Throwback Thursday: Reminiscing Santorini

Since its Throwback Thursday, I purposely want to re-live the memories we had in Santorini (so that I can share to my kids one day).

Santorini.....magical, beautiful and breathtaking.  An island surrounded by deep blue Aegean Sea with white washed buildings and blue domes, stunning views and beautiful sunsets. I remembered standing at the caldera telling God how blessed we were to have the opportunity to step foot on this beautiful island.

We took EasyJet from London to Santorini. When we first landed, I was shocked because the airport looked like a desert. I asked hubby, are we at the right place? Where are the famous white-washed houses and blue domes?

Santorini taken from inside the plane

The plane

We had to queue to enter the airport building as there were only 2 staff, the guard and the person who stamped our passports.

After getting our passport stamped we went to look for our transport to the hotel. We met Kiki who then drove us to Villa Rose. The hotel is located at Fira, and is voted 'exceptional' by Booking.com and Trip Advisor. You can read about my review about Villa Rose here.

After checking into our room, we decided to go explore around. The weather was nice, cooling and windy. May is just the right time to go Santorini since the massive crowds have not arrived.. We visited the St. John Cathedral and took the steps all the way down to the port. Saw donkeys ferrying people up and down; slipped and nearly fell near donkey poop. 

 I had my first taste of souvlaki, moussaka and Greek salad all in a day:) (Read about Santorini food here) 

The next day we celebrated our 2^nd Wedding Anniversary by renting a scooter to go around Perissa and Oia. This was my first time riding on a scooter with hubby. I'm glad I made that decision:)

We stopped along the way to snap a picture of this gorgeous view.

 Perissa beach was rather quiet due to the low season.

We took the longer route to Oia which was a blessing because we got to take pictures of the other side of Santorini. We rode the scooter up to a church on a hill.

We arrived at Oia almost 3pm. Oia is where you should go to catch the stunning sunset and see the scenic caldera with white-washed blue domed churches.

We had an early anniversary dinner at Roka and then quickly made our way to watch the sunset. It was already 7.30pm and the crowd was waiting patiently for the glorious sunset. As the sun sets, we heard the crowd clapping to a spectacular ending.

The evening was getting colder as we made our way back to Fira around 8pm. I lost my scarf along the way and were chased by a dog on the way back. What an experience!

We spent our third day exploring Fira again and went off the beaten path.

We saw some school girls playing volleyball.

View of Nea Kameni along the way.

This is one of my favourite photos, which I tend to look at over and over again.

Streets of Fira.

Found a quieter path with no tourists.

Fira main street at night in May. Most of the shops have closed.

Looking through every picture brought back so much joy. If you happen to read this post, I hope you enjoyed the pictures and plan a trip of your own. I intend to return to Santorini again one day.