Jon and I booked Greece on whim (admittedly after a glass of wine or two) several months ago after discovering a ridiculously cheap flight we couldn’t pass up. Greece has been number one on my bucket list for quite some time given the fact that most of my heritage traces back to Greece and the surrounding areas. If you ever wondered what the origin of “Chacos” was, there’s your answer (most people think I am hispanic of sorts!)

We decided to explore Santorini, Crete, and Athens during our stay. The flight to Santorini was a tough one-right around twelve hours of flight time, not including layovers. Two hours to Toronto, nine to Athens, and around one hour on a tiny plane to Santorini. To say we were exhausted by the time we got to our first Air BNB would be an understatement! We started the trip with an epic nap (we were awake for nearly 30 hours) and then explored Fira. It was a cloudy, chilly evening but we enjoyed walking through the town and discovering fun bars and restaurants. Our second day we hiked six miles up to beautiful Oia. It was a hot walk, but absolutely worth the three hours of exploring. The views in Santorini were incredible and there are pops of color everywhere you look! On our third day we rented a scooter (Jon will tell you it was a “motorcycle”) and continued to adventure around the island. We headed down to the Red Sand Beach, Pre-historic Akrotiri, and stopped at some more fun spots to take in the scenery.

Our second leg of the trip was in Crete. We took a ferry from Santorini to Heraklion, which was about 45 minutes. Honestly, I can’t say I was a huge fan of the boat ride. It was pretty crowded, disorganized, and I felt a bit queasy from the rocking back and forth (not sure I should ever go on a cruise!) There wasn’t a whole lot to do in Heraklion, so we ventured into a cool museum and checked out some of the local restaurants during our two day stay. Next we drove west to Chania and were blown away at the beauty of the countryside of Crete. Everywhere you look there are blooming white and pink flowers and gorgeous mountain views. Chania was by far our favorite city of the entire trip! Cheap food, stunning beaches (Balos was to die for!), and lots of exploring to do within the town. We stayed at an Air BnB right by the port and the host had awesome restaurant recommendations. It was tough to leave Chania. You definitely leave with this feeling like you’re leaving home, but we were also pretty excited to check out Athens!

After a quick 45 minute flight we were greeted by our host at the airport and headed to our AMAZING Bnb on a rooftop just a few minutes outside of downtown. Jon and I have stayed in tons of Air Bnbs, but this was by far the BEST. All the walls of our apartment were lined with windows overlooking the city. Everywhere you turn its a gorgeous view, especially at sunset! Our host even made us a greek salad after we settled in and offered us free rides throughout our stay. I cannot say enough great things about Georgia-her hospitality made the last few days of our trip simply perfect. On our last full day we explored the must see historical sites of Athens. For 30 euro we were able to see eight of the major sites, and even though we only made it to six it was totally worth it (the Acropolis alone is 20 euro.) I have a soft spot for history, so seeing all of the old monuments/buildings was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Walking up the massive Parthenon was breath taking even with all the restoration construction taking place.

Greece, you were hard to leave and will be missed! Until next time…

OPA!

Sarah

 

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