Santorini really is what postcards are made of. Beautifully pictures. We stayed three nights on this beautiful island. We took it slow and relaxed here.

Arriving in Sanrtorini was a sight. I was not sure there was land underneath us we got so close to the ocean before landing. We grabbed our rental car and headed to explore. We stopped for pastries then to Akrotiri. Since our flight arrived so early we went straight to exploring to beat the heat and crowds. Akrotiri was mind blowing. They are still excavating part of the city. The volcanic ash has preserved everything well, similar to Pompeii. You can even see some wall frescoes in the museums in Athens. One particular interesting fact is they think in 17th century BC the inhabitants new the eruption was happening and left since they have found no human remains and no jewels. So amazing. Maybe there was a series of smaller eruptions, maybe it was the way the wind blew, or the animals acted.

Later we went to find the hotel, White Deck. Oy! What an exhausting endeavor. Google thought pathways were streets and many times we had to back up to let other cars or water trucks through. We were not going the wrong way that is just how traffic works.

After dropping our bags at the hotel we walked from Imerovigli to Fira. We had Why Not! Souvlaki for lunch and headed back for a nap. Our hotel room was a traditional cave house. It was beautiful and a splurge I am so glad we invested in. Afterwards we explored the area surrounding our hotel. We watched the sunset from our balcony while enjoying some wine and pastries for dinner.

We had breakfast on our balcony every morning. The second day we visited the Monasterio Profeta Elías. It is at the top of one of the mountains. You cant miss it. We took the trail around for a hike and a view. We visited one of the black sand beaches and stopped for lunch. One of my favorite souvlaki places was in Santorini. I can’t tell you the name but it is next door to this grocery store. We headed back for a nap after a day of exploring. We wanted to get to Oia in plenty of time for a good view.

The second night we did watch the sunset from Oia. I was pretty but the crowds. There was not even space to really enjoy the pretty buildings. We went back the next morning to get see some sights throughout the town and it was still crowded.

Anogi was possibly the best meal of our trip. It was conveniently located right up from our hotel. The meatballs were amazing. Legit one of the best dishes of my life. That dish right upfront in the picture is shrimp, cheese, and tomato sauce.

The third day we visited Oia to grab some pics and check out the views in the daylight and less crowds. I picked up two books from Atlantis Books. I promise my best travel advise is to leave a little room in your luggage for wine, olive oil and some books. We took a walk on Koloumbos Beach. The cliffs were beautiful.

Our last night we grabbed crepes, we intended to get something else but we stumbled upon them and not much else in one of the smaller town areas. We had a sunset picnic by the lighthouse. I would recommend this as my favorite sunset place. The sun dips down into the Aegean just like in Oia but without the tens of thousands of other people. There were people at the lighthouse but definitely not as many. We opted to climb the hill behind the lighthouse to get the lighthouse and sunset in our view.

The day we left we went to ancient Thera then realized it was more involved with the hike than we wanted to give. The best 20 euro I have spent paying to have our laundry done. We pack light and do laundry along the way. We visited the Prehistoric museum wondered around town, grabbed a snack before heading to the port. We arrived at the port in plenty of time. It was fascinating to see Santorini from below.