Some of the most powerful memories of my childhood are the scent of the leather seat of our car, the air coming in through the window and my parents’ stories to keep me and my sister from fighting in the back seat...

My body and mind traveled for years in that car. It took us to countless parts of Greece,all connected to stories that I never forgot. This is how I created my own treasure map of Greece, in my heart and mind.Years passed, the car changed, my seat in it changed, some of the places changed too, but my love for travel & discovery never changed. So when Covid hit in 2020 and traveling was no longer possible, Tina's idea to create Back to the Routes got me back on track.

And so we created these road trips, going back to the places we loved as children and others we discovered later, all full of stories and people that make up the mosaic of Greece and our understanding of the Greek culture. Although we won't be with you on the road, you ‘ll have our words, our tips, our stories, to keep you company.

You’ll have everything you need to create your own treasure map of Greece.

As with mostly everything in my childhood, traveling was a ground of contradiction: From one side, my mother’s love for new places and experiences and from the other, my father’s love for familiar and known things. I sided with my mother.

It was the trips I did with her that opened the door to enthusiasm for the new and the unexpected. Growing up, I continued to open closed doors and explore new worlds. But I wanted to share my findings, so Alternative Athens and Back to the Routes were born. Both sprung in times of desolation, one during the 2010 financial crisis and the other during the 2020 Covid pandemic.

Back to the Routes is my journey not into the new this time, but back to simple things that really matter in life: family, friends, real food, unspoiled nature. It’s all the things I grew up with in Greece, a country of great contradictions, but still blessed in so many ways.

I hope our Routes will help you take a new look at all the things that matter in your life too.

Enjoy the ride!