“This past July my husband and I visited Greece. We spent 2 memorable weeks exploring Athens, Mykonos, Naxos, Isos and Santorini. This photo was taken in the beautiful picturesque village of Melanes on Naxos Island. The photo captured the village signature’s lush valley, fruit trees and running waters.
We took this photo on a roof top of one of the houses in the village. The journey to the village was quite a fun and adventurous ride. We rented a quad ATV and hopped from one village to another. From our experience a personal quad or small car is the best way to experience the Island. From our experience all the villages on the Naxos Island are quite charming, authentic and unique with lovely architecture.
We encountered some of the friendliest people in Greece from these villages. For instance, we ran into a local boy in Melanes who is very friendly and curious to see foreign visitors in his village. These villages are deep within the island and yet to be overexposed to the masses of tourists. You can still see its authenticity through the way people carry on with their day to day life here. The boy we met couldn’t speak a single word of English but he was not shy trying to communicate and hang around while we explored the village and take photos. At the end, despite the language barrier, the one thing that we all understood was the international “hang loose” symbol. I guess he watched plenty of American movies.
This is what travelling is all about us. From discovering the beautiful sights to connecting with the local people, learning about their cultures to creating memories and experiences. Traveling is the perfect way to push us to our limits and get us outside of our comfort zone. Traveling also provides the excitement and unique experiences that we can hold in our memories.
We’re a married couple who love to explore new places and see all that the world has to offer. We started our first taste of travelling when visiting Thailand and Viet Nam back in 2007. That was quite a trip. We spent exactly 1 month split between the 2 places. That trip was the beginning and what drove us to travel more. We really got bitten by the travel bug as many other travelers know. We’ve visited 18 countries and approximately over 30 destinations thus far. Our goal is to continue traveling and at least travel 2-3 weeks and visit 1 new country/destination per year.
We love all the places we’ve visited, each are so different from one another. However, if we had to pick our favorite destinations are in order below (all of these places have amazing food scene and it’s a must for us):
- Bangkok and islands of Thailand – affordable , energetic, landscape, people and the food
- Tokyo and Kyoto – fun, unique, nothing like you ever experience before , gorgeous scenery and amazing food
- London ( England)- architecture, history, charming, dynamic and surprisingly a lot of good food option
- Barcelona (Spain)- beach vibe, trendy, fun, California of Europe and amazing food and culture.
We’re no experts but we’ve learned some tips along the way while we’ve traveled together. Discuss and consult on what you and your partner like to do ahead of time and remember to:
- Compromise
- Divided tasks when planning your trip so both can feel they are involved in the process
- When traveling to a new places with new cultures and different languages you will most likely run into a lot of frustrating situations. Remember to breath and work together.
- Take pictures and video if you can because you’re going to look back at your trips together and be so happy that you have created those memories and experiences together.”
Get to Know the Couple:
Chi: @veedabee13
Laith: @sirkatsudon
Photography Blog: @colorbloomstudio
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