Greece (Part 2)

MYKONOS and SANTORINI 5/26-5/29

We landed in Mykonos in the early morning around 7am. Luckily we did not have to run at all and we were feeling better about our transportation issues. Since we were tired of paying for over-priced taxis, we decided to walk 40ish minutes to Mykonos town where we were staying in an Airbnb. The walk was nice and as we approached the town, we began searching for our Airbnb. Fortunately, we have an app called maps.me which has been a lifesaver. We can download the maps on wifi and then use them to get around when we do not have wifi. Thank you 21st century technology. Yet, we still struggled to find the place since there are little to no street signs and no numbers on the buildings. Once we located our Airbnb it was still too early to check in. We decided to walk the streets to find some breakfast. We ended up sitting right along the water at the Old Port at a cute restaurant. The kitchen still was not open at 8am but we could sit and get coffee. Emily finally got her first Freddo (shout out @Stacey and @Ricky). In Greece, most people are drinking Freddo, either cappuccino or espresso. Freddo means cold or iced and for the cappuccinos you get cold foamed milk that looks like frosting. Emily recommends the "Freddo cappuccino with medium sugar"... You will love it! 

Once the kitchen opened we got big egg omelets. It was a little chilly so Grace went to her pack to get a jacket out.... Problem... The luggage lock won't open. Combo does not work. We then proceed to try to pick the lock for a solid 30 minutes while sitting at this nice restaurant, watching YouTube videos and using bobby pins. We have no luck (even though we felt like we were really close), so we ask the waiter for the location of a locksmith. When asking for directions here, you're told to turn right at "this store" and walk 2 minutes until you see "this." Even with these seemingly ambiguous directions, we were able to find it easily. (Directions like these are very common in Mykonos. Must be due to the lack of house numbers.) The man there brought out a giant metal cutter to get the lock off. Success!

Even though our room was not ready yet, we were able to check in with our Airbnb host, Lorainne. She was very nice, gave us directions for a bakery and the best beaches, and let us store out bags while we set out to find our transportation around the island. We stayed in Mykonos Town, which is definitely the most convenient spot. We rented ATVs for two days from Best1 Rentals for 45€ per day. They felt much safer than the scooters for getting around the sometimes tight streets. Don't worry, mom(s), we had helmets! 

We first went to the south side of the island due to the winds. We went to Paraga beach where we laid on the "poor people's side." There were umbrellas and chairs to rent that went for various prices depended on proximity to water. 50€ in the back to 120€ by the water, not something we could afford on this backpacking budget! The beach was relatively rocky with naked old people. After a while in the sun, we set out to explore the old city called Ano Mera, which is in the center of the island... Not much to see. Definitely not a necessary stop. We then went to check out Paradise Beach which we were told was a party beach. It's a beach club with pricey cocktails. We did not stay long lol.

After showering and dressing island-chic, we had a mini Instagram photoshoot. Did you know, Mykonos is one of the top 3 places for girls to take insta shoots (citation needed)? Later, we had a nice dinner on a terrace under vines at Eva's Garden. Emily's friends, Paul and Amanda, were also in Mykonos so we met up with them for a drink. We shared travel stories and watched the nightlife begin on the island. After drinks with Paul, we set out to the clubs. The music was strange and it still wasn't crowded at 11:30 pm, which was very late for us having woken up at 3:45 am that day. After bopping around for about an hour, we went to sleep. A great decision, considering all of our early mornings the previous days.

The next day we slept in and got a full 8 hours of sleep!!! We got ready for the beach and went to Artisan's Bakery for croissants and Freddo. We then got gyros to-go, so we could eat on the beach. Afterward, we ATV'd to Panormos beach (thanks for the rec @Maddie!). It was away from the main town so it wasn't very crowded. The sand was also much softer which was really nice. Unfortunately, it was still pretty windy. After hanging out there for a few hours, we explored more of the island, and of course stopped for photoshoots whenever we found cool spots (if you aren't already, follow @getthememmo05 and @enewton24 on the 'gram! #shamelessplug). There are a lot of windmills on the island, so we saw those as well! Very much another "we came, we saw, we left" situation. They were cool. They were old. That's pretty much it. After dropping off the ATV, we got some yummy ice cream.

That night, we had dinner at Rouvera, where we sat outside facing the water with a good view of the sunset! It was a great way to end our time in Mykonos. But as everyone knows, the party does not stop at dinner! We had to get ready to go out to ~SUPER PARADISE~. Apparently it's more super than plain old Paradise we saw before. After taking the bus to this part of the island, we entered the beach club. We didn't know any of the music once again but made the most of our last night on the island. We had to take the 12:30 am bus back, so unfortunately no 6 am nights (@anthonyfadil). 

Our transportation around the island

Drinks with Emily's Tepper friend!

Windmills

After spending 2 days in Mykonos, we ferried to Santorini! Unfortunately, the ferry was an hour late.additionally, we were supposed to be on the high-speed ferry but something got messed up and we were on the slow one :( getting us to Santorini later than we hoped. After arriving, we checked into our hotel in Fira/Thira. Fira was very different from what we expected, which was for every building to be white and for it to be a quaint little town, like Mykonos was and like the movies show. However, there isn't too much white and it is very busy and very touristy. After settling in, we searched for a good lunch spot. We ate at VLounge, which had a perfect view right on the edge of the island. Afterward, we took the bus to the Red Beach. At Red Beach the sand is black and the cliffs behind the beach are dark red. This time, we could afford the lounge chairs because they were only 10€. Yet we were able to meet some Ohio girls that were leaving and they gave us their receipt so we didn't have to pay (woo!). The beaches here are crazy because there's only about 15 feet of sand and then you're right against a cliff. We lounged here for a few hours. That night, we made our way to Oia (pronounced e-uh) to check out that part of town and see if it was more quaint. We learned, you should NEVER EVER EVER head there immediately after the sunset. We were on the 30 minute bus to Oia during the sunset, so once we got there everyone was leaving. We were like fish swimming against the current; it was tough! We think Oia is a nicer area to stay, but it is far from all the activities on the island. We booked reservations for the next night at a restaurant with a sunset view and headed back to go to bed.

For our final day in Santorini, we woke up early to do the 6 mile hike from Fira to Oia, which has stunning views. We had free breakfast at the hotel (score!), which consisted of hard-boiled eggs, toast, and canned peaches. And we even made ourselves sandwiches lunch, consisting of toast and ham along with an apple (saving money!). We began the hike following the guide: santorinidave.com/Fira-Oia-hike. We recommend using it if you plan on visiting. It had beautiful views the whole way as you walk along the cliffs. It wasn't too strenuous but there were long uphill stretches and long downhill stretches with strong cross winds. It took us about 3 hours. Once we arrived in Oia, we headed straight through town to the Ammoudi Bay. Once you reach the bay, you can continue past the restaurants and go swimming and cliff jumping (thanks @Maddie for the rec!). The spot you cliff jump from also has a beautiful view looking back at Oia from the water. After we cooled off, we had to hike back up the cliff to get to Oia. We got on the bus this time to head back to Fira.

To end the evening, we shopped in Fira, where Emily got a beautiful Greek "evil eye" bracelet. We then headed to Oia and walked around some more. We stopped in Atlantic books (thanks for the rec @Ben!), where we bought some new beach reads and saw $1,500 first edition Peter Pan books! Afterward, we had a delicious dinner at Strogli with an amazing sunset view. We got to watch a super cloudy sunset, continually asking ourselves if it compares to MB :) Santorini is definitely a very beautiful island! We are still shocked by how it became such a tourist destination simply because of the difficulty of building on cliffs, but it of course is a nice place to stay.

Panoramic view from the lunch spot in Santorini

The Red Beach

Enjoying ourselves at the Red Beach

Oia

The hike from Fira to Oia. The white in the background is Oia.

We have enjoyed our vacation within our vacation and are now ready to check out Sicily (where Grace's family is from) for a few days!! Stay tuned for the next blog post where we'll have a surprise guest!

To Be Continued,
Grace and Emily