Since Georges Knows Travel, Bree leaves; Mykonos.

(Please go read all my intros regarding my 30 before 30. Just know on my list of 15 international and 15 domestic locations; I have 10 more international places to go. Overall this is destination 7 in the line-up. 23 more places to go in my #30before30).

Okay on to the blog. Because this blog is not going to do Greece justice. It is impossible but I will try. I will say my close friends got to see the litness in real-time. And those who know me have the full details.

Now that my official self decided to return to outside this summer has started, I have been dropping my photos and the footage from my Memorial Day 2023 trip to Mykonos with my homie Georges (@georgesknowss) and his curated travel family #GeorgesKnowsTravel. So before people ask "Was this a group trip?"; technically, yes. Words have meanings so I am not going to deny that, but to call it a "group trip" waters it down. I have been on my share of group trips with all sorts of groups. And at the core, they are all foundationally the same, but I must say this one was a different experience. For one almost everyone was a New Yorker, there was a sprinkle of Jersey, and then there is me with my DC/FL/TX conglomerate. But outside of that they all knew each other and had traveled together. So it was more of a reunion than your standard "group trip", I was the stranger in this scenario. Living in Texas, I was starting to miss the Carribean culture that I was surrounded by in Florida. But I truly forgot how entertaining Carribean New Yorkers are, I quickly remembered.

Before:

But truthfully it all started with a FB post. This simple post.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Most people would have needed more details, but not I.

The post contained all the details I needed. I sent my initial deposit and from there the ball started rolling. I knew Memorial Day 2023: the return to the outside was going to take place in Mykonos.

I immediately went to google flights and started pricing flights. Coming off of my European birthday trip I knew to play around with ways to get there. Because I had previously missed the trip to Morroco last year: I WASN'T MISSING GREECE.

I knew that all roads would take me to the east coast (these are the times when I missed living at home. Having 2.5 airports so close was convenient). But ultimately I settled on DFW (Dallas) - EWR (Jersey) - ATH (Athens) - JMK (Mykonos), and to return home was the inverse (So I thought; more in the "after" section").

As far as outfit planning Georges created a WhatsApp with an itinerary so you knew what to wear, theme days and etc. Standard large group etiquette. The Usual.

Okay, so the real breakdown. Cost

Flights

DFW- EWR; United- Free I had points

EWR- ATH: Turkish Airlines- $596

ATH-JMK- Volatea- $48

JMK-ATH- $52

ATH-DFW- $645.

Additional Money- Whatever you want, I don't count pockets but $8-1k is reasonable. It is Europe.

I landed in Mykonos at Midnight on the 26th and from there it was up.

During:

We stayed in Villa Ftelia Boheme. Google it, the photos do all the talking.

Places we went:

Kalua Beach Bar-Restaurant. The recap reel is attached to the bottom of this video. Ya'll should go check it out and follow Georges. That way when the next trip comes up,

Buddha-Bar Beach, Mykonos

Zuma Mykonos

Semeli Bar, Little Venice

Negrita Bar Mykonos

Mykonos Vioma Organic Farm. While the wine left much to be desired for my taste pallet, it was beautiful. The Farm runs off hands and animals alone. No machines are used for the care of the land. Their website boasts that "Visitors will learn about our biodynamic cultivation, the winemaking, the traditions of Mykonos and play with our farm animals." I can say it was a nice experience.

There was a free day, so if you wanted to do another excursion or tour, you had the opportunity to do so.

The night before we all left we had a Toga party, because obviously why not. And it was honestly, the best way to close out the trip.

After:

I left to fly back to Athens Airport at 6:15am. At 10am I went to check in for my seat and would you be surprised- they oversold the flight.

So instead of flying directly to Dallas as I planned, I had to find a new flight route that made me go from Athens to Istanbul to Chicago to Dallas. The delay caused me to be stuck traveling home for the equivalent of 36 hours. But nevertheless, I would do it again.

Overall, Mykonos was beautiful, would I go back- Yes, but not on my own dime. I want to experience Santorini, but for my time in Greece, I can say- it did not disappoint. So shoutout to Georges, as long as he continues to know travel, I will continue to leave. I really appreciate having friends where I can just pay and show up.