In only a few words it would be difficult to describe how my and my family’s life was indelibly effected by our experience with Eudaimonia, and most particularly, with Nikos. Having said that I would need to wax on for a bit. To start with, this was the first time in many years of travel together as a family, that we opted to utilize the services of someone else in the process of travel and sight seeing abroad. Typically it is I, whom on our trips, navigates the terrain; on foot and one the road. Having recently been diagnosed with a condition that often leaves me feeling exhausted and significantly limits my ability to walk for long periods, I had decided to look into alternate options. We as a family have always shied away from formal tour guides and tour-based experiences due to notable reasons. Primarily, as a family we tend to be more private people and often would prefer on vacation to spend our time together, intimately enjoying each other’s company; not having to negotiate the preferences of a large tour group. Additionally, rather than have our sightseeing experiences become more about “the facts and figures” of the moment and location, we would much prefer to allow the moment to unfold in the wonder and beauty of the spontaneous encounter, either with the people and or the land that has welcomed us into its arms.
Having discovered Eudaimonia on TripAdvisor, reading a review of someone else’s experience, and how the services provided under the attention and care of their driver, had such a positive impact, I decided to investigate. Immediately as soon as I established email communication, I felt reassured that my needs would be understood and our particular interests would be prioritized. This could not have been more true. As our trip and experience in Greece evolved over time, so enamored we became, by the safety, convenience and efficiency of our newly discovered traveling means and the wonderfully pleasant, amiable and most accommodating nature of our driver, Nikos, soon to become friend, that we extended our plans under his guidance making for the most memorable and intimate experience of Grecian culture, food, the land and it’s people. The options all along the way, to personalize our trip, to alter our plans, and/or to temporarily detour into an impromptu inclination, allowed our trip to enfold more effortlessly and efficiently; spending much more time taking it all in, rather than feeling expended. As anyone with traveling teenagers knows, it can be difficult sometimes, accommodating their often precarious temperaments, especially while vacationing: it could be a challenging undertaking to be in the car with a teenager for long road trips. Not only did our son feel at home, but we found him often more readily inclined to do more and venture further than we would typically expect: testimony to the effort our driver made to have him feel comfortable and a part of the journey.
Any and all reservations we may have had prior to engaging in our private, self-guided tour experience, quickly vanished within the warmth and glow of our epic journey into the heart of Greece. Not wanting to miss the many seminal places of both legend and history, and most importantly, wanting to experience the place Grecians call “home”, and of which they are so rightfully, delightfully and invitingly proud, there could have been no other way that this could have so seamlessly and joyfully unfolded, even in a dream, than with our newly discovered friend, Nikos and the marvelously unique service he and his company provide.