Santorini, Greece

Santorini is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life and was a dream come true to go there.  It is the typical thing you picture when you think about Greece with the white houses and blue rooftops.  By the time that we got there we had just enough time to put our things down and go see the sunset over the water.  Then the entire group went to a bar called Murphy's, which was a lot of fun.  The next morning we went on a tour of Santorini.  The first stop was some wine tasting.  We got to sample three different types of wine overlooking the ocean view.  Then we got to go and see the red sand beach.  It is so unique to see sand that is not what I am used to seeing.  Then we got to go and see the black sand beach and relax there for the afternoon.  We even got to order lunch and eat it on the beach, until the wind started blowing and getting sand on our sandwiches, so we decided to go back inside.  We got back to the hostel and went straight back as a group to watch the sunset in a different area from the night before.  It was the area where they filmed the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie and Mama Mia.  After we all took a billion pictures we went out to dinner for my friend Katherine's 21st birthday.  Then everyone on the trip went out to Murphy's again to spend one last night out all together.  The next morning we got to walk around the town on our own.  It was the perfect opportunity to buy postcards.  I also got some gifts to bring back home for my parents.  We got one last gyro, which is the Greek version of an Italian k-bob with pork, french fries, tomatoes, onion, and some type of delicious sauce.  Gyros are heaven on Earth and was pretty much the only thing everyone ate the entire time while in Greece. 

It was that time to start our long journey back to Italy.  We took the ferry back to Athens and spent one night there.  In the morning we woke up super early to go and get these famous sandals that are hand made.  The business has been in the owners family for almost 100 years.  We also got some fresh fruit for the rest of the way home to snack on.  We left at 10:30 am for the cruise ship to go back to Ancona, where we then took a bus back to Florence.  It was definitely my favorite trip that I have taken so far, and had the time of my life! I wouldn't trade if for the world.