Next month Christian and I will be taking a trip to California to visit Disneyland, Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park. Originally we had wanted to see Joshua Tree and the Redwoods too but, since we only have a week, we needed to prioritize. We'll do a dedicated Redwoods trip in the future since it's something we both really want to do (might squeeze in a visit to the town where Halloweentown was filmed in Oregon too if we go in October, ha ha.)

We're spending three weeks surrounding the California vacation working from Christian's Mom's house now that Christian is able to have a little more flexibility with his location. Instead of flying to Missouri we'll drive like we did last Thanksgiving so we won't need to pack light for that portion of the trip. We'll limit to carry-on luggage for the California trip. The plan is to fly from Missouri into Los Angeles, rent a car and fly back to Missouri from San Francisco. Everything is booked and we're ready to go!

The first essential to packing is obviously a bag, and this stylish minimalist backpack from Day Owl is the perfect option for me! I love how simple it is with no unnecessary frills but plenty of features. I always appreciate bags with a luggage strap so I can attach them easily to my suitcase. This backpack also has a neoprene lined side pocket to fit a water bottle and a few other hidden pockets to stow smaller items. Day Owl make their bags with sustainable materials including waxed canvas made from recycled plastic bottles! How cool is that?

 

Footwear

We will be doing a LOT of walking so the proper gear and accessories are key. My main problem is I don't go for utility, I go for fashion. Ball of foot cushions for sandals from Foot Petals will definitely be in my suitcase. At Disney I'll wear my Ancient Greek Sandals, and instead of hiking boots I'll probably wear sneakers for the national parks.  I bought an assortment of ball of foot cushions and some blister healers so I'll have options for each pair of shoes I bring. I love that they have some foot cushions with built-in toe-post crests so you can use them on flip-flop style sandals, or other sandals that separate the big toe from the rest.

Disney Supplies

The Disney portion of the trip is a whole different animal but it's only two days so I won't need much. I'll obviously need some Disney tees to wear during the day and a Mickey sweatshirt for cooler evenings. I may bring a different one since this one says Disney World, but I love the color so I may rep the East Coast! My Remy's Ratatouille Adventure Dooney & Bourke bag will also be making the trip out West!

The most important thing is my walking sandals, which will be made even more comfortable with my new ball of foot cushions! My sandal of choice is Ancient Greek Sandals, not those other sandals that people claim are comfortable. One trip I tried to wear Tevas, that I thought I had broken in, and my feet were RIPPED APART after one day. For the rest of the trip I had to wear socks with them, in addition to band-aids, to protect my poor feet. Never again. I'll stick with my AGS that have been all over the world with me, literally!

Activewear

I don't own much activewear, but for the second half of our trip we'll be doing a lot of walking around the national parks so I'll be wearing Fabletics workout sets, Spanx leggings and sneakers.  For warmer days (if any!) I'll have some Dona Jo biker shorts.  In addition to workout clothes I'll also look like a proper tourist with a fanny pack and water bottle strapped around my waist.

Layers

While California will definitely be warmer than Connecticut and Missouri, I know that April could still be snowy up at Sequoia and Yosemite National Park. This means I'll need to pack some layers. Tank tops, short sleeves, long sleeves, sweaters and sweatshirts will all be necessary at one point or another. I also have some fleece lined leggings I can wear if it's supposed to be extra cold on one of our exploration days.

Miscellaneous

We'll have a couple days in LA and visiting Universal Hollywood too so I'll bring some "normal" clothes for our sightseeing on those days. Or maybe I'll go totally against my norm and wear my leggings and activewear on those days, the horror! I'm the type of person that will not wear workout clothes unless I'm actually trying to exercise.  But, if I run out of room in my suitcase, that will probably be the move.

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.*

 

Continuing on with our Throwback Thursday Disney hotel overviews! Today we've got another Disney Vacation Club stay. For our anniversary we finally stayed at one of my top bucket list hotels - Animal Kingdom Lodge! We rented DVC points and stayed in a Deluxe Studio Villa with a Savanna View at Jambo House (you can also stay at Kidani Village, a DVC section of the resort that's a short walk from the main building.) 

 

Since it's Thursday, I decided to do a throwback to our stay at Disney's Riviera Resort. It is a goal of mine to stay at (almost) all of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels. So far I've stayed at eight of the twenty, not counting Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser or doubles of the same hotel (BoardWalk Inn vs BoardWalk Villas.) There are different levels of resorts - Value, Moderate, Deluxe, Deluxe Villas (DVC) and Campgrounds. My current list, in alphabetical order:

 

 

If you follow me on Instagram you'll know Christian and I went to Vermont last weekend and one of our activities was taking a baking class at the King Arthur Baking School in Norwich, VT. We signed up for the Pizza Perfected class, a 3 hour session to teach us how to make better pizza! Longtime followers will remember that I've been getting into making pizza from scratch these past few years so I was excited to learn from the professionals - and FINALLY do a hand-stretched pizza (instead of just stretching it in the pan.) The description of the class is:

 

One of the things I was most excited for on our recent trip to Disney World was FINALLY doing Wild Africa Trek. The moment I learned what it was it has been on my Disney Bucket List. I almost did it for my 30th birthday in 2018 but my friend and I decided to do character meals instead. Christian and I had booked it for our May 2020 trip that got cancelled. When we rescheduled the trip for the  May 2022 we decided to skip it that trip and plan a special Disney World vacation for our wedding anniversary. Thus, our Animal Kingdom-centric trip was born!

 

We decided to do it up big and stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah View room, booked through David's Vacation Club Rentals to utilize Disney Vacation Club points to stay for lower than Disney rack rates. We paid $900 for 3 nights compared to $2381 if booked directly through Disney.  We planned our meals just at the hotel and wanted to spend a bulk of our time there. Since we're Annual Passholders (well, were until September 30th) we were able to use our Passhoolder discount on Wild Africa Trek tickets and paid $360.28 vs $423.88.

This sign look familiar? See photos of our shirts below if not ;)

I'll do my best to walk you through what happens during this amazing three hour tour. If you don't want details so you can be pleasantly surprised on your own Trek feel free to just look at the images. The short description of the tour from Disney is "Encounter exotic wildlife on a guided expedition with African-inspired snacks and photo keepsakes."

 

EDIT: Much of this has changed since the pandemic, make sure to check and see if all of these still apply when you're booking your trip. Some experiences/discounts are not available at the moment.

 

People are constantly amazed/shocked by how often I go down to Disney World. Starting in 2014 I went around three times a year (mixed with Universal Orlando Resort.) The past couple years I've just been visiting Disney since we focused more on Universal on previous trips.

I think it's time for me to share how I plan and save for these trips as well as how I save a bit of cash along the way because, as we all know, Disney is expensive!

View all my Disney World Vacation Posts
In the future I won't be going nearly as often because of adult responsibilities like mortgage payments and saving for new (but still used) cars. It was also cheaper for me in the past because I split hotel bills with friends. So that's my first tip - share hotels with friends and make it a friend's getaway!  I'm determined to still get down to Florida on occasion to check out the new rides/lands/etc. (I'm looking at you, Ratatouille ride opening this Summer!)

This guide will not go into the Disney Dining Plan or buying hotel packages with tickets because that's not how I plan my trips. But definitely google if you want to learn more about DDP!

My Disney Travel Trick to Saving Money!

Here's my Disney travel secret - I save money by buying Disney Gift Cards! How does buying gift cards save money, you ask?


If you are a member of BJs, Costco or Sam's Club you can buy discounted Disney gift cards. At BJs you can get a $500 card for $479.99. That's an extra $20 you can use for food or souvenirs. You don't save as much on the $25 or $50 cards (the $100 is comparable to the $500.)  

Don't worry if you aren't a member of a cost club - many send out free trials that you can take advantage of. For example, BJs often offers 3 free months. Pay attention to any coupon books you get in the mail! My mom and I share a membership that we paid $25 for with a deal. You can also use a Target Red card to get 5% off the purchase of any gift card.

Once you have all your gift cards, head over to DisneyGiftCard.com and combine them! You can have up to $1000 per card so you may have a few fully loaded ones. Then use these to buy your tickets, pay for your hotel and on your trip for food and souvenirs!



Slowly buy these throughout the year or do what I do - save per month in a Capital One 360 Savings Account (this link should give you an extra $25!)  Before my trip I make a spreadsheet of the costs I know and estimate for food, souvenirs, etc. so I know how much to save. For this particular trip I saved almost $100 on Christian's park ticket and our hotel by purchasing gift cards.

When it's time to get your park tickets - buy that amount of gift cards and continue to save in your account. Buy the rest of your gift cards as you get closer to the trip so the money you saved gains interest instead of sitting in a gift card gathering dust. Take note of purchase limits, some stores only allow you to buy a certain number of gift cards.

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Where to Stay

Disney World Hotels

I prefer to stay on-site at Disney World hotels even though they are usually more expensive than other options. For me, the benefits of staying on property outweigh the slightly higher cost.

By staying at a Disney owned hotel you don't have to worry about transportation. Disney provides a free shuttle service - Disney's Magical Express from Orlando airport. It can also take care of your checked baggage so you don't have to waste time waiting.

Disney World also offers a few forms of transportation to and from the parks. You can take buses, boats, the monorail and even the brand new Skyliner. If you want a more private form of transportation you can still pay for an Uber or a Lyft Minnie Van.

Disney World Skyliner transportation

Hotel guests can also take advantage of early Fast Pass booking for popular rides. Instead of the usual 30 days regular ticket holders get, you can book your Fast Passes 60 days ahead of your check in date! This comes in super handy when trying to experience popular rides like Smugglers Run, Flight of Passage, Slinky Dog Dash or Seven Dwarves Mine Train.

Another great perk of staying at a Disney hotel is Extra Magic Hours. On certain mornings and evenings hotel guests are able to go to the park before any other guests or stay past traditional park closing time. This is a great way to have less wait time for rides and enjoy a slightly less crowded park. Once EMH begins you have to scan your magic band before getting in ride lines to prove you have a hotel reservation.

When to book?

A lot of people don't realize this, but you are able to cancel Disney hotel reservations up to 5 days before your check-in date. You can also update your reservation if a deal is released.
NOTE: I'm not sure if this applies if you buy your park tickets and hotel as a package.

I like to book the cheapest on-site hotel (except All Star Movies/Music - not a fan) for the dates I want as soon as I decide when I want to go. Then I keep checking for Disney to release their seasonal deals or Annual Passholder deals and update my reservation. Usually it's the same hotel but sometimes I change if another is cheaper or if a hotel I really want to stay at has a good deal.

Sometimes I book trips for two separate date windows if I haven't decided on flights yet. You have to put down a one night deposit upon booking, but when you cancel that is returned to you. I find this helpful in planning trips with multiple friends until we can fully nail down dates.

My past few trips I stayed at Pop Century Resort but I've also stayed at Art of Animation and Port Orleans Riverside (both are usually too expensive.) In the future I plan to splurge on a couple nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge and spend the rest of that same trip at a cheaper hotel.

Staying Off-Site

If staying on property isn't possible for you, there are other options. You could stay at a Disney affiliated hotel, another local hotel or even an airbnb. I am not the best person to ask for this type of advice as I have only ever stayed on property at Universal or Disney. (I've also stayed with friends a couple of times)

If you don't stay on site keep in mind the other costs involved. How will you get to and from the parks? Will you rent a car or Uber everywhere? Same with getting to your hotel from the airport.

By staying off-site you also lose out on other benefits of staying at a Disney hotel - Extra Magic Hours and early Fast Pass access mentioned above (Disney partner hotels do offer 60 day Fast Passes.) You also won't get a complimentary (or discounted) Magic Band.

Flights/Driving

I won't go too detailed into traveling to Disney because everyone has their favorite airline or way to travel. I will say I haven't paid for a flight to Disney - and most of my US-based trips - since January 2014. I signed up for a Southwest credit card when they had a 50,000 point sign up bonus and have used points to pay for my flights ever since! It is my main credit card so all my purchases gain me points for flights. I even used my points for Christian's flights this year.

Southwest currently has a 40,000 point bonus if you spend $1000 in your first 3 months - some cards are higher than 40K. I also have their business card since I'm a freelancer so I got another 50,000 points with that.

Park Tickets

Regular Tickets

You can buy your park tickets as part of your hotel reservation or purchase them separately. Since I'm an annual passholder, I book separately for everyone else in my party. The more days you buy, the cheaper the daily price becomes.

For my upcoming trip I bought Christian a 6 day pass even though we were originally going to get a 5 day pass because it was only $13 more.  Now we can go to the parks the day we arrive instead of just going to Disney Springs or checking out other hotels. We may only use it to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks, but it's better to have the option than regret not having the extra day.

Disney also offers ticket deals from time to time. Right now they are offering a 4-Park Magic Ticket for $338.77 that let's you enjoy one admission to each of the 4 parks (one per day.) Sometimes they offer Mid-Day magic tickets where you can enter the park after 12pm for a cheaper price. Florida Residents also get great deals more often. Keep an eye out!

To hop or not?

I usually buy park hopper tickets because I like being able to visit more than 1 park in a day. But if you know you will only be heading to 1 park each day there's no need to spend extra for a hopper ticket. You can always upgrade it at a ticket window if you change your mind!

Annual Pass

If you are planning on going to Disney more than twice in a 12 month period, an Annual Pass will most likely be cost effective for you.  Basically, if you plan on going to the park more than 10 days in a year you will save on normal ticket prices. It's not an exact science because ticket prices vary based on how many days you buy at once and what time of year it is, but generally 10 days will make it worth your while.

Not everyone in your travel group needs to have one either. So if you know you'll be going multiple times in a year go ahead and "splurge" on the annual pass. It will save you money in the long run.

Unfortunately, Disney likes to raise the prices on APs frequently, as of writing this post they've just updated the cost of a Platinum pass (cheapest non-Floridian's can buy) to $1,272.68 with tax. When I first bought mine it was $829 and my second pass was $952. BUT as long as you go a certain number of days you can make it worth it.  

With the current prices you would have to go on 2 trips for 4 days each to make up for the price of the annual pass. Easy peasy! 

Discounts

You'll be able to let your friends share in some of your perks - like dining (10% at select restaurants) and merchandise discounts (20% at most stores - but you will have to make the purchase) Some tours have Annual Passholder discounts as well. You can also get up to 3 extra discounted tickets for special parties (holiday or after hours events.)

Photopass

Annual passes also come with access to all your photopass photos. This means you can take as many pictures as you want with Disney photographers and download them for free! Plus any rides that take a photo of you will also be included. If you want this ability without an annual pass you pay $169 for 30 days of Memory Maker or pay for each photo you download.

A fun photopass spot (it also comes with a zoom out video)

Example

Prices have since gone up but, in 2017, I paid $829 for my annual pass (technically $817 because I used my gift card trick above!) I went to the park 18 days bringing my cost per day down to $46.  I also used my discount on merchandise, hotel stays and food.

Over the course of the year I saved $1158 vs normal ticket prices, accommodations, merchandise and food. Calculating only what I spent on food, extras and merchandise I saved $244.  This is not counting what I saved by having access to Memory Maker each trip (that would bring it up to $1834.)

This trip I'm using it to save 15% on the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom, a safari tour I've wanted to do for YEARS! (still saving up for a real safari but that's a pipe dream if I'm being honest with myself, especially since I'm married and we would need to save for 2 people now)

Savings on 1 visit to Disney World with Annual Pass

Fast Passes

Fast Passes are they key to not wasting time waiting in lines. The gist is - you get to pre-book 3 fast passes per day at one park. After you use those 3 you can book 1 at a time for the rest of the day. You can only book your first 3 at one park but after that you can switch. 

If you are staying at a Disney hotel you can do this 60 days before your trip. If not, be ready to book 30 days before your tickets are active. You can also book them the day you visit the park but the options will be pretty limited by that point, still worth using them though so don't miss out! Fast Pass availability opens up at 7am at your designated day.

Depending on which park you are at there are different "tiers" of Fast Passes. You can only book one Tier 1 fast pass in your block of 3. As an example, if you get a Slinky Dog Dash fast pass at Hollywood Studios you cannot book a fast pass for Smuggler's Run or the new Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (opening March 4th) until after you use your first 3 fast passes. You can find a list of current tiers and available fast passes here.

UPDATE: Fast Passes have been replaced by Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes

Advance Disney Dining Reservations / Disney Dining

There are 2 different types of restaurants at Disney - Quick Service and Table Service. Quick Service restaurants are great for fast bites and do not take reservations. Some will let you order your food through the Disney app so you don't have to wait in line to order.  One of my favorite QS restaurants is Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe, I love their condiment bar (I always grab a huge pile of pickles and fried onion sticks and get made fun of by my friends)

If you want to eat at some of the more popular Table Service restaurants within Disney World like Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table you will most definitely need an advanced dining reservation.  They open up 180 days in advance and are available whether you are staying at a Disney hotel or not. Some restaurants, like Cinderella's Royal Table, require payment upon booking, but most you will pay at the restaurant.

If you know you want to eat at a popular restaurant be ready to book 180 days in advance. If you are unable to score a reservation keep checking in the weeks and days before your trip. I've gotten random reservations up to a day before my visit. You can also set up alerts on MouseDining to be notified if a reservation for your party size and date becomes available.

You can also use this handy Disney Dining Calculator to find what it may cost your family for your trip! It let's you plug in specific restaurants or choose the average cost per meal type!

 

Other Ways to Save

Spoiler Alert: Most of these are going to involve food

Opt out of Housekeeping (suspended since Covid)

If you're staying at a Value or Moderate resort at Disney World you can save a bit of money by opting out of Housekeeping.  In doing this you will receive a gift card, the amount will depend on the length of your stay. To figure out how much your gift card will be, multiply the number of nights you are staying times $10 and then subtract $10 from that total. We are staying 7 nights on our next trip so we will get a $60 gift card. Hello, free dinner!

What this means is your room won't be cleaned through the duration of your stay.  Your sheets and towels will not be changed, your trash won't be emptied and your bed will not be made (unless you make it!) You will be able to call down to the front desk for anything you need (like new towels or sheets) but a member of the housekeeping staff will not make the bed for you.

If you check-in on your phone you can select the "Service Your Way Program" option and if you check in at the hotel your cast member will most likely ask if you would like to opt out of housekeeping. If not, ask to sign up for the Service Your Way Program.

Bring Your Own Snacks/Food

One of my friends likes to bring her own snacks that she can eat for breakfast or between meals at the parks. Some people also like to go grocery shopping when they get to Disney so they can bring things like sandwiches for lunch and not spend a fortune eating out at every meal. Amazon grocery delivery could also be an option.

Eat Off the Kid's Menu

This is my personal favorite way to save a few extra dollars. I order off the kid's menu when possible. It's still a good amount of food, especially if you want snacks like pretzels and ice cream during the day. Most quick service restaurants will let you do this, but if you dine at a restaurant with a buffet or Prix Fixe you will have to pay the adult price. I frequently order off the kid's menu at Be Our Guest (Lumiere's Delight for lunch or French Toast at breakfast for the win!)

Kid's french toast with the pastry plate they include with all breakfasts (and The Master's Cupcake)

Share Food/Snack at the EPCOT Festivals

Sharing meals with friends at quick service spots can also help to save some cash and leave room for lots of desserts and snacking. We all need a couple Mickey ice cream bars and some popcorn, right?
 
EPCOT often has festivals going on where you can try sample sized foods from outdoor kitchens throughout World Showcase. Whenever my friends and I go during a festival we don't plan on eating at restaurants. Instead, we visit all the kitchens and snack on the offerings. We'll often share things that we all want to try. It makes for a cheap-ish day and instead of having 2 big meals you can just snack throughout the day.

A couple weeks ago I jetted off to Disney for five days of fun with some friends. We planned this trip at the beginning of the year (March!) when Disney World announced the opening for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge.  Sadly Christian couldn't come because he was already using his allotted days off for our honeymoon. Don't worry, we're hopefully going to Disney (and Universal) in May!

November seemed like the best time to go because the initial opening crowds for Star Wars would have slightly dwindled and we could celebrate the Holidays by going to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!  We also knew that EPCOT would be having either their Food & Wine Festival or Festival of the Holidays! When dates were announced I was excited to read we would be there for Food & Wine.


Last year my friend and I went to EPCOT 4 times during our stay so we could get the Annual Passholder cutting board but this year we only went for 1 day so I had less time to try foods and had to be much more strategic. Here's what I tried this year as well as a few tips to get the most bang for your buck!

1. Download the WDW - Food&Wine app to keep track of everything you want to try and have tried! Before our trip I wish-listed everything I wanted to try so I wouldn't have to think about it while in the park. (this is not an official Disney app)

2. Buy the Festival gift card. I find it helpful to buy the special festival gift card on a wrist coil. You have to load it with at least $15 but we all know if you're going to eat around the world you'll spend at least that! Plus they always have a cute design, this year it was Remy. (Last year they had 3 separate Remy designs so I had to buy all of them!) It's a great way to control your spending because you can load it with whatever your budget for the day.

3. Pace yourself. If you can spread this out over a few days of your trip, definitely do! Park hop back to EPCOT once you're done at another park for a few bites. If you only have one day don't try to eat too much or you won't be able to enjoy what you do have.

4. When you're with a group you might want to share bites with others so you can sample even more! If 2 or 3 people want to try the same thing why wouldn't you split it so you have room for even more snacks? And, if you happen to really like it, go back to get a second if you're still hungry at the end of the day!

What I tried

The Donut Box

I had already had breakfast earlier in the morning but when my friend had time to kill while waiting for the other 2 members of our group (who decided to sleep in) I wanted to try the Strawberry-dusted yeast donut holes! It was $4 for 4 really big donut holes so we split them and it was the perfect portion.

Spain

Spain had this dish last year and it remains one of my favorite bites of the Food & Wine Festival. It's the Spanish-style Paella with Botifarra and Roasted Chicken for $5.50. The portion size is great for this price and it was delicious and flavorful!

China

Another repeat from last year was the Chicken Dumplings with Chinese Slaw for $4.95. The dumplings were delicious but you only get 2 for the $5 so it's not that big of a portion. I was going to try the black pepper shrimp with garlic noodles as well but figured I should try something different instead.

India

When we arrived at the India booth I decided to be brave and try the Korma Chicken with cucumber tomato salad, almonds, cashes and warm naan for $5.25.  I say "brave" because I'm not a big fan of saucy foods (yes, even pasta.) But the flavor was amaaazing and I really enjoyed it!

France

This is not part of the food festival but every time I go to EPCOT I have to get some chocolate ice cream in France. I'm not lying when I say this is my favorite ice cream anywhere and it's totally worth the $5 for a single scoop. Every time I'm always tempted to get a french macaron with ice cream but I just can't quit my go-to.

Festival Merchandise

I was going to try not to buy any festival specific merchandise apart from a passholder pin and regular pin but they had some ADORABLE Mickey and Remy mugs in the Passholder merchandise section. They also happened to be 25% off (plus my 20% off passholder discount) so I couldn't resist!

What I wore

I wore my Passholder tee from 2018 because how could I not?! The perfect shirt for tasting around the world. It was a chillier - and windy - day so jeans were necessary. I also had my Mickey Sweatshirt on to save me from freezing.

Graphic Tee: EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Passholder Tee, Jeans: FRAME 'Le Skinny de Jeanne' (Shopbop), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia' in Croc (Moda Operandi)

Our last stop on the honeymoon was Athens! We were pretty worn out by this point but we still made it to all the essential spots, and even spotted a celebrity along the way.  Our main checklist included the Acropolis, National Gardens, the Ancient Greek Sandals flagship store and getting the delicious chocolate lava cake I had in 2015. I also found out about a cute restaurant a couple days before we left called Little Kook that I wanted to check out because they change the restaurant with fun themes. After that it was just whatever else we could fit in!

All in all, we walked 100 MILES over the course of our 2 week trip. How insane is that?! And pretty much every day was spent in my black 'Alethea' Ancient Greek Sandals. I wore my Athena's on the first day and for some reason I got a weird blister so I was afraid to wear them again (they've never done that before but I wanted to be safe.)

Note: If you don't want to take public transportation to your hotel or airbnb, download Beat, it's like Uber for Athens.  There should be a flat fee to take you to the city center, we paid about $43 which in my opinion was totally worth not having to lug our bags on and off subway trains. It is also a way to avoid having to pay cash for a taxi because you can use a credit card with the app. For our way back to the airport we had our host pre-book a car for us so we paid €45, a little more than if we had used the Beat app.

What to Do

Temple of Zeus

Our cab driver from the airport gave us a great tip. He said if we were going to get the combo ticket for ancient sites (€30 for the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Theatres of Dionysus & Attikus, Temple of Zeus, Hadrians library, and Kerameikos) to start at the Temple of Zeus rather than the Acropolis because the lines won't be as long and you can just walk straight to the entrance at the Acropolis instead of waiting in the ticket line there.  We were there on a free weekend but we wanted to go to the Acropolis on Friday so we bought the extra pass so we could see most sights on Friday and whatever was left on Saturday.

The Acropolis

This was our main reason for stopping in Athens. Christian is a nut for Ancient Greek mythology so he was really excited to finally see the Parthenon and other sites of the Acropolis in person. We got up early in the morning, but not too early, so we could beat a lot of the crowds but it was still pretty crazy! The sun is BLARING during the day and we were already getting overheated at 9/9:30am so make sure to bring water with you and hide in the shade when you can!

Panathenaic Stadium

We did a quick walk-by of the Panathenaic Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896! So cool! We had a lot we wanted to see on this particular day so we opted not to pay to enter and viewed from the outside only.

The Ancient Agora

The Ancient Agora is home to many ruins and buildings, including the Temple of Hephaestus (last photo) and Stoa of Attalos - which includes a small museum of artifacts. When we first got there in the morning there were areas blocked off because The Good Place was filming an episode. Luckily they left not long after we arrived so we were able to see the blocked off area, which included the Odeon of Agrippa.

We also spotted Kristen Bell walking in the Stoa of Attalos (first photo.) See a screenshot from a stealthy video I took while looking in the total opposite direction pretending I didn't know she was there, haha! They weren't filming at that point.

Hadrian's Library

Hadrian's Library was pretty cool to walk through and we were joined by some tortoises while doing so. Funny how we only saw them when we were at the ancient ruins, never in other parts of the city. The walls and columns are just so cool to look at. Imagine what these must have looked like back when they were all in one piece.

The National Gardens

Another must-see spot was the National Gardens. We spent a couple hours walking around and taking in the views. Since it was the end of Summer we sadly didn't get to see many flowers but it was still a nice reprieve from the loudness and business of the city.  Definitely make a walk through on your trip to Athens if only to escape the crowds.

Ancient Greek Sandals Flagship Store

One of my highlights of Athens was visiting the newly opened (May 2019) flagship store for Ancient Greek Sandals - my favorite sandal brand (my first post gushing over them in 2013!)  I had already bought a new pair while we were in Santorini but couldn't resist getting a pair in the ACTUAL store.  I tried on a few pairs and in the end went with a simple pair called the Apteros in purple suede that were different from any other pair I have because they were slip-ons. Normally I like to buy sandals with backs so I can wear them walking everywhere without worry. I wore these to the grocery store and found they were quite comfortable for walking, but I'm not sure they'd survive one of my Disney days so I'll keep them for normal wear.

After I checked out I had Christian take a picture of me with my purchase (which came in an amazing tote bag with a lookbook!) and I felt I needed to explain my giddiness to the woman at the store. I told her they were my favorite brand and this was my EIGTH pair. She was very excited to hear that.

Unfortunately I missed a special collection for Mary Katrantzou's Spring 2020 show - more pretty pictures here. They created beautiful sandals for the show held at the Temple of Poseidon on October 3rd (only a few days after we left, ahh!) In celebration they also sold some limited edition sandals at the store and changed their displays. Oh well, you can't have everything!

Where to Eat

Dionysos Zonar's

We ate here on our first night in Athens. It was another accident as the place I had wanted us to eat was all booked up (even though it was only 5:30...I bet they just don't like Americans) so we had to keep walking to find somewhere else and happened upon Zonar's with a lovely view of the Acropolis. We ate out on the patio which has a different menu from inside. This was my favorite meal in Athens apart from the last place on this list. I had the free-range chicken with broccoli, black rice and mustard sauce and Christian tried the Moussaka to see if it was better than what he had in Santorini (it wasn't.)

Funny note - this was the only restaurant on our whole trip that served water with their ice, which I really appreciated. I do love cold water!

Spezie

Our last meal of the trip was a small outdoor cafe near the Acropolis Museum. It was close to our apartment and we were so tired that we wanted something quick and easy! Christian had a Gyro and I had Meatballs with rice. Not the best meal (mine,) but it did the trick!

Piazza Duomo

This restaurant is where I had one of my favorite desserts back in 2015. I went back again super excited to share the deliciousness with Christian and was sadly let down. We ordered the chocolate souffle and when it came we dug in hoping to find a lovely gooey center. What we got was a ball of hard ganache that had not melted all the way through and a rubbery cake on the outside.   I had this TWICE in 2015 and both times it was amazing so maybe this was a fluke. I'm wondering if they got lazy with their desserts and started to buy frozen in bulk, or this one just wasn't cooked enough.  Either way I was very dissapointed.

We did have lunch before the dessert which was good. Once again Christian tried the mousakka to see if it would be the best of the 3, he said it was better than Zonar's but not as good as the one in Santorini. I had chicken with quinoa salad - suuuper tasty! So at least the lunch was good.

Patisserie Artemis

On our last night we wanted some baklava for dessert and this Patisserie was on the way back to our apartment from dinner so we stopped in. Plus, we liked the name, who doesn't want to eat something made my a Goddess, right? We got some regular baklava and tried a chocolate variety as well, so tasty!

Little Kook

I saved the best for last! As I mentioned above, I found out about Little Kook only a few days before we left for our trip and knew we had to try it! They change their theme every few months and totally makeover the restaurant and menu, when I googled they were doing a Mary Poppins theme and when we arrived it was all decked out in pumpkins and ghouls for Halloween! I even got to sit on a pumpkin throne, the best seat in the house!

If you ask Christian this would probably be his favorite part of the whole trip. He loved the decor, the music and of course the desserts! We didn't realize how big they would be so we got 2 separate ones. I got the Dragon's Hot Breath (chocolate cake with chocolate praline layers and covered in meringue flambe) and Chrisitan had a Dark Witch Brownie (brownie with ice cream.) They were so huge, we definitely could have shared one and still been stuffed.  My cake was AMAZINGGG, the meringue on the outside was the perfect compliment to all the chocolate inside.

Needless to say this was our lunch. Luckily we went here before lunch (it was close to where we were and we were hungry) otherwise I doubt we would have had any room to eat them!