After spending about a week island hopping (from Santorini to Ios to Naxos and Paros), I headed up to the northern region of Greece known as Epirus to visit family. This rugged mountainous region is located near Albania and is where my grandparents were both from. The landscape here is breathtaking.

One of the stops I made was to the church of my great-grandfather. In the Orthodox faith, priest can be married as long as they are married before they are ordained. In fact, the Pap prefix in a Greek last name means that you had a priest in your family.

Inside the church, the iconography is faded, but you can still see the craftsmanship that went into even this simple village church. 

A common traffic jam in the village…sheep crossing!

Although my grandparents both came from very tiny villages, I also have relatives in the coastal town of Preveza. This area is notable for being near the site of the Battle of Actium in which Mark Anthony was defeated. This Venetian clocktower has been the emblem of the city since the 1700s.

Walking along the quiet streets, there are plenty of cafes and small stores to stop in. Because Preveza is a coastal town, there is also great seafood!

After a few days up north, I headed back to Athens for one last night before flying home. I still had a few souvenirs to find, so back to the Plaka. The Tower of the Winds, above, is a really fascinating building. Each motif represents a different wind direction and the temperament the ancient Greeks gave it.  

As night started to fall, my time in Greece was coming to a close. Here is the view of the Acropolis from Monastraki Square.

Final sunset on my Greece trip.