Greece

Greece has been a dream trip for years and we finally made it happen!!!  We wanted to go for our 10 year anniversary but Greece was going through bankruptcy so we did Bora Bora instead (an amazing alternative).   My 40th birthday, especially after my appendicitis, was the perfect reason to finally visit Greece!  I've always been overwhelmed with planning a European trip but I did it and it was perfect!  I now have the itch to see it all!  We were gone for a total of 10 days.  We flew into Athens, then caught a flight to Mykonos, we spent 2 nights in Mykonos, took a ferry to Milos, spent 2 nights in Milos, took another ferry to Santorini, spent 4 nights in Santorini then flew back to Athens for our last night.  I was worried about all the moving around but it all worked perfectly!  Each island was so unique and served a different purpose on our trip:  Mykonos (party and fun), Milos (adventure and exploring) and Santorini (relaxing and beauty).  I wish we had 1 additional night in Milos but otherwise the length of time on each island was perfect for what we had planned!  

It might sound crazy but we have to leave town to catch up and get some quality time together!  The kids keep us SO busy when we are home!  

With only 2 nights in Mykonos there was no time to waste!  We freshened up when we arrived and were off to explore town!  No time for jet lag!  I highly recommend visiting Mykonos on your first trip to Greece.  It's known as the party island that never sleeps, and that is 100% accurate.  It was a blast but 2 nights was all we needed.  Our 40 year old bodies couldn't handle another night!  We knew we wanted to kickoff the trip a bang and then relax from there, and that is exactly what we did!

Beautiful views from our hotel, Vencia Boutique Hotel.  We decided to stay in Mykonos Town to be walking distance to the restaurants and nightlife.

Mykonos Town was a blast!!!  The streets were lined with white buildings that had pops of color, and every turn led you to a fun bar/restaurant with music, dancing and lots of sparklers!  Us 40 year olds went out around 10pm but the real parties don't start until 2am . . . we were in bed by then :)

Our only day in Mykonos we went to Tropicana Beach Club.  Fun day relaxing on the beach, sipping Mythos beer, making friends and vibing to the music.   It was a hard decision on which beach club to spend the day at but I think they are all very similar during the day.  At night there is definitely more distinction between the clubs.

After a full day at the beach we kept it rolling with dinner and drinks at Skybar and 54 Cocktail Lounge.  It was a cloudy evening so we didn't get the rooftop sunset views we had hoped for but still beautiful and a great atmosphere with live music.

The next morning we boarded the Superjet ferry to Milos!  It was a rough ride but I made it to our hotel in Milos before getting sick.   3+ hr ferry definitely got to me but thankful we were on time!

We stayed at the Artemis Seaside Villas in Milos which was beautiful!  Wish we had one more day to enjoy at the hotel and beach.

The view from our balcony was beautiful and so peaceful!

Milos caught my attention because of the beautiful turquoise water and stunning white rock formations.  We did an all day cruise with Excellent Yachting to see it all.  Perfect day spent on the water!  The Kleftiko sea caves were amazing and definitely a once in a lifetime sight!  

Unfortunately the winds were too strong on our yacht day to stop at Sarakiniko so we stopped on our way out!  Definitely a must see when visiting Milos.  We were short on time but could have spent a 1/2+ day visiting.

Another day and another Seajet ferry . . . on time again and off to Santorini.  I was so nervous about the ferry situation because there are horror story reviews about them constantly being cancelled due to high winds.  We were lucky and God knew we needed a smooth and enjoyable trip!

These ferries were BIG, way bigger than I imagined.  Thousands of people, cars and even semis loaded onto the ferries.

Last, longest and most relaxing stop of our Greece adventure!  We stayed at the Artemis Villas in Santorini which was recommended by friends that stayed there years ago.  Artemis Villas is a small family run boutique hotel with the most amazing views of the Caladera.  The owners and employees were the best and made our stay incredible.  The rooms are small but we weren't in our room much.  If we were at the hotel we were on our patio!

Most incredible view ever!!  I was in awe the entire stay!

A daily sunset happy hour was included.  Drinks would be delivered to our balcony patio.  Amazing and such a special touch that made each evening amazing!  Santorini is known for their sunsets, and our patio view, with a drink in hand, was the perfect way to enjoy the famous sunsets!

We did the Fira to Oia hike our first full morning.  It's long and it gets hot, but the views are amazing.  I always enjoy getting in a good hike, Tyler not so much.  Thankful he is along for the ride!

Oia is the big tourist town on Santorini, with a handful of iconic photo spots (like the blue domes).  It is INCREDIBLY crowded.  Glad we did the hike to Oia to make our visit worthwhile, otherwise it would have made for a quick visit.  Glad we've seen Oia but definitely don't need to go back.

We took the 200 stairs down from Oia to Ammoudi Bay for lunch!  Such a beautiful spot!  Definitely worth the visit, although the 200 stairs up was HARD!

I loved our daily chats with the kids! Seeing these faces made my heart full!  The time change was a little tricky.  We found the best time to chat with the kids was before school for them, which was around 5pm in Greece.

The Wine Bar was one of our favorite dinner spots by our hotel!  There were 3-5 cruise ships daily in Santorini, hints the crowds in Oia.

We rented a car for a day in Santorini to visit Kamari and Perissa beaches.  Kamari was our favorite!  The beach was lined with fun restaurants and beach bars for a mile!  It was a blast and next time I would definitely stay a night on that side of the island.  

We ended our day with a few wineries and breweries!  We went to Argyros, Art Space winery and Santorini Brewing.  We topped it off with dinner at Metaxi Mas.  The perfect and my favorite day in Santorini!

Our last day in Santorini we took the water taxi to see the red, black and white beaches.  We had booked a kayak tour to see these beaches but the wind was so strong they had to cancel.  We quickly shifted gears and still got to visit what we had planned.

Our last evening in Santorini we saw the Greek Wedding Show.  Such a fun way to end our tour of Greece.  We were guests in the wedding and got to eat greek appetizers, sip on wine, dance and break plates.  So much fun!

We ended our time in Greece with a night in Athens.  Athens is impressive.  So much history, so many people and much bigger than I ever imagined.  We didn't do an official tour of the Acropolis but it was still impressive walking around the outskirts.

This was a view I could have soaked in for much longer!

After 10 days it was time to get home to the kids and our routine/chaos.  It was much needed time away and I was so ready to get back to it all!  Sold on Switzerland as our next European trip after this flyover!

Greece you were a complete DREAM and once in a lifetime trip!!!  Thankful for my time there with Tyler!