My last stop on my trip to Greece was Santorini. Santorini is one of those places that really makes you feel like you’re walking in a dream. The architecture is so unique and the stark white buildings with cobalt blue roofs glow as the sun sets over the water.
On our first night in Santorini, we arrived just in time to catch the breathtaking sunset. It is my belief that the sunsets in Santorini are unlike the sunsets anywhere else in the world. The sun casts a purple glow that shimmers over the water as it slowly descends into the sea.
The next day we did a group trip that traveled to a red sand beach, a black sand beach, and a small Santorini winery. To get to the red sand beach, we had to climb up and over a red-rock mountain. The views were incredible and the combination of the blue water and the rich red sand created a beautiful backdrop. I spent most of my time at the red sand beach on the mountain looking out over the water. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I never wanted to leave.
Next stop was a beautiful black sand beach. We were given the special treatment with the most comfortable beach chairs accompanied by umbrellas made of straw. The best part was a group of tourists from Japan who came over to us thinking we were celebrities and asked to take pictures with us, it was the funniest thing. We were served lunch from our spots at the beach and relaxed in the sun until it was time to head over to the winery for our wine tasting.
We tried three delicious Santorini wines at the tasting and spent the rest of the time browsing their shop and taking in the amazing views. The wine was good, but it had nothing on the wines of Tuscany. After the tasting we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner and head back to Oia for another Santorini sunset.
Everywhere you look there is something beautiful to see in Greece. We spent the evening sipping cheap european beer and exploring the town of Oia. We circled around a maze of blue-roofed buildings finding the most beautiful jewelry stores and fun little pubs. My favorite part, however, was the tiny bookstore tucked beneath the main level of the shops. A tiny staircase, unmarked except for a hand painted mural of books accompanied by the shop name “Atlantis Books”, lead to the most amazing bookstore I’ve ever been to.
The entire shop was hand-painted with quotes and little sayings. There was an amazing alternative soundtrack playing in the background, and there were even a litter of puppies sleeping in a corner with their mother. I don’t think it gets much better than Greece, books, good music, and puppies. The shop housed books in every language you could imagine, and the different genres were painted onto the shelves with clever sayings. We browsed around the bookshop and chatted with the owner for awhile before returning to our hotel.
Before heading back to Athens, we spent the day shopping at the small stores in Oia. I bought a ton of beautiful rose gold jewelry from the cutest little fine jewelry stores and even got a fish pedicure. We snacked on frozen greek yogurt and fruit and chatted with the shop owners. Everyone in Greece is so welcoming and I truly cannot wait until the next time I visit.
