Greece- Santorini

I've owed you this blogpost for a year now and I'm so excited to finally write it (Please bear with me in regard to some of the details since it’s been a while). After I returned from my Paris/Italy trip in 2012, I had my sights set on Greece. To be honest, a part of my obsession came from watching movies like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (yes, I know, I can see your eyes rolling). Nevertheless, it took four years before I could finally make it to Greece due to work and school obligations.

I flew to Athens with Air Canada Rouge and honestly, the trip started off a bit stressful. The flight was overbooked and I faced the possibility of not getting a seat even though my flight had been booked for months. I tried to be as patient as possible with the entire process, but panic began to set in when the boarding process began and I still did not have a seat assignment. Luckily I made a friend while waiting since we were both in the same predicament (hi Mike). This turned out to be a great distraction and in the end, we both got on the flight. One of the things I've come to love about traveling is that you meet so many interesting people on your journey. Anyway, 3 cocktails, 2 Tylenol PM's, 10 hours later, and we were finally landing in Athens. By the way, has anyone else had the opposite reaction to taking sleep medication?? Am I the only one that it has zero effect on? After catching another 1 hour flight to Santorini, I finally made it to my hotel. Total flying time/ airport time: approximately 16 hours. But man, when I finally laid eyes on that view, it was worth the hassle. 

                                        
                                         The view as I walked to my hotel

I stayed at Santorini View in Fira which I highly recommend. The owner was extremely warm and accommodating, and even arranged an airport pickup for me. The hotel included breakfast which was brought to our balcony every morning at the time we requested, and included eggs, bread, a couple different jams, coffee and of course, Greek yogurt. 

After settling in a bit and taking a nice long shower, I decided to explore before my best friend Sarah arrived. Santorini is extremely hilly and I'm glad I took the advice of others and brought mostly flats on the trip. As I walked I enjoyed watching little kids play, lovers strolling hand in hand, and photographers attempting to capture the glorious view before them. I attempted to do the same but felt completely betrayed by my camera because it refused to capture what I was seeing with my naked eye. I eventually gave up and decided on taking videos instead. I made a mental note of the restaurants near our hotel, grabbed something to eat, bought a bottle of wine from the grocery store, and headed back to the balcony to watch my first Santorini sunset. 

This was a moment I would treasure for the rest of my life. 
I felt this calmness wash over me as I sat there watching the most incredible sunset I had ever seen in my life. 
Even now, whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to conjure up that feeling and relive that peaceful moment

Sarah arrived around 10 pm and we spent a good portion of the night drinking wine and catching up because we had not seen one another in 3 years!

The next day we ventured off to visit Red Beach, Black Beach and White Beach by boat. Honestly, the beaches in Santorini are not that great. They are extremely picturesque, surrounded by giant rock formations; the result of volcanic eruptions many years ago, however the sand consists mostly of rocks and pebbles and the waters bear no resemblance to the white sandy beaches and blue waters of the Caribbean. After the boat docked in Akrotiri, we had a late lunch at a nearby restaurant where I had my first (and best) Moussaka; a traditional Greek dish made with layers of potatoes and ground beef, served hot. I learned that the dish has many local and regional variations, for example in the Arab world, Moussaka is eaten cold, and other countries substitute potatoes for eggplant.

That night we decided to try out Greek nightlife. We started out at Tango Bar which was quite packed, and went to a couple other bars afterward. The locals were quite friendly and I remember starting the night off with vodka and somehow ending it with tequila shots. We managed to hike back to our hotel despite being drunk, with the dim light from our IPhones. Important: If you plan to do nightlife in Santorini, bring a flashlight. The paths along the cliffs are not well lit, and some areas are not lit at all.

The next day, we took our hung-over selves to a small, quiet village called Oia, known for its fantastic sunsets. As you can probably already tell, sunsets are a huge theme in Santorini. Tourists literally assemble every evening to view the sun setting over the Mediterranean. We tried to get to the best vantage point but the crowds were impassable. We eventually settled on a less than ideal location, but the sunset was spectacular nonetheless. 

Oia also features the cutest boutiques where you can find beautiful scarves and trinkets, as well as gorgeous jewelry. It was here that Sarah and I bought matching necklaces in memory of our trip together =)

We headed back to Fira for our last dinner in Santorini and settled on Aktaion Tavern. This little restaurant has been around for over 90 years and offers indoor and outdoor seating. I recommend that you make a reservation ahead of time because seating is very limited.  

I had the most amazing beef stew while Sarah decided on Moussaka. Both dishes were fantastic and it was the perfect way to end our time in Santorini.

Santorini was very special for me because of the fact that I woke up to a spectacular view every morning and it was one of the most visually unique places I'd ever visited. I can't wait to go back.

Stay tuned for our visit to Ios, another island in the Greek Cyclades. 


xoxo
Tash