FOREVER YOUNG: santorini, greece!

it was a really hard decision to pick where to go for our belated honeymoon. we were going back and forth between different places when one day we met an older gentlemen at a very random party. he made it known he was very into travel so i asked him where daron and i should go for our honeymoon. he started gushing about santorini, greece and explained how he had just returned with his wife and it was the most romantic place they had ever been to. anyway, the guy was convincing! i hadn't even considered santorini. i can't tell you how grateful i am for that random stranger! at times, daron and i considered eliminating santorini all together because it was more expensive and tricky to get to than many other places we could have gone. in the end, it was most definitely worth the extra travel time.

daron and i arrived in imerovigli sunday evening. after being completely lost and barely finding our hotel by nightfall, we still had time to enjoy the best part of santorini - sunsets over the glistening aagean sea. we plopped our stuff down, sat on our balcony and were in awe of the stillness of such a large body of water. the peacefulness of santorini surprised me and daron. we had just come from lively positano where you sit on your balcony and can hear the chit chatter of the town late into the night.

this place was so still.

the next day, we rented four wheelers and explored the island. we started out visiting the lighthouse and worked our way up taking in the landscape and all the unique beaches santorini has to offer. our favorite beach was red beach. it has red cliffs and sand, crystal clear water and no naked people. :) daron and i spent the most time on this beach because there were some fun rocks to jump off and little islands you could swim out to.

^red beach

the landscape of this next beach was amazing to me and daron. i felt like we were in afganistan. we also took a dip here because the water felt so good but we didn't stay long. too many boobies!

that night, we took the four wheeler to the postcard city of Oia. for me, Oia far surprassed all the other places we went to as far as aesthetics. i could have starred at the city alllll night. the twinkling lights everywhere are so magical. it really is heaven on earth.

^the twinkling! gah! i couldn't get enough of it.

Oia really comes alive at night. one reason we stayed in imerovigli is because we heard it would be really crowded in the Oia. there is only one pathway for people to walk down to get through the city so it does get crowded. daron is repulsed by crowds, i actually don't mind them. surprising we are opposite, huh!? ;)

^still blows my mind we actually were there!

i'm so glad we have proof to remind me it wasn't in my dreams!

the very last day of our trip was spent enjoying the delicious breakfast served to us on our balcony of homemade jams, yummy breads and orange juice because no, we don't drink coffee. i will never forget people's faces after we would tell him we don't drink coffee. it was as if two aliens appeared before them. i was actually looking forward to not having to say that sentence back in the states.

after breakfast, we headed off to our tour of the island by boat. we toured the volcano and hot springs, went swimming, and spent our last night in Oia.

^i wanted to try octopus sooooo bad.

but i chickened out!

^a beautiful, delicious, affordable restaurant we ate at.

3 wins in my book!

every night, hundreds of other tourists gather at the end of the island to watch the sunset. this was a really cool experience. once the sun officially dips down, every one starts cheering and clapping.