So as I've mentioned before, i went on a trip to several countries in Europe in June/July vac, and am finally getting round to sharing some of my pictures and accounts from my time there.
I thought I'd start with Santorini, Greece, as it was the first place we went and I really loved it!
Santorini is actually a fairly big island, and there is lots to see, and in our case, not much time. So if you're ever there and want to try see as much as possible, I thoroughly recommend hiring a quad bike for the day, they are super reasonably priced and besides the fact that you can get everywhere without relying on the bus system, they are also so much fun! These shots above were all taken on our way to Black beach, looking back at the town of Fira. If you find yourself in Santorini, another thing you must do is go down to the old port, walking down the hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of stairs among loads of donkeys lifting people up and down or resting in the shade.
Another thing really worth doing is going to see the volcano. It is on a separate island, still technically part of Santorini and is a 20 minute boat ride from the port. It is relatively expensive, but did include a tour of the volcano island and also a dip in hot baths, warmed by the volcanic activity below the waters.
These pictures were taken at Oia, a little town right at the top of Santorini. This is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life, and whilst it was super touristy, it's beauty makes that understandable, and you definitely can't go to Santorini and miss this. It was about a 25 minute quad bike ride from the central town, Fira. Beautiful white buildings with blue grooves, and churches and the most stunning views over the sea and other Greek islands in the distance, it was really quite something.
The first picture shows Black beach, which as you could probably guess, get's its name from the black sand. Swimming here was so fantastic, we could have spent the whole day tanning on the beach (although be sure to bring a towel because lying on black rocks on a hot day is most likely a painful experience) and intermittently dipping into the cool calm sea.
Red beach is the other beach really worth seeing just because where else do you get to see something like this, a beautiful beach with a bright red rock outcrop background, it's also pretty close to Black beach, so worth doing them both.
We had an absolutely amazing time! I tried the best Frozen yogurt I have ever eaten, loved catching a cable-car up from the port to the main city, strolling the cobbled streets and eating loads of Gyros at Lucky's (literally one of the most delicious things ever).
Next up was Milos, Greece...
