Greece: Santorini, Sunny Villas

What's it like living in a cave, you ask?

I was dying to stay at Sunny Villas after my endless research on hotels in Santorini. The idea of staying in a CAVE was appealing. In real life, it was a difficult hotel to get to, but I imagine many of the hotels on Santorini to be the case, as the town is built on the side of a volcanic caldera, not to be confused with a crater. And it's STEEP, y'all! Hotel Sunny Villas had incredible caldera and sunset views from the terrace, but the actual cave-like habitat was rather claustophobic, for us. Still, it was incredible to be situated right in front of the Skaros rock, which used to be a medieval fortress, that we hiked on the last day of our trip (more on that later). For now, this.

Greece: To Santorini

Time for another ferry ride, this time to Santorini! That was the littlest truck we'd ever seen!

Greece: Mykonos, at Night

Nothing like some twinkly lights reflected upon the water with a warm summery breeze fluttering through your hair.

And. Seeing these guys, again. Have a lovely weekend!

Greece: Mykonos, The Wind Mills

Oh, the famed Wind Mills of Mykonos.

As we turned around a narrow and crowded corner, this was our first glimpse of the wind mills. The timing couldn't have been better; with the sun just starting to drop it created the most gorgeous light.

Most of the cafes facing the water boasted the "best sun set view", but expensive cocktails at over crowded cafes like Scarpa didn't make sense, especially when the sun set could be viewed from anywhere. So, this is what we did, instead.

Breathtaking, to say the least. See how these windmills compare to Zaans Shans, in Amsterdam.

Greece: Mykonos, The Town

The next day we took the shuttle bus into downtown Mykonos. What an incredibly stunning place Mykonos is. Would love to go back, it's absolutely gorgeous. Blue and white paint? Check. Churches? Check. Narrow cobblestone walkways? Check. But who knew about the stray cats? So cute!

Greece: Mykonos, Hotel St. John

Only the best. hotel. ever.

Greece: Ferry to Mykonos

The next morning we were off to Mykonos via Hellenic Seaways' high speed ferry, which took about 4-5 hours includinng stops along the way at smaller islands. We boarded from Piraeus in Athens. If you see vendors selling breads and pastries that look tasty, pass. They were quite disappointing. The food on the ferry is equally tasteless. The journey itself wasn't uncomfortable, however there were some hiccups with seating arrangements and a huge delay when we returned to Athens from Santorini, but that may have been due to the taxi strike at the time. However on the way to Mykonos from Athens, excitement prevailed over anything worth complaining about. And the views from the outdoor deck of the various islands were phenomenal.

Greece: Athens: Fallen

I don't remember the name of this particular historic site, but it was, as all the other ancient architecture in Athens, magnificent. One of the pillars lay there, fallen, in a domino effect, and we wondered when and why it had fallen. But like a lot of ancient history, it's shrouded in mystery.

Dusk was falling, and the light was just perfect for this last day in Athens. Tomorrow, off to Mykonos!

Greece: Athens, Theatre of Dionysus

After the mating turtles, we finally came to the Theatre of Dionysus. The sun was starting to descend, creating a beautiful light across the seats.

Greece: Athens, Out n' About

Some randoms from the outskirts of the Acropolis.

(Can you see the black cat hidden in the shadows?)

Greece: Athens, Odd

Here are some odd shots from around Athens. Just 'cause.

Greece: Athens: Ancient Agora

The Ancient Agora was our next stop and a natural progression from exiting the Acropolis (that is, after resting atop a giant rock with magnificent views - first image. It still boggles my mind that one can walk amongst ancient ruins with such liberty, not to say it was taken for granted.

I direct you to this page for the history, but look below for the photographs.

Greece: Acropolis: The Parthenon

We made it! I apologize, the next set of shots are going to be only of the Parthenon and it's surroundings. My super comfortable Pumas were put to the test (on the sometimes slippery rocky surface). Which is likely why the original steps leading up to the top has been covered with wooden planks, like at the Taj Mahal.

It was hotter than hot and part of the Parthenon was being restored, but words cannot describe how mind-blowing it was to see in person and photographs don't do any justice. 

P.S. The sleeping dogs were a surprise.

Greece: Athens, Acropolis: Along the Way

Getting to the Acropolis in the high heat was no easy task. Some olive trees and fancy water stations helped along the way.

Here, some of those moments.

Greece: Athens, The Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The Odeon of Herodes is a stadium theatre on the south slope of the Acropolis. It's still used for music festivals every year, having been restored in the 50s. How incredible would it be to be seated here during a concert? Epic.

Here's a panoramic view, which is not entirely accurate, but you get the gist, I hope.

Other panoramas: Boston from the Ebersol Suite at the Liberty Hotel + NYC's 30 Rockefeller