Greece

It is hard to describe the way a country can smell so good. It's the hanging vines of jasmine, roses, the anise in the national drink called ouzo, thyme, rosemary, and other unidentifiable herbs.

I met up with Marion and Yiorgos in Athens (the Acropolis/Parthenon and archaeological museum are impressive) then took a ferry to Crete (the old port at Hania is adorable). From there I made my way to Santorini and the spectacular town of Oia perched on the edge of a volcanic caldera.

The week yachting around the Cyclades Islands was a huge disappointment, mostly because my captain turned out to be one of the most unpleasant people I met in the past year (that says a lot about him but nothing about Greeks -- he is French). Yiorgos warned me that I might not get along with the other passengers... I never dreamed that it would be the skipper who turned out to be a nightmare!

After Mykonos I headed back to the mainland, with stops in the lush Pelion Peninsula and breathtaking Meteora (monasteries built atop rock pinnacles). Now I'm at my final destination in Northern Greece: the second largest city of Thessaloniki. Tonight I head to Sofia, Bulgaria.