The Greek island of Santorini is said to be one of the most beautiful and romantic islands in the world… I have to say, it might be the truth.

This island is also said to be an island of newlyweds. Many freshly married couples come here for honeymoon, but nothing happens if you come here without a husband, just with your gal friend, as I plan to do. It is also said that the Greek islands are desperately packed during the summer, many people recommend to plan a vacation in Santorini months ahead. My friend Jarka and myself are going in last minute, looking for accommodation while waiting at the airport and yet we have found nice boutique hotel El Mar Villas with traditional Cycladic architecture (in typical colors of white and blue) right on the black volcanic beach Kamari in town Thira at a very affordable price with a Greek breakfast included (thanks to Airbnb!). It is not Oia, a well-known postcard view town, which is unbelievable expensive during a season, but we are not going to skip it later on… 

Day 1

Evening in Athens

With my friend we are meeting in Athens, at first. Jarka will arrive from Slovakia, myself from Abu Dhabi. Although I’ve already been to Athens, the atmosphere of the city was so exciting that I would like to repeat the visit. I also do not want Jarka to skip this experience. Who is visiting Greece without seeing Athens – its capital, can’t say they were in Greece. Athens is like heart of all country, the cradle of our Western civilization. At the airport we get on the blue metro line towards downtown Evangelismos metro stop, where drag our small trolleys to the apartment, which we found again on the airbnb. Our old but very cozy apartment with a huge roof terrace (we chose it for that terrace) is located in a quiet street next to the ancient Olympic stadium, all built in marble. There is also a very idyllic bakery on the corner of the street and we can see ourselves having fresh bread and coffee on the terrace the next morning. At the moment, however, it is terribly hot outside, so we prefer to relax under fully-running air conditioning. The eight minutes walk from the subway station in this heat made us exhausted. Temperature outside reaches 42 degrees, and I think I didn’t really escape far from hot Abu Dhabi…

When the harsh sun finally sets down, we are brave enough to leave our air-conditioned apartment and head through the national park straight into the downtown. In our mind is juicy Greek salad. On the walk towards the Acropolis, not far from Monastiraki Main Square, we stop at the Kuzina restaurant, which is also highly recommended by Tripadvisor. I have to confirm that the best Greek salad is the one from Greece and especially from the restaurant Kuzina. Super tastes especially with a glass of white wine …

Day 2

Akropolis

We get up early in the morning to avoid the heat and crowds and head straight to the magnificent remains of the Ancient Greek Empire – the ancient Acropolis, the temple dedicated to the goddess Athens, and the Herod Theater. I won’t go into detail because I have already written about it (look for the article #Athens). Up there on the hill is difficult to find a shade, so around noon we are already running into our air-conditioned apartment, just stopping for a cool smoothie. The terrace, which offers the greatest shade, wins. In the afternoon we are just having a siesta and in the evening we are invited by our new Greek friend I met on Tinder for a cocktail and a light dinner at the Art Lounge on the roof of the New Hotel on Syntagma Square, a beautiful view of the city at the sunset is included. In addition, the Art Lounge belongs to the top ten rooftops in Athens. And since we liked the rooftop view, we continue our night at the rooftop Galaxy bar at the Hilton Hotel, from where it’s just a a short walk to our apartment… in case we get tipsy from such heights… 🙂

Day 3

Kamari

After a short night’s sleep, we fly with Ryanair to Santorini island. We are in place in less than an hour. At the airport, we take an airport shuttle service that everyone has recommended. But in the end, Thira is so close to the airport that we could do it for the same price by taxi. Check-in does not open before 3 pm, so for the time we just leave our baggage at the reception, change to our swimsuits and immediately jump into the sea. Long walks around Athens brought blisters that heal in salt water, but also hurt and burn. Also the little stones on the stony beach are not that pleasant, so if you have sensitive feet, I recommend rather wear bathing shoes. The water is awesome blue. The sun is still burning, so we spend the whole day under an umbrella with an iced tea, but at the end of the day we get tanned anyway. In the afternoon we just have a shower, short siesta under the air conditioning and we are ready for a dinner. Along Kamari Beach, there is an alley full of restaurants, bars and lounges, where Greek specialties and seafood are served, so we choose one just depending on the comfort of the sitting.

Day 4

Oia

In the morning we wake up early for a typical Greek breakfast – thick Greek yogurt with honey, feta cheese, fresh tomatoes and olives, crispy pastry and a halva (pastry made of sesame seeds). After breakfast we simply take a bus to Oia, the most characteristic town of the island. Santorini, as you know from postcards and posters, is just Oia. Many of us recommended us to rent a car for the stay, but I think it’s a completely unnecessary thing. All important places on the island are perfectly connected by a local (modern and air-conditioned) bus line, which runs regularly almost every 20 minutes, with all routes crossing in the capital Fira. The price of bus ticket is something around two Euros. Perhaps the most photographed place ever in the popular Oil are certainly three blue church roofs with a bell. You can find the place by first going to the main walk, which is entirely marbled in white and lined with various boutiques with jewelry, colorful sandals, straw hats or traditional ceramics. At one particularly expensive jewelry store, there is a narrow path that leads down the stairs to the water, and on that path you will find the most iconic view of Oia.

In the streets of Oia, at every moment we run into some brides having photo shooting day. I don’t envy them. To look beautiful in heavy white dresses at temperature of 42 degrees can’t be easy… We have straw hats and light dresses on, but we are sweating anyway. The plan is clear. If we don’t want to catch a heat stroke, we need to jump into the water as quickly as possible. Oia, however, is a village in the rocks which is famous for its cooling white caves and cave suites with spacious pools and amazing views but the beaches are not there. We climb down the stairs to the small port where we believe there is at least some access to the sea. There are several restaurants on the pier down there, but no one is bathing in the water, only a few boats floats by the coast. Later we run into two wet-haired English girls who recommend us to go to the left of the port through a narrow path along the rocks. There is a hidden place behind the cliff where you can get into the water. Just right at the time I’m loosing my patience a beautiful bay shows up in front of us. We spend the whole afternoon there chilling in the water and watching the brave ones jumping into the sea from the cliffs.

When the sun stops burning so much, we move to the pier, where we enjoy our Greek lunch – Cretan Dakos (feta cheese with tomatoes in a toasted crust of bread) and fresh catch of the day. After the late lunch we have to force ourselves to climb steep stairs up back to the center of Oia. There are several mules waiting at the stairs, which are used as a lift for tourists. However, it makes our so sad how people are misusing these poor mules have to work in the heat all day without any water to drink. This sad picture ruin my overall impression of the island. I know that a mule is a strong animal, but working so hard in such a heat??? Please people, when you are there, do not abuse these animals, please …

Imerovigli

In the evening we take a bus down to Imerovigli, where it is said to be the most beautiful view of the sunset over the volcanic island of Caldera and its volcano. On Santorini you will find many trips to volcano and and I have heard that it is worth go, but we are just fine to watch the view. We choose the terrace of Cave restaurant for this purpose, from where we have a direct view of Caldera. This time on the dinner plate we have a Musaka – a Greek specialty which reminds me lasagne, but it’s made of potatoes and aubergine. From Imerovigli to the capital Fira there is a beautiful walk along the coast, so after dinner we are ready for some walk accompanied by beautiful colors of sunset. We reach Fira town shortly after the sun has completely set down below the horizon. And from there we just jump on the bus back to our hotel…

Day 5

Pyrgos

This time we sleep well and take breakfast just before ten. We spend the next two hours in the pleasant shade of our room, pack up, snooze, and leave our luggage at the reception. The rest of the day we chill with books alternately in the beach lounge under the fan, by the pool or on the beach. The locals also say that they don’t remember such heats in Santorini. Islands usually bring much more breathable air. I seem to have brought here the weather from Abu Dhabi. In the evening, when the sun calms down, we take the bus for our last island trip, this time to the historic Pyrgos town. The town is located up in the hills and the facades of houses are not renovated, not so freshly painted in white, but they all look more authentic. Because of its quiet, undisturbed atmosphere, a little forgotten Pyrgos looks to me a way more romantic than the famous Oia. The day ends with dinner at one of the best restaurants in town – in Cava Alta. With the coming sunset, the roof of the restaurant quickly gets packed. Fortunately, we managed to get a table with a great view. After dinner and a glass of wine we just take a taxi to our hotel to pick our luggage and we head to the airport… I promise to come back here, but next time with my husband… 🙂

I’m lucky again! By the time Etihad is canceling all the crew layovers in Athens, I caught one of the last! And maybe this fatality add to ancient city another value, but I’ fell in love immediately. With the city, of course… And with Greek cuisine.

We don’t stay in the hotel at the airport where we are accommodated for too long. Just as much as we need to change our uniforms. Only one of our colleagues changed to “wedding” dress. In long white dress and gold crown she plans to climb up to Acropolis, just to take impressive photos for Instagram. 🙂 (The world has gone crazy.) A group of four girls are led by our big Cabin Senior from Lithuania. At the airport we take the blue metro line and head to the very center of Athens. We get off at the busy Syntagma stop, from where we walk up in the old streets toward to the Acropolis. The path is lined with huge Roman columns, the streets are narrow and traditional. The small boutiques we are passing by are offering gold and silver jewelry, while the cafes with their open terraces luring us on Greek Ice Coffee. The second one we can’t resist. Outside is hot, the road is steep and Greek frappe has to be tasted!

Akropolis

After a short break and a pleasant stroll through the narrow ancient streets, we find ourselves in front of the gates of the open Acropolis Museum. The whole city of Athens falls to our feet. Pantheon, the main building of the Acropolis, is an ancient temple dedicated to the Greek goddess of wisdom, according to which the city has got its name. It stands on he top of the city for an incredible 2,500 years, since 447 BC. Today, the temple is made up of old ruins, but it is still standing. It is a symbol of ancient Greece, Athenian democracy, Western civilization and at the same time one of the most amazing ancient monuments in the world. While our “bride” is posing for photos and attracts the attention of other tourists, I imagine how Pantheon could have looked like in its full glory, when now, after so many years, it still takes your breath away.

Herod’s Theater

Just a short walk from the Acropolis there is another remains of ancient Herod’s Stone Theater to admire. From the acoustics point of view, it was built so perfectly that the ancient actors did not need any microphones and could hear them well to the highest rows. Till today, it serves as a place for open air concerts.

Greek cuisine

When the sun begins to fall down, we leave the Acropolis and head down the hill passing by many Greek souvenir stalls. We walk towards the main square of Monastiraki, where smell of fresh strawberries, apricots and cherries fills the air. I call it the “fragrance of summer”. As my sandals fell apart on the stone road, I get lost in the market for a while till I come up with new hand-made leather Greek-style shoes. When we all meet at the main square again, we choose one of the many Greek restaurants in the area and settle down. It’s time for Greek cuisine, one of the main reasons I love Greece. Gyros, Souvlaki, Greek salad with fresh Feta cheese, olives and olive oil, Tatziki, my favorite Moussaka (something like Lasagna but with eggplant and potatoes) or desserts like Greek yogurt with honey, Halva and Baklava and local beer make us busy for a few hours. Fantastic end of the evening in the fantastic city…