Greece

Our "be out of the country around the election" trip to Portugal (pics to come) and Greece (with a connection in Istanbul and an overnight layover in London - so technically, four new countries for me) was our least-favorite European trip. That's not saying much, given that every other trip was amazing.

The events back in the United States weighed on us, but not as much as if we had been home. So: success? 

Beyond that, though, we realized that we don't generally like cities. As much as we love Rick Steves as a person, his recommendations are often the opposite of what we want to do.

Athens sprawled in the background...

Luckily for the peak-end effect, our last day was by far the best, spending it with activists and musicians Eleni and Rob (above), whom we've known for decades but not spent much time with in person before they moved to Athens. So much fun and laughter! (It was also nice to finally meet Jonathan Leighton of the Organization for the Prevention of Intense Suffering.)
 

This is Santorini (a Greek island where most of the pictures below were taken) - fancy new development for tourists, but just behind the wall....

Google put the photos below in reverse chronological order. Oh well.

Our A350 back to the States from London.
10 flights on this trip, all but two on points and miles.
Turkish had the best vegan food; Air France the worst (by a lot). I honestly think the French find the word "vegan" insulting.

 

Athena in a lovely Athens park.

Athens is like a sea of humanity lapping up onto the hills of Greece.

The Parthenon, the main attraction at the Acropolis. 
But honestly, we don't generally care about "old" stuff....

If you only saw curated pictures, you would think Santorini is one of the most beautiful places on earth. This and all the following pictures are from there.

We stayed in an apartment complex in a small village well outside the main tourist areas. Other than us, the people in the building were locals. This picture was taken in that village, cropped to hide the trash in the foreground. 

The first grocery we went to was a vegan wasteland. But the second was great!

The "OK" Rock.

"Cat's back on the menu, boys!"

We walked 10+ miles on the first full day.

So many cats. But not as many as Istambul, as far as I understand.

These islands are the rim of a mostly-underwater volcano. 

People go apeshit for the sunset, and, as you can see - nice.
But not worth the mobs in season.