DAY SEVEN: SANTORINI

Santorini. Where have you been all my life? My goodness.

Words can’t explain it. Pictures can’t capture it. The beauty, the history, the food.

Let me back up.

We arrived at 6:45 am. Yes, another crazy early flight, so our rooms weren’t ready when we arrived. We ate the free breakfast (best breakfast yet!) and camped out in the lobby until our room was ready. But that was ok. Because we were in Santorini. And the view outside of the hotel was well worth the price of admission.

And thrifty artists disclaimer: We did Santorini on a budget. Frequent flyer miles, Expedia points, staying "off road"....you name it. But there are MANY hotels that ask for thousands of  dollars...PER NIGHT! Don't believe me? Check out how you can "ball out" in Santorini.

We chose Santorini because of my friend Vicky (Vasaliki). Vicky was my Greek roommate for several years at UMD. She taught me some Greek, her mom would cook amazing food and she really peaked my interest in getting to Greece sooner than later. Anywho, Vicky travels to Greece often and recommended Santorini as the island we should choose. There are an estimated 1,400 islands but only about a dozen are inhabited.

Santorini’s culture and landscape can all be directly linked to it’s volcano. Look it up here but the volcano is also the reason for towns built on cliffs, red beaches and black beaches.

We are staying walking distance from Fira. Fira is the capitol of Santorini and located on the middle of the island. The most popular destination is Oia, at the North tip.

Once we got our room, we took a nap and then hit the pool. We swam and relaxed in a gorgeous pool. Then we ordered Chicken Souvlaki poolside for lunch. Souvlaki is basically grilled chicken skewer with salad and fries.

We cleaned up after the pool and hit the trail to downtown Fira.

From the main roads, you don’t see much...Gyro spots, AV rentals, bus depot etc but turn left onto any path... into the cliff and whoa….a completely unexpected thriving bustling town. Just like Athens, there are hills, cobblestone, tight alleys, caves. It really is a maze but each turned corner is full of surprises. We left lots of figurative breadcrumbs along the way.

And then I caught a glimpse of the view from the cliff. STUNNING. 

Your jaw drops. You rush to see more of it.  You try to soak it all in but it’s just so vast….so big…so beautiful. It’s like your head can’t turn fast enough.  And just when you think the view can’t get any better….you go higher…maybe see it from a different angle….have a street musician play a samba behind you and everything changes. Absolutely gorgeous.

Here's an awkward (yet gorgeous) selfie video.

We ducked in to “Volcano Blue” for dinner. We are still trying out Greek traditional dishes so we had fava (bean dip), fried small fishes and grilled octopus. Oh and lots of wine. Yummers.

A restaurant grilling fish nearby...

After that we walked back to the hotel in pure bliss.