Greek Islands 🇬🇷
This post is a continuation of the “Birkinbine EU Trip”. The first post can be found here: London and the Cotswolds
The second half of the “Birkinbine EU Trip” took place in the Greek Islands. My mom had done a lot of research before the trip and really wanted to visit the Greek Islands for their great scenery and to escape the very snowy winter they had in Colorado. Our flight to Santorini was scheduled for the evening and if all went smoothly we would get into Santorini around midnight. However, we ran into some… difficulties…
More than halfway through our flight from London to Santorini, we felt the plane make a sharp turn in what felt like the other direction. We were sitting in the exit row and started to look around. We noticed that our windows were nearly covered in ice. Shortly after our turn-around, the pilot announced that we would be landing in Venice, Italy because their was a problem with the plane’s de-icing system. The plane instantly became quite disgruntled. We had to stay in Venice overnight, and our flight was re-scheduled for late afternoon the next day. It was quite the ordeal but also kind of neat as my parents got to say then made a “surprise visit” to Venice!
Our flight map showing the re-route to Venice, Italy
We got into Santorini around dinner time and had an amazing dinner on-top of a large hill near our Airbnb. We went back to our place after dinner and played some card games before heading off to bed.
The outside of our Airbnb in Santorini
Our first night in Santorini playing “Kings in the Corners”
We left early the next morning to catch a ferry to Naxos!
Leaving Santorini for Naxos
Naxos
Naxos was one of our favorite islands. It is considered to be one of the more “authentic” Greek Islands. It is also the largest island in the Cyclades island group. Naxos is considered to be quite cheap compare to the other islands and also gets less tourists compared to Santorini. We had a lot of amazing Greek food, checked out a beach, and did plenty of exploring through the many winding streets of Naxos.
Leah taking a stroll in an alley in Naxos
Betsy on the same stroll as Leah
A floral entryway to a small store
One of the countless alley ways with shops lining the corridor in Naxos
A restaurant’s seating area that was getting setup for the evening of dinners ahead
Joe looking out at the sea in Naxos
Leah looking cute
Betsy and Joe coming down the steps of our apartment on our way to dinner
Candid shot of Betsy walking to dinner
We hiked up to the Temple of Apollo to catch the sunset and take some pictures.
Brooks looking majestic
The view looking back towards Naxos from the temple
The temple of Apollo
The chicken gyros we got were on $3.50 and they were amazing
Paros
Our next stop in the Greek Islands was Paros. My mom had done some searching on YouTube (go Betsy!) and found a super nice boutique hotel for us to stay at. After this stay, we pretty much determined that boutique hotels are our new favorite was to travel. The hotel was called “Hotel Senia” and it was amazing. It came with a wonder breakfast each day, tasty coffee, and a great pool with a few of the sea.
The view from our room at Hotel Senia out the front door
One of the many cats of the Greek Islands taking a snooze near our room 🐱
Paros had some really great beaches so we spent a lot of time laying in the sun and soaking up some rays. We had a rental car for two of our days there so we did a lot of driving around the island and checking out the different beaches and a few different towns.
Grant, Betsy, and Brooks at the beach
Betsy at the golden beach on the island of Paros
We did a lot of exploring beyond just the beach of Paros as well! Here are some pictures from our adventures.
G + L near one of the harbors with lots of eateries near our hotel
One of the many amazing dishes we had in Greece
Leah in an old “fort” on the island of Paros
Our boutique hotel had a really stunning view during the day, but when we returned at night, it was equally amazing. The pool in the main area was all lit up with star lights and all the neighboring towns on different parts of the island were all lit up as well. 🌟
Our pool at night lit up with star lights all along the bottom 🌟
Another shot of the pool from above
Our last stop in the Greek Islands was to head back to Santorini for a few days before heading back to London. We took another ferry back to Santorini to get there. The ferries were huge and were almost like a small-scale cruise ship. They had many different restaurants, cafes, bars, and tons of in/outdoor seating.
G + L at the ferry terminal
Leaving on the ferry from Paros to Santorini
Santorini
Our return to Santorini was our last stop in the Greek Islands. We started and ended our trip here since the airport was the easiest to fly in and out of. This time around, we had a whole house to ourselves just north of Thera. The house we had was wonderful and it might have been in a newly developed area because we did not have any direct neighbors next to us so it was a lot quieter than some of the other places we walked by which was quite nice.
In Santorini, we spent a lot of our time exploring the streets up and down the caldera and eating plenty of delicious food!
The side streets of Santorini
Refreshing greek style yogurt with honey, banana, and strawberries
Extremely flavorful Greek souvlaki style chicken
Joe on the edge of a side street in Santorini
The path leading to our Airbnb which can be seen slightly on the right
On our last “full” day in Santorini we decided to do the hike to Oia. The trail was the same one seen in the picture above (right in front of our Airbnb) and it would take us all the way to Oia along the edge of the caldera. The hike had some really stunning views and we were glad to be in Greece in May as it wasn’t too hot yet to make the hike unbearable.
Leah and Brooks mid-way through the hike
Betsy on the hike
Joe set off on the hike a bit before us to go at his own pace and figured we would catch up to him along the way. It turns out, he was actually quite speedy and we didn’t even manage to catch up with him until he stopped at a church on-top of a hill to soak in the views
Joe at the church on the hill
Leah at the church just before Oia (seen in the background)
Betsy and Joe at the church
The church was our last stopping point before we descended into Oia along the trail. Oia was a beautiful town with tons of shops, restaurants, bakeries, and winding streets. It was quite busy though for this reason so we had to carefully navigate our way though the sea of people. Here are some pics we captured while in Oia!
The path into Oia
A “blue dome” church in Oia with the caldera in the background
We took a taxi back to our Airbnb to catch the sunset from the roof of our house and get some pictures as well before going out to dinner.
Brooks on the roof at sunset
A stunning view of the sunset and caldera from our house in Santorini
G + L striking their “pose” on the roof
Brooks looking at majestically over the caldera
Another shot of Brooks
For our last night in the Greek Islands, we got a table at a near-by restaurant that looked over the caldera. The sun was just setting as we got our table on the roof. Shortly after the sun set, clouds rolled in and we were absorbed into the fog which was quite scenic in its own sense. Our meal was fantastic and it was a great way to celebrate our last night and reward our very hungry bellies after a long hike in the sun.
Betsy and Joe with their Coffee + Baileys on our last night in the Greek Islands
We truly enjoyed every second we had in the Greek Islands together and it is a trip my family will certainly always remember. On our last day in Santorini, my dad said to me “I think these islands are the most beautiful place in the world” and that statement alone made the whole trip worth it ❤️. I am so grateful that my family got to experience this trip and see a new part of the world together!