Greece

I felt as at home in Greece as I have ever felt anywhere. My trip was split into two parts.

Part one: alone on Sifnos, an island in the Cyclades. My first solo trip, which changed the way I travel. Sifnos is unassuming and wildly serene. When I wasn’t wandering through shops, alleys, or the foothills between towns, I ate caper salads and pastries with names I could not pronounce and tomatoes from the bed of a pickup truck. Writing and swimming and living simply with the smell of anise and saltwater in the air. With only the local horses and a notebook for company.

Part two: sailing with my seven closest friends for seven days. It was a boutique festival on water, no showers and all. We spent long nights in port towns and woke up each morning sailing to the next island. Sticky with champagne and sea. Here, in the Aegean, I was free.