I’ve come to realize something in my travels: the first time I do something, it’s stressful because it’s unknown. I make mistakes. I ask bumbling questions. But if I pay attention, the second time gets a lot easier. This applies to getting around in Santorini.
Choosing Megalochori as my first landing pad on my trip to Santorini was a wise one, though I couldn’t have known when I spent hours looking at dozens of those charming Cycladic houses looking for just the right one to rent back in San Diego.
When people ask me what angle I take with my travel blog, I tell them I am to live like a local wherever I am. Admittedly, I still do touristy things, but I find every opportunity to experience life like people who live here do. Despite Santorini, Greece, being incredibly popular with the tourists (about 2 million of us go here a year), I’m finding ways to get at least a slice of local living.
If you want to dive into local cuisine and culture, one of the best things you can do is take a cooking class when you travel. This one was organized by our tour guide in Genova, Italy, at Creattivando (if you go, tell Mario and Cristina hi!). We made pesto in a mortar and pestle, handmade pasta, and a few other dishes. As we were led through the preparation process, we learned about Italian meal traditions (many nonnas still cook a big Sunday meal, but they take more shortcuts now) and cuisines. I left, sated, both from the food I helped make…