Monday, March 25, 2024

T Stands for Welcome to Greece

Hi everyone. Happy new week. 

You might know that I missed last week's T Day as I was away on a girls' trip.

Photo I took at gate in JFK airport, NYC and no, it was NOT beach weather on my trip

      I traveled with 2 of my friends. The 3 of us taught together for many years, and we'd been talking about going to Greece since around 2017 or 2018. It was something we planned to do when we all retired. Between COVID and some other things in life, we finally got around to taking that trip. It was worth the wait though. 😊

        We didn't take a tour; instead we planned our own trip, rented a car and shared rooms. The fact that we didn't drive each crazy for 10 days is quite the achievement. 😏 Our trip was quite the adventure also. Greece is an amazing country, and the trip exceeded all my expectations in every way. ❤



          We started our trip in Athens. Then we drove northwest and inland to Trikala. From Trikala we first made our way  a bit north to visit Meteora, and then we went to the west coast and visited the island of Corfu. After Corfu we headed to Delphi and then it was back to Athens to fly home. Although we were sight seeing, we were also on a family  heritage tour for one of my friends. As I get my 3000+ photos squared away I'll have more to share.


           While we were in Athens, we were able to meet up for a couple of meals with Mia, who you might know from T day or from her blog Craftartista. Mia is such a lovely person, and not only did we enjoy the time we were able to spend with her, but it was great getting to know her a little better also. ❤

            At dinner one night, we shared a bottle of Greek wine that was very good. This is my ticket to T this week over at  Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog




Cheers to friendship and adventure.

Mia also gifted each of us with some lovely items that she made. My gifts came in this bag with a pretty bow.


She had made a pillow cover that is now on a pillow on my couch.


Here are some of the other items I received from Mia.  I pushed them together so this post didn't end up being too  long so this may not be the best photo. 😞 I think you can see most of the items though, except the face on the girl at the top. 


Here is that cute face.


        Missing from the photo is a small zippered bag Mia made that is now in my purse with my Euro change (I still need to switch my purse back) and also a lovely pink and grey scarf that I ended up wearing for much of the trip. Since we only returned home late last Friday night , my friends and I  haven't had any time to do a photo swap. I had been hoping to show you a photo of me in the scarf.  Hopefully I will be able to do that later.

        Mia also gifted me a couple of stencils also. You'll be seeing those in my art soon I am sure. 😏
Thank you again Mia for such a lovely introduction to Greece and all these gifts. I know my friends loved theirs  also. ❤

This post is starting to get a bit on the longish side, so I will wish you all a Happy T day and week ahead. 



22 comments:

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Erika, How wonderful you were able to spend time with Mia, and she always shares such wonderful gifts.
Your trip sounds amazing too awesome to have friends to share this trip with -hugs
Kathy

Tom said...

...'ll be looking forward a tour of Greece through 3000+ photos. Bring them on.

Carola Bartz said...

Your trip sounds lovely, Erika, and how nice that you were able to meet Mia. She certainly treated you to some very beautiful things. I hope you enjoyed the wine. In Germany we even have a song about Greek wine that was popular in the 1970s - quite the earworm, to be honest. Of course it's stuck in my head now. Happy T day! Hugs - Carola

Christine said...

How neat to meet a blog friend!

Mia said...

How lovely that we met, Erika. We had such a great time. I enjoyed the hours with you and your adorable friends. I am very glad that you liked your trip in Greece and hope that one day we will meet again. Enjoy the gifts, sweetie. I will be waiting to see all the photos that you will share with us. I send you a big hug, my friend.

Hels said...

My parents were not Greek, nor did they have any dry red wine in the house. But when spouse and I got married and moved to Europe for a few years, we discovered dry red wine that was _very_ good :)

Angie's Recipes said...

That's wonderful that you had such a great time in Greece! Mia is just like you, so talented!

Iris Flavia said...

What a FUN first pic!!!! LOVE it!
Oh, yes, those flight informations... I find them rather frustrating ;-)
Yay for meeting bloggy-friends in real life! And the Greek, LOL, my doctor is from Greece also, a very nice, fun man!
"Cheers to friendship and adventure."!!!
Oh. Yes. To my I-don´t-know-how-many pics I have I will add Ingo´s as well.
To sharing, huh?
Can´t wait to see more! We were in Greece in... 1996 or such! Aaaaages ago!
Happy T-Day, keep pics and stories coming, hugs!

Katerinas Blog said...

You had a very comprehensive trip to Greece! You went to impressive and historical places. Corfu, Delphi, Athens. Glad you had a great time!

craftytrog said...

It sounds like a wonderful trip Erika. So lovely to spend time with your friends, and also to meet up with Mia. Such wonderful gifts, she's a talented needle woman.
I spent a week in Corfu with my daughter a few years ago, it's a beautiful island.
Looking forward to seeing some photos.
Alison xx

Aimeslee Winans said...

So cool to meet Mia and you got a huge bunch of very lovely gifts! xoxo

David M. Gascoigne, said...

You obviously had a really great start to your trip, Erika, and it’s often fun to meet blogging friends in person. Receiving gifts is a bonus! The only Greek wine with which I am familiar is Retsina, and have not found it exceptional, but maybe I just had the plonk rather than the good stuff. Greek salad is a staple in our house. I have never been to Greece, and doubt that I will make it there, so I’ll look forward to seeing it through your eyes. All the best - David

Mae Travels said...

Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip. So neat that bloggers around the world welcome one another to their respective countries. I'm looking forward to your further posts and photos of the trip.

best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Empire of the Cat said...

Sounds like a fun trip, what a lovely thing to be able to do with your friends. Nice also to catch up with Mia, that's a lot of stitched gifts she gave you, wow! Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

You and your friends definitely had an amzing trip, but then you already knew that, Erika. When you said you rented a car to get around, I wondered how easy or difficult it was overall and am sure you will be sharing those adventures in future posts. The gifts looked lovely and what a nice way to remember your trip and meet-up.

DVArtist said...

Oh how fun! What a great trip and such nice gifts from Mia. Can't wait to see all the photos. Have a nice day today.

Lisca said...

Great header! I know you took the photo but there were three of you (Or did I get that wrong?).... who is the fourth?
Sounds like you had a great trip. I've never been to Greece. I am so pleased that you met Mia. Isn't it wonderful that bloggers can meet up. Please know that if ever you came to Spain, you would be very welcome.
And so many gifts! All stitched. The cushion is very nice and the bag-with-the-bow is gorgeous.
It must have been a shock to get back to snow and ice. Although it was not beach weather, the temperatures must have been quite mild, similar to where I am.
I'm really looking forward to seeing more photos.
Happy T-Day,
Lisca

pearshapedcrafting said...

Sounds like a fabulous trip and how great to meet up with Mia! That must have been fun, she certainly gave you some lovely things! Looking forward to seeing more photos. Happy T Day, hugs Chrisx

CJ Kennedy said...

Now that's a girl trip! How cool you got to meet Mia, too. Such lovely gifts you received. Such a nice way to remember your trip and friendship. Happy T Day. Stay dry!

Jeanie said...

I'm so eager to hear all about your trip but I know the challenges of editing that many photos! We'll wait, almost patiently! Mia is very generous -- what lovely gifts!

Sharon Madson said...

How exciting to have this girl's time trip! And to meet Mia in person. How special! Happy T Day.

Neet said...

This was one of the happiest posts I have read in a long while. You had me smiling from the very beginning with those feet.
It seems like a lot of wine drinking was had by all, except the driver I guess, and so I am sure it was one of the happiest of holidays you could imagine.
Yamas
Neet xx