A Holiday Video Wrap for You

#34

Just a quick hello to share this final holiday video with you.
This past week has been beautifully full — all good things, just a little busy.

Christmas Eve in Sardinia unfolded in the loveliest way: a seafood lunch at a cozy trattoria with a shared bottle of champagne, a quiet stroll through the cathedral at dusk where we witnessed the beginning of a traditional Mass, and our familiar tradition of watching Love Actually.

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Dianna Hanken
Wet Socks, Cruise Ports, and a Little Tired

#33

The pace of this week has been intense. Ports of call every day. Two travel days just to reach our next destination. The unpacking, the grocery run, stocking up for an eight-night stay — and then realizing, after only three nights, that we’ll be moving again. This first stop in Sardinia turned out to be a little too remote and quiet for where our energy is right now and what we’re wanting to experience.

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Dianna Hanken
Exactly What Was Needed

#32

There’s a theme quietly emerging as we continue this adventure — not one I set out to name, but one that keeps revealing itself anyway.

Rainbows.

Not on every island. Not every day. But often enough that I’ve begun to recognize them as markers — gentle arcs reminding me where I am on the journey. Our final days on Crete gifted us one stretching across the vast Mediterranean, soft and luminous against the sky.

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Dianna Hanken
Well, That Didn’t Go as Planned: Our First Epic Fail

#31

Well, I guess there had to be a destination of epic fail during this adventure, and we certainly hit it this week.

The travel off of Naxos to the island of Crete went smoothly. We had the opportunity to travel on many different-sized ferries over the past month — from a large-type speedboat to a mini cruise ship — and there was space and room to roam on every one.

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Dianna Hanken
Nourished by Naxos

#30

This week has brought countless gifts. Tim had traveled to Naxos a few years ago and was excited to return, so I booked us nine nights here to fully enjoy and explore. It was a quick one-hour ferry from Paros, and when we landed in the port town, it felt familiar in that off-season Greek-island way — most restaurants closed, but the shops beginning to glow with early holiday spirit.

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Dianna Hanken
Painted Streets & Peaceful Days in Paros

#29

We traveled this past week from Sifnos to the more populated island of Paros, and then on Saturday continued on to Naxos. (I’ll share more about our stay on Naxos next week!) Serifos and Sifnos have around 1,200 and 2,200 year-round residents respectively, while Paros has closer to 13,000. It is energizing to both of us to be on an island now with more people and activity. The weather in Greece has been warmer than expected, and I’m beyond happy to have clear blue skies and moderate temperatures.

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Dianna Hanken
Just Around the Bend: After the Rain, the Rainbow

#28

Watching sunrises over the islands of Serifos and Sifnos this week, dipping my feet into the Mediterranean, wandering the rugged countryside, and moving at the pace of slow travel — it’s been a week of deep breath and beauty.

On Serifos, I climbed from one hillside to the next, all the way to the far corner of the island where a small white church waited at the top. It took a couple of hours, and halfway through, a sudden rainstorm hit.

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Dianna Hanken
Light, Laughter & the Leap to Greece

#27

What an incredible week of adventure!

When I last wrote, we were wrapping up our time in Sicily — flowing, trusting, and reveling in the beauty and energy of it all.

Monday took us to a family-run candy and chocolate factory, Kirat, where for more than fifty years they’ve been making sweets for Italy.

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Dianna Hanken
Steam, Stone & Stillness in Sicily

#26

More movement. More magic. Another new bed, and more angels along the path.

Our final days in Letojanni brought divine, golden weather, and a day trip to the famed Mount Etna.

Standing at nearly 11,000 feet, it’s the tallest active volcano in Europe and only an hour and a half from where we were staying. I’d been excited to see this natural wonder (and UNESCO World Heritage site), and it did not disappoint. Etna is continuously active, reshaping itself through layers of lava, ash, and rock — always shifting, always alive.

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Dianna Hanken