Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Back in December, Jon and I decided to go on a quick weekend away close by for a "baby moon" while I was 35 weeks pregnant. We were also celebrating Jon's birthday so it was nice to get away for some much needed relaxation and child-free time.

We decided on a bed and breakfast about an hour and 15 minutes away in Charlestown, West Virginia near Harpers Ferry. We wanted something that would have some light walking or hiking and I wanted a bed and breakfast that had a cozy feel with a fireplace in the room. Bonus points, this b&b had a spa and small restaurant for its guests. The bed and breakfast wasn't housed in one building. It was more like many small buildings located on a large piece of land - very quiet and very serene.

The "lobby" of the main house

Our house for the weekend

The path to the main house, aka where the food was!

The main house and restaurant

We arrived early and stopped at the local grocery mart before chilling for the afternoon. I was a little hesitant to go inside, but this mama needed her snacks and water for the room.

We had signed up for a five course meal at the bed and breakfast that was to be served in the main house seating area. We were in a small room with three other couples (we each had our own table) and feasted on local, fresh food that the chef whipped up for us. It was a great experience and a tasty dinner!

The next morning we drove to Harpers Ferry. The area has gorgeous views of the Potomac and Shenandoah river valleys, as well as the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are a plethora of hiking trails to choose from, and if I wasn't so far along in my pregnancy we would have spent the whole day hiking and admiring the scenery. We chose to walk up to Jefferson Rock since it's right in town, a very short walk up, and has great views of the area. We climbed from the downtown area, went past a church, past a cemetery, and up to the rock. The scenery was breathtaking and was well worth the climb.

35 weeks!

The rock

Afterward, we walked across the Railroad Bridge Tunnel into Maryland.

We spent some time walking around the cute, quaint town, passing by 1800s reenactments and Christmas caroling. We bought some gifts for ourselves and for Julia, got some food from a local restaurant, and warmed up inside.

We had a couples massage scheduled in the late afternoon at our b&b so we headed back to chill a little in the room. For Jon's birthday we headed into Charlestown and had a big steak dinner followed by some time in the casino where we basically threw away our money at the craps table.

We had a quiet morning inside the room sitting by the fireplace and then packed up to go. This was a great getaway and definitely was a relaxing trip before our little one was born. We'd love to go back and do some of the more strenuous hikes!

At breakfast 

The B&B

Tiny house

Santorini and Mykonos, Greece

We finally made it to Greece! We had been trying to figure out how we wanted to tackle this vacation and after a lot of research we decided to take a cruise with Celebrity Cruises. The cruise started and ended in Rome, and headed to Santorini, Mykonos, Istanbul for two days, Kusadasi for Ephesus, Athens, and Naples (where we got off a day early). For 10 days we ate to our hearts content, relaxed on our balcony, and enjoyed our last major trip of our two year European tour.

The day after we embarked the ship we had a sea day, which also happened to be my birthday. We rented a private alcove on the top deck and spent the day reading and sunning ourselves. After a bunch of visitors and a lot of traveling it was nice to sit and do nothing as we crossed through the straights of Messina in our quiet and exclusive area of the boat.

The day started out chilly, but warmed up quickly!

Our private alcove

The next day we arrived at the islands of Santorini. Santorini consists of three islands with Thira being the largest and most inhabited island. The islands are basically what's left after an enormous volcanic explosion. They form a circular shape that is remnant of a volcanic caldera (a caldron-like volcano).

After taking a tender to the island we hopped a bus that took us to the beautiful town of Oia (pronouned eee-ah) located at the northern tip of the island, where we spent some time wandering the tight paths and alleyways. The town is known for its dwellings built into the rocks, including their iconic blue domed churches and luxurious private suites. These elegant white and blue buildings look out onto a beautiful view of the caldera and sparkling Aegean Sea.

We also spent some time in the main town of Fira. At a nearby restaurant we ordered some Greek specialties consisting of fried tomato balls (tomatokeftedes), mashed fava beans, tzatziki sauce, and pita bread. Delicious!

Fira is located on top of a cliff and there are three options to get back down to the boat: cable car, donkey ride, or walk. The cable car line was at least 45 minutes long and we felt bad using the donkeys who didn't look well taken care of. So we hoofed it and tried not to slip on the steep footpath covered in donkey poop (although one of us did end up slipping).

Fira

Donkeys trotting up the footpath

Fira from our balcony. The footpath we walked down zigzags on the left.

The next day we went to the island of Mykonos. Mykonos is known as a non-stop party island with beaches catering to young crowds looking to drink and bare all at their nude beach bars. In the summertime it is packed with party-goers, celebrities, fashionistas, and cruise chip crowds looking to either enjoy the outdoor party scene or the charming towns and water-view restaurants.

Approaching Mykonos from the ship

We started walking around the main town of Chora and noticed just how lost you can become in this town. The streets of Chora were purposefully made into a web of mazes in order to trap pirates that would come to invade the town. Once the pirates started getting lost in the twisted network of roads, the  natives would sneak up and attack them. We definitely got lost a bunch of times, and since every building was very similar looking we weren't sure if we were somewhere new or had just made a large circle. We took a side alleyway that led us up a bunch of staircases where we ended up at a large windmill. Windmills are an iconic feature of Mykonos, but have not been used since the middle of the 20th century. The views from the top were worth our trek up some long staircases and quite a few turns down below.

We knew we wanted to spend time at a beach, but wanted a more relaxing atmosphere. We took a taxi to Kalafatis Beach located on the other side of the island. The beach was empty, chaise lounges were untouched, and there was an outdoor restaurant on the water. The weather was cool and somewhat cloudy, but as long as it wasn't raining we were happy.

Eggplant appetizer

Pita Bread

Stuffed tomatoes and peppers

Going to the beautiful islands of Santorini and Mykonos was a great start to our vacation. The islands have their own qualities and individual characteristics making each one a unique vacation destination. Up next... Istanbul!