It was a real blessing to be able to be in Europe, but not have to pay for (cramped) accommodation.

Chris’ parents live in Athens, so we bunked in with them! It meant the kids got loads and loads of Grandpa and Nanna love, affection and cuddles.. and we had the luxury of a big apartment for the kids to roam around. It meant minimal scuffles and fights, plenty of toys and stuff to do, and the bonus of a pet cat Misty to terrorize! I don’t think that poor cat will ever be the same… nor does she have nine lives left. Whoops.

I personally loved the apartment because it was so sun lit and white (just my kinda thing), but what we liked most was the lazy dinners we had there. It was sooo nice to chuck some food on the BBQ, have a fresh salad, crack open some beer/wine, and just sit back and chill out.

The kids really liked it too, they were always well behaved during our lazy dinners at home, and ate well. It’s a bit of a novelty for them to sit outside and eat (we don’t have a balcony at home), and I think they enjoyed that.

Plus, the weather in Greece was perfect in the evenings – balmy with a lovely breeze. And with the sun setting at almost 10PM every night, we felt like we had the whole evening ahead of us!

This was one of the homecooked meals that was simple to make, yet looks award-winning because of the vibrant colours and gorgeous plates. That Greek salad? LIKE NO OTHER. I don’t like Greek salads, and now I realise why – I’ve never had a Greek salad in Greece, which is completely different to Greek salads in Singapore or Australia. The freshness and sweetness of the ingredients, especially the giant tomatoes, is unparalleled!!

We ate Greek salads every. single. day.

This is the outdoor playground just 2 minutes from my in-law’s place. It’s huge, it’s quiet, and my kids loved it. I really liked all the greenery there, and there was also a little bakery selling delicious Greek ham & cheese pies there – incidentally, these are amazing and I’ve only seen them exist in Greece. We ate these almost daily as well. Yum!

I particularly liked how the kids could get us grubby and disgusting as they wanted in the playground, and just walk home and be showered off. No need to worry about getting the inside of the car dirty, or having to clean them up because we were heading straight to lunch!