Santorini, Greece
Returning to a place you’ve visited before has its advantages—unless it’s been 12 years, and your memory is a little faint! Visiting Santorini in a totally different way earlier this fall gave me a whole new perspective of the island. My first visit was with 3 girlfriends, and best described as a free-spirited, budget backpacking trip around Europe. Yes, we carried backpacks only and it was really amazing, in a whole different way. But this time was the grown-up version: Along with my husband and our best friends, we rented a modern house (with a pool!) perched on the cliffside. It had sweeping views over Oia and the Aegean Sea, and the sunsets were so vibrant my photos look unbelievable. We rented a car to hop around the island and took a sunset catamaran cruise to soak in the equally unbelievable blues of the sea. We returned to Santorini’s famous Red Beach, which was exactly as I remembered. And we returned to Fira, which was far more touristy than I remembered. Or maybe cheap, beachy souvenirs were just more fun when I was young! We ate fresh fish overlooking the marina, and drank rosé on the terrace of a local winery. We tried a bunch of local food and delicacies (chlora cheese, fava beans, even liver). And I walked away with fresh memories and a totally different appreciation for the one-of-a-kind beauty of Santorini.
Flip through the gallery for (lots) of wanderlust-worthy photos! Santorini may be one of the most photogenic places in the world…
*Photos by me, plus a few from John Craig and Jason Scherer