Hey,

I just can’t seem to help myself this year. I love traveling and I am spoilt for choice in England. Last week’s adventure was Greece. My sister and I went to Athens and Santorini for the weekend. It was lovely and very humbling.

We spent our first day in Athens exploring the Acropolis, the Plaka District, and the various sites in the area. For some reason, I thought Athens was much closer to the water. While you can see the water from certain viewpoints, there isn’t much of a reason to go closer on a short holiday. Most of the touristy things are more inland. We watched the sunset from the top of a hill in the city. It cast such a calm light across all the white buildings. We ate in the Plaka District. The food was amazing (and cheap)!

As we wandered around the city, we noticed we were getting a lot of looks. Apparently, blondes are not very common the more south you head, so we were quite unusual. We were given free food at the end of every meal and I have a feeling the hair was probably the reason. Everyone was so friendly and accommodating to us. It was strange to be such an outlier when normally my hair color means nothing.

I learn a lot on my travels about different cultures and societal norms. Simple things like getting the bill are different. At a restaurant in Greece, the bill arrives in stages. You will get a bill for the starter, a separate one for the main, and another for the drinks. It was quite nice to know how much you were spending always. At the end, they will give you one total bill to pay. Plus, for any of you who has been to Europe and have had to pay for tap water (common in Italy), they didn’t do that in Greece! Small wins.

The second day we went to Santorini. It was only a £40 return flight that gave us about 12 hours to explore the island. We got there at 8am and left by 8pm. It is a cute island. We rented ATV’s for only 15 euros for the day. We first went north to the town of Oia. This is where you see a lot of the classic white buildings and blue roof photos. We did some exploring and then grabbed some sandwich making food and chips to take to the beaches we were going to next. The road took us along the coast with views of the vast Mediterranean Sea. The weather was perfect for cruising along at 40km/hr. It was one of those moments where you can’t believe this is real life. I just feel so grateful for the opportunities that I have.

We headed South next to the black sand beach. We kept checking the map we were given and just followed the signs. Of course, we missed the turn though. We continued onto the red sand beach. The island has a volcano near it, so the red sand beach had massive boulders of cooled lava. We stopped there for lunch and appreciated the breeze. We watched boats sailing in the cove and the people lying in the sun.

It has always bothered me how people travel all the way to a new country to see these amazing sites, take a photo, and just walk away. I encourage all of you to just slow down and appreciate the moment. Enjoy the peace. Disconnect. I also take a couple photos, but it doesn’t consume me. Exploring gained such a deeper level when I started enjoying the moment more.

After we went to the most southernly point of the island where a lighthouse is. My sister climbed down onto the rocks below and I just sat and watched her. The island is this massive red rock dotted with these tiny white houses. From that point we could see Oia and how far we had come on the island.

We ended our day by making it back up to the black sand beach. We both lay down on the sun beds and took a mini nap in the sun. It was the perfect end to the day. In pure bliss.

Greece was lovely. I would definitely go back. It was just so relaxing, the architecture was outstanding, the ancient buildings deserved to be praised, and the people were so helpful.

I mentioned earlier that the trip was very humbling. Our hostel was not in the most amazing area. It was quite poor. You could be in the most gorgeous area one minute and walk a couple blocks over to our area and the economic level drops dramatically. It makes you really appreciate what you have. In our hostel, there were families of refugees. You hear on the news about the conflicts and the refugees’ lives, but it doesn’t compare to seeing these families trying to survive. There were such small children that just wanted to run and play. They are so innocent, but are caught up in something much bigger than themselves. I have returned home humbled and thankful for the ease and enjoyment that I have in my life.

Until next time,

Holly