Hi, I’m Maria Paravantes and I welcome you to The Greek Vibe! The ultimate go-to source for everything and anything Greek or Greece related. Before I share my story with you, let me tell you a bit about me: I am a Greek-American professional journalist based in Athens with over 30 years experience covering everything from politics and travel to culture and food for local and international media outlets.
About Me – The Story
I boarded my first plane in the 1970s as a three-year-old toddler accompanying my Greek mother from Chicago to Athens. Every year from then on, my mother and I, later accompanied by my younger sister and much later by my even younger brother, would travel to Greece for three months. I can still clearly remember the sights, the sounds, the smells, the foods, the experiences, and the people.
Come spring, I couldn’t wait to go camping. My father would take us across the US in a wonderful Winnebago camper. My mother wasn’t really keen on camping but once we’d set up camp, she’d create the most wonderful warm home-away-from-home atmosphere.
For me then, travel equalled happiness.
For me now, travel is love.
About Me – The Facts
What I do?
I read, read, and read. And then I write about Greece culture, traditions and places I love. For over three decades, I have made Greece my home and my playground. Travel is not only recreation, but also the vehicle to growth, discovery, friendship, and inner well-being.
Who I am?
I started off aiming to become a teacher after completing my primary school education degree in Greece. I later moved back to the US, where I completed studies in sociology and anthropology at Loyola University in Chicago. Before setting off on my career in journalism, I made a living teaching Greek as a second language to children in the US, English as a foreign language (EFL) to Greek students, performed in bands, worked as a cashier, a tutor, a translator and an author. Journalism caught me by surprise in the 1990s, when I began to work as a copy editor for the Athens News, a local English-language daily. Since then, I’ve worked for many international media outlets, including Lonely Planet, Fodor’s, Tripadvisor, Reuters, Billboard, Huffington Post, Timeout Athens, The Telegraph, and Medium, to name a few, in addition to serving during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games as a special advisor to the Mayor of Athens, Dora Bakoyannis, and later, when she became Foreign Affairs Minister, as her advisor on international press matters.
I am currently Senior Editor, News and Features writer for one of Greece’s largest newspapers: TO BHMA (To Vima) International Edition and its online new site tovima.com – both belonging to Alter Ego Media group.
How I work
For me, traveling and sharing my experience is not work. It’s closer to what Chinese sage Confucius said in 551-479 BC:
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
I just need to add Aristotle’s take centuries ago:“Pleasure in the job, puts perfection in the work.” And so I travel, explore, experiment, participate, taste, test, appraise, ask and experience, and then I share all that matters with you here on The Greek Vibe.
About Me – The Vision
Like you, I love traveling, eating, drinking, relaxing, and having fun, and I know exactly where and how to do just that in Greece.
As a seasoned travel and tourism professional but also as a passionate traveler myself, I know from firsthand experience Greece’s best kept secrets and so much more, and can guide you to planning your best vacation to Greece and to the genuine experiences that will make your stay exciting, rewarding and memorable.
So join me and let’s Travel, Learn and Grow… in Greece, together.
Maria
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