Hi again! It’s Avery and Lela! We are back on the blog and married this time! On May 9th, 2026, we had the wedding of our dreams with the most rocking of dance floors, perfectly timed chirping birds, and lots and lots of love. After a night at home and a night in NYC, we set off to Athens (name change passport in hand for Lela) for our nearly two-week honeymoon in Greece! Our flight was made extra special because we signed our job contracts for residency right before take off!
Part 1: Athens
We landed early in the morning and ignored the time change to make the most out of our one full day in Athens. We started off at Picky Brunch Specialty Coffee and tried our first Freddo of the trip (honestly, never liked them, but Avery got a bunch to embrace the moment) and Strapatsada (did very much like these). We headed up to the Acropolis before it got too too hot (it was still hot); it was a bit crowded and didn’t do an official tour, but it was still an enjoyable visit. We went on a pretty walk through the National Gardens before crashing for an epic nap in our center city hotel. We woke up just in time for our 5-stop food tour (read: feast) through Athens where we had some of the best food of our trip (see superlatives at the end). After, we capped off our Athens stay with rooftop Aperol Spritz’s and cribbage at our hotel while watching the sun set over the Parthenon.
Part 2: Hydra
The next morning, we hopped on the quick one hour ferry to Hydra. Hydra is a small island that is more commonly a weekend/day trip for Athenians rather than an international tourist destination; it is all walkable with no cars or scooters allowed on the island. It is not an exaggeration to say that every single street here was stunning. We went on a walk to an amazing sea side lunch, glugged a liter of wine, and frolicked back to the Bratsera Hotel (unbelievably charming) for some poolside relaxation. That night, we went out to an awesome dinner at 8p (learned that dinner peaked closer to 930p, adapted for later nights) followed by an ice cream walk along Hydra Port and hotel poolside cocktails.
The next day, we headed out to one of our most anticipated excursions — a fishing and boating day with a local fisherman. Fisherman Yannis had gone out at 3AM to set out lines for us; we went out later that morning with him and his wife, Carina, to see what he had caught. We watched him pull in ~200 lines which amounted to ~12 fishies for our group of 8 to consume. We docked in a gorgeous turquoise-colored bay and went on a swim while Yannis prepped our feast of greek salad, fava, and of course the grilled fish (Avery personally had 3). Fishing with Yannis lived up to the hype for sure. Ended our evening with another awesome dinner near Hydra port and — of course— ice cream.
For our last full day in Hydra, we uncharacteristically slept until 10AM and then had a leisurely and amazing breakfast at the Bratsera. We had a wee bit of overcast that provided the perfect conditions to hike the 6-mi Hydra Loop (lots of churches/villas along the way that felt very Mamma Mia). Finished off the day with sea-side Fanta + Beer, another great dinner, and late night cocktails (getting a theme here). We were so sad to have to leave Hydra and the Bratsera the next day; this place felt like a time capsule in the best way. But, more adventure awaits! We took a ferry back to Piraeus (the port city of Athens) and spent the rest of the day there (highlights: giant cheap gyros, a hotel reception desk that was so excited we were on our honeymoon, many mega yachts) before we headed off to Milos!
Part 3: Milos
We arrived via ferry to Milos the next day and checked into the spa-like Del Mar apartments in the quiet town of Pollonia. We picked up our ATV (mode of transit to get around the island) and went off for some exploration; Milos is characterized by lots of gorgeous volcanic rock. By late afternoon, we were explored-out and posted up for some beach time followed by cocktails in the port. Our honeymoon had lots of great romantic views, but our sunset costal ride on the ATV back to Pollonia was certainly a special one.
The next day, our hotel treated us to room service breakfast. We were craving a slow morning so went to a beach side coffee bar for lattes and reading. After getting our bearings down day 1, we then headed out with a few adventures in mind for this day. We started with traveling to Sarakinko, a beach with smooth volcanic rock that was a bit overwhelmed with instagram girlies but also full of great views, caves, and cliff jumping. We fueled up after with some gyros before driving to Kilma, an old fisherman village, allegedly with each house colored differently so drunk fisherman could know which house was theres when they came in for the day. This was the first of many places we visited whose history (or most commonly, destruction) was due to pirate invasions, stories Avery enjoyed tremendously. We went home for our first and only run of our honeymoon, some cribbage on our terrace, and a great seafood dinner at the trendy spot in our neighborhood.
For our final full day in Milos, we braved the winds and headed out on a sailboat around the island. Lela was loaded up on drugs, but the winds at the beginning made for a pretty tough ride. Nonetheless, she had a lifetime best boot and rally and felt totally fine for the rest of the day, made better by the fact that the wind died down for our afternoon sailing. The main event for the day was anchoring at Kleftiko, where we got into the dinghy and adventured through the hidden sea caves and turquoise waters. We feasted on some great mezze and took some electric boat naps on the foredeck. We got back and had a pretty meh meal at a pretty great sunset spot. That is a wrap on Milos, our adventure island! Onto Naxos for beaches and the countryside!
Part 4: Naxos
By the time we got to Naxos, Lela (and even Avery) were feeling ready for some sprawling white sandy beaches. Luckily, with one ATV ride we found just that. We settled right in a cabana (non-negotiable for Avery) and slurped down mojitos and beer. I think at this moment we hit peak relaxation. In the evening, we went to dinner at Doukato, a highly recommended restaurant that was in the most charming courtyard. We went off vibes on our order and ended up eating almost exclusively cheese for dinner (not a problem for Lela).
In our second day of the island, we went on a long coffee walk on the beach, and then Lela discovered an amazing pastry shop with bougatsa (still thinking about it). The morning was hot and sunny so we returned back to Plaka, the beach we went to on day 1, for more beachside cabana time. In the afternoon, the wind picked up so we travelled south a bit more where we found some beachside gyros and watched the kite surfers. While Naxos is most known for its beaches, we were also curious about its famous mountain villages. We got on our ATV for a longer ride (Naxos is the biggest island in the Cyclades) to go towards the nearest village, Kato Potamia. Words like jaw-dropping and breath taking should be used sparingly to be saved for moments like this one. We drove along the mountain ridge and then into the valley. When we got to Kato Potamia, we walked through private gardens into a network of stone-paved walking paths. Never have we ever felt more like characters in The Princess Bride than in this countryside (visualize countless olive trees, goats/sheep, fruit trees). After, we headed in a bit further to Chalki (also charming) where we enjoyed afternoon cocktails and ice cream.
We remained so curious and impressed by the mountain villages that we decided to take on some longer ATV trips for the last full day to explore. We started at the Eggars Olive Press for an olive oil tour and tasting. Their surprising but delicious creation was orange and chili flavored olive oil used as a topping on vanilla ice cream! After, we made our way towards the east side of the island, stopping at some smaller villages and marble sculptures along the way, before landing high up in the mountains at Aperathos. Aperathos is a distinct village in Naxos because it carries an architectural, linguistic, and culinary culture inspired by its Cretan roots. We were obsessed walking around this marble-lined village and even more obsessed when we stumbled into a stunning mountain-side restaurant. Here, we had an egregiously big cheese board (even Lela couldn’t finish it) and rosto (perfectly slow-cooked pork in tomato sauce with lots of garlic). Stuffed as could be, we headed back to Chora, the main town in Naxos where we were staying. We ended our evening with a long walk on the beach followed by some prosecco (we literally couldn’t eat again). Naxos was massive and full of so many surprise gems! Hard to say if the beaches or countryside stole the show; they were both perfect!
Thank you to Avery who took the lead on the planning big and small for our honeymoon (Lela was a true passenger princess). He nailed it on picking three distinct and fun islands, and his great preparation to get his AAA International Driving Permit led to countless adventures on our ATV. And thank you to everyone who celebrated and partied with us at our wedding and for contributing to our honeymoon fund to make this dream honeymoon possible!! Next up: Santa Margarita, Italy with the Pullman family followed by Croatia with the Walter gang. Will close this out with a few (read: a lot) superlatives we brainstormed during our final day traveling back to the mainland:
Food:
- Best Appetizer: Feta-stuffed peppers at our second dinner in Hydra (unsure where that was)
- Best Greek Salad: Taverna Marina, from our first day in Hydra (thank you Dan + Lisa for the rec!)
- Best Seafood Dish: Fish made on Yannis’ fishing boat (Avery) // Octopus at Enalion in Pollonia (Lela)
- Best Meat Dish: Rota in Aperathos
- Best Sandwich: Beach-side gyro from our second day in Milos
- Best Wine: House white at Doukato
- Best Pie: Bougatsa at the first stop in our Athens food tour (their spinach feta pie also wins for best savory pie)
- Best Complimentary Dessert (every restaurant/place served something): Lemon yogurt on the boat in Milos
- Best Cocktail: Mojito under the cabana at Plaka beach (Avery) // Aperol spritz in Chalki (Lela)
Non-Food:
- Best Beach: Plaka in Naxos
- Best Deal in Town: Universal $4 gyro (was our lunch more days than not)
- Best Small Business Owner We Met: Owner of the “La Sommelier” shop in Chora
- Best Friend Met Traveling: Yvonne and Paul from Jersey (British Islands) (generally a weird superlative but they deserved a shoutout for being some of the best people we ever met; we were with them during Yannis’ fishing day)
- Best ATV Ride: Post-cocktail sunset ride back to Pollonia in Milos as we blasted All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster
- Best Lodging: Bratsera Hotel was just stunning (honorable mention: hotel in Piraeus who gave us not one, not two, but three bottles of wine to celebrate our honeymoon)
- Best Honeymoon Splurge: $75 upgrade to economy plus for our NYC to Athens flight
Signing off from Santa Margherita,
Lela + Avery
P.S. Wedding photo super sneak peak for making it to the end!
Traveling Walters 