos and were starving. We enjoyed a late breakfast at Camares Restaurant overlooking the main port. Countless tourists filled the streets of town due to the influx of multiple cruise ships. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked to one of the two bus stations in town at Fabrica Square. We caught the bus to Paradise Beach just as it was leaving. The ride took only 20 minutes but due to the popularity of Paradise Beach, we stood the entire way. Paradise Beach is actually a nice, sandy beach lined with a couple of outdoor bars and the popular Paradise Club (nightclub that hosts all-night parties on the beach). As usual, most of the umbrella and beach chairs were taken but we found a pair that were ... read more
The View of the Mykonos Pier from Omiros Hotel
Due to our unplanned early night last night, we got a good night’s rest and woke up early to pack and get ready to head to Mykonos. Before our taxi arrived, I walked up to Café Skiza and bought a couple pastries to go for our breakfast. After that, I met Rose at the Chelidonia reception desk and checked out. Luckily, he called someone to come down and carry both of our heavy bags up the 60+ stairs to the cab pickup location. We were in the cab heading to the Athinos port by 10:30am. Although our hydrofoil to Mykonos was scheduled to leave at 11:20am, it didn’t arrive until 10 minutes after that. We leisurely enjoyed a drink at one of the many portside cafes, while we waited for the ferry to unload its passengers. ... read more
The Sunset at Ammoudi Bay
We couldn’t leave Santorini without going wine tasting at least once during our stay here. After checking out reviews on the Internet, we decided to visit Santo Winery, the largest one on the island. We caught the bus to Fira, then boarded the bus to Perissa/Perivolos. Santo Winery is one of the stops along the way to Perissa/Perivolos, so it was a very easy trip even though we were without a rental car. Once inside the tasting room, we were presented with a few different options, so we chose the most complete option: a cheese, tomato tapenade, and bread platter, complete with 12 different tastings (white, red, rose, and dessert wines). The views of the Caldera from the outdoor tasting area were magnificent and provided the perfect backdrop for wine tasting. Although the winds picked up ... read more
Fira, Santorini
I don’t think anyone could ever tire of the Caldera views, particularly as the sun breaks through the clouds on another gorgeous Santorini day. Although we attempted to find a different breakfast café, we were unsuccessful and ended up at Café Skiza once again. We sat at the same table, ordered the homemade cheese pie again, and decided to try the quiche lorraine with mushrooms. After leisurely enjoying our breakfast, we caught the bus into Fira and strolled through the many souvenir shops up and down the main road. A couple of days ago, we booked the Thalassa sunset boat cruise, so we were scheduled to be down at the Old Fira port by 3:30pm. Since the gyros from last night’s dinner were so tasty, we headed to Lucky’s Souvlaki (as recommended by many people on ... read more
Thao and I in Oia at the Church Square
Like clockwork, I woke up after 8 hours of sleep. I immediately walked out on the lanai to enjoy the beautiful Oia views. The temperature felt a few degrees cooler than yesterday, and there was a slight breeze that made it much more comfortable. Thao woke up soon after and we leisurely got ready for our first day together in Santorini. Researching various websites prior to coming to Greece, Thao brought a list of some of the recommended things to see and do in Santorini. Our first goal was to find a breakfast place, so we stopped in to see Rose (the owner of Chelidonia) to ask for his recommendation. He directed us a few doors down from the Chelidonia reception desk at an eatery called Café Skiza. As we walked through the small café ... read more
As the Sun Sets in Oia
The powerful Santorini sunlight pierced through the windows and notified me that the morning had arrived. I walked outside on the lanai and quickly felt the wave of heat, even though it was only 8 in the morning. The views from the lanai are indescribable, even the pictures probably won’t do it justice. Santorini is everything I expected it to look like. However, actually being on the island, staying in one of the traditional whitewashed caves, is a bit surreal. I sat outside on the lanai taking it all in, until the heat was too overwhelming. Since the sun rises over the Caldera, the heat is the strongest during the morning and early afternoon at Chelidonia Villas. As I was relaxing on the lanai, Rose (the owner) stopped by because he needed some additional information ... read more
