I knew that this package was going to be a bit ungainly, but I didn’t expect it to be such a masterpiece of engineering. It arrived barely intact, bearing the scars of the long trip from the West Coast: three big recycled boxes, all strung together by gobs of tape and patched with other shipping/receiving detritus. Enclosed within was a frame backpack from Eurotrips of generations past, brought out of retirement in my garage into the wild world once more. This was the Brett Favre of backpacks.

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I loved to cook before I lived in Greece for one summer. But then after living in the (not so) beautiful city of Athens, I realized that the heart to any culture is actually reached through its stomach. 

With that in mind, here are the top 5 culinary experiences you should have in the Mediterranean.

1) A horiatiki salad. Sure, it's only tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, and oil, but when a country actually grows these vegetables and doesn't believe in genetically modifying or overcharging for organics? Wow. Those vegetables actually have a taste!

*Cooking tip: Open air markets are the way to go.

2) Wine tasting. As students, we forget that wine is actually an art (it doesn’t always come out of a spout from the side of a box.) When you retire the red solo cup, please also retire that plastic wine glass.

3) Grilled Octopus. If you ever find yourself on a Greek island, be prepared to simply eat for the majority of your trip. If you order octopus, you very well may witness your waiter throw a rod into the sea next to the restaurant, pull out an octopus, and come back with that very octopus about 10 minutes later with a side of lemon. Get ready for the best seafood of your life.

4) Pizza. Naples. Need I say more?

Wait. I do need to say more. Find a hole-in-the-wall establishment that you haven't heard of. Dare to get lost and dare to eat without guilt.

5) Buy pasta in Italy and take it home to cook for your friends. Why is this a culinary experience? You have this one chance to be cooler than all of your friends. "Oh, this pasta? Just snatched a few extra bags on my way out of Siena."

Mangia, Mangia—φαε φαε—EAT EAT! You're in the Mediterranean, for goodness sake.

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Napoleon must have had it made when living in exile here: cool, crystal-clear waters, a lush, mountainous terrain, and a certain intangible Italian charm set this island apart from its tourist-ridden counterpart, the Cinque Terre. I found this island to be a relief from the usual annoyances of the summer tourist season; although swarms of tourists still crowded the pebbly beach, the rest of the island remained mostly untouched. Just minutes after stepping off the hour-long ferry ride to the island, I found myself transported, immersed in narrow, winding streets hemmed with lines of laundry hanging out to dry and topless middle-aged men confidently displaying rather impressive beer bellies. The humble abode of not-so-humble Napoleon is only a short hike away. The architecture of the house blends in so well with its surroundings that my friend and I passed by it on the first go. Looking at the view off the cliff on which Napoleon’s house sits is extremely gratifying, and makes the long journey to the island and up the hill to his house worth the effort.

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Hey Let's Go fans! We're in the business of connecting travelers to all the information they could possibly need to enjoy themselves while abroad. To that end, we've partnered with with our fellow travel bloggers at Pause the Moment.

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When this greets you daily in Naples:

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Naples is a crazy place. And I mean that in the sense of "insane; without sense." Things really tend not to make sense.

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