CLEVELAND, OHIO – Language Spoken: English with an AHkcent – Location: Midwest, USA

One wouldn’t think that Ohio would be a favorite of mine to visit. Maybe I’m a little bias because my best friend lives there, but it’s a new up and coming city in the states. Cleveland is an affordable city with new cool spots to visit. Downtown Cleveland is really cute with an awesome market, West Side Market. I’m such a sucker for markets wherever I go, even in the states. This one definitely has a lot to offer with its aisles of meat, produce, and confectionery delights. Plus, the coffee shop on the right is pretty killer.

East 4th Street is one of my favorite places to go for dinner and drinks. My favorite restaurant, Greenhouse Tavern, is like a mix of organic and trendy with a flare of unique and quirk! It is super close to the Quicken Loans Area (Cavs stadium) and GHT is the perfect place to go right before or after a game. This is also a perfect spot to hit up for a dinner before heading to the flats for a night out.

The area that is the place to go if you want to hangout, have cocktails, and meet people is called the flats. They were just redone and they have a lot of GIANT places that are pretty fun for a night on the town. Plus, the drinks are no where near the cost of NYC prices, so it feels like you are basically drinking for free to a native New Yorker. I strongly recommend going there even if you are not a big partier. There are multiple different venues that you could enjoy even without alcohol, such as dueling pianos and a large game bar.

I’m not a cool beer drinker like 90% of the rest of the world, but I like to go to breweries and drink cocktails … or wine. Yes, I’m that girl. Cleveland offers some of best breweries and beer fests around. If that is your thang, I definitely suggest you check it out. Great Lakes Brewery is a pretty popular one that I actually went to and they give tours. Nano Brew I heard was a good one to visit as well.

Professional sports are  B I G in Cleveland and they hold a lot of Ohio pride. Going to a sports event is probably one of my favorite things to do there. Oddly enough, I don’t even like sports much, but my best friend has introduced me to the sports world – full throttle. The Cavs games are SUPER fun, just get a drink before and then head to the game. There are so many excited fans with their bang bangs (my most favoritest, most annoying things for everyone else that make super loud noises), make my night personally so much more exciting. Indians games are amusing because people there are so passionate about their baseball, probably since their football team is not the best (we may even say close to the worst). Progressive Field is an experience, not just a ballgame but an experience. They don’t just provide the normal weener on a bun duo, there is a ton of food from different restaurants around Cleveland. I highly recommend just going to the game for the food and drinks 😉 I have yet been to a Browns game because I can honestly say I really hate football and the cold, so put them together and that sounds like straight torture to me! Although, I will have to experience it at least once and I’ll update you.

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Cleveland has all of these little pockets of cute places with different kinds of charm, but on the out out skirts more in the country (like an hour from downtown) you can run into some fine vineyards… and cows! Mooooooo!

In the county next to Cleveland, Geauga county, I keep finding myself coming back to this particular little town, Burton. When I was in college I met so  many people from this tiny town and my best friend is from the next town over. So, from eighteen years old I have been coming to this teeny tiny country town that is known for their maple syrup and the biggest county fair in the state. I even lived in the nearby town, Middlefield for a summer which is one of the largest Amish communities in the states. Burton has a cute little town that has changed over the past decade. It feels as though you are stepping into a different era. It still has the old hardware store, insurance company, and others, but now it has an updated coffee shop, trendy restaurants and more. The vibe has changed a little over the years, but it is still the same ol’ Burton.

As I stated before, Burton holds the largest fair in Ohio. Well, if y’all are anything like me, this whole fair thing was something out of a movie. There are so many events going on, along with tons of fried food, and animals… it is actually so mind boggling, I highly suggest you check it out. Mind boggling in a good way though, it’s like you are a foreigner in your own country because if you are not from the countryside of America this is very different than the fairs that you are used to. I’m a sucker for some fried Oreos and sweet corn, so I am all about a good country fair as long as no one is killing any animals in front of me… I’m gravy!

There are some pretty fine vineyards in the cornfields of Ohio, and I find the ambiance to be surprisingly relaxed. Normally when I see a cornfield, I shutter because all that open space gives me anxiety. So far, the wineries haven’t been as posh as the ones I am used to on Long Island or in Europe, but they have their own type of Midwestern charm that make them unique.

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Places Stayed: Lyndhurst, Burton (with friends)

Places Visited: West Side Market, The Flats, East 4th Street, Burton, Middlefield, Geauga County Fair

OMAHA, NEBRASKA – Language Spoken: English – Location: Midwest, USA 

On my trip across America, I decided to stop in Omaha because one of my long lost friends lives there. I was surprisingly pleased by the cute little city, and when I say little. I mean it’s little. Coming from NY, any city is really ittle but this city is ittle bittle. It’s so cute with its charming downtown area. Omaha has some nice hotels, boutiques, ice cream shoppes, and restaurants along the little town. You know what I felt like? Like I was in a old country shootout town. Like a cowboy duel was about to spark out! I don’t even know if that is proper terminology, but you know what I mean.

If you are traveling across the beautiful green pastures of the Midwest and west, I would definitely suggest Omaha as a stop to consider. The people are EXTREMELY friendly with very American old skool charm.

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Place Stayed: Magnolia Hotel 

ENGLAND – Language Spoken: English (duh) Location: Europe

England is everything the movies tell you and then some. There is a chicness to London that only they could ever capture. The queen lives there of course it needs to be fabulous! I must say, out of all the cities I have ever visited, London was so darn expensive especially for Americans… well maybe for everyone but when I did the conversion to pounds, I felt like was paying double for everything! I was lucky enough to get a connection to a hotel in London for the first couple nights for half the price in a REALLY nice place by Hyde Park. We enjoyed the fine dining and beautiful streets of London the first few nights with no shame.

The pick pocketing in London is for real. One second my friend was walking next to me then the next he was gone and all I could see was a woman screaming about her wallet and my friend chasing after the thief. Shaking my head, I ran after him and the thief. What was this child going to do? Catch the thief, then do what? Get shot? Well thankfully, he chased the guy into an alley, punched him in the face, took the wallet back, told the guy to have a Merry Christmas, and snatched the wallet. He returned the wallet to the woman and we were finally back on our way to the park.

Hyde Park has a fabulous winter wonderland fair with waffles drizzled with chocolate, mulled wine, and an ice skating rink…. seriously, this was the life! I recommend this to anyone traveling to London in the winter. Once we returned from the park, the hotel told us that our flight was cancelled and the hotel was sold out. We were now in this expensive town with no place to stay, and possibly won’t be home for Christmas. I haven’t seen my family since the day I left for Malta in August, so this was a bummer on top of the possibility of sleeping in the airport for a couple days.

 

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Places Stayed: Hyatt Regency London, South Kensington (private apartment)

Places Visited: Hyde Park, Natural History Museum, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace

 

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RUSSIA – Language Spoken: Russian (legit only Russian) Location: Eastern Europe

Bundle up! Bring layers and bundle, bundle, bundle if you are headed to Russia in the winter. If you like cheap flights, then you are probably going in the winter.

Let’s start with the plane ride to Russia and how much the Russians love their fake heat. I am NOT A FAN of forced heat because I’m dork who gets bloody noses from dry heat. I mean full out, look like a cocaine addict with a dripping bloody faucet out of my face. So, that being said the flight had the heat up to 1000 degrees and I only had a sweater on with no tee underneath, and no tee that was accessible without taking out my entire backpack. I guess if I was really really tortured I would have done it, but the plane was packed and I didn’t want to attempt not being able to get all my crap back in my bag because of the pressure from glaring, judging eyes. That is a backpacker’s nightmare, people staring at you while you unpack your bag – especially Russians, on a plane that is packed to the brim with people. I now remember to always wear layers on a plane and always leave a change of clothes on top of all my craziness that is easily accessible if necessary.

We arrived at Moscow and there were an abundance of taxi drivers asking to bring us to the hotel. We are experienced travelers, so we were aiight… so we thought. We saw a guy that looked like a pretty legit taxi driver with a seemingly legit tag on, so we followed him after he pointed and muttered something in Russian. He took our bags and brought us to his car. I mean I understand that Russia was once a communist country, but I didn’t realize people still had very little. This car was rundown, but whatever we both have traveled to third world countries, anything goes that works. The strangeness hit when we got into the car. It was torn, filthy and as he was driving through the enter gate and the barrier slid up the windshield he uttered, “Would you like some?” holding a thermos. He said it was good vodka and to have some. Ok, so we just left the gate through the enter to avoid paying a toll, then you are drinking vodka while driving us through the streets of snowy Moscow. It’s like what you see on the videos…. people were smashing into one another like bumper cars, but it didn’t phase them a bit. Bizarre, but I liked it. All the signs were in Russian and I couldn’t understand a thing, I felt good.

We arrived to our fancy hotel, but I couldn’t seem to hydrate myself. Seriously, I don’t think Russians like to give you water… tea but not water. Whenever a server would approach the table, he would ask if you wanted tea. NOT WATER! So, my ongoing dehydration combo between the lack of water and extreme fake heat was in full throttle the entire trip.

Russia is one of kind, especially Moscow. NO ONE will speak to you in English and rightfully so, we’re in Russia. I mean they don’t even like to pretend to speak to you in English or try…. nothing. You’re in Russia. you speak Russian. End of story. I mean between my lessons to myself in the car on audio and my friend working for Russians, we could get around pretty well without looking like total rude Americans too often. What people say about Russians in Moscow is true… they don’t smile, they don’t look at you, and I can honestly say I don’t think they liked me. They do like their cabbage and vodka though… and I did too.

The one incident that sticks in my mind is when we used the subway system, let me tell you this was the longest escalator down to the train I’ve ever experienced. We went so darn deep into the ground, my ears were popping! Then when we finally jammed ourselves into the train, there was a lady peeling potatoes doing a demonstration. I’ve seen odd things on the train, but never someone peeling potatoes. We did buy a peeler though. She apparently knew that was the spot to make the moolah or should we say rubles.

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Places Stayed: 

1. Moscow: Golden Apple Hotel
2. St. Petersburg: 3 MostA

Places Visited: St. Basil’s Cathedral (Moscow), Red Square (Moscow), GUM (Moscow), 

GREECE – Language Spoken: Greek – Location: Southern Europe (Aegean and Mediterranean Sea)

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SHUT UP, Greece…. you ridiculously gorgeous country, you! Greece is exactly what you see in the pictures and movies, it’s picturesque and one of kind. The food in Greece… oh my sweet Lord! People think when they go to a Greek restaurant in the states that it is good, but truly you don’t even get the real experience entirely. Greeks cook healthy with fresh food and fresh fish. The tip that I got when I was in Greece was to ask, “What fish is fresh?” that meant you want the real stuff, not the one that is transported from another country. It is usually not a fish that you would ever get in the states and that is exactly why I was so keen to try all the different types…. yummmmmmmms!

The other must have in Greece is a cafe freddo! It is like an iced (because you definitely need ice) coffee that is whipped up, blended, and made to perfection. Just thinking about one now makes me yearn for some major caffeine invigoration. They would like you to drink their Greek coffee, but no offense… it was like drinking the bottom of a french press (grinds and a little bit of water) … kinda like coffee mud. Maybe it made me jump like a jumping bean, but the grit in my teeth wasn’t worth it. Try it because it’s a Greek staple, but I can’t guarantee you like it like the freddo! Oh, and if you are lactose free, good luck because they usually don’t have any other type of milk. They only have milk from a cow pretty much and that’s it… whole milk.

Another little gem that I loved, and it’s a strange gem to love was this bread that was hard as a rock, it kinda looked like a rock too. I called it rock bread the whole time, I don’t know the proper name. If you go there, you will know what I am talking about once they bring you the basket of bread. Yummm… rock bread. I’ve never seen it in the states, not even at authentic Greek restaurants. Oh my rock bread, how I miss thee.

Wow, this whole blog has been about food so far and I haven’t even mentioned the two most amazing parts about Greece. The whole reason the country is blue and white – the sun and the sea. I’ve never been so tan in my life, I think my body just eats the Mediterranean sun and sea, as they mix together my skin smiles with bronze goddess joy. I kept telling my traveling bud that the sea is unlike any ocean that she has ever seen. She kept saying “OOOOOOK, Lucy…. I get it.” Then she saw it and agreed… the sea is freakin’ magical.

A huge tip for Greece is to stay hydrated, it is literally really easy to get dehydrated but re-hydration is cheap. HUGE water bottles in Greece are under $1 and you need to stock up on them. The sun makes you sweat like an animal. Why do you we say that when animals don’t really sweat?

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Athens, you aiiight. Athens needs to be visited because it has the historical sites that you just need to see when you go to Greece. The Acropolis, the Parthenon, etc. etc. etc. The safety was questionable in areas of Athens, but I wasn’t worried except when we would walk home at night, which we tried to avoid if necessary. We kinda used Athens to get our sleep in to prepare for the ruckus that we would cause in the islands.

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Mykonos, oh my lovely Mykonos. I could pinch you if you had cheeks! Surprisingly, I didn’t think that I would like Mykonos because I thought it would just be a party spot. I mean it most definitely is a party spot, but it’s super posh. In Mykonos you don’t sleep. You come home at 6AM and then sleep to about 10AM and start all over again the next day. It is like the most fabulous of fabulous party spots in the world to me, and I admit I have done my far share of partying all over the world. Scorpio was by far the most beautiful club I have ever been to, besides the ambiance being completely and utterly enchanting, the people are all basically models. I don’t know how they found all the most beautiful people on the island and put them all in one spot.

The best part of Mykonos was the terrain. We rented an ATV that we literally drove all over the island, some people rent scooters, but since we both couldn’t handle one we went for the ATV. The terrain reminded me of my Malta and it made me joyful with a hint of homesickness. The sea was G O R G E O U S and all the beach resorts had to compete with that so they were top notch. My heart aches when thinking about this island.

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Santorini, you are overrated. I can’t believe I said it, but it’s true. If you like mobs of tourists and lots of kissing couples, then this place is for you. Personally, I hate many tourists and kissing couples are OK if I am the one doing the kissing. Oia is the place where every person in the world thinks of when they hear Greece. It is the one with the magical blue domes that you need to see while you smash against 9 bazillion tourists along a small little walkway. It’s summer, people don’t all wear deodorant, people sweat and slllllllide up on you… I’m good never to see those blue domes with sweaty tourists again. I escaped the slimy crowd to get a few pictures on a balcony of a restaurant until I was told to scoot my buns unless I was eating.

The part of Santorini that I did enjoy was the beach that was less popular and the city that was less popular, Perissa. We stayed in a castle for a couple nights in old city Emporio and it was close to Perissa that I really loved. It is a black sand (volcanic) beach that was SUPPPPPPER hot, but if you have flops then you are OK. I never felt the heat on my feet like I did there in my entire life! The beach was serene and had a good amount of restaurants and shops behind it that even delivered drinks on the beach. Tip: If you eat at the restaurant then you can use their chairs for free! Kamari beach was nice too, but it was definitely more popular and more expensive!

Oh, the other awesome part of Santorini is the wineries and sunsets. Seriously, Santos Wines Winery has the most unbelievable sunsets and tastings. We went on a winery hop one day, but this one was the all time best. Again, we used an ATV to get around the island and that was ideal for us. Don’t drink and drive! There are taxis that will bring you to places you need to go.

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Crete, I’ve been to over 30 countries and countless cities… but Crete is in my top five places I’ve ever traveled. It is not as touristy as the other islands and it’s HUGE! Plus, it has my favorite place in the world that I have ever been, Balos Beach. I felt like I was in a dream. I can’t really explain to you what this place looked like that will make you fully understand the extent of its beauty. OK, picture this…. standing in about three feet of water for miles. The water is as clear as glass, when you look far out it is all shades of turquoise, jade, navy blue, teal, and heaven color. The water was warm, but not too warm because it receives fresh water from the sea through a little inlet. The other beach that is so beautiful is Elfanisi Beach, it has a concession stand that sells coffee and beer. You can drive to Elfanisi, but you have to take a boat to Balos.

The town of Chania is so stinkin’ cute, I could live there. The bars, coffee shops, and restaurants are absolutely so Lucy. I felt like I belonged there, maybe everyone feels that way, but I totally felt like the sea gods were calling out my name to stay and live like a bronze Greek goddess forever. We stayed in the old Jewish district of Chania, which was traditional and full of Cretan spunk. It had GREAT shopping, restaurants, and character.

I will tell y’all… there is something I don’t quite understand about the Greeks besides how they keep their massive bushy beards to always look shiny and pristine… the shine must be from their amazing Greek olive oil products. But, the thing I really don’t understand is… why are there souvenir penises all over the place? I know there is a significance to it because I googled, but still … penises aren’t that pretty to display on the streets of adorable Crete.

I really want to tell you Crete is terrible and never to travel to Balos because it’s so overrated because I want to keep it my secret forever… but I guess I would be defeating the purpose of this blog. Crete is my homegirl, my beaut, my little boo boo…

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Transportation in Greece is relatively easy. Between taxis, planes, rental cars, ATVs, scooters and ferries you can pretty much get all over the country pretty easily.

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Places Stayed:

1. Athens – Acropolis Select Hotel (email me for link) $$$
2. Mykonos – airbnb (email me for link) $$
3. Santorini – airbnb (email me for the links) $$
4. Crete – Shalom Luxory Rooms, Chania $$$

Places to See: Balos Beach (Crete), Perissa (Santorini), Emporio (Santorini), Santos Wines Winery (Santorini), Elfanisi Beach (Crete), Ornos Beach (Mykonos) , Paradise Beach (Mykonos), Scorpio (Club-Mykonos)

Purpose of Trip: Explore