This beautiful island never ceases to impress me. Santorini was named by the Latin Empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene, from the name of the old cathedral in the village of Perissa – the name Santorini is a contraction of the name Santa Irini. Before then, it was known as Kalliste (the most beautiful one). Surely it is the most beautiful island I’ve ever been to, so much so bringing me back a second time round.  This was the final leg of my travels before moving to the UK for at least 2 years.

 

We landed here feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and worn-out. We needed Santorini to engulf us with it’s natural healing powers to get us up to speed. Unfortunately my friend Samantha, whom I travelled with, contracted a nasty bug from Croatia and was feeling pretty sick. So here we were dragging our bags around and trying to find our accommodation. We booked at a lovely family owned resort called Fira Blue Horizon This place was tranquil with both the look and feel embracing us and bringing us back to equilibrium.

We let ourselves just rest the first day and decided to head out in the evening to explore the markets and then join a friend for our first night there. The streets remained the same full of life and lights and trapped in time reminding me of my past time here. The three of us found a nice outdoor restaurant where we had a quick drink before making our way to a high point in Fira overlooking the water. The restaurant had a white stone washed interior with glass windows that were facing the mountains in the distance. It was a very artificial yet surreal feeling being in such a portrait like place and to think that perhaps someone could be painting this as we speak. We ordered a variety of dishes from Stuffed peppers/ tomatoes, Mousaka, Caesar salad and an authentic wine from that place which name misses me at the moment. We were ready to paint the city red after a belly full of Greek goodness and check out the nightlife. Our favourite spots were right around the corner from Soundwind and Enigma right through the infamous Highlander bar. Many nights were spent here about 4 years ago. 🙂 And yet again, Santorini didn’t fail to impress….we were getting dragged and pulled left, right and centre into different places telling us about their unique specials!! The night from what I REMEMBER was excellent- as we slowly wound down around 4am in The Highlander.

Waking up the next day was a sense of satisfaction having gone through the routine of another day in Santorini. Feeling slightly hungover- we didn’t let anything stop us. We decided to spend the day exploring the area and eating the good food! We decided to split apart for sometime as I was keen on checking out the local museum there. It was the archaelogical museum, small in nature but full in appetite for those hungry about the ancient civilisation.

The next few days we took some time to venture off to the beaches around the coast- infamous Red beach amongst others, soaking up the sun and the picturesque sunsets. The most pretty of them of all has to be Oia- the most infamous sunset point.

The best thing about Santorini- is that it is truly a timeless place. You can keep going back, experiencing the same feelings. Eating the same delicious food and smelling the same sea smell mixed with sulphur.

If you’re ever there- don’t miss this cute and humble Gyros place in the main square in Fira.