Santorini

So I can officially say I have been to the beautiful island of Santorini where the buildings are pure white with blue decor and incredible architecture. It is everything-and more!- postcards and guide books make it out to be. I will start from the beginning. Tabitha and I were up at 4:30am Friday morning in order to leave by 5:00 so we could make our 7:30 ferry. (We were supposed to be at the port an hour early). We walked to Ymittou, a main street, and took a ferry to the metro station in Syntagama. We took that metro to Monastiraki which then took us to Piraeus, the port. Neither of us were sure where to pick up our tickets, so we asked a guy in the ticket office who just kept repeating "not open until 6:30." I bought water, coffee, and a breakfast bread at Everest and had them until the ticket office opened. Well, we walked in at 6:30 on the dot, and the man points to the booth by the ferry and tells us that's where we pick up our pre-ordered tickets. He couldn't tell us that 15 minutes earlier.ergh. We got on the ferry and departed at 7:30 for our 8 hour ride to Santorini. Although the ride was long, I was able to get some reading done and got about 30 minutes of sleep. We arrived in Athinios Port at 3:30pm and took a taxi to our hotel-Anemomillos Villa- in Fira. That was interesting.... We walk to the door only to see a sign saying "Call us if you need anything" with a number below it. I call the number and a man picks up telling me he will send his wife right over to meet us. Well, 15 minutes later, she meets us apologizing because she owns two hotels, but the woman who runs this one is in Myconos. We check in and were assigned Room 3, a little room with 3 beds, old-fashioned linens, a super tiny shower, and a tv that did not work. It was only 32 euros.... It was fine for one night, but I don't think I could manage more than that. We got ready and headed out to the central square of Fira. First thing first: I rode a donkey! It wasn't planned at all, but we ran into this little old Greek guy who literally, and I mean literally, put each of us on a donkey. It cost 10 euros for a trip up and down and all around the area. My donkey was in the middle of the guy's and Tabitha's; we were all tied together. Tabitha's donkey kept trying to pass mine but it was rather difficult. Nearly scared her half to death! To make a long story short, if you have any fears of donkey riding, face them. It is such an incredible experience. We sat down for a nice dinner afterwards and watched the sunset. There is nothing like a Santorini sunset; God is so good. There were three waiters running around, but two looked alike so we had trouble telling them a part. Tabitha got a kiss on the cheek from the one guy =) We nicknamed him Kostas even though we had no clue what his actual name was. He brought us each a glass of white wine which wasn't bad at all. And I don't even like wine. Then out came the ouzo. Now, ouzo is a drink Greece is known for and tastes like black licorice. I had never tried it, but I always wondered what it tasted like. I had maybe 3 sips and actually liked it. I could never do shots of it, but a few sips wasn't bad at all. We were so tired that we fell asleep at 9:30 that night and slept until 9:00 the next morning. Well, of course the owner wasn't there, so I left the key on the counter with a note saying we left. We took a bus to Oia-the same place where Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed- and were there for about 2 hours. Oia is simply beautiful. I met a woman while waiting for the bus who knew exactly where Reading is! She grew up there, but now lives in Los Angeles. I sat with a history teacher from Allegheny College on the way back to Fira. She was so sweet. Anyway, our return ferry to Athens left at 3:30pm. On the way back, we met a guy named Nathan who is from Minnesota and a woman named Melony who is from Australia. Melony hasn't been home in 2 1/2 years! She has spent her time working in recruitment offices and traveling through different places in Europe. Her stories were so interesting! After the boat landed, we took a metro from the port that was supposed to go to Monastiraki but it stopped running at Kalithea. We then had to take a bus from Kalithea to Syntagma and then took a taxi back to our apartment. Let me tell you that this took about 2 hours and happened between 11:30 and 1:30 in the morning. Kinda creepy, not gonna lie. Anyway, the entire trip was well worth it. I will certainly remember every aspect =) I love Santorini! (Babe, we are going someday!!!)