The Greek Star l the week of December 18, 2014 www.thegreekstar.com

By Diane Adam

The weather is cold here in Chicago and visions of jetting off to someplace warm is only a dream for many. But for Joanna Kalafatis it is a life she has lived since childhood.

Kalafatis is a 25-year-old actress, writer, and frequent traveler. According to her website Go Road Trippin’ she explains she is trying to set up her ideal life, “namely, exploring the world and going on adven-tures while doing what I love.”

Her blog is a creative and worthy read that she hopes “inspires and helps people to do the same — travel and live their dream!” Log on to her website at goroad-trippin.com and her blog will inspire you to jet off to that next vacation destination you long to visit.

I recently caught up with Kalafatis to find out more about her recent trip to attend the international travel blogging conference (TBEX) in Athens and well—all things travel.

Q: Where are your parents from: My dad is from Lefkada, while my mom’s family is from

Pilos (on her dad’s side) and Syros (on her mom’s side).

Q: What do you love most about your heritage? I still feel very connected to Greece even after having been

gone for so many years, which is probably why I head back all the time. I love my Greek heritage because I believe there is a very unique sense of community between Greeks, and we are always willing to lend a hand to friends and family. Also, learn-ing about Greek history led to me becoming very interested in ancient civilizations in general, which helped kickstart my inter-est to travel and see the world’s ancient heritage sites.

Q: You recently went to the TBEX in Athens. What is the mood like in Athens? The mood in Athens is very mixed at the moment. People are

still reeling from the crisis, and there is a lot of frustration with the economic climate and with politicians in general. However, there is definitely still a hope, especially among the travel and

tourism community present at TBEX, that things will get better, and that the travel industry can hopefully play quite a large role in improv-ing economic conditions. A lot of the travel bloggers and writers at the confer-ence were amazed with the alternative side of Athens in neighborhoods like Gkazi, presented through local tour guides from the conference, and quite a lot of the ones I spoke to fell in love with the energy of the city, even the chaos that characterizes

some neighborhoods today.

Q: You even got sent on a press trip to Meteora. How was it?The press trip to Meteora was great and wonderfully organized

by the local tourism board, Visit Meteora. I was there with about 10 other non-Greek bloggers, most of whom had never heard of Meteora, and they were blown away by the beauty and the history of the area. The locals and the representatives from the tourism board were very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about Meteora’s environment and history, and they managed to convey their enthusiasm for the beauty of Meteora to the travel bloggers present. This resulted in a lot of coverage of a region that is less known than it should be in international circles, and hopefully will result in a boost to the area’s tourism.

Travel blogger Joanna Kalafatis inspires others

Joanna Kalafatis during one of her many adventures.

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www.thegreekstar.com The Greek Star l the week of December 18, 2014

Q: You mention that travel involves seeing where the road takes you, when did you experience your first travels?

I have had a passport since I was 6 months old, and had been to several countries by the time I graduated high school thanks to my parents’ love of traveling, which they passed on to me. However, the first travels that really stand out in my mind are from my study abroad trip in my junior year of college. I spent two months in Sao Paulo and Curitiba, Brazil, and two months in Cape Town, South Africa. The reason this trip stands out in my mind so much is that I got to spend a lot of time getting to know the cities and the people around me, since my stays were long and I lived with local families. That’s when I realized, not only did I want to spend the rest of my life traveling, but I wanted to get to know my destinations through local eyes as much as possible.

Q: Travel doesn’t always have to be glitzy. How do you find those deals that make a trip worthwhile?

I find that traveling like a local as much as possible actually helps keep travel affordable. Sites like CouchSurfing let you stay with local hosts for free, so you get to learn about the city from someone who’s spent their whole life there, and as a bonus, free

accomodation! Also, using AirBnB to temporarily rent some-one’s home, especially in expensive cities throughout the world, can actually be a much cheaper alternative than paying for a hotel.

For airfare and tour deals, the best thing to do is follow your favorite airline companies and tour organizers on social media, and get on their e-mail subscriber list. That way, if they have a flash sale or ultra-cheap deals, which sometimes may only be available for 24 hours or only sent to their subscribers, you’ll know about it right away.

Q: What is your top travel destination during the Christmas season? If you can’t decide on one, what are the top two.

I know it’s a cliche, but for me, there’s no place like New York at Christmas. The whole city lights up, ice skating rinks pop up all over town, and even born-and-raised New Yorkers seem cheerier than usual. If you’re extra lucky, you’ll get a light snowfall to make your Christmas extra special. As for the place I most want to go that I have not yet visited for Christmas, it would have to be Moscow, Russia. If you can brave the cold, it’s sup-posed to be an absolutely magical experience.

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