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Repacking for Greece
When a long-forgotten, apartheid-era arrest record derails Sally’s plans for a Canadian family holiday, she packs her mum’s 1978 travel diary and sets out solo for Greece instead.
As she journeys to the landmarks her mother once visited — and discovers many more — Sally immerses us in Greece’s awe-inspiring landscapes and fascinating heritage sites. She delights in absorbing the country’s rich history and connecting the dots between legend, location and contemporary literature.
Insightful, intelligent and with an infectious sense of wonder, Sally embraces a gentler approach to travel: facing her fears, abandoning old anxieties, and finding joy in the simple pleasures of her own Greek odyssey.
The second release in the 'Packing for Greece' series travels to Athens and Delphi on the mainland; Nafplio, Mycenae, Epidavros and Methana on the Peloponnese Peninsula; and the islands of Hydra, Aegina, Poros, Kefalonia and Corfu (with a side trip to Albania).
As she journeys to the landmarks her mother once visited — and discovers many more — Sally immerses us in Greece’s awe-inspiring landscapes and fascinating heritage sites. She delights in absorbing the country’s rich history and connecting the dots between legend, location and contemporary literature.
Insightful, intelligent and with an infectious sense of wonder, Sally embraces a gentler approach to travel: facing her fears, abandoning old anxieties, and finding joy in the simple pleasures of her own Greek odyssey.
The second release in the 'Packing for Greece' series travels to Athens and Delphi on the mainland; Nafplio, Mycenae, Epidavros and Methana on the Peloponnese Peninsula; and the islands of Hydra, Aegina, Poros, Kefalonia and Corfu (with a side trip to Albania).
- GenresTravel
242 pages, Paperback
Published April 20, 2024
21 people are currently reading
641 people want to read
About the author
Sally Jane Smith
5 books43 followersSally Jane Smith is the author of Unpacking for Greece (June 2023) and Repacking for Greece (April 2024). She has lived on five continents and visited thirty-four countries, but she gives credit to Greece for turning her into a writer.
Sally’s story of her great-great-grandmother’s extraordinary life appears in the anthology Itchy Feet: Tales of Travel and Adventure. Her exploration of travel and grief is included in the Newcastle Short Story Award Anthology 2022.
Sally's first book, Unpacking for Greece, was selected by Greek News Agenda (a Greek government website) as Book of the Month for July 2023, and was awarded first place in the 'Prose in English' category of the Greek-Australian Cultural League 2024 Book Awards.
Her second release, Repacking for Greece, was shortlisted for a Society of Women Writers NSW book award in 2024.
Sally’s story of her great-great-grandmother’s extraordinary life appears in the anthology Itchy Feet: Tales of Travel and Adventure. Her exploration of travel and grief is included in the Newcastle Short Story Award Anthology 2022.
Sally's first book, Unpacking for Greece, was selected by Greek News Agenda (a Greek government website) as Book of the Month for July 2023, and was awarded first place in the 'Prose in English' category of the Greek-Australian Cultural League 2024 Book Awards.
Her second release, Repacking for Greece, was shortlisted for a Society of Women Writers NSW book award in 2024.
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April 27, 2025DNF .... just wasn't my thing, then a ding dong moment, I'm not interested in Greece, just wondering also, I liked book 1 better, maybe the author should have stayed in Greece instead of repacking to go to Greece.
Oh well another bites the dust readers.... onto the next book, definitely going to enjoy it because I'm back in Aussie land, although this author is from Aussie, maybe she should have written, packing to go to Aussie. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Oh well another bites the dust readers.... onto the next book, definitely going to enjoy it because I'm back in Aussie land, although this author is from Aussie, maybe she should have written, packing to go to Aussie. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
August 29, 2024
Unable to go to Canada as planned, Smith returned to Greece for the second time in just one year. Traveling with her mother’s little red diary, Smith retraced her mother’s path and forged a deep connection with her late mother. I found myself immersed in the culture and enchanting Greek legends of this fantastic country I long to explore. Smith found joy as she faced her fears and shared her adventures in this fabulous second book in the Packing for Greece travel series. I thoroughly enjoyed her trips to archaeological sites, character-filled villages, museums, monasteries, chapels, ruins, and so much more—my favorite will always be any story involving a castle, which this book has. And there were even dolphins. The author’s talent for storytelling shines through and having explored thirty-seven countries, I am eagerly anticipating her next literary creation to fill the void I felt after finishing this wonderful book.
March 29, 2025
I very much enjoyed Unpacking for Greece, and after a long winter and in need of some sunshine, I was keen to join the author on the second part of her odyssey to follow in the footsteps of her mother on her trip to the country in the late 1970s.
The detailed guided tour was stunning, with wonderful descriptions of the various ancient sites visited, with a reminder of some of the familiar myths and legends such as the siege of Troy, the world of the gods and goddesses, and some interesting background to the more unfamiliar stories from that era.
From Athens, often by bus, but also by ferry and plane we travel to remote and often difficult to access monuments, up mountains and on islands, ending up at the lovely writing and yoga retreat on Methena where the author received a very warm welcome following her visit the previous year.
This welcome echoed through the trip, with strangers going the extra mile to make sure she felt at home and was cared for.
There is no doubt that even with modern travel options this journey was still a massive undertaking, but apart from Greece, we are invited to share Sally Jane’s life in the two very different countries of South Africa and Sri Lanka which provided even greater challenges as they held some bitter sweet memories.
As a teenager in South Africa in the 1990s the author was heavily involved in the anti-apartheid movement, which resulted in being arrested four times during peaceful demonstrations, and being accepted as participant in the movement by those in traditionally coloured only organisations. That took enormous bravery and willingness to stand up for justice and gives an insight into the intrepid nature of this traveller.
In Sri Lanka she was involved in a catastrophic crash between two buses sustaining life threatening injuries. This explains why taking buses especially on the remote and often perilous roads in Greece, is a nerve-racking and challenging experience. Reading about the kindness and care that she received in Sri Lanka, often from strangers was heart-warming and certainly she is not likely to have had such a positive outcome without it.
Both these experiences and the way Sally Jane Smith responded by being determined to take on this further adventure to Greece, emphasise how very brave she is.
If I was going to visit Greece, I would certainly be taking both the first book and this one with me, as a guide through the labyrinth that is the ancient world, in ruins mostly, but still standing and filled with wonderful fables. It is also a very helpful in understanding the modern Greece and how to navigate travel and the culture.
This is definitely a story of courage and determination as engaging and entertaining as any of the legends of the past, and I highly recommend you discover this for yourself.
The detailed guided tour was stunning, with wonderful descriptions of the various ancient sites visited, with a reminder of some of the familiar myths and legends such as the siege of Troy, the world of the gods and goddesses, and some interesting background to the more unfamiliar stories from that era.
From Athens, often by bus, but also by ferry and plane we travel to remote and often difficult to access monuments, up mountains and on islands, ending up at the lovely writing and yoga retreat on Methena where the author received a very warm welcome following her visit the previous year.
This welcome echoed through the trip, with strangers going the extra mile to make sure she felt at home and was cared for.
There is no doubt that even with modern travel options this journey was still a massive undertaking, but apart from Greece, we are invited to share Sally Jane’s life in the two very different countries of South Africa and Sri Lanka which provided even greater challenges as they held some bitter sweet memories.
As a teenager in South Africa in the 1990s the author was heavily involved in the anti-apartheid movement, which resulted in being arrested four times during peaceful demonstrations, and being accepted as participant in the movement by those in traditionally coloured only organisations. That took enormous bravery and willingness to stand up for justice and gives an insight into the intrepid nature of this traveller.
In Sri Lanka she was involved in a catastrophic crash between two buses sustaining life threatening injuries. This explains why taking buses especially on the remote and often perilous roads in Greece, is a nerve-racking and challenging experience. Reading about the kindness and care that she received in Sri Lanka, often from strangers was heart-warming and certainly she is not likely to have had such a positive outcome without it.
Both these experiences and the way Sally Jane Smith responded by being determined to take on this further adventure to Greece, emphasise how very brave she is.
If I was going to visit Greece, I would certainly be taking both the first book and this one with me, as a guide through the labyrinth that is the ancient world, in ruins mostly, but still standing and filled with wonderful fables. It is also a very helpful in understanding the modern Greece and how to navigate travel and the culture.
This is definitely a story of courage and determination as engaging and entertaining as any of the legends of the past, and I highly recommend you discover this for yourself.
October 6, 2024
I’ve never had the privilege of traveling internationally (I don’t count Canada that was just a 4-hour drive from where I grew up), so I live vicariously through my friends’ travels and reading books. And because I can’t read a series out of order, I found and read the first book before I read this one.
They were both thoroughly written with tons of details and information. I, like the author, prefer to avoid the majority of touristy places when I do travel and go where the locals go. It makes for a more interesting experience. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I enjoyed the first book more than this one.
Thank you to both the author and publisher for a Kindle copy I won in a giveaway.
They were both thoroughly written with tons of details and information. I, like the author, prefer to avoid the majority of touristy places when I do travel and go where the locals go. It makes for a more interesting experience. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I enjoyed the first book more than this one.
Thank you to both the author and publisher for a Kindle copy I won in a giveaway.
September 13, 2025
I read this travel memoir straight after Sally’s first book, “Unpacking for Greece”, and enjoyed it just as much as the first one. To me, this is the second half of one story - it complements the first one extremely well. It was serendipity that she did not get to go to Canada at that time, was then able to undertake another odyssey to Greece and, in so doing, confront and resolve issues from her past. I was riveted by the chapters describing her experiences in South Africa and Sri Lanka, and loved accompanying her as she worked her way through different parts of Greece. My armchair travel experience was 5 star.
May 8, 2024
DNF…nothing inherently wrong with it, I guess, just boring? Imagine the random neighbor down the street pulling you into their house to watch the home videos they filmed out the window as they drove from Missouri to California all while gushing about how life-changing the trip was.
This book gives you a similar feeling. The Greece trip was obviously touching to the author, but why anyone else would be interested wasn’t really answered. The funniest part was when the author (for whom the original trip to Greece was obviously some intense type of impactful) wants to leave a note to the tour guide letting him know that his tours were so meaningful that she’d written a book about them. But for whatever reason, after writing an entire book, couldn’t just say that in a note and instead left the tour guide a vague, “Please contact me, I have something important to tell you.”
I don’t blame the guy for not responding.
What did make it more amusing is I had an aunt visit Greece and the book reads like the daily emails she sent of everything she did every day. A few snippets are kind of interesting, but also…most of it is just…why is this necessary to share? Just live in the moment. Have a meaningful experience…be ok if it doesn’t mean the same thing to someone else.
****
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. All opinions are my own.
This book gives you a similar feeling. The Greece trip was obviously touching to the author, but why anyone else would be interested wasn’t really answered. The funniest part was when the author (for whom the original trip to Greece was obviously some intense type of impactful) wants to leave a note to the tour guide letting him know that his tours were so meaningful that she’d written a book about them. But for whatever reason, after writing an entire book, couldn’t just say that in a note and instead left the tour guide a vague, “Please contact me, I have something important to tell you.”
I don’t blame the guy for not responding.
What did make it more amusing is I had an aunt visit Greece and the book reads like the daily emails she sent of everything she did every day. A few snippets are kind of interesting, but also…most of it is just…why is this necessary to share? Just live in the moment. Have a meaningful experience…be ok if it doesn’t mean the same thing to someone else.
****
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. All opinions are my own.
July 7, 2024
The author starts the book with an interesting story of why she cannot travel to Canada. Due to these travel issues she is instead going to Greece for a second time. A trip her mother took when she was alive, and journaled. As the author embarks on the journey to Greece, she gives great details to everything she is doing, but none of it is very interesting in my opinion. Lot’s of info about Greek history referenced that I do not otherwise know about, and make the book long winded for me. I think this could be a great read for someone who is into Greece and memoirs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2024
A casual informative literary and historical wander through Greece.
Sally Smith has done a lot of research to produce another of her fascinating and informative books not only about present-day Greece but also its history. It’s quite like her earlier travel memoir, Packing for Greece, along with its historical and literary titbits but presented in a slightly more casual way. It’s good to read some back history, of course, but at times I thought there was perhaps just a tad too much of the myths, heroes, and legends of ancient Greece. I wanted to hear even more about the modern Greeks she met as well as those stories of ancient times. Yet that mild wish was overshadowed by her intelligently articulated shared thoughts and feelings, to an extent that we feel we’re slogging up a hill to view a church with her or putting a toe in the Mediterranean and experiencing pure delight.
This memoir tells us the details of the truly terrible bus accident she had some years earlier, which had caused the loss of her wanderlust. With her mother’s tiny red travel diary in hand, she follows in her mother’s footsteps and sees much of what her mother saw but with her own fresh eyes. Does the author regain her wanderlust or is it all too much for her? I encourage you to read this informative book about Greece to find out!
Sally Smith has done a lot of research to produce another of her fascinating and informative books not only about present-day Greece but also its history. It’s quite like her earlier travel memoir, Packing for Greece, along with its historical and literary titbits but presented in a slightly more casual way. It’s good to read some back history, of course, but at times I thought there was perhaps just a tad too much of the myths, heroes, and legends of ancient Greece. I wanted to hear even more about the modern Greeks she met as well as those stories of ancient times. Yet that mild wish was overshadowed by her intelligently articulated shared thoughts and feelings, to an extent that we feel we’re slogging up a hill to view a church with her or putting a toe in the Mediterranean and experiencing pure delight.
This memoir tells us the details of the truly terrible bus accident she had some years earlier, which had caused the loss of her wanderlust. With her mother’s tiny red travel diary in hand, she follows in her mother’s footsteps and sees much of what her mother saw but with her own fresh eyes. Does the author regain her wanderlust or is it all too much for her? I encourage you to read this informative book about Greece to find out!
April 8, 2024
I was lucky to receive an advance reader copy of this memoir, a sequel to Unpacking for Greece. This time the author fully plans her visit in advance, having been tantalised by the country on her previous, somewhat unplanned journey. She again carries with her a diary her mother had made notes in of places she herself had journeyed to and where Sally Jane intends to also visit in an attempt to somehow connect with her mother with whom she had not had a close relationship. On this trip her fear of solo and bus travel are not as acute and she moves from place to place with more confidence. On her way she decides that everyone must forgive and forget words said or left unsaid and the journey is more healing than the first. Her love for the country and its incredibble history shines forth as we travel with her from place to place. The book is a travel journal describing a personal path of someone comng to terms with herself and the life she is living. It is also a homage to Greece, its people and its fascinating history.
April 3, 2024
Repacking for Greece is an endearing book. Smith's voice is heart-warming while at the same time educating us about Greek history as she traces the footsteps of her mother's travel diary.
The writing is excellent -- it goes down like a slippery silky Thai tea. I love the layers of meaning, for example Sally thought she had a passion for travel but finds that her "kefi my passion for life" turns out to be writing.
Smith also recounts the story of growing up in apartheid South Africa and her participation in the system's demise. And flashbacks to a traumatic incident in Sri Lanka adds drama and empathy for Sally as she travels in spite of her fears. Repacking for Greece: A Mediterranean Odyssey
The writing is excellent -- it goes down like a slippery silky Thai tea. I love the layers of meaning, for example Sally thought she had a passion for travel but finds that her "kefi my passion for life" turns out to be writing.
Smith also recounts the story of growing up in apartheid South Africa and her participation in the system's demise. And flashbacks to a traumatic incident in Sri Lanka adds drama and empathy for Sally as she travels in spite of her fears. Repacking for Greece: A Mediterranean Odyssey
April 21, 2024
A must-read for anyone wanting to slow down (and get to know the real Greece!).
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Sally Jane Smith’s observant travel journal, chronicling her adventures in Greece, beautifully captures both unexpectedly fortunate and emotionally poignant moments. She skillfully weaves her mishaps into engaging narratives, keeping me hooked from the very first page.
While I thought I knew quite a bit about Greece, this book was an eye-opener. It transported me to places I didn’t know existed and introduced me to many fine details of the local culture and landscapes.
But this book is more than just a travel narrative. It encourages readers to follow the author’s lead by letting go and embracing the moment. By shedding anxiety and discovering joy in the everyday encounters one can have in Greece, it becomes a must-read not only for lovers of Greece but also for busy minds seeking a moment to slow down. Highly recommended!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Sally Jane Smith’s observant travel journal, chronicling her adventures in Greece, beautifully captures both unexpectedly fortunate and emotionally poignant moments. She skillfully weaves her mishaps into engaging narratives, keeping me hooked from the very first page.
While I thought I knew quite a bit about Greece, this book was an eye-opener. It transported me to places I didn’t know existed and introduced me to many fine details of the local culture and landscapes.
But this book is more than just a travel narrative. It encourages readers to follow the author’s lead by letting go and embracing the moment. By shedding anxiety and discovering joy in the everyday encounters one can have in Greece, it becomes a must-read not only for lovers of Greece but also for busy minds seeking a moment to slow down. Highly recommended!
June 15, 2024
Determined solo traveller
Adaptable, enthusiastic, well-informed, dauntless. These are words that come to mind when reading Repacking for Greece. Jet lag? A change of time-table? A locked gate? Sally adjusts her plans, rejigs her transport, gets up earlier. Aspiring to be a traveller rather than a tourist, she engages with the locals, learning as much as she can about Greek language, cuisine, customs and history. But, after experiencing ‘a few perfect moments’ in a quick side trip to Albania, this self-deprecating guide also resolves ‘to be a loss less snobbish about the dreaded group tour’. Full of thoughtful and heartfelt snippets about saints, monasteries, classical ruins, Alexander the Great, Odysseus and World War II massacres, this book has a lot to offer anyone travelling Greece. Whether you’re planning to visit Meteora, Delphi, Ithaca, or Athens, read this book while you’re packing, and you will find something to enrich your itinerary.
Adaptable, enthusiastic, well-informed, dauntless. These are words that come to mind when reading Repacking for Greece. Jet lag? A change of time-table? A locked gate? Sally adjusts her plans, rejigs her transport, gets up earlier. Aspiring to be a traveller rather than a tourist, she engages with the locals, learning as much as she can about Greek language, cuisine, customs and history. But, after experiencing ‘a few perfect moments’ in a quick side trip to Albania, this self-deprecating guide also resolves ‘to be a loss less snobbish about the dreaded group tour’. Full of thoughtful and heartfelt snippets about saints, monasteries, classical ruins, Alexander the Great, Odysseus and World War II massacres, this book has a lot to offer anyone travelling Greece. Whether you’re planning to visit Meteora, Delphi, Ithaca, or Athens, read this book while you’re packing, and you will find something to enrich your itinerary.
April 29, 2024
A Beautiful Sequel to Unpacking for Greece, Another Must Read for Greece Love
As a traveler who also deeply loves Greece, I found this follow up book to Unpacking for Greece equally as poignant, insightful and lovely as her excellent first book. Sally Jane Smith's colorful description and attention to detail paint such a vivid picture that you can almost feel like you are in hidden little corners of Greece. I want to use both of her books to guide me someday when I plan another journey to Greece. Her books are both very inspiring as the author overcomes great personal challenges in her life, including a near fatal bus crash in Sri Lanka and being denied an entry visa to Canada decades after her arrest for protesting apartheid in South Africa. Sally Smith's beautifully written, brutally honest and insightful storytelling kept me reading all night until I finished the book. I look forward to more from this author.
As a traveler who also deeply loves Greece, I found this follow up book to Unpacking for Greece equally as poignant, insightful and lovely as her excellent first book. Sally Jane Smith's colorful description and attention to detail paint such a vivid picture that you can almost feel like you are in hidden little corners of Greece. I want to use both of her books to guide me someday when I plan another journey to Greece. Her books are both very inspiring as the author overcomes great personal challenges in her life, including a near fatal bus crash in Sri Lanka and being denied an entry visa to Canada decades after her arrest for protesting apartheid in South Africa. Sally Smith's beautifully written, brutally honest and insightful storytelling kept me reading all night until I finished the book. I look forward to more from this author.
April 30, 2024
Following on from her first memoir - which I loved - Sally's plans to visit Canada are prevented by an incident in her younger life in South Africa, so on a whim she decides to go back to Greece. Not so much a journey of self-discovery this time, a more confident Sally takes us on another Hellenistic adventure. Still determined to follow her mother's diary, this enchanting book takes us to some interesting places. I love Sally's zest for life, and her adventurous spirit. She tells of her travels, seamlessly weaving in sightseeing tips and historical facts. I'd been looking forward to reading this sequel, and it was a total joy. Hopefully Sally has more adventures to share with us. I can't wait for her to write a third book.
May 6, 2024
It is rare that a writer can maintain the same energy with a follow up book.
Although many of the scenes in book.one do seem.to be repeated, this repetition allows a more indepth exploration of the elements of the story.
When I started reading this follow up of 'Unpacking for Greece' I had the feeling of dejavu after the first chapter and my immediate reaction was 'here we go again'.
I could not have been more mistaken.
Sallys use of language and description just added more of the authors essence to the detail and emotion to what I had read in the first book, adding a depth to the Sally herself that expands on the characters in this factual story.
Well done on an engaging second book!
Although many of the scenes in book.one do seem.to be repeated, this repetition allows a more indepth exploration of the elements of the story.
When I started reading this follow up of 'Unpacking for Greece' I had the feeling of dejavu after the first chapter and my immediate reaction was 'here we go again'.
I could not have been more mistaken.
Sallys use of language and description just added more of the authors essence to the detail and emotion to what I had read in the first book, adding a depth to the Sally herself that expands on the characters in this factual story.
Well done on an engaging second book!
February 1, 2025
For me, the book was like listening to a neighbor describe every detail of an overseas visit. Sometimes it's interesting, but mostly it's boring. I never felt like I was alongside the author on an adventure, or that I was emotionally sharing the experience, or that I was really involved in any way. It read more like a travelogue. I'm glad this trip to Greece was rewarding for the author, but I read 42% of the book and had to stop. To explain 3 stars on a DNF, the writing's not bad. It just wasn't doing anything for me.
I won a copy of this book thru Goodreads. All opinions are my own.
I won a copy of this book thru Goodreads. All opinions are my own.
April 21, 2024
Being a beta reader for Sally Jane Smith is an absolute delight. This sequel to her first book, Unpacking for Greece, is every bit as lyrical and beautifully written and I feel privileged to have read both an early and later draft. After an incident in her South African youth derails a planned trip to Canada, Sally takes us with her on a solo trip through Greece to compensate for her disappointment. Seeking out the ancient monuments that pepper the countryside and giving us her special insights into their history and context, we travel with her largely on buses and on foot seeing the country as the locals do. It feels like a wonderfully authentic experience, every step of which I enjoyed.
Greece has so many treasures, many of which go unnoticed, but with her relish for walking rural tracks others would baulk at, Sally finds these gems of antiquity in incredible places. I love the way she pairs the books she reads on her journey with the areas and towns she visits; I also love her sensitive descriptions and thoughtful contemplation on the issues of tourism and its impact on this iconic land. Add to that the search for the places her mother visited revealed in snippets from an old diary that accompanies Sally on her travels, and this is a beautiful book and a must read for those who love and, like me, would love to visit Greece.
Greece has so many treasures, many of which go unnoticed, but with her relish for walking rural tracks others would baulk at, Sally finds these gems of antiquity in incredible places. I love the way she pairs the books she reads on her journey with the areas and towns she visits; I also love her sensitive descriptions and thoughtful contemplation on the issues of tourism and its impact on this iconic land. Add to that the search for the places her mother visited revealed in snippets from an old diary that accompanies Sally on her travels, and this is a beautiful book and a must read for those who love and, like me, would love to visit Greece.
May 2, 2024
Sally’s talent as a writer truly shines through this book, as she skilfully blends contemporary travel experiences and stories with relevant historical context and vivid descriptions of the destinations she uncovers. I was also really interested to read about Sally’s earlier childhood growing up in South Africa, and her endeavours with the anti-apartheid movement in her youth. She finds joy in exploring unconventional paths, and I was enriched and entertained by the discoveries she makes. Recommended.
June 7, 2024
Sally Jane Smith's return to Greece is beautifully captured in this sequel to last year's Unpacking for Greece. But even more captivating than her descriptions of her Greek destinations and the people she encounters are the flashbacks to her time protesting apartheid in South Africa and her harrowing experience following a horrific bus accident in Sri Lanka. These absolutely riveting chapters made this book impossible to put down.
October 18, 2025
Sally Jane’s second book stands alone, absolutely. If Unpacking for Greece was about getting back on the bus, Repacking is about choosing the journey—freely, joyfully. Life throws her a curveball; she heads to Greece anyway, still on public transport, still paying the same meticulous attention to people and place. Wise, funny, reflective—this is Greek travel written with open eyes and an open heart. I finished it wanting to book a ticket, with Sally Jane as my guide!
June 10, 2024
This was a terrific read. The writing was poised and engaging and I was absorbed in Sally's wonderful narrative of travel and memory. A beautiful personal journey. Now I want to go to Greece!
July 7, 2024
An entertaining account of the author’s journeys through Greece, with many tangents taken into recent and remote history.
July 9, 2025
The writer is following the path her mother took many years ago and ends up visiting the less well-known parts of Greece. Interesting.
April 23, 2024
This second memoir in Sally Smith’s Packing for Greece series is a beautifully constructed read. A trip around the Peloponnese peninsula, and some of Greece’s many historic islands, combines perfectly with a trip down memory lane for Sally – who is once more packing her late mother’s travel diary. This is a much gentler affair than the first book, though it still has Sally's wonderfully in-depth style of bringing the wonders of Greece to the reader. Integrated moments of turbulent history, both recent and ancient lift it to the next level of enjoyment.
July 14, 2025
When her plans to visit family in Canada are thwarted Sally decides on another trip to Greece rather than have no holiday. This is a beautifully written sequel to Unpacking for Greece. Once again she packs her mother's diary and sets off on another journey of discovery. I love the mix of her own travel details and the delight she takes in her explorations, the ancient history and the wonderful myths and legends of Greece. I'm impressed by her love of solo travel and her determination to go slightly off the beaten track, even enduring a fair bit of discomfort at times. Her descriptions are detailed and she has the ability to take you with her on her personal Greek odyssey. Some of the places I have visited but oh how she has made me want another little holiday to Greece.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews