Number one in the world for sunsets, plus a nonfat Greek wedding.. Santorini, Greece – Europe Part I

Finally catching up on the blog.. it’s been a whirlwind of time travel through various international zones recently and I’ve hardly time to put together a well thought out post, and didn’t want to half arse it since Greece is my new favorite European country!  If you follow me on instagram, you know I’m overly obsessed with this place..  Putting this into words without completely word vomiting is so difficult because it’s one of THE most beautiful places on Earth.  Gelato, dinner, hiking recommendations, so READ!

Sit back and grab a glass of wine for this post because I’m about to jam pack about a week’s worth of information here…

Just having Santorini on the itinerary gave me all the giddy feelings and if you know me, I don’t like to get overly excited before trips because I act like a 10 year old and want to keep asking “are we there yet?!”.  It’s not until I step off the plane and take my first breath of air that I can finally say, “I’m here!!!”.. can anyone else feel me on this?!

{santorini travel tips – know before you go}

We stayed at the Xenones Filotera which is about 3.5 miles away from Oia where the infamous white building landscapes are.  Staying away from the town but having easy access by shuttle was super convenient.  If this is your first time to Santorini, we took a cab to the resort in Imeroviglion from the airport for about 25 euros (about $30).  The taxi driver didn’t turn on the meter and this concerned me, but the pricing was spot on.

 

 

Pro tip 1: there are limited taxis on the island and traveling in the summer is especially difficult to secure a cab (unless you’re at the airport where they line up).  There’s no uber either, so using the hotel shuttle (or walking – which I’ll write up about later) is ideal and cost about 20 euro each way (up to 4 people).. HAVE CASH!!  worth it!

Onto the fun stuff.. The resort was perfect.. included breakfast with the most epic of views daily and since we arrived so early in the morning on the first day and had a late check out on the last day, we were able to enjoy our avocado, turkey bacon, fruit, and greek yogurt daily during our stay.  I had never seen such beautiful ocean views.  The sky and ocean have this pink, blue grey tone and so much blue water with little islands off in the distance to include Oia that it made for perfect staring contests with the scenery.

 

{outfit details}

Romper: H&M

 

 

Each hotel has a pool (at least all the ones that lined up next to us which included the Princess Suites, Rocabella, and Cavo Tagoo Santorini) with views facing the ocean in case you want to stay where we did.. Finding a sandy area to throw a towel down is also tricky because you have to go to an area of the island that actually has sand, whereas most ocean fronts are drop downs of rocky cliffs.  Most of these resorts have VERY limited availability, so booking early is a must!  Xenones has 18 rooms, so this is crucial if you want to see these views from your room.

Pro tip 2: we booked early March for our August vacation.

 

 

 

{bikini details}

Bikini: H&M (sold out)

 

The town of Oia is perfect and those white buildings with blue roof tops are EVERYTHING!!  It is very high tourist season for August so it was busy, but still amazing and most people weren’t inside the restaurants, but can be found wandering around the town.  I had a few places on my list that I wanted to eat at and gelato was at the top because as far as I’m concerned, it’s a food group in Europe.  Our very FIRST stop was Lolita’s Gelato, the flavors were so delicious.. not to mention a total instagrammable gelato spot!

 

                      

{outfit details}

Dress by: Borrowed by Design – if you use code: BRIGITTEPATTON you can get 25% off your first order

Sunglasses: Karen Walker (sold out – similar)

 

{infamous oia sites}

Eating anywhere was easy as was catching some views.  We roamed for a bit and had a drink at one of the restaurants which turned into the largest mimosa I’d had in my life.  We had to order bread (and olives obvi) to help coat the stomach so we weren’t drunk walking at 2pm.  But catch the views below and sorry for picture overload.. but not sorry..

Pro tip 3: there’s no right or wrong way to wander.. just get lost in all the alleys and you will figure it out..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{what to know before you do the epic hike}

We used the hotel shuttle to Oia and packed a little bag with workout clothes so we could run back to the hotel.  It’s only about 3.5 miles right??  WRONG.. SO VERY WRONG. Yes, it was 3.5 miles depending on which part you start the run.. however, we quickly realized, it’s a hike and you can’t physically run it, plus in 90 degree heat with volcanic rock everywhere, made it an extremely difficult hike.  But the views are by far some of the BEST hiking views I’ve ever seen.  For a run I thought would take about 30 minutes, turned into 1.5 hours, so be prepared and have water!  See the shots below during our hike.. epic and I would have done it again!  Make sure you bring a phone that has the Maps function because we would have gotten lost or detoured a lot if we didn’t know the most direct route.

 

 

 

 

My favorite place for dinner in Oia was Lycabettus.  We arrived when it was already dark, but seeing the lights on the hills at night were perfect.. We didn’t have a reservation and still were able to get seated with our 8 person group.  Definitely add this to your dinner list!

 

 

 

{nonfat greek wedding}

Our dear friends had a very small wedding, a total of 27 people and this was perfect.  We got to all hangout with each other and actually have conversations with everyone because we didn’t know a lot of the people there beforehand.  Legit group I must say.  The bride was unconventional but still made the wedding very personal!  For starters, she made sure constantly everyone was aware of the itinerary of where we needed to be for the days leading up to the wedding.  They booked a private sunset catamaran for everyone and shuttled us to the base of Oia where we hopped on the Dream Catcher.  Unlimited drinks (beer and wine) and a traditional Greek dinner was cooked up for us!  Definitely a huge highlight and applause to the bride and groom for being so thoughtful!  This is where we witnessed our first Santorini sunset.  I couldn’t believe the colors mother nature was producing that night and each night thereafter.  Santorini is listed as the number one place to watch the sunset IN THE WORLD.  I’ve seen my fair share of amazingness in Hawaii, but these fiery skies are unlike any other.

 

 

 

                     

 

{bikini details}

Bikini: Wild Aster

 

 

The wedding was held at La Ciel, a venue situated right in the middle of all the main resorts, so we were able to walk to the ceremony/reception.  It was gorgeous… The bride, Sky, wore the sleekest boho gown that was very fitting for the environment.. since the attendance was so limited, it felt like we were all at a romantic dinner party hanging with lifelong friends.

 

 

 

{outfit details}

Dress: Vici Collection (sold out – similar)

 

 

 

I can’t say enough good things about Santorini… if you are thinking of coming here, don’t think anymore, and just book a ticket because you won’t be disappointed.  It’s my new favorite getaway in Europe and I hope that’s not the last time I’ll be back.. The sunsets alone are a reason to go…

 

{random Mykonos getaway}

Sidebar: our friends convinced us to ditch our return back to explore Athens for a second day, and told us we needed to hang with them in Mykonos, an island also in Greece and a 4 hour ferry ride away.  We cancelled our Airbnb, changed our flights, and we were off to Mykonos..  We stayed at Cavo Tagoo Mykonos and the views were sooooooo surreal.. This is the scene from the hotel room.. I mean if you’re into having your own pool with an unobstructed view of the Aegean Sea.  This is a no brainer, book here.

 

 

 

This island is similar to Santorini, with oceanic views, but the feel of the island is VERY different.  We had about 18 hours on this island and were awake for 13 of them, so I think we handled our time quite well.  In short, it’s the party island.  Nobody eats before 9:30pm, so we had dinner at Kounelas Fish Tavern and the food was exquisite…  Fresh fish you can pick out yourself and have served whole on your dinner plate.  After, we headed out for the night, shot of espresso around 1am and stayed out so late we were able to watch the sunrise and get some amazing shots.  When you have a short time at a place, basically don’t sleep.  Ok, maybe some sleep, but just not a lot.. kidding.. sorta.

 

 

 

If you want to see more pictures on the IG, use hashtags #BrigittexGreece or #kdowntheisle for the wedding!!  Hope I wrote enough so you could finish that bottle of wine there babe.. or dude.. Comment or DM me if you have questions!!!  Love you all for reading!!