We sent our save-the-dates two weeks ago, and so I think it’s about time I posted some pictures! They were designed by Atheneum Creative, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they turned out. We picked two custom logos for our stationary – one of them is shown on the wooden bottle below. I am currently “AS” and Sasha is “ASP” (Alexander Sasha Petrovic), and so we’ll become ASP on July 19. We have called each other ASP for awhile now, so we wanted to incorporate this into our logo. Now I cannot wait to help design the invitations!
Wedding Welcome Bags
I was recently flipping through Martha Stewart Wedding’s Destination Weddings magazine when I realized I don’t know what we’re going to put in the welcome bags in our guest’s hotel rooms. Granted, we have five months to decide, but I know the time will fly by, so I’m trying to make big decisions as early as possible. For inspiration, I scoured Etsy, asked friends who had recently gotten married for ideas, and racked my brain for Napa-inspired gifts. I created an assortment of ideas below – we definitely won’t put all of these treats in there, but hopefully our guests will love their hospitality bags anyway!
coasters here // linen bags here // luggage tags here // wine bottle stopper here // wine label here
Church with the Corinthians
Today is our last day in Greek, and we were picked up early by Manos for a private tour of Corinth, which is about an hour and a half away from Athens. The drive west was absolutely breathtaking, as we followed the coast nearly the entire way. We stopped to take a picture at the Corinth Canal, then made our way to the Greek Orthodox Church of Corinth, where we went inside and witnessed a real Corinthian service. We’re going through the book of 1 Corinthians at Bayou City Fellowship right now, so I was nerding out the whole time. We drove through the city looking at ruins, then rode up to the top of the highest mountain where we walked through the fortress that protected the Corinthians for thousands of years. Next was the wine tastings – my favorite. Our favorite place was Palivou Estate, where the wine tasted like magic. We bought the biggest bottle (against my best traveling/luggage-weight-limit judgement) of their award winning Ammos Reserve. After the tastings, we went to the ruins of the Mycenaens. The cave we entered was built in the 12th CE B.C., which is ancient. We headed for a late lunch after seeing the tomb of Agamemnon (in the movie Troy), then trekked back to Athens, winding along the water. Exhausted after lots of walking, we’re packing and getting ready for Paris, as our flight leaves at 6:45 AM. The City of Lights on Christmas Eve – my dream come true!
Sasha’s meal is cooking on the fire behind him…
I love this country
Mycenaen ruins – built over 3,000 years ago
Because we were tired of regular, boring poses
Merry Christmas – we bought the barrel
We had to stop the car because of sheep crossing…
Our favorite wine at Palivou Estate
Looking down on Agememnon’s cave at the bottom
Atop the Corinthian Fortress
The Corinthian Church – loved experiencing this!
The Corinth Canal
And finally – the Parthenon
Our final day in Athens proved just as busy as the others, as we visited the last of the “must sees.” We ate lunch at Thanasis, which was the most Greek restaurant so far, and the meal was absolutely delicious (see pictures below). If only the house wine in the states tasted this good! We entered the Kapnikarea Church in the Monastiraki area, where we paid tribute to the living and the dead in true Orthodox manner. Afterwards, we walked up to the Parthenon, which is truly breathtaking. It was very cold and windy today, so we stopped by Piazza Duomo for coffee (Sasha went Irish, naturally). Then we walked another 2 miles (uphill, oh heavens) to the highest point in Athens – Mt. Lycabettus. We were winded when we got to the top, but it was worth it for the views. We drank tea and coffee at the restaurant, then rode the funicular to the base and wandered through the Kolonaki area on the way back to the hotel. Another amazing day – wine tour in Corinth tomorrow!
Sasha, loving his Greek beer, ready for the most authentic meal yet at Thanasis
The spicy green peppers proved too hot for my darling (a true Semple “man down”)
The most beautiful Greek salad ever
Amidst renovations of the Parthenon, with his man purse
An amazing view of Athens from the Acropolis
We finally made it to the Parthenon (but almost didn’t for the third time…)
Sasha with Mount Lycabettus in the background – our next challenge – which we conquered
Greek history everywhere you look – such an amazing city
A wet and windy day doesn’t damper our traveling spirits 🙂
A lot bigger than you think – a true Kodak moment
I loved the Turkish flag pic so much, I had to…
The entrance to the Acropolis
Deep thoughts atop Mount Lycabettus (we climbed up more than a mile, as we didn’t see the funicular – oh boy)
My wilderness man at the restaurant on top of Mt. Lycabettus
City as far as you can see
St. George Church on top of Mt. Lycabettus (highest point in Athens) – destination wedding?
Wind like you’ve never felt before
And finally, two iPhone pics:
5 o’clock somewhere – Irish coffee time
Opa!
I’ve always wanted to go to the Greek Festival in Houston, and when one of my best friends, Patrick, said he was interested in going to, I was elated. The weather was perfect (apparently 80 degrees – felt hotter), the music was lively, and the wine (oh the Greek wine!) was delicious. So much so, in fact, that Pat and I drank the whole bottle while sitting on a shaded section of the curb, catching up on life. I cannot wait to go again next year – I’ll probably go at night so I can listen to the live music.
And my favorite (on Instagram) – our empty bottle! Opa!
