An open-letter to my husband: Happy 9 years!

Time flies.. It's 26 October again!

It's 4am now in Israel time. 

Happy Anniversary! 

It has been 3 years since our wedding and 9 years in relationship with you... 

Looking forward to our a decade milestone next year! 

Though this is our 3rd wedding anniversary, it's the first time that we are going to celebrate this day physically together. 

Remember.. on our first anniversary, you were posted overseas for work. On our 2nd anniversary, after Aedan was born, you flew to Israel for your studies. Finally.. finally this year we are going to celebrate this special day together and with our baby! :) 

Though we are 9 years in a relationship... it felt like we just got together not too long ago. I can still remember the feeling when we first started, and the many fights we had on our differences to when I learnt to accept that you are not a romantic person but rather a very logical one which our relationship works better with clear instruction rather than playing the guessing game. And of course those memorable near breakup moments.. I'm glad that we stay committed to each other. 

I am a believer that we shouldn't try to change our partner but I realized that being with you for such a long time, you have inevitably influenced me. You have inspired me to be ideal. Though you clearly know that you are not good with romantic tricks, you never stop trying to be my ideal partner by making little surprises on special occasions .. just because you knew that I like it.  

You have taught me to be ideal too and to see the good things in people and life.

Thanks for providing many good things and memories in my life.

Thanks for tolerating my bossy behaviour :p 

Thanks for being such a strong pillar of support and showering me with your unwavering love. 

9 years together. From being good friend to dating to being in a relationship to marriage to being parents now...living in a new country and travelling the world with our baby, my life feels complete with you. 

But I believe it's still only the beginning as we have a lifetime to share. There are still so many things that we are going to experience together... I hope that we will continue to complement each other and be each other's support in good times and bad times. 

Thank you for loving me and everything. 

Happy Anniversary!! 

I ❤️ U,

Mommy eve

13 things to do in Athens

To chronicle the memories of our recent Europe trip, I'm finally blogging it down before I forget about everything. 

In my previous travel post, I blogged about our pre trip planning with useful tips on where to book value-for-money flights, accommodations and how to stay connected in Athens, Santorini and Italy. 

Today, I'll start with blogging on our first stop - Athens. 

Sharing with you our travel memories with 13 things to do in Athens. 

Arrival night:

It was night time when we arrived at Athens, we took a cab from the airport to our accommodation. Our host, Evangelic, was a super host. When we arrived at the airport, I texted her and she was fast in responding to my messages. She advised me on the various modes of transport to her accommodation. She was really nice and even agreed to wait for us on the street in case we couldn't locate the place. The taxi fares were indicated at the taxi stand - a flat fee of 38 euro before midnight and 50 euro after midnight. However, after we board onto the cab, the cab driver increased the cab fare and reasoned that the place was very far away and not around the region for this flat fare rate.. bla bla bla. These were all lies for them to earn extra from us. Luckily, after we arrived, our host argued with the driver and we paid him the flat fee. 

Here's my advice for the 13 things to do in Athens 

1. Stay with a local 

We were super glad when we arrived at our accommodation. It was so pretty, spacious and cozy. We were really happy as we got to enjoy our private space with the entire house to ourselves and also the privilege of having a local host who stayed next door that shared travel tips with us. Best of both worlds.

Our host was very helpful and showed us the list of food, eateries and attractions to visit! 

2. Get a local sim card 

The first thing on our list was to visit the Cosmote mobile shop to get a SIM card. We felt handicapped without internet connectivity so it's a must to get on our first day. We bought a 3 GB data plan for 15 Euro (could not remember the amount of talk time and messages as our main interest was the mobile data to access to Internet). 

3. Eat breakfast like a local 

There were many bakeries in Athens and they served local pastries and delights such as Kataifi which are extremely sweet but something that we have to try in Athens.

Throughout our trip in Athens, every morning, we look forward to our breakfast from a local bakery recommended by our host. 

The shop have a wide variety of sweet delights, pastries, cakes, sandwiches and they sell coffee and drinks too. 

4. Visit the Syntagma square 

On our first day, we took a metro to Syntagma where we visited the the Syntagma square and saw the Hellenic parliament.

5. Enjoy nature walk at the National Garden & visit the Zappeio 

On our way to the Temple of Zeus, we walked through the National Garden to hide from the scorching sun. It was peaceful and nice to walk through the park. There were even people mediating and sleeping underneath the trees. 

6. Visit and capture moments at the Temple of Olympiad Zeus 

7. Visit Acropolis Museum before climbing the Acropolis 

It's a MUST DO thing to climb the Acropolis when you visit Athens. 

Acropolis is a historic site which you can climb all the way up to see Pantheon and other historical structures. To make your climb more meaningful, I suggest to visit the Acropolis Museum first. 

At the top floor of the museum, there is video screening of the history of Acropolis. I'll advise you to watch the video as it summarizes the history so it's easier to digest.

Admission fee to the museum is 5 Euro per person. 

Admission fee to Acropolis is 20 Euro

Link to the Acropolis museum: http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en

8. Walk and take pictures along the beautiful streets at Plaka area

9. Shop around Plaka, Ermou street and the many streets where I cannot remember the names. 

Walk the area and explore the streets yourselves!

10. Eat souvlaki like a local 

You can never miss having a Souvlaki in Greece. It's a MUST! 

Souvlaki (stick meat) with or without a pita bread. 

Places for Souvlaki: 

Meatropoleos 3
Kolokotroni 39
Kostas at Agia Irini square
Savvas
Tylixto

11. Watch sunset wherever you are 

12. Watch the night view of Acropolis from a rooftop restaurant. 

There are many restaurants near to the Acropolis which allow you to dine at their rooftop for this stunning view. 

Restaurants with rooftop view:

A for Athens
360 Degrees
Cityzen
Couleur Locale

13. Visit the many other historic sites to take more pictures

Other historic sites:

Ancient Agora

Temple of Hephaistos

AgII Apostoli

Stoa of Attalos

Roman Agora

Hadrian's Arch 

With love,

Mommy eve

All photos are credited to Twentysixoctober