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Kalispera & Kala Christougenna!
It's hard to believe another year has almost come to an end. As I look back on the year that was, I can't help but be grateful for so many things, not the least of which was spending over 9 weeks in Greece.
During that time, I visited 15 islands and multiple destinations on the mainland in the Peloponnese, Attica, and Pelion regions. We shared our adventures with 12 friends from back home and made lots of new ones. I also had the pleasure of meeting many followers, listeners, and readers, and I attended a conference with many of my peers.
In 2023, the website had over 1.1 million unique views, the Facebook Group welcomed 35,000 new members, the podcast had 78,000 downloads, and there were over 120,000 new followers on social media. I started on TikTok in March and quickly gained 36,000 followers—something that still wigs me out. People told me it's not my demographic, but 65% of those people are over 40!
AI became a thing in 2023, and I do use it now myself for research, but it is often riddled with errors. The human experience still reigns supreme, for now anyway. I did also use it for a few images in this article, for a bit of fun ;-)
We have a house full of guests, as I type, and more arriving on Christmas Day and right through February. Moving to the beach has proven to ensure no lack of company at this time of year. On Christmas day, we will feast on seafood, ham, champagne, salads, and Pavlova, and John will make his famous Pastitsio. This year we are having Naxian Potato Salad, something we got quite hooked on in September.
Knowing I would not get much time at my desk over the festive season, I have been madly churning out content, including a new podcast episode about Naxos, which should be live in a few days, and a bunch of new articles on the website, which you can see below.
I wish you all a safe and joyous holiday period, wherever you are across the globe. If it is not such a happy time for you, I know the perfect antidote can be planning a trip away. And where should that be? Greece of course !
Until next time,
Sandy
As always, don't forget the great planning resources on the website.
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