Big Fat Greek Vacation

There are many places in the world that we would love to visit, but the timing is never quite right. We have opportunities to travel throughout the year, but many of our top places to visit depend on the weather in order to be able experience them fully. While we frequently enjoy the perks of off-season travel (cheaper prices, more availability, less crowds), there are some places that you can't even get to if not during the peak season! One of those places is Greece. At some point, the islands actually "close", all the tourism comes to a halt until the days get longer and the temperatures rise again. We have wanted to visit Greece for years, but finally, we were able to carve out a week of time on our way from the US back to Spain.

Our dream Greek vacation started with a bit of a hiccup... we landed on the island of Paros, after losing track of how many hours we had been traveling and how long it had been since we slept. We didn't even care, as we planned to arrive, have a dinner with a beautiful view, dip in the hot top, and sleep off the jetlag. But things did not quite go as planned. After taking a shuttle to our hotel, we arrived and were told that we had no booking. Of course, I had a confirmation number and could show the hotel the email, but they were confident that the agent we had booked through did not book us at their hotel. Thankfully, they allowed us to use their hotel phone.... and for the next seven hours, I was on the phone, on hold, on the phone, crying, re-dialing, so and so forth.... There were times it was pretty hopeless and we were not sure that we would have anyplace to stay, as it was high season on the island, and every place we attempted to re-book was full! Thankfully, when the hotel lobby was closing and they were kicking us out (we were using their phone), we found one hotel that had one space. We took a taxi there, and booked the only room available. It was quite a nightmare... but thankfully, we ended up with a place to stay, got a full night of rest, and were more than ready to relax on the island the next day.

Smallest plane we have ever been on.

..and smallest airport we've ever flown into!

At least this was the view during the many hours on the phone.

Devin snapped this at the beginning of it all...

After the initial drama, the rest of our trip was truly bliss. In Paros, each day started with a large breakfast buffet (with real, life-changing Greek yogurt), followed by pool time, exploring the island by ATV, checking out different beaches, and choosing between the countless adorable garden restaurants for dinner.

After four days there, we took the ferry to Santorini, as we had to see the most "iconic" Greek island. HOLY COW, it did not disappoint! The entire time we were in Santorini we had to pinch ourselves, as the views on the island seem too perfect to be true. Santorini is known for having some of the best sunsets in the world. Two hours before sunset, people from all over the island flock to the side where the sunset can be viewed. One night, we joined the pack, sat on the edge of the castle, and waited for the show. Another night, we took a 5 hour sunset cruise, allowing us a real front row seat for the sunset!

A week in Greece was a perfect way to reconnect after a summer of lots of time apart from each other, and the perfect way to relax before heading into another busy school year. We would love to go back and explore the diversity of the islands and the depth of the history of this incredible country!