Visiting the Magical Greek Island of Santorini Again With New Eyes
08/09/2016
Going on a Mediterranean cruise was at the top of my bucket list this year. My choices were to leave from Rome, Venice or Athens. I chose to leave from Venice as I knew I would want to spend some time there once I got back. I had only been to Venice for a couple of days a few years ago and it rained the entire time.
I also wanted an itinerary that visited the Greek island Santorini. Although I visited there two years ago I was very sad while I was there. I learned that our Black Lab named Shadow, who was around 16 years old, was extremely sick as my plane was boarding in Athens. I could not have made it home on time to say goodbye to him. It would've cost $3500 for a one way ticket to get home.
I did think about just going home as I felt terrible that my husband was alone. We knew shadow had been very ill for a long time, but I really didn't think anything (or hoped) nothing bad would happen when I was so far away.
Here is the post I wrote about what happened:
What Do You Do When a Tragedy or Emergency Happens at Home While Traveling?
Santorini is an absolutely beautiful island. In spite of the fact that I was so sad it made my jaw drop every time I walked to the door the first few days. It is a favorite wedding destination and I got to see a beautiful bride and groom! I feel very fortunate that I often run into beautiful weddings when I'm traveling pretty much anywhere in the world.
Here is a boy playing music using an accordian for tips:
Most of the hotels and restaurants close between the end of October and March. It was extremely hot when I was there this July and it was also very crowded. My ship only stopped for one day, but quite frankly that was enough as I had seen it before. I think I would like to return one day and stay in one of the "cave like" hotels and just relax and take my time getting photos. Since my time was quite limited on this cruise and I didn't get to see the sunset like I did a few years ago.
It was nice going on an early tour as I was able to get photos of the village of Oia without the many tourists that come out close to lunchtime
I also felt very fortunate to find this little girl dressed like a ballerina in the pretty garden
I am generally the type of person that likes visiting cities because there are there are a lot of museums and entertainment as opposed to places where relaxation and enjoying the beautiful scenery is the main thing people plan to do. In spite of no longer wanting to just hang out at the beach, anymore as I have in the past, I could handle going back to this Island for a few days in the future.
Many of the hotels have their own swimming pools!
Here is a well known church in the center of Oia:
Have you ever visited any of the Greek Islands? If so which ones did you like the most? Thank you so much for stopping by. I look forward to hearing your comments and/or questions
This post is dedicated to our beloved Black Lab Shadow:
~Michelle