Athens, Greece

I've been lucky enough to have visited Athens, Greece on two occasions so far in my lifetime. On back-to-back years, in fact.

Athens is an amazing city. It's full of rich history with places like the Parthenon,  the Temple of Zeus and the Panathenaic Olympic Stadium.

Upon visiting Athens for the first time, I was struck by the amazing history as well as the size of the city. I thought it was huge. Luckily, we were able to easily navigate through the city with the metro.

During my second visit into the city - I had been planning on getting lost a few times, but I found that I was able to easily navigate my way without many problems. It was as if the city had shrunk. Or maybe I simply knew my away around and was able to navigate much better the second time around.

Either way, there's so much to see in Athens. I enjoy taking beach days while in Athens. Entire days spent in the Mediterranean sun, soaking up the rays and wading in the sea.

I also like visit the historical sites and learn more history. Everywhere you turn, almost literally, there's an ancient monument or historical artifact to look at. There are plenty of museums to visit as well, containing even more historical artifacts.

Once you're done enjoying all of the various sites - be sure to take a minute to just sit and relish the environment that you're in.

The cost of living in Athens is incredibly cheap. The economy isn't doing too well, and the locals love Americans because of it. They're always encouraging tourists to spend money on souvenirs.

I prefer to spent most of my money on the food, however. The lamb souvlaki is superb coming from its origin point.

I absolutely plan on visiting Greece, specifically Athens, again in the very near future - if only for the cheap cost of living, food and beaches. The historical aspect of the city is the icing on the cake for me. Athens is a perfect getaway while vacationing through Europe.