Santorini
(*more photos of our time in Santorini here!)
When I think of the Greek islands the first thing that comes into my head- and I’m sure it’s the same for you- is Ann Brashares’ novel “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”
One of the main characters spends the summer on an unnamed Greek island, where she rides a donkey through the city and falls in love with a handsome Greek man (who also happens to speak perfect English) after he rescues her from drowning.
Together they watch romantic sunsets, swim in the clear blue water, ride mopeds through the city, and never get sunburned in the strong island sun. She also wears the magic sisterhood pants while on her trip, which is the most unrealistic thing of all because it would be way too hot in Greece for jeans in the summer.
Since the movie adaptation for “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” was filmed in Santorini, I figured it was the perfect place to live out my pre-teen dreams.
(This played a major roll in my decision to visit Santorini, although I kept that part a secret from my male travel companions.)
While I did not find a handsome Greek man and did get sunburned, I did get to swim in the beautiful waters, see my own magical sunset, and even try a donkey taxi.
Santorini was voted the #1 Best Island in Europe in the Trip Advisor Traveller’s Choice Awards , with our already beloved Madeira coming in second.
We flew into the island from Athens, and arrived in Santorini
in the middle of a wind and dust storm.
Flights into the island were
cancelled for the next two days, so I consider us very lucky! When we found our hotel we couldnt figure out which direction the water was.
The dust cleared rapidly over the next day, and we quickly got the priceless island views we were waiting for.
We stayed in Fira, the capital of the island, famous for its white washed houses built into the cliff, blue domed churches, and sunsets overlooking the caldera.
We called Santorini a “vacation from our vacation,” and did way too much laying around on beaches, swimming, napping on our wonderful hotel roof, and eating gyros for at least two meals a day. Luckily for us March is not a popular time to visit the island, so we had parts of the island almost to ourselves.
Santorini is one of the most popular Greek islands and is flooded with thousands of tourists throughout the summer. The water was a little cold for swimming, but besides that I see no reason why you shouldn’t visit during the off season.
We got a wonderful deal on our hotel, a
renovated cave building with a perfect ocean view, that we would have never been able to afford during tourist season. After sleeping in bunkbeds and sharing bathrooms with dozens of people, our hotel felt like heaven. Our terrace even came with a stray cat, who we named Achileus.
It did not take long to discover how awesome authentic Greek food was. The taste, price, and unlimited pita? Realizing everything tastes good dipped in tzatziki sauce? How could a person not overeat during every meal, especially if they’re on a ‘vacation from their vacation?’
We also managed to stop relaxing and eating long enough to do the “cliff top walk” from Thira to Oia to catch one last sunset over the caldera.
On our last morning in Santorini it was finally time for that donkey ride. Turns out riding a donkey up 600 steps, zigzagging back and forth up an 800 foot cliff is not as magical as it appeared on film, but definitely a worthy experience.
We spent five close to perfect nights in Santorini, and then sped through Athens in a day and a half.
Athens
Large changes in airline and accommodation costs meant that we only had one full day in Athens. Despite this, I 
think we packed in an impressive amount of historic sites and scenery into our itinerary.
We started our crazy busy day with wonderful weather at the Acropolis, where we saw Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaia, and the Odeon.
After a quick lunch of iced coffee and baklava we visited the new Acropolis Museum, ped over to the Agora of Athens, zipped past the Panathenaic Stadium and rounded out the afternoon at the Temple of Olypian Zeus.
I hope it goes without saying how wonderful and amazing it was to see these ancient sights up close and in person.
We ended the day watching the sunset over the city on Mount Lycabettus, the highest point in Athens.
Want more Greece? Check out my photos below, taken with my wonderful cell phone camera!
*The adventure of procuring a computer charger is over. The computer and international post has won. I guess it was not meant to be.
