Life is Dreamy in Santorini

WOW!! All I can say is this was the trip of a lifetime to Greece! I've always wanted to visit here and to visit the BEAUTIFUL island of Santorini with crystal blue and green waters was breathtaking. It's gonna be hard to top this trip if I'm being honest, it was so nice to just get away from everything, destress, wear cute outfits, and spend time with my boys (yes, that is Shayar and Eashan). We've become a travel trio and I have some of the fondest memories of the semester with the two of them, and I am basically their third roommate since I'm there all the time so we are all very close haha.

We stayed in a DREAMY Airbnb in the neighborhood of Mesaria and when we got to the place after a long day of traveling we all couldn't believe how nice it was!! In that moment it finally hit me that I was in Greece! We all got a total of 4 hours of sleep before we had to get up and take the ferry over to the small island of Ios. It was about an hour ferry ride, so not too long, and we got to see the sunrise as we went by Santorini and it was beautiful, albeit cold and windy. Ios was a quaint island full of picturesque beaches and the classic white-dome architecture! We got lunch and then headed to a beach where Eashan slept and Shayar and I swam and even snorkeled! We saw so many fish and explored the many coves to get some amazing views. We then rushed back to make our ferry on time and had a mundane rest of the day since we were all wiped. We went to a local restaurant for dinner where we had our first taste of saganaki (well Shayar and I did, Eashan kept hyping this up) and it was DELICIOUS! It's just fried cheese with honey on it usually and it is amazing, we had it literally every place we went to!

The next day we set out to explore the towns of Thera and Imerovigli which are known for having a set of 300 or so stairs from one to the other. We attempted to walk this but it was super hot and hilly and I have no stamina for that. We stumbled upon a cafe that had the best view of the caldera and the ocean went on forever. Not to mention, the Greek yogurt parfaits in Greece are splendid and so much better than anything in the States so I had one about everyday. After that we just explored Thera, shopped, got some more food, took aesthetic pics, and just stared in awe of the beautiful scenery. We went back to the Airbnb to get ready for dinner which was at Eashan's recommendation and it was so yummy! The food in Greece was unmatched and I miss it so much. We watched the sunset at a bar overlooking the water which was stunning. My dress was very princess like so of course Shayar had to twirl me and it made me so so happy!!

The next day we were supposed to go scuba diving but it got cancelled because of the weather (sad face) BUT we decided to do a boat tour to see the caldera, which is the volcanic ruins on Santorini. It is still an active crater site which is INSANE to think about but it was absolutely beautiful. It was extremely tiring and my shoes broke many times throughout BUT we popped some champagne and enjoyed the view and had a fantastic time! We then went to some hot springs and I fulfilled one of my dreams of jumping off a boat into the ocean! The water was surprisingly freezing but it was pretty cool to be in the Mediterranean. We picked up some food when we got back to land and headed back home to rest quickly before our adventure to Oia!

Oia is the part of Santorini all over Instagram. It is where the rich people stay when they visit the island. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL with windmills, white dome architecture, blue roofs, and stone steps everywhere. It was kind of annoying and painful to walk down the steps in my heels but it was more than worth it for the sunset view! We lucked out and it was clear skies! Shayar and I sat on a ledge to watch it over the water, and Eashan was feeling a bit more adventurous so he walked down to get a different view. We got dinner at another fantastic restaurant Eashan found before Shayar and I went to explore the nightlife! We went to a couple clubs and when they played ABBA I lost my mind: it was pure happiness! I am so grateful to have Shayar in my life because we can go from watching the sunset and talking about life to having fancy cocktails, dancing, and singing our hearts out! So far, our tally has been 5 countries we've been to together!

Sunday was our last day so we decided to get up and explore the beaches: white sand beach, red sand beach, and black sand beach! Driving and finding white sand beach was a struggle and if Shayar wasn't driving us I don't think Eashan and I would’ve made it back lol. Shayar and I once again swam in the Mediterranean (!!!!!) from a rocky beach over to red sand beach since driving would take forever and we couldn't walk there. Eashan like the icon he was sat on a rock and read his book. The coves were INSANE here and there were so many that Shayar and I explored!! The red sand beach was actually red which was so cool omg. The swim back sucked, but then we drove to get more saganaki, pita, and Greek yogurt so it was all good.

We dropped Eashan off at the airport on the way back from the restaurant and then Shayar and I went back to get ready for our last dinner in Greece! He loves windmills so I found a bar/restaurant in Thera that is in a converted windmill and the sunset was GORGEOUS!! It was clear skies and had a pink/orange hue which was beautiful. We then drove to the airport to come back home to Budapest, stopping in Milan for the night and having pizza for breakfast!

Alright, now that was a long post and I do apologize but this was one of my top 10 trips of all time, so it deserved a long post! I constantly wish I was back in Greece, there were no worries, I was with some of my favorite people, the food was good, and I was enjoying being 20 in Europe. But if I was always on vacation, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the travels I have, so I'm glad I'm able to really appreciate how nice the break is.

I visited Prague this past weekend and am going to Romania this weekend, so the adventure continues! Maybe I'm biased but Shayar is definitely my favorite person to travel around Europe with and I am so thankful for the memories we've made and can't wait to make more <3 until next post!!!

xoxo, Mackenzie