EXPLORING CRETE GREECE

Greece has been on my travel bucket list for years now, so when my friend Kate and I decided to book our first girly holiday together back in April I knew I would end up in Greece. We found an amazing deal through Langley Travel at the Seaside Resort & Spa on the beautiful island of Crete.

With the countdown finally on until our Grecian getaway, Kate decided to show me the classic film Shirley Valentine for inspiration and in hope that we would find our dream men on holiday. Little did I know I’d meet my boyfriend weeks before we’d go away!

We flew with Easyjet, it was a three and a half hour flight which went really quickly and we even got to try out Easyjet’s updated planes which are actually more comfortable and modern (still no in-flight entertainment though!). We arrived on Wednesday 14th June to Crete around 10pm and headed straight to our hotel which was about a half an hour transfer by car.

Kate and I couldn’t wait to wake up the next day and explore our little piece of paradise for the next week. I ended up waking up at 6am and exploring the pool area and even managed to bag our sunloungers for the day. We both knew we wanted a relaxing and luxurious holiday and the Seaside Resort & Spa certainly delivered this. Throughout the week we spent most of our time by the pool, sunbathing, swimming, drinking cocktails and eating we literally didn’t have to move a muscle! The staff at the resort were so friendly, accommodating and really made our experience five star. The all-inclusive food in the restaurant was fantastic, but I did find myself having the same things after a week. I would have liked more themed nights and more variety in general. I was also gutted to have only had my favourite Greek Halloumi cheese once on holiday.

The views surrounding the resort were simply breathtaking, we were surrounded by incredible mountains and overlooked the sea entirely. Kate and I made a joke of saying all we did each day was stare, simply because the scenery was so relaxing and stunning. One of the evening’s we headed down to the pool bar as there were some traditional dancers performing, this was another great evening and gave us a taste of real Greek culture.

On one of the bad weather day’s which to be fair only meant a bit of cloud, we decided to rent a car from our hotel reception and go exploring for the day. We were really lucky with the weather throughout our stay with only one cloudy day. I’m so glad we did this day out as we discovered, even more beauty amongst the Crete mountains. We ended up going to one of the oldest monastery’s for some culture, then on to the beautiful Lappa Springs in Argyroupolis where we had the most delicious Grecian lunch. Finally, on our way home, we stumbled across a picturesque beach along the main road so we couldn’t resist stopping and topping up our already golden tans. 

I would hand on heart say that our trip to Greece has been my favourite holiday in a long while. Not only was it a week of relaxing, recharging, motivating myself and working on my mindset. Greece changed me, it stole my heart and reminded me of how much I love to travel and experience the beauty of this world. I got to share some incredible experiences and grow closer to Kate, I got to share these memories with my new man (still feels weird to say that!) and Selina & Isabella through Facetime. Also, with all of you wonderful lot through my YouTube videos. It was the perfect holiday to start a new phase in my life and I couldn’t feel more blessed if I tried.

The best surprise of our adventure was while I was away, the Dorset Echo Industry awards were being announced and I was up for two awards. Kate Facetimed us into the ceremony as her family were attending anyway, and I was thrilled to win Best Social Media Marketing 2017 and be a finalist for Best Women in Business 2017. It certainly made this holiday one to remember and although I didn’t want to leave Greece and was contemplating doing a Shirley Valentine, I couldn’t wait to come home and celebrate all these incredible moments with all my loved ones. So I hope you have enjoyed seeing my Greek videos and this blog post, and I will see you for my next Travel diary very soon…

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself” – Cloud Atlas